MassYak85

Looking like a more traditional New England Winter. I've been doing some winter hikes and haven't been on the ice much, but with the weather this year I can't see getting out before April on open water. Which will break my streak of going out the first week in march the last 3 years.

My dad got talked into getting a Douglas XMatrix Swimbait rod at last year's show along with a 300 sized Lew's. I've been pretty impressed by the rod it's got a solid backbone but the tip section is really nice and doesn't make it feel like a pool queue but doesn't load the whole rod either. It's a nice in-between balance.

Seems like a slow day all over the state yesterday. We went out for 4 hours and only had 1 flag to save the skunk. Couldn't even jig up any perch. The groups next to us didn't fair much better.

Yes I agree with the premise of the law. One of my local lakes now has a nesting Loon population in the last several years which has bene cool to see. I think the main concern are things like lead split shot and smaller lead weights that mix in easily with the rocks. I don't see a Loon accidentally eating a whole bass jig.

IMO the law is extremely vague and open to interpretation. I don't think an EPO would give you a hard time for anything other than an actual jig or weight made of lead. The real issue for the birds is lead split shot and smaller weights. But things like spinnerbaits are obviously exempt, so by extension you could argue underspin jigs are also exempt. The line is grey to me. And then it explicitly calls out "weighted flies" as okay but I fail to see how that's any better than a jig.

The majority will be lead. Idk how they let that fly but it is frustrating. Some types of jigs are very difficult to find in tungsten or other materials. I order almost all online these days.

I was surprised some the discounts TW is offering currently. I have been underwhelmed by their sales the last couple years. I held back on a lot but stocked up big on some yamamoto 5" grubs (one of my go-to jig trailers), and gamakatsu nano finesse hooks (incredible jerkbait hooks).

Long term looks great for a nice ice season. I'll be hiking this weekend but hopefully the 18th I can get out.

I worked at Cabelas for a summer. Their selection was questionable at best. In a state that doesn't allow lead jigs, guess what 95% of their jigs were made of? They would almost never have stuff like Power Pro in stock in the popular lines sizes. And generally, I can just find better deals for things online. The days of true "doorbuster" sales at brick and mortar chains is pretty much over.

That warm rain Wednesday will reset the entire eastern portion of the state. Some of the hills out west might survive.

Only bad if you don't ice fish 😉

My crank rod is a Dobyns Champion 764 CB. I also use it for blade baits and tailspins because of the way it keeps fish pinned.

Been a while since you guys got me haha. Had to try a few things at those prices. The swimbait 80s for 10 bucks is wild. Gave their spinnerbait and a couple cranks a try as well and snagged some frogs to stock up on.

A but of a down year for me. I didn't get out as much as recent years and didn't get the big ones as a result. But I feel more confident because I feel like I was still able to put things together when I was able to get out and have solid days.

Yup, I have some old-school style blade baits but the Damiki Vault is my staple. I swap the hooks usually. They're nice as long as the bottom is fairly hard and not muck. Those and tailspins are my favorite techniques this time of year. Plus they give me an excuse to use my all time favorite rod (Dobyns Champion 764 CB). It's a cranking rod but I don't use cranks much so it gets repurposed this time of year. But the way that rod loads up on a fish is so satisfying, bend very deep into the blank and keeps them pinned on the smaller trebles.

That was the one thing I didn't reach for last time I was out and probably should have. I spent a good amount of time with a lipless LV500 jigging it off the bottom and figured that was close enough to a blade if I wasn't getting bit on that there wasn't much point switching to the blade. But you know what they say about assuming.

Sitting around 48°F when we went

Went out yesterday on Webster. Only got one bass each between my dad and I. Some other pickerel and perch mixed in but felt like fishing in a pool. Very few signs of life and could not mark any bait out deep.

They've become my go-to bait in the fall into winter. Super versatile I can fish them fast more like a spinnerbait or slow down and still cover water in that 10-20 foot range. They aren't really an option in a lot of shallower places but any of the deeper lakes that have a solid shiner or alewife population I like them. Can jig them like a blade bait to when the water really gets cold. Plus they will slice through the nastiest wind.

Got out with my dad yesterday. The wind was brutal but the 75 degree temps and sun made it bearable. The fish weren't as far along as I was expecting but the fall feed is definitely on. The fish we did catch were in windblown coves on the deep side of the weeds. The deeper vegetation was still pretty lively and the bluegills and perch were congregated in them. The lake we were at is known for it's landlocked alewives and I expected to get on a pattern chasing those but that didn't seem to be the case. I think it needs to get colder and for the vegetation to die off more before those bigger bait balls start to form. I managed 10 bass with most coming on a tailspin fished slow enough to just occasionally tick bottom. The fish were definitely not in a super active mood and a lot of my bites seemed to be reactive when I ripped it out of the weeds or paused it.

Been hitting the shore at the pond by my work in NH at sunset. No dice on wakebaits this week. I think the available shore spots are just not great and too shallow for the current conditions.

Zoom 10" Power Worm has been a staple for me for like 10 years now. As soon as they start pulling out after spawning I have one tied on through late summer T-rigged. One of my favorite bites too.

I'm pretty particular when deciding which rod to buy, but that is more about looking at reviews and opinions of people that have used the rod, not necessarily what is written on the blank. If I buy it I am buying it for a purpose and usually a specific presentation or a handful of similar presentations. So matching the rod, line, reel is important to me. That said, if I just want to go out and catch fish I can fish 90% of my lures on like 3 rods and feel fairly comfortable doing so.

Thursday night we start getting more seasonable temps so I wonder if by the end of the weekend we might start getting a more aggressive fall bite going. The baitfish activity I have seen has been very minimal lately so I think once more consistent schools form it will get better.

Depends. Jerkbaits and smaller treble lures just get a light rod sweep. Single hook a harder sweep. Jig hook with weedgaurds or baits with buried hooks I do a reel down and good hard set.