MassYak85

@MichaelCopeland My dad loves using those spoons. They really are pretty weedless. He like using a 6" curly tail worm as a trailer and fishing it almost like a frog over thick vegetation.

Before I say anything I primarily fish from a kayak, but also sometimes a boat or a bank. My issue with people is usually distance no matter who it is, what they're operating, or how fast they are going. Last weekend me and my dad were fishing a point in our boat that sticks out into a channel that is probably 300-400 feet wide. I understand that people need to get by in the channel....but again, it's plenty wide and there's no reason people can't go by on the other side. Instead we had people buzzing by within 50 feet of us, some much closer. One guy got so close that that if I wasn't using an 8 speed reel to burn back my lure I'm pretty sure he would have been digging 40lb braid out of his prop. It's ridiculous how little etiquette some people have on the water. Now from a kayakers perspective and relating to your situation. I personally don't care about waves (I fish from a 10ft sit-in kayak btw). I understand that I am sharing the water with power boats and there will be waves. If someone wants to slow down I will give them a friendly wave to acknowledge the kind gesture but I don't expect them to. My issue again is distance. Someone fishing too close I consider rude, someone blowing by 25ft feet from me in a boat I consider dangerous. And as for waves, I'd prefer someone be going 30mph (assuming they see me) than slow down to 5-6mph. If a boat is on plane very little of it is in the water and it creates a (usually) small wake. It's when they slow down at the last second and the entire boat sinks back into the water that they displace enough water to make big waves.

I use 40lb braid to a 15-20lb fluoro leader generally. FG or alberto knot have worked for me.

Shakeyhead, drop shot, and split shot rig. Bigger 9"+ straight tails get the nod for T-rigs and C-rigs for me.

@Brick T If you ever see some fool with a 10ft sit-in kayak with outriggers that looks like it has enough gear to sink the kayak....feel free to say hi lol.

@Brick T Welcome to the forum! I was actually out for about 6 hours today on A1. It was sunny, hot, and the slightest bit of wind and a few clouds to keep it from being a complete oven. I didn't catch anything big, like you said there are a bunch of cookie cutter 2lbers in there for sure. Got a few of those, a couple dinks and a decent pick. I finally got on a frog bite and all the bass came on that. I tried a different frog this time (Bully Wa 2, had been using a Toad Runner) and my hookup seemed much better. The poor dinks I hooked on that didn't know what hit them. They came flying out of the water when I set the hook lol. Lily pads seem like they are as thick as they are gonna get, but the milfoil is definitely MUCH better than past years and isn't choking the middle section. I was actually able to use treble hook topwaters without snagging. I also saw something there I have only seen one other time in my life....freshwater jellyfish. There was a few of them in the middle area just before the island. Definitely an odd sight. I also fished Quaboag Saturday, which was also slow but managed to get a handful on a chartreuse chatterbait. I also had my Booyah Toad Runner get MURDERED by what I can only assume was a pike in some shallow pads. I set the hook with a locked drag and 65lb braid on a 7'4" HF rod and there was just no give at all. I saw it start thrashing and rolling and got a glimpse of it's belly before it got off. I thought it sliced my line but nope, just popped off the hooks. I think that's probably my final straw with Trokar hooks. Anyways, it was one hell of a fight for like 3 second lol. Again I didn't get a great look at it but I'd be heartbroken to know it was a bass, the thing was huge. It definitely fought like a pike though.

@DogBone_384 I was doing some power-washing this afternoon and saw the sky cloud up and knew I should have gone out lol. I'll hopefully get them tomorrow though, and I might try and dodge the thunderstorms on Wednesday and hope for a repeat of a couple weeks ago.

That's kind of crazy to me, I'm only 20 and know what these are, I think I still have one lying around somewhere.

I use 12lb Zebco Omniflex mono that I buy from Walmart for like $1.75 a spool....for 700yds. It's cheaper than dirt and is thick enough I would trust it to some extent if I ever got down to it.

x2 don't overlook the split shot. You can get some TINY tungsten ones and put them in front of a big worm and get it to snake over and through thick weeds. Also someone @LionHeart mentioned straight shank worm hooks which are a good idea in heavy weeds. You won't have any vegetation getting snagged on the hook shank like you sometimes get with an offset hook.

A tip for the future, the weather that we humans enjoy being on the water and the weather that the fish become most active in are rarely one in the same. That storming and raining was probably a front moving through and you chose the first day once the front cleared, which is at least in theory, one of the toughest times to fish. My biggest fish this year came literally 30 minutes before a massive line of thunderstorms rolled through as I was getting rained on (you might remember it actually since you are pretty close to me, it was the afternoon of July 17th). That being said you obviously made the best of some tough fishing so props to you! What you described seems like it might be a school of bluegill. At least at the places I fish here in MA they will sometimes get in these tight groups on the surface and it looks like the water is boiling but it's just them swimming across the lake. I have never really targeted under them but after hearing your story (if it really is the same thing we are both seeing) I might have to! I've never understood why they grouped up like that (I always assumed it was a "safety in numbers, let's all cross the lake at the same time" thing).

Awesome! I suppose I can't expect anything more detailed than 5 foot contour intervals for a lake that doesn't allow any boats ?. That does help a lot though, thank you! I fished Cochituate today with my father, not sure what I expected I always seem to do terribly there lol. Managed a couple dinks and one that was probably around 2.5lbs. I think the biggest bass I've ever gotten there was maybe around 3lbs. I also hooked into a 25" pickerel on a deep weedline. Not what I was expecting or going for with a giant carolina rigged worm but hey, I'll take it haha. I thought I had a 5 or 6lb largemouth on at first. Unfortunately I don't think the poor guy made it, I kept it in the water until I got the stuff to measure it and didn't have it out that long, put it on wet rags and everything, but it still seemed in shock when I put it back and despite about 20 minutes of keeping it upright it still went belly up. Hook didn't do much damage either. It had a few previous battle scars and was bleeding from it's tail when I first pulled it up (anyone ever see that for non-bedding fish?). I saw it making some effort to turn back over as I left the area, so fingers crossed it found the strength.

