Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[DogBone_384]

Yep ... September's here.  I hit 3 ponds in Plymouth today, netting two PB's.  I caught my first tiger trout and a 2.79 brown trout.  I also nabbed 3 LMB, with the biggest just a shade under three pounds and one SMB that came in at 2.73 pounds.  Everyone was caught in 20' or deeper water.

 

Brownie ate a Tennessee shad Zako paddle tail, tiger whopped a perch 3XD, and everyone else took a 1/4 oz micro jig with a Tiny Paca Chunk trailer.

 

All in all a good day.  Water temps were 75.x - 76.x, winds were 5-10 from the E / SE, and air pressure was 30.3.   

[MassYak85]

Tactical Bassin had a video recently that kind of legitimized something I've felt for a while but couldn't quite pinpoint. Essentially that the fall transition starts earlier than we think and as soon as those first few colder nights hit the fish start behaving differently. My last couple outings even going back into mid august the bait seemed to be acting different and the fish were just a bit off. I have struggled in the past this time of year but I think it has been in tandem with my unwillingness to fish deeper. I have been having more luck on those deeper weed edges or edges of flats in spots the weeds are most healthy and attract the most baitfish. Everywhere else has felt like dead water. 

 

Every year there's always that one tree on the shoreline that has it's leaves changing super early and I think that's really the first hint. Nature knows what's coming and I'm sure the fish do too. 

[DogBone_384]

On 9/10/2024 at 1:40 PM, MassYak85 said:

I have struggled in the past this time of year but I think it has been in tandem with my unwillingness to fish deeper.

 

I saw that TB video too.  The last few outings were good, including today, where all but one of my fish was between 20'-30'.  Like you, I've not taken the time to fish deeper until recently.

 

I fished Plymouth today, netting 4 decent SMB and one THICK, 21" LMB that had to be over 4 pounds, even though my Rapala scale said was 3.17.  I lost two decent bass too.  A 3/8 oz green/light green jig, 3.3" paddle tail, and 1/4 oz micro jig were most successful.  I nabbed one good smallie and two small yellow perch on a HT-ITO Wakasagi V110+1.

 

Water temps are still in the mis 70's.  Winds were light.  It was almost bluebird today.

 

[MassYak85]

On 9/12/2024 at 7:51 PM, DogBone_384 said:

 

I saw that TB video too.  The last few outings were good, including today, where all but one of my fish was between 20'-30'.  Like you, I've not taken the time to fish deeper until recently.

 

I fished Plymouth today, netting 4 decent SMB and one THICK, 21" LMB that had to be over 4 pounds, even though my Rapala scale said was 3.17.  I lost two decent bass too.  A 3/8 oz green/light green jig, 3.3" paddle tail, and 1/4 oz micro jig were most successful.  I nabbed one good smallie and two small yellow perch on a HT-ITO Wakasagi V110+1.

 

Water temps are still in the mis 70's.  Winds were light.  It was almost bluebird today.

 

That fish would have had to be suuuuper skinny to be 3.17. Usually a healthy fish at 21" is at least 5lbs for me. 

[DogBone_384]

I think Fall's held off a little bit.  I fished Cape Cod the last three days and my experience told me we still have both feet in Summer. I fished three big ponds, the first with @Saltysmalljaws.  It's a pond I absoultely STINK at and generally stay away from, but Jake lives close by.  I had a 'better than I normally do' day.  I caught 5 SMB and 2 Yellow Perch, with the biggest SMB a shade under 3 pounds I caught on a Siebert 3/8 oz. green pumpkin candy jig in 30'.    

 

Day two and three were solo.  Tuesday's lake gave me three SMB and one catfish.  One smallie and the cat both weighed 3 pounds even.  I caught the big smallie on a 4" wacky Senko and the cat with a pink 3.3" paddle tail on a 1/2 oz. under spin.  I marked beaucoup bait clouds in 30' here and there was plenty of topwater action, but no matter what I threw, I couldn't get bit.  I also marked many fish on/near bottom at 30'.  

