I have an upcoming tournament (read asskicking/learning event =) on John's Pond, and I was wondering if any of you Cape guys have any experience fishing this pond? What are some common patterns around late April? Lure colors? Local baitfish / crawfish colors?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Sorry, I was thinking of Peter's in Sandwich. I don't recall fishing John's in Mashpee. I usually only fish Maspee-Wakeby, in Mashpee.
The smallies down there have red-eyes, they're cool. They fight like hell. I'm pretty sure John's will be your kettle -shaped pond. The water down there should be clean with a nice sandy bottom.
For lures, a-spinner bait is something the smallies take a liking to. Mike C is the guy you should be talking to, he's an avid small-mouth angler, and that appears what you're after.
I would like to try John's myself. Keep us posted on what you here.
The smallies down there have red-eyes, they're cool. They fight like hell. I'm pretty sure John's will be your kettle -shaped pond. The water down there should be clean with a nice sandy bottom.
For lures, a-spinner bait is something the smallies take a liking to. Mike C is the guy you should be talking to, he's an avid small-mouth angler, and that appears what you're after.
I would like to try John's myself. Keep us posted on what you here.
I know guys are having good luck with small and largemouth with suspending jerkbaits with lond pauses between retreival.
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwjohnm.pdf
Heres the pond map. Good luck.
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwjohnm.pdf
Heres the pond map. Good luck.
Drove down to John's on Sunday. (I did not put in )Once you get off 28 at Rt 151, it's only ten minutes. I didn't like the launch, it's crowded and parking looks like it could be a problem on a busy day.
Other than that, it looks like a great pond to fish before the personal water crafts come on the seen.
Other than that, it looks like a great pond to fish before the personal water crafts come on the seen.
Figured I'd give a short recap of the tournament, now that it's all behind me.
The forecast was for hot, sunny weather. The one thing they forgot was the heavy wind coming across the pond! The day started overcast and cold. My boater and I started fishing our way down the shore from the launch in the northwest corner of the pond. Water temps were in the low 50s, and the water seemed pretty dead. A mix of jigs, cranks, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits yielded nothing. Spent about an hour and change fishing our way to the southwest corner of the pond, where a small canal leads to a shallow backwater cove.
There were a couple boats already in the cove when we got there. The water was around 55, so a bit warmer. Hoping the water (and the bite) would warm up with the sun, we cruised around the cove for the next few hours. It was mostly dead, with people getting the occasional fish. My boater got a bite by a submerged tree, but lost it when it tangled in the branches.
We pitched our way around the cover around the edges, still not much happening. We're working our way along some reeds, and my boater comments that he wish he could get his jig through the top of it. Just as he says that, he punches through. A couple of seconds later, he is hauling a small keeper out of the weeds and into the boat. First fish of the day, maybe there is still hope!
We keep fishing around the reeds, but get nothing else, so we stop for a quick lunch snack. The sun keeps poking out, and we're hoping that it will get the fish going. Hopeful, we make another lap around the cove. My boater, Dan, throws a fluke now and then. On a long toss, he gets another bite and brings in a nice fish just over a couple pounds.
We keep at the cove for a bit longer, but it remains dead to us. So we head back out to brave the winds on the main lake. We make a quick run, and I get a small taste of what life is like in a beefy bass boat. We start chasing smallies, with tubes, spinnerbaits, and lipless cranks. It's not going any better, and we get nothing. We go around a reedy point with the wind coming onto it, and I comment that it's the perfect spot. Dan kindly offers to let me fish it for myself, but I politely decline and we fish our way across is with nothing happening.
Boredom sets in, and we crank the boat to the other end of the pond. This time it's full throttle, and we fly across the pond at just under 80 mph. If you can't catch fish, at least you can catch some wind and waves =) We spend the last hour fishing our way across another stretch of shore, but never find a fish. We end up heading back a shade early, to set up for the weigh-in.
It turns out to be a tough day for most people. Out of 23 people, 3 people got limits. Two of the filled it when they hit a school of smallies off the same reedy point we fished, only about 30 minutes later. A couple people have 3 fish, the rest are 2 or less. 9 of us get skunked, so I am in good company =)
Winning bag weighs in at 10.72lbs. Biggest smallie was 3.29lbs, biggest largemouth at 2.89lbs. All in all, a pretty rough day. But a great time nonetheless.
The forecast was for hot, sunny weather. The one thing they forgot was the heavy wind coming across the pond! The day started overcast and cold. My boater and I started fishing our way down the shore from the launch in the northwest corner of the pond. Water temps were in the low 50s, and the water seemed pretty dead. A mix of jigs, cranks, jerkbaits, and spinnerbaits yielded nothing. Spent about an hour and change fishing our way to the southwest corner of the pond, where a small canal leads to a shallow backwater cove.
There were a couple boats already in the cove when we got there. The water was around 55, so a bit warmer. Hoping the water (and the bite) would warm up with the sun, we cruised around the cove for the next few hours. It was mostly dead, with people getting the occasional fish. My boater got a bite by a submerged tree, but lost it when it tangled in the branches.
We pitched our way around the cover around the edges, still not much happening. We're working our way along some reeds, and my boater comments that he wish he could get his jig through the top of it. Just as he says that, he punches through. A couple of seconds later, he is hauling a small keeper out of the weeds and into the boat. First fish of the day, maybe there is still hope!
We keep fishing around the reeds, but get nothing else, so we stop for a quick lunch snack. The sun keeps poking out, and we're hoping that it will get the fish going. Hopeful, we make another lap around the cove. My boater, Dan, throws a fluke now and then. On a long toss, he gets another bite and brings in a nice fish just over a couple pounds.
We keep at the cove for a bit longer, but it remains dead to us. So we head back out to brave the winds on the main lake. We make a quick run, and I get a small taste of what life is like in a beefy bass boat. We start chasing smallies, with tubes, spinnerbaits, and lipless cranks. It's not going any better, and we get nothing. We go around a reedy point with the wind coming onto it, and I comment that it's the perfect spot. Dan kindly offers to let me fish it for myself, but I politely decline and we fish our way across is with nothing happening.
Boredom sets in, and we crank the boat to the other end of the pond. This time it's full throttle, and we fly across the pond at just under 80 mph. If you can't catch fish, at least you can catch some wind and waves =) We spend the last hour fishing our way across another stretch of shore, but never find a fish. We end up heading back a shade early, to set up for the weigh-in.
It turns out to be a tough day for most people. Out of 23 people, 3 people got limits. Two of the filled it when they hit a school of smallies off the same reedy point we fished, only about 30 minutes later. A couple people have 3 fish, the rest are 2 or less. 9 of us get skunked, so I am in good company =)
Winning bag weighs in at 10.72lbs. Biggest smallie was 3.29lbs, biggest largemouth at 2.89lbs. All in all, a pretty rough day. But a great time nonetheless.