So I've always been a fan of power pro original (4 strand moss green). Never had issues with it and I trusted it so it's been what I have stuck with for both casting and spinning. Lately with my spinning I've had some issues with wind knots and had to cut a lot of line off so it was time for a respool. A few years back I bought a couple spools of smackdown braid in 15lb test from BPS since they had it on clearance. I've heard great things about it but haven't had reason to give it a try until recently. All I can say is WOW! I can't believe how smooth it feels when casting! No issues with wind knots either. Unfortunately for my wallet I don't think I can go back now...

I'd also guess beaver. They sound like a cannonball got shot into the water. They'll give you a heart attack if you don't know they are in that lake, especially at night.

They are fun to catch and definitely add some excitement to slow days. But I am not targeting them and at times they can be annoying when I am trying to catch bass. Ever have baby pickerel chew off the tail on half a pack of keitechs on consecutive casts? Not fun. I also usually try and let them shake themselves off the hook before I deal with them because of the teeth and how much they shake. I do know of people who do actually HATE them. To the point they slit their throats whenever they catch one. Obviously illegal but those people exist. Also when fishing swimbaits. Pickerel add a new level of fun. Most pickerel can't swallow a swimbait deep enough to slice your line and cost you a pretty penny. But a 5lber...absolutely. If I fish known pike waters I use a leader for this reason, but if it's just pickerel I don't. But part of me always has that little inkling of concern for those big pickerel. So far I haven't run into any.

My cut and dry opinion is they have a right to if they have a license and stay in the creel and size limit. And if the state has done it's proper research with biologists that have studied the local ecosystems then that creel/size limit, when adhered to, should not harm the population. In some cases (slot limits for example), harvesting certain size bass can actually improve fishing. I have a little bit of an issue with people eating trophy fish, but again if they are doing it legally I won't say anything. But the way I see it....guys who are actively pursuing trophy fish are generally not the type who eat them. Guys aren't out there at 3am with 10 rods to catch dinner 99% of the time. If some guy who plops a bobber in after work catches a 5lber every few years and eats it, oh well, he can enjoy his small dose of heavy metals (or high dose if it's from the Charles ?).

Just what I was hoping to hear. Thanks!

Crankbaits are something I have spent very little time fishing and I'm looking at getting my first cranking rod this fall and wanted to get some opinions on this rod. Is this intended to be a rod for deeper diving cranks or will it also handle stuff like wiggle warts and other shallow to mid-depth stuff just fine? I'm not looking to throw any true deep divers (20+) but pretty much anything smaller than that. I'd also consider other rods if you guys have suggestions in the same price range but from my research so far I was leaning towards this one.

I've been doing some exploring from shore around the Sudbury Reservoir recently. Took a slammer the past two trips out with no bites (might have been a little over-hopeful lol). I mainly wanted to cover ground and get a feel for the trails around the lake though. It really is a beautiful place and gives a very secluded feeling. Has anyone had luck there before? I've done well on the eastern shore of the lake using finesse tactics but no big fish yet. Explored the western shore today and found a couple spots that seemed like they had good potential. Also does anyone know if Bathymetry maps exist for the reservoir? I found one that was extremely unspecific but not much else. Or perhaps even old topographic maps of the area before they flooded it? And congrats on the fish! @LadiMopar

Like @Choporoz said, it sounds like you are right where you want to be. Almost backlashing means you have everything dialed to stop an actual backlash but you are on the edge so you are maximizing your cast. I'd just be careful if you are fishing in wind though because an "almost" backlash in one direction can be a real mess in another if you don't adjust the reel or use your thumb enough.

I was just gonna post this. Does anyone have any experience with the 7'7" Medium Regular model? I'm on the hunt for a cranking rod and was wondering how this rod would handle stuff like medium divers? I love the line and have 3 of the other models (all bought on separate sales actually) but not sure how this would load up for cranking.

Some of my best days ever have come fishing weightless stick baits around isolated patches of lily-pads in the heat of the day in the summer.

Is it a non-negotiable that it's under 7'6"? I understand storage wise would be a pain but I think you are going to end up with a non-ideal rod with that length as a condition. Especially at that budget you can get some VERY nice swimbait rods tailored to that weight range, but they are going to be 3-6 inches longer than what you want. Like others have said if the length is a must I think you are probably looking at either modifying the butt section of a longer rod, or getting a musky rod.

To me balance and rod action are what I look for first and foremost. For moving baits I really am not concerned with sensitivity, I figure any decent rod is going to be adequately sensitive anyways now-a-days. Most of my worm fishing and light finesse stuff I do on a spinning rod, in which case my finger is on the line itself and that will always convey more information than the rod, so it doesn't matter to me either for spinning generally. The only one I might care about is bottom contact baitcasters applications (where my finger is NOT on the line) like jig fishing.

Pound for pound I'll take catching smallmouths over largemouths every time. But the lakes I frequent the odds of hooking into a 5lb largemouth are much greater than hooking into a 5lb smallmouth so I'm generally not targeting them. I've always felt smallmouth fight like it's their first time getting hooked, they are fighting for their lives. Largemouth almost seem conceded to the idea of being caught.