 

I couldn't get anything going this morning.  I managed two small Yellow Perch on a gold/silver Stunna 112, but that's it.  I left around lunch.

 

Water temps at all three lakes was 73.x-74.x.  Air pressure was 30.3 on Monday and slumped to 30.1 this morning.  Overall, the weather was great.

 

I'm fishing VT Sunday with ReelNorthernBass, a YT'ber from NH.  He's got a live feed on Wednesday nights at 8:00.  It's a good, informal time (maybe MOST of attendees, including myself, are married and aren't out !?!?!?!?).  He says the odds for new SMB/LMB PB's are high at the lake we're meeting at.   Hopefully I'll have good news next week.

 

Good luck to everyone getting out this weekend.

[Mr. Aquarium]

Been on the vise tying for my fall trout fishin! I got 300 jigs to tie up and a ton of bass jigs too! Going to be busy 

[DogBone_384]

You can always tell when the water's getting colder... @Mr. Aquarium gets busy in the workshop!

 

Great work Mike!

[Mr. Aquarium]

2 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

You can always tell when the water's getting colder... @Mr. Aquarium gets busy in the workshop!

 

Great work Mike!

Yea buddy! Time to get back on the bass! 

[DogBone_384]

6 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

Time to get back on the bass! 

 

Yeah, I keep telling you to meet me at that little kettle ....

[DogBone_384]

Got out twice this week.  Once on foot and once with my boat.  I fished a kettle Wednesday and just couldn't get deep enough with waders.  I tried the normal assortment of topwater, jerkbait, jig, Senko, and paddle tail.  I caught a slab sunfish on a Rapala Shad Rap I let sit while untangling a backlash.

 

Threw the kitchen sink from my boat yesterday deep, shallow, and everywhere in between.  I didn't mark much more than a few bait balls and perch.  Hooked a little pickerel while burning a black/blue jig back to the boat but it got off.  There was a lot of topwater action after lunch, but it was bluegill eating dead bugs off the surface.  Vegetation was scarce and 1/2 dead.  Even the docks & overhangs I tossed to didn't produce.  It was about as bluebird as could be and water temps were 69.x.  I used to do OK at this pond years ago with @Fishing Rhino, but the last four or five years has been nearly a bust.  The last time I fished here was August 2023.

 

The best is yet to come now that the water temps is getting lower.

 

Good luck to everyone getting out there.

[Don51]

Water temp isn't there yet to trigger the fall feed. It's coming!  😎

[MassYak85]

On 9/29/2024 at 4:40 AM, Don51 said:

Water temp isn't there yet to trigger the fall feed. It's coming!  😎

This transition time can definitely be tough. I feel like once we hit the mid 50s again I start to get those more aggressive feeding days. 

[Bob011278]

Fished this morning first light 6-830, greasy calm. Water is 64. Fishing was fast - lost count of how many bass I landed.  Most fish came on topwater. Casts in between pockets of healthy pads or weeds near deeper water seemed to get the most strikes. Once the sun got higher, I switched to 1/4 oz swimbait and did well on outside weed lines in 10ft. Most fish hit on the initial drop.  The water is very low on my pond -3-4ft down from normal levels and the weeds are still fairly healthy.

[MassBass]

On 9/23/2024 at 10:23 AM, Mr. Aquarium said:

Been on the vise tying for my fall trout fishin! I got 300 jigs to tie up and a ton of bass jigs too! Going to be busy 

There gonna start hittin; and runnin. I think every fairly deep pond, that is trout stocked year after year, could hold big holdovers. Those are cool but I am big into spoons for the ponds. Casting distance is critical for fishing a deep pond from shore. When I saw the cold water savagery of big browns at Walden early this year, it changed me. 

[Sputterbug]

Got a 6.0 tonight. Haven't been getting out as much and this was the first good one in a while. Threw a plastic worm onto the edge of some pads and pulled it out onto open water, she blasted it.

 

Missed a few others, wish I had got out there earlier.  Again, this little bog has delivered. Can't wait to get out here in late fall and spring when the pads thin out/die off.

