Call me impatient, but--where's the big fall frenzy. We've had consistent cold fronts, water temps have dropped, and its almost mid- October...(*scratches head). Is it me or has the fishing been weird. I have not seen any schooling bass; bass returning to the shallows; or fish gorging themselves in preparation for winter??? I know, I know--patience grasshopper--but I missed the spawn and I want to catch some fat fish from the shallows already!!! We need some sort of Northeast (which of course is only MASS...LOL) type fishing shows and mags. Sick of reading about shad this, shad that on big southern "impoundments."

Just had to vent that out. Anyone else seeing a "fall pattern" out there on the water, if so where?!!? LOL! Very Happy

Posted Tue Oct 12, 2010 8:58 pm

Yup, same here!
Last year this time I was catchin fish ever time I got out. Nothing huge, except for my 1 lunkerer 5lber. That was in mid october.

Only differance from last year is that temps were a bit warmer than this year. We had temps in the 65-70 range til november. Keep pluggin away, its gotta turn on soon!

Posted Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:22 pm

I'm pluggin' alright (jerkbaits, poppers, and even spooks!), and nothing Confused

Hopefully, soon...

Posted Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:28 pm

I hear ya bassterrorist.

had a good largemouth catch on Oct 1st and a nice pike the next time I fished which was Oct 3. Since then I've fished the Concord River twice, and Spot Pond once and didn't catch a thing. After that pike i hoped I would be getting more on the Concord but no luck.

I am probably going to go back to fishing the 225 launch area again, I think the area I have been fishing on the Concord River doesn't produce as consistently as there.

Posted Tue Oct 12, 2010 9:58 pm

http://www.newenglandgameandfish.com/
http://www.onthewater.com/
a couple reads geared towards new england

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:10 am

bam

http://www.newenglandgameandfish.com/
http://www.onthewater.com/
a couple reads geared towards new england


Rohunta would be a good car topper lake?

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:55 am

Rohunta wouldnt be bad this time of year.Never had a great day there but they are in there.Most of the lower half gets so choked out with weeds in summer, you spend more time cleaning your prop than fishing.Other than that the ramp is decent and should be enough parking.I tried to get in there not to long ago and they were repairing the RT2 overpass and wasnt able to reach the upper end.

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:14 am

bassterrorist

I'm pluggin' alright (jerkbaits, poppers, and even spooks!), and nothing Confused

Hopefully, soon...

suspending jerkbaits should kill them ,just remember to increase your pause time.Sometimes so long its boring,but thats what it takes sometimes.Also the fish can be any where right now so limiting yourself to the skinnier water might be a mistake.Make sure you try to cover as much of the water colum as you can.And imo dont forget about finesse tactics,lighter line,smaller baits,slower presentations.And I have to say this.......JIGS

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 6:33 am

Towelie,

I need to try the concord river! I've never caught a pike, although I caught a 4 pound pickerel while I was in maine fishing for smallmouth. Curious to know which one fights harder (if there is any negligible difference all pounds being even).

Bam:

Your absolutely right, it's anyone's guess right now where the fish are being scattered because they are in transition after all, however, I do feel it's taking a little longer than usuall for them to go FULL FALL mode..LOL).

All the tactics you describe are KEY, problem being--no boat for me
Sad I also just picked up some nice "shad" and yellow perch suspending huskies from rapala.

So I'm limited to shore fishing for now, and as such, I'm dying for these fish to come back to the "skinny" precious water I fish so often. In between cold fronts (when the weather stabilizes 2-3 days after) I would love to fish tight cover, but again I'm limited. I just need these fish to move within 4-10ft of water--casting distance. I'm wondering if November is going to be the key month this season (dare I even say maybe also early december...hmmmmm??).

That's a great looking fish in your pic (where from?).
Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 7:49 am

I was kind of thinking you were shore bound.I've done/do alot of shore fishing myself.I personally would do one of two things,well both if nessecary.I would fish places that gave me enough shoreline access that I could walk enough bank to find varying depths to cast to.I know thats easier said than done,but there is lots of ways to tell roughly if its deep or shallow.The other thing I'd do is ,and maybe first actually is fish my smaller spots that are roughly all the same depth.The fish will still be spread out some but imo if its all the same depth and no where to hide so to speak your odds of finding fish close goes up.Also can cover alot if not most of a smaller place and covering water is always key,boat or shore.I love huskey jerks and blk/orange/gld is my fav.The fish in my pic came from a small place in Lunenburg that a friend brought me,honestly don't know the name,it may of even been prvt,I know a guy gave him permission to access it from his yard.And thanks.sweet fish yourself

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:59 am

Your fall frenzy hasn;t really started yet..... If you have noticed that on a " normal day" the water temp and the air temp are virtually the same. Yes it has been cooler at night, and the water temp is dropping, which is co-insiding with the air. I believe that the water temp needs to drop between 5 to 7 more degrees, than the fish will be bulking up a little better. Was out on monday for a few hours, and caught a few that were starting to bellie up

Posted Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:03 pm

bassterrorist

Towelie,

I need to try the concord river! I've never caught a pike, although I caught a 4 pound pickerel while I was in maine fishing for smallmouth. Curious to know which one fights harder (if there is any negligible difference all pounds being even).



