Mr. Aquarium

I’ll definitely try to get out on the yak all winter. Even if I have to fish the bigger lakes

Congrats dogbone. Let’s get you those January and February fish

Good stuff dude. I need a boat so I can get on some nice winter smallies

It was nice out so I had to try and get one last fish of the year. Headed out after work. Ponds were locked. Went to my favorite native stream. caught a handful on a 1/64 ounce jig I tied. I crimped the barbs and didn’t take the fish out of the water. These are such a beautiful gem. Not many people know they are out there unless you know where to look. this place is a guarded secret of mine. I love these fish. they are my pets lol

Yea I get it. I used to Be balls to the wall ice fishin. Everyday. Armed with just a jig stick. Used to slay Bass trout pan fish and pickerel. Rarely used live bait. If it’s going to be a cold winter I’ll definitely be out on the ice. But down here near the cape it’s a weekly thing. Cold frozen then warm and open.

I could of probably gotten on ice today. But i don’t think I’ll be tempted to fire up the auger this winter. If I can get on open water all year I’ll be happy. Haven’t Ice fished in years. I want to get an ice pike this year. I’ve gone a few years ago

Saw the weather forecast for today.(they were wrong) So I thought it was going to be 45, blowing 5-10. More like 40 blowing 15-20. Drove around Plymouth all locked. Head over the bridge checked some spots, some were frozen with little open water. Found a trout pond wide open. Trying for bass! Been checking out this place on the map for awhile. Knew the spot I wanted to fish. Paddled in the yak against the wind blowing in my face. My kayak paddle was broken. Only had 1 paddle instead of 2. That made it difficult. Finally get to it. Toss anchor. Couldn’t keep bottom. I’d get stuck then get blown off the anchor. New style of drifting? I managed a few perch nothing big. I also had a good hit. All on blades. I saw the drain hole under water. Legit started sinking. I barely got to fish. But hey at least I tried. At least I got out of the house for the day. Now it’s time for a pint and a burger at a local bar. I was hoping for my first tiger trout today. oh it’s time to retire this beat to hell kayak. Put a lot of miles on it. I need a John boat or crawdad

The fight of my 6.9 smallie vs 7.8 largemouth. Smallie is breathtaking. Legit couldn’t breathe when I caught it. Especially after it hit a topwater. Probably be the same feeling WHEN!!!!!! let me repeat that, WHEN!!!! I get that 8lb plus largemouth.

Now you’re talking!!

Wish smallies got as big as largemouth. Imagine fighting a 10, 15 or -20lb smallie

Check out savage gear. They make good glides and soft baits. MS slammer has caught me a TON of fish. My number 1 producing bait. Little more expensive but worth it. River 2 sea makes good glides. Duel hardcore decent glides and lipped baits.

Build up confidence, find your own style. I Just tweak my style to fish each different pond.

I haven’t done this in super thick cover. Look up the video Matt Allen posted on YouTube about flipping and punching.

Like you would a jig. Beef up the line like 10 12lb line. Flip it to piece of cover like wood, rocks or docks. Give it a few jiggles. Think about it. Everyone flips a jigs a Texas rig or has a crank bounce off the cover but what if they are inactive fish. That bait in front of them slowly twitching will get them to bite. I just watched a video on YouTube by a well know bass company that said punch a drop shot through thick weeds.

Try flipping a drop shot. I’ve done well doing that near blow downs

I did a shore trip today. Skunked not surprised. Oh well.

I live in Massachusetts no shad we have river herring but only in spring. But I’m strictly talking about just the larger bass not the average bass.

Wow 2 month pre spawn. It makes sense . Some winters we are open water fishing in February but water temps don’t warm up until May. We have wild weather in the spring. Lot of rain. Some time snow. All depends on how winter is. Warm dry winter, crappy rainy cool spring. Cold snowy winter beautiful spring.

I’ve always heard that the bigger bass spawn earlier. How true is this? How do you target these bigger bass during the prespawn. Structure and cover to look for? I fish a lot of big swimbaits. What water temps Do they spawn at? I know that moon sunlight and water temps play a role into the spawn of bass. my buddy caught a giant 8.12 largemouth last April in Massachusetts that was spawned out. Water couldn’t have been more then 60! am I over thinking it? Just fish for pre spawn fish like you normally would but just fish bigger baits to get bigger bites? I fish a lot of jigs and swimbaits

Wow that crazy temp difference. This river system has gin clear water. Always cool water in the summer. Great for a swim.

8lb Massachusetts largemouth in the 2020 season

Good to know. Makes sense. So it’s worth checking out in the winter. Current=oxygen. Chance of warmer water.

How do you know if a place has springs? I have a spot I’m thinking about fishing this weekend. It has a inlet. It’s part of a river system with ponds throughout the river chain. Man made ponds. ive fished here in the summer. The river was 65 degrees the main pond was 75. Is there a spring in the river? The next pond up river is only a mile away this pond is super shallow and warm. also if there is a spring that should mean the water in the river is a tad bit warmer then the pond. So the bass should stack up in the inlet.

Makes total sense. I have a 20 acre pond 25 feet deep I do well in the cold. Nothing big tho. The place that has the big fish is 15 feet deep in the creek channel. This also has an inlet with the rain it could bring warmer water in.

I’m going to hit a few ponds this weekend. Problem is I really suck at fishing shallow ponds in the winter. Still trying to figure it out. The place with giants is shallow. But I know if I get bit it very well could be a PB