[DogBone_384]

Great fish @Sputterbug!

 

I flipped my compass around yesterday and fished a couple ponds in mid-New Hampshire.  Both looked like LMB ponds.  I came up with a Crappie at one and a couple small LMB & picks at the other.   One bass came on a bluegill spinnerbait along a weed line and another on a topwater pencil in 7-8' late in the afternoon.  I grabbed a couple more on a 4" Senko and perch lipless.  The second pond had freshwater jelly fish.

 

It was near calm, bright sun with some clouds.  I didn't mark much of anything deep or shallow.  Neither pond had much for structure beyond shallow vegetation that was still pretty healthy looking.

 

Water temps were 69.x at both.  Air pressure was 30 in the morning and 30.1 at supper when I left.

 

Realigning my compass and heading to Plymouth/Cape Cod today.

[TheSwearingAngler]

On 9/23/2024 at 7:29 PM, DogBone_384 said:

 

Yeah, I keep telling you to meet me at that little kettle ....

I’ll meet you, tell me when and where.

 

I got out Sunday on the South Shore, water was 69 degrees, overcast morning, no wind early.. sun and wind showed up late morning early afternoon.

 

little fella in a laydown with a chartreuse/black spinnerbait early

Better fish of a dock with the same spinnerbait, thought I hooked the dock for a split second.

helluva panfish bite on my flashback mini

 

My first squarebill fish since spring.. in about 6 feet.

My flashback mini catches nice bass too

 

 

 

 

[DogBone_384]

Got my compass back in order and fished two ponds in Plymouth today.  I caught 15 fish at the first one, with only one LMB in the mix.  I couldn't coax anyone out of any brush/laydowns along the bank.  All fish were caught with a combination of jerkbaits I worked just above the weeds in the deeper part of the lake.  Water temps here were 66.x.

 

The second pond was a different story.  Of the 8 fish I caught here, seven were LMB and one poor little perch.  I found the right couple lay-downs and bagged three 3+ pound bass in five or six casts with a 4" Senko and green/chartreuse 3/8 oz. jig from @Siebert Outdoors.  I added one more 3+ and two 2+ and one 1+ pound bass along another submerged tree with the same combination. Water temps were 69.x here.

 

Not a bad way to start October.  I'm still on track to catch bass in MA in open water every month of the year.

[Don51]

October can be great, right place right time. A real good chance of hooking into a PB!

[DogBone_384]

I dropped into a South Shore pond yesterday and nabbed a nice three pound Larry on a bluegill spinnerbait.  Water temps were 69.x.  Most of the salad was pretty brown.

 

Today was almost a mirror of Tuesday, but a different pond.  I found almost EVERY white perch in the place.  I caught 18 fish.  17 were white perch and one was a SMB.  Water temps were 67.x.  A cove on the southern end of the pond still had pretty good vegetation.

 

I think the fall blitz is here.

[Don51]

Should be getting close. Get out as much as you can.  Look for surface activity. Good to always have a fluke tied on.  Once that water temp gets lower a rattle bait can be quite productive. Wish I was up there. 

[TheSwearingAngler]

A buddy and I dropped canoes into a shallow lake today.. water was 57-59 degrees.. air temp was 40 degrees at 7AM and probably got to 48-50 by  noon, wind was non existent until about 11AM..  overcast skies. 
 

We found active fish blowing up on bait at the back of the lake in heavy vegetation and worked the area over.

 

 These are my highlights

Both caught on a chatterbait. 

[DogBone_384]

Time to pack away the shorts & break out the layers …. 

[MassYak85]

15 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Time to pack away the shorts & break out the layers …. 

Yup, as long as I can keep getting away with no gloves I'll be happy. 

[TheSwearingAngler]

19 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

Yup, as long as I can keep getting away with no gloves I'll be happy. 

I broke down and put them on yesterday after about an hour… took them off when I started catching and never put them back on.. my feet about froze though… I feel like we’re in for a tough winter.