Yeah i think its a great place to fish, especially if you have a boat (which I don't, but still do good fishing from shore, although shore fishing is VERY limited on the concord river). Its a good spot for a first pike for sure. I got my first pike there back on Sept 7th this year.

As far as what fights harder, I can't really say for sure myself. I have only caught three pike. The first two were quite small and both were hooked less than 3 feet from shore, so the fight was easy and quick. The third pike I caught, which is the one I was referring to in my earlier post in this thread, was 3.5lb'r, but that one was also pretty close to shore, and didnt start really kicking hard till I pulled her from the water.

From what I have read, pike pack a wallop, and fight hard, but this greenhorn doesnt have the experience to back up a claim which packs the bigger fight, lol. I am going to guess pike though, they are beasts!

That 4 pound pickeral must have been a beast too though! Nice job with that catch!

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2010 12:52 am

Pike and Pickerel, imo, pound for pound aren't much different.The difference is in the average size of the two....apples and oranges.
I think fish can be like people though in the sense that they all have their own personal attitude,everyones caught a fish they thought was bigger or vice versa

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2010 6:00 am

bobpuge

Your fall frenzy hasn;t really started yet..... If you have noticed that on a " normal day" the water temp and the air temp are virtually the same. Yes it has been cooler at night, and the water temp is dropping, which is co-insiding with the air. I believe that the water temp needs to drop between 5 to 7 more degrees, than the fish will be bulking up a little better. Was out on monday for a few hours, and caught a few that were starting to bellie up



Haven't seen too many "bellies" yet in my neck of the "woods," but soon hopefully and I cant wait. Another cold front last night--we're getting there (proper temps). Where did you go Bob?

Actually, maybe someone with electronics can shoot us a water temp for the last week or so (averages?).

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2010 8:34 am

towelie

bassterrorist

Towelie,

I need to try the concord river! I've never caught a pike, although I caught a 4 pound pickerel while I was in maine fishing for smallmouth. Curious to know which one fights harder (if there is any negligible difference all pounds being even).



Yeah i think its a great place to fish, especially if you have a boat (which I don't, but still do good fishing from shore, although shore fishing is VERY limited on the concord river). Its a good spot for a first pike for sure. I got my first pike there back on Sept 7th this year.

As far as what fights harder, I can't really say for sure myself. I have only caught three pike. The first two were quite small and both were hooked less than 3 feet from shore, so the fight was easy and quick. The third pike I caught, which is the one I was referring to in my earlier post in this thread, was 3.5lb'r, but that one was also pretty close to shore, and didnt start really kicking hard till I pulled her from the water.

From what I have read, pike pack a wallop, and fight hard, but this greenhorn doesnt have the experience to back up a claim which packs the bigger fight, lol. I am going to guess pike though, they are beasts!

That 4 pound pickeral must have been a beast too though! Nice job with that catch!



The pickerel was a beast! I went fishing with my cousin and he took me to this pond in Maine (you can only access it via canoe). And the smallmouth in this pond were MONSTERS! He was using a salmon egg hook to catch golden shiners off one side, and hooking monster smallmouth (average was 4 pounds!!) on the other (with 6-8" shiners). I refused to use livebait (I like a challenge) and was only catching dinks or pickerels! When I hooked that 4 pounder, I thought I had hooked a the Smallie of a lifetime--No chance! Still fun though. I tried using an 8 inch Golden flake senko to mimic the shiners but the damn pickerel bite was hot! LOL. My cousing said he was with a guy ice fishing this same pond and he caught an 6 pound pickerel, and an 8 pound largemouth through the ice--jigging with minnow tipped Northland jigs.

Well, I'd like to get the topic back on track, Anyone else with any good Fall Reports in Massachusetts? (body of water and baits used?). Hit the charles yesterday with an inline spinner, caught nothing but perch (yellow/white) around 4:00PM (white/with silverblade).

Posted Fri Oct 15, 2010 8:46 am

Display posts from previous:

MA Fish Finder

Social Links