Jigs and Bigs Fishing Report: 08/12/21

Happy Thursday! I’m enjoying the sand and sun in Myrtle Beach this week but the guys have been busy!

Andy fished at Colebrook Reservoir where
water temps were 75-77 degrees. He reported lots of small baitfish pushed along the shoreline and that he tried getting some predation hits, to no avail. Changing tactics, Andy located the fish in deeper water. The reservoir has stepped levels and he found them close to 25-30 feet deep. Andy used a lipless crankbait to cast beyond the drop they were on to the lure to sink so he could reel back up the step. That worked well enough to get a few largemouth but nothing too exciting. The deepest water there is over 100 feet.

Ryan went out a bunch this week and reports that every place produced. He fished Lake Shirley on Friday and nailed 3 early ones on weighted soft plastics, then found another on the jig. After that he got back to back fish off of the same dock one being a lunker at 4lbs. Saturday and Sunday Ryan reported having luck doing some pond hopping, slaying some pretty decent bass, all o. topwater in roughly 6-8 feet of water. Ryan said he primarily used the spook.

Monday morning he hit up the Connecticut river up north and it did not disappoint. He had a huge multi species day with smallies, pickerel, yellow perch, and hid catch of the week: a 14.2 pound northern pike. He didn’t have a measuring board but guessed 36-39 inches. As he was flipping weeds with a weightless plastic, it blasted his worm topwater. Ryan said he originally thought it was a ginormous bass but soon to be surprised at this big ole dinosaur. He worked the fish with 8lb fluro back and forth slow turns, and after about 15 good hard runs was able to land her. What a fight on light line! Tight lines everyone! Next stop club tournament Friday on the CT river!

Joe was able to get out once, and it was during the OGO/Jigs and Bigs/ Hookset Hoodlums invitational. The morning bite was tough as he went straight to the river but was unable to get any quality fish. Joe tried using top water first, with no luck. From there, he began flipping creature baits. He said he pulled in one measurable fish, but decided to make his way to the main lake.

After grinding for several hours with little to no bite, he was able to find fish sitting on a ledge in 10 feet of water. He threw a war eagle spinner bait with a keitech trailer. Joe was able to get a 21.5 inch fish as well as a 15.5 inch fish. The bigger weighed in at 4.7lbs and qualified for a state pin. He said tha the shade and deeper water are key. Flipping creature baits has been my go to in these situations, and when it comes to the deeper water, drop shot, bladed jigs, and spinner baits are the way to go for me.

Nelson got out Saturday for the Old Glory Outdoors Invitational kayak bass fishing tournament on the Quaboag Lake and river. He finished the tournament in 13th place out of 24 anglers. My report this week is more of a tip. Nelson said although he did catch a few bass on weightless soft plastics, he thinks he would have done much better if he had done my pre-tournament homework that he usually does. I didn’t have time to pre-fish so I took a gamble on a spot that I knew would have some big bass. What he didn’t realize was that that spot was much farther away than he thought, and he ended up fishing the river on the way back, and was only able to find small bass. Better than getting skunked. So my tip is, if you are fishing a tournament or just going out fun fishing for the day, do your homework on the body of water you will be on and you will have a better chance of being successful!


Shawn the Fisherman also got out this week for the inaugural Old Glory Outdoors Invitational tourney at the Quaboag watershed in Brookfield. He hung around in the top 5 for most of the day by landing largemouth up to 15″ on weighted plastic creatures, but couldn’t find the larger fish he needed to finish at the top.

Then Bobby Roast Beef fried ip bull balls and we ate them. Together.