AverageAngler

The weather this week isn't looking too hot, stiff Northern winds and air temps barely reaching 50 degrees for a couple days in a row. I went out yesterday in the wind and the water temperatures were hovering in my shallow weedy river system right around 67 degrees. From what I have seen a lot of the bass have already finished spawning and are just in that weird limbo time between spring and summer. Anyone going out this week or are we holding out for warmer weather past Sunday? Any theories on how to hit them either now or when the temps are back on the upswing?

I like topwater walking style baits, dropshots, and jerkbaits/finesse swimbaits to cover the whole water column. If it's really weedy on the bottom a small finesse jig or texas rig fluke/senko are top choices. With clear water I really try to emphasize matching the hatch; a lot of the clear waters near me have perch and brown/orange crawdads as the forage, so all my clear water baits have green/brown/black, and yellow/orange/red on them. I also like to go deeper than usual and downsize my baits.

Saturday fishing done and dusted. Went out for a cool 6 hours this morning. Perfect conditions for topwater out in Central Mass. I hit a spot that I have been itching to master due to its legendary reputation, and wasn’t totally disappointed. The downside was no bass but the upside was 10 pickerel all on different moving baits. I missed a HUGE bass that just couldn’t get the hook lodged good enough. It was on a newer frog I had and I didn’t do my usual boiling water trick so the plastic wasn’t soft enough I bet. The bite was weird though. Almost all of my hookups came on a follow up cast because the fish just didn’t commit to it fully.

Grandpa had the jighead minnow vision way before the rest of the world found out.

Tackle warehouse just sent me an email about a buy 1 get 2 free jordan lee rod or reel deal, anyone recommend them? I want another spinning rod and I wouldn't mind getting a heavy swimbait rod...

I usually have bad luck when carp invade the shallows. Their splashing around also drives me crazy because I think it's a massive bass chowing down on a bluegill.

Thank you all for the responses! My follow up question is what time of year do you guys usually fish deeper? I understand that mid day summer and winter the bass traditionally are thought to go deep, but I also heard around this time post spawn the bass also go deep before the lakes stratify and the thermocline sets up.

I love my 8:1:1 Daiwa Tatula CT; affordable, smooth, durable, and F A S T. I feel like since a frog reel often accumulates a lot of gunk, I also would recommend something that you feel comfortable taking apart and cleaning since you tend to have to do so more often.

You right, I think I'm watching too many fishing youtubers and their livescope sniping fish suspended out deep and I think I can replicate that blind casting. If it ain't broke don't fix it right. Will do! I had some success with a 1/2 oz spinnerbait during the prespawn, but that was around 6-10 feet of water.

I keep all my rods behind me on my milk crate rod holders. I usually keep my search baits closest to me and then my finesse, bottom contact baits near the back, but that's due to me using my search baits 70% of the time. I have two rod holders on my right side where I keep my confidence moving bait and a fluke. My right side I have more flexibility in so it's easier to grab one and make a quick cast to a target. I do have one rod holder in the front for trolling however.

See before my fish finder that was me every time I went out. I love anything shallow especially in stained or dark water, but some really interesting lakes that I want to fish are so deep and clear that I feel like anything shallower than 6 feet is a no go unless I actively see them chasing food. This is the depth range I want to get good at, this summer will be a great opportunity to learn. I get a little antsy with bottom contact baits getting snagged in all the brush and rock piles, but everyone knows that's where the big ones hide...

A lot of the ponds near me are kettle hole types, or are deeper manmade lakes that often bottom out at 40+ feet. Deepest I have successfully fished a lure was probably around 25 feet, but I did get one trout out in the middle around 60 feet but that was a suspended fish.

This past winter I invested in a fishfinder, and while it has been awesome in terms of finding structure and schools of fish relating to said structure, I've struggled in terms of consistently staying on fish and getting patterns going, especially in waters deeper than 30ft. While I am very confident in my shallow water skills, I would love to figure out that deep bite that seems to get people giants every year. How deep do you all max out on your fishing trips?

Good to know with the herring ponds LOL. Run and gun is more of a challenge for me due to being restricted by paddling, but I do love a good workout.

Weekend report 5/9-5/11 Lots of family time this weekend meant I wasn't able to go fishing as much as I wanted, but I will take the valuable memories and wonderful moments. Now onto the fishing: I was able to go out on Friday and Saturday for about 1 hour in total in the mornings, nothing too crazy; small bass and crappie in a small pond. The bass seemed to be off the beds and in full post spawn mode, but the small size of the water probably meant that the temps were higher than in other areas. Other than a finesse swimbait, the megabass karashi might be the best small pond lure I have ever used, the strikes are absolutely vicious. Mother's day I spent down at the cape with my girlfriends family and I had some time in the evening to explore the many ponds I have yet to fish. I decided to go to Peters Pond in Mashpee, what a cool place. Really clear waters in the mid-high 60s meant I saw no bedding activity, but I did see massive schools of yellow perch and trout out in deeper water. I got no bass but a nice rainbow hit my swimbait and a big ol brown trout demolished the perch colored jerkbait I was using. If anyone here has any idea how to fish these deep clear cape waters I would gladly accept the advice. There were large fish suspended underneath schools of perch between 15-40 feet of water and neither swimbaits, dropshots, or jerkbaits were working.

