I am in major disbelief that it’s June 2nd. Partially because I feel like I haven’t been fishing nearly as much as I would like and partially because the weather really hasn’t felt like summer is within reach! The fishing is more frequent and the jig heads have been busy!
I was able to get out on a small body of water up in the hilltowns over the holiday weekend. The water was a lot warmer since the last time I had been there, around 75 degrees. Although we were only on the water for about 2 hours, I was able to land 5 largemouth and a good handful of pickerel on a top water rippling redfin. Funny, some of the pickerel were practically the same size as the lure, tiny little scavengers. We also had some hits on a frog in the weeds, but no hookups. The bass were all on the smaller size, with the largest one about 13 inches and they seemed on the skinny side, in post spawn.
Shawn the Fisherman said that he fished on the river after a 25 degree overnight temperature drop and was only able to find a perch and a handful of bedding bluegill. The good news, although Shawn may not whole heartedly agree with me, is if you want to get someone new into fishing or get your kids interested, now is the time to go after the bluegill in the shallow water!
Jerry hit the water starting at 6 am on Saturday on a Berkshire County shallow lake where the water temperature was 67 degrees and it was raining. . His first bite came on a Jackhammer chatterbait; a 17.5″ largemouth! He says he threw that for a while with no success. When he switched to soft plastics, ned and wacky rigs, he caught 7 more largemouth in the 10 to 14 inch range. Jerry also beat up on some pickerel with a spinnerbait, landing 11 of those along with 2 crappie. He reports that he saw bluegill and rock bass on beds but saw no largemouth on beds.
He also got out on a Hampshire County lake where he didn’t see any bass on beds but, also admits he really didn’t look for them. Jerry says that the largemouth were biting alright and he caught 11 with the largest coming in at 17.75. She still hadn’t spawned cause she was round! He also caught another 23 pickerel.
Last, Jerry I pre-fished for an upcoming tournament on a river I’ve never been on, learned a few things and caught several smallmouth bass, but no other species.
Bobby Roast Beef said that he was bank bound this week and he managed to get a good amount of small largemouth and a single crappie in shallow water with finesse tactics during the long weekend. He said that he found all of them close to some type of cover, weeds, rocks, concrete, or wood. He also reported that the rain and storms recently have created less visibility on all the bodies of water he managed to hit. Bobby said that the most effective baits were ned rigged 3″ paddle tails. Either dragging along the bottom with an occasional hop or swimming them in various ways. Lost a monster spitting the hook at the surface because I’m a moron and hookset like Amanda Heard provides testimony.
Bobby said that during the week this he only managed one trip out, but a snow moving jig bite was the deal that day. He started with a swim jig and then started slowly dragging and hopping in the shallows, and they started biting. Once again, all small 8 to 12 inch largemouth bass. Kayak send coming soon!!!
Nelson got out a couple times this past week and reports that the water temperatures got into the low to mid 70’s on both trips. He also reported that the bluegills are on beds big time and said that although he did find some bass in shallow water on weightless soft plastics, the bluegills were destroying his baits.
Nelson also pointed out that this next weekend June 4-5 is free fishing weekend in Massachusetts which means:No fishing license needed! This is a perfect time to get someone you know out on the water to experience the sport we love. With bluegills on beds in shallow water fishing from shore should get some good action for the newbies. Keep it simple. ( Worm and Bobber) Even just a bluegill will be exciting to someone that has never caught a fish before. Good luck out there .
Ryan got out a few times this week in the ol’ ranger and reports that it was an absolute topwater slug fest; Along with throwing my 7″ glide bait in about 7′ of water. He said that the water temperatures were 76 degrees and the fish were absolutely slamming. He reports success on poppers, wake baits, and the glide baits along with some success on throwing some jigs along the bottom, with a twitch , twitch, drag retrieve. Next up he has 2 tournaments this week, Friday and Saturday! Tight lines!!!
Tim reports that he has been fishing at his local lake and has seen water temps at or above 70 degrees. He also reported seeing lots of empty beds, meaning we are definitely in the post spawn stage. He was still able to entice bass on soft plastics rigged weedless and wacky and said that finding weed edges has produced as has fishing on edges of lily pads. Tim said that other techniques that have been successful this week have been, drop shot, ned rig and topwater. Get out there and take a kid fishing on free fishing weekend. Always remember to be courteous to others enjoying the water, nobody wants to be the subject of FTG! And if you DON’T know what Tim is referring to by FTG then you REALLY need to get online and listen to the Jigs and Bigs podcast!
Andy was out on Otis Thursday night where the water was 64 degrees. It started off with a good sign when he caught a smallie on the first cast, the second it hit the water. Using the same color and multiple types of lures I was able to stay busy until just before dark when I finished up with a 16.5 inch brown trout in open water.
He was also able to get out onto Colebrook Reservoir on Monday where water temperatures were 65-70 and where he landed lots of fish in many varieties. He said it took a while to hook up but after they figured out the pattern it was a solid day. Andy said that there were no fish of great size, as the largest was just under two pounds, and they all came from just off the shore line. He reports that the trick this day was casting to the shoreline, which resulted in getting an immediate hit. He said there were not many follows, and nothing coming out of deep water. If you are going there the water is up high and the deepest I clocked was 130′. I could see what I can assume were lakers cruising around 50-65 feet . Bring your down riggers if you plan on getting onto any of them!
Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the Jigs and Bigd podcast! It will be the highlight of your week. You can find it on Apple Music, Spotify, and more! My favorite segment is always FTG; don’t be that guy….curious? You should be! Tune in and give it a listen!!
Lots of great stuff here this week, but probably the most notable is Free Fishing Weekend is happening this weekend June 4th & 5th! The weather is looking like we are going to have a great weekend with some sun, and not too hot. So take out your friends, family, colleagues, kids, WHOEVER you want to share your passion for fishing with. It’s a great opportunity to get them hooked! Stay safe out there folks and most important, have fun! Tight lines!
Wild Woman 