Everyone, myself included, seems to be busy with various summer projects and activities. That didn’t stop these guys from getting out on the water. It was another great week of fishing reported from our Jig Heads!
Andy hit Walker Pond at Wells State Park last weekend. He reported water temperatures 74-76 degrees and although nothing of great size, lots of fish were hitting. Andy said that the fish were hitting anything and everything that looked like a perch.
Tim was about to get out last Thursday to Congamond again and said that the fish were biting! He reeled in 18, topped off by a quality 4-pound football, with various baits. He did report that the most of the damage was done with his go-to bait: weightless Texas rigged stick bait. Time said the sun was high so the key was finding structure and shade. Tim’s next stop was a lake in Eastern Mass for some pre-fishing. He reported water temps of 71-74 degrees and visibility of about one foot or so, and it was another high sun day. He was only able to coax one off of lily pads with soft plastic, and another solid 3 pounder on a reaction bait.
Brett reported a semi uneventful week and said he went out several times targeting pike with no luck. Prior to that he hit up a small pond that I haven’t hit in years, and it was severely choked up with weeds. Brett did get a good top water bite going with five bass all on a whopper plopper. He said that he hit the highlight of his week when his father gave him a beautiful 7ft, 5wt Orvis fly rod. Last night a friend gave him a quick lesson in wet fly fishing. Brett had two hits but no hook-ups. We will be going out Sunday on a bigger river to try and get me my first trout on the fly. Looking forward to hearing more about your fly fishing experiences Brett!
Nelson was about to get out both Saturday and Sunday this week. On Saturday he fished the MAKB Western Division stop #4 on a section of the Chicopee River but reported that he did not have a good outcome in this tournament. Nelson noted that he made two key mistakes. 1) He left the area where he thought the winning fish would be caught. (Most, if not all of the winning fish were caught in that area). 2) Hedidn’t listen to the fish. You hear the phrase ” let the fish tell you what they want”. I was trying to force the fish to bite what I was throwing instead of trying different techniques, colors, and shapes to figure out what they wanted. Well, I didn’t listen and 11th place was the result of my stubbornness.
On Sunday Nelson fished a new pond for the first time. He had bass, pickerel, and even a crappie hitting top water lures. He reports that the best action he had for bass was on weightless soft plastics thrown very tight to cover and the shore line, almost out of the water. Most of the bass were hooked within 2ft or less from the shore. Nelson also said that water temperatures on both days were in the low 70’s.
Joe was able to get out and, surprisingly, his hottest bait was a war eagle spinner bait with a keitech 3.3 fat impact trailer. He was able to find a 4 and a few mid 3s in some nice bright green grass. Joe also reported having some luck on smallies with a whopper plopper, and they were seeking shade under some tree canopy. Joe reminds us that if you are in shallow bodies of water, look for healthy grass and said that river mouths are also a good spot while fish seek the cooler water coming into lakes.
Ryan had another epic saltwater week with absolutely non-stop striper action in the Cape Cod Bay. He said he even saw a 16-foot great white 5 feet from the boat that startled him. Ryan said between the four of them they easily did another 120+ fish with tons of them over the limit.
On the freshwater side of things, Ryan threw yesterday after a couple days of flipping pads, finding a few. He said that the fish were a little more finicky this week for him. He reported finding a few decent fish, as Joe said, near the bright green grass. Pulled them out with a bico jig and his keitech trailer, fishing slow and tight. He also got a few playing around with a new rod he picked up from OGO, flipping around a Texas rig trick worm.
Ryan is looking at a night on the water Friday and Sunday this week. As always he’s fishing with his Hookset Hoodlums gear with the OGO support for us anglers!
Last but certainly not least, Shaw the Fisherman got out twice this week. The first was Saturday for the MAKB Western division’s 4th trail stop at the Chicopee River in Chicopee. He reports that it was a “quantity” day across the board. He reported getting all of his fish on a combination of buzz toads during the rain, and jigs afterwards. Shawn managed to squeak out the win with a couple decent fish as the rain came to an end. Congrats on the win, man!
At dusk yesterday, Shawn hit a Western Mass pond that my circle of friends has affectionately nicknamed “Herbie Hollow” over the years. Ol’ Herbie Hollow has seen a massive increase in fishing pressure over the past 5-10 years, and Shawn has been fishing it a bit less as a result. He threw finesse jigs for most of the jaunt, and kept a steady stream of 14-15″ fish biting during his time out. Nothing of great size, but a good way to spend a beautiful evening.
If you haven’t caught the latest episode on Jigs & Bigs, go listen RIGHT NOW! They have some awesome new segments, including Just the Tip where they’ll be sharing great tips and tricks. This week’s episode also highlighted an extremely talented artist, Kari Townsdin. Seriously, if you haven’t listened to it yet, go check it out!
Good luck out there this week anglers, and as always, tight lines!
Wild Woman 