Yes I was on a kayak, wind wasn't so bad for most of the day so I was able to get a good amount of distance. It did get pretty bad later in the day though. The smallies I get on the charles are real feisty, so much fun on 6lbs test. That section I mentioned also has real skinny water too, so anything over a medium light spinning rod is total overkill imo. I love that channel LMAO, I definitely would appreciate more longer form videos from him but I really enjoy the commercial fishing aspect he's focusing on now.

Sometimes a break is necessary, but then the itch comes back and I'm out there sooner rather than later.

I have never caught a bass in the same shallows where I've seen a bunch of carp splashing around.

I personally have seen plenty of bass that I caught return to their beds as soon as I released them back into the water; bed fishing isn't the main issue, you hit the nail on the head when it comes to tournament fishing during the spawn.

Saving a rod from the void and slaying the bass all in the same trip?? What a legend. Also a 19 incher thats 6.75 sounds about right I wouldn't question the scale, sounds like a good one to keep😅

Flukes are one of my favorite baits, can’t fish them wrong. I have slayed them fished as a topwater and also dead sticking it like a texas rig senko. Another awesome thing about using a swivel in front of your fluke is that if you find yourself having a lot of issues with wind knots, the swivel will greatly reduce line twist(which happens when the fluke isn’t rigged PERFECTLY straight) and you will spend more time fishing and hopefully catching. I often flip my fluke upside down and rig it that way to get a unique action and also maximize fish per soft plastic, usually when the nose gets torn up after a couple catches.

If the weeds aren't completely choking out an area, a bladed jig is by far my favorite search bait, probably my favorite lure of all time. That and a keitech on a flashy swimmer are 1a and 1b in terms of usage and confidence. Any time I go to a new place those two baits are on my rods no matter what. Tier 2 search baits I also love using are frogs, whopper ploppers, and squarebills.

Hello everyone! After a few years lurking in the forums I have finally decided to create an account and hopefully add to the wonderful communities that I have learned so much from. I live just west of Boston and enjoy fishing anywhere in Middlesex County, but I have been enjoying adventures out in Worcester County, and hopefully will be fishing waters near the Cape this summer. I love catching mostly largemouth and smallmouth bass but any fish (even bluegill) will put a smile on my face. I was introduced to fishing at 5 years old and for the past 20 years I have been enjoying my time outdoors with a rod in my hand and not a care in the world. Have a good week everyone and tight lines!

Thank you! I remember early June of 2023 there was like two weeks in a row of rain and there was a small pond near me where I smashed them on topwaters, hopefully I can replicate that this weekend. Considering how bipolar the temperature swings were in March and April it seems like the spawn has been at a pretty normal time, dare I say even a bit early? I live near Watertown, and that section of the Charles between Moody Street in Waltham and down past Greenough Blvd does have a decent amount of smallies, but nothing noteworthy of size. Once July hits I really struggle to get anything there. Other than that Walden Pond is my go to spot and I got really lucky this weekend. With the higher water levels and kinda cruddy weather keeping the casuals out, barely any swimmers, very little wind, and only four other boats on the water meant the tiny pond was there for myself LOL. Normally that place is a no go for bass, too many people and the fish are soooo pressured. I actually fished the Putnamville Reservoir this Saturday for the first time! it seems like most of the action I saw from other people were from the shore anglers by the dam. I got some fish by the Northwestern side, but oh boy was it a tough and interesting day. It seems like that place can be an absolute gem, but there's so many offshore rock piles I don't know how to fish them!

Longtime lurker here. First thing I want to say for those who have been posting on here for years, thank you all for the mountain of information you all have provided. I got a kayak this past summer and have been upping my game seriously over the past year, and it has rewarded me with the best stretch of fishing in my life so far. This has been the first spring I fished hard and it has been a humbling but rewarding experience. Throughout the prespawn most days were a real struggle but I did get a couple day stretch where everything clicked. With water temps around Boston hovering at 64-66, the spawn has been really good however. I hit one of my favorite spots yesterday and had a field day with smallmouths mostly on bottom baits, but I did get some on topwater too. The weather this week looks like it's gonna be super wet, what do you guys think is gonna happen to the bass with all this rain? My favorite river has been super high this year and I'm not sure when I will want to return to it 😕 .