I hope that everyone is surviving the heat, because it’s been tough especially for fishing, but that’s not stopping the jig heads!
Tim got out on Congamond last Friday during the heatwave and reports water temperatures of 83-84 degrees. He caught two fish on a ned rig, one off a dock, the other off of a main lake brush pile. Tim said he also lost two on soft plastic stick worms on docks noting that the fish weren’t very active as he tried to force the dock bite. He said that he knew he should have stayed out deeper knowing that the fish would seek cooler water, but he was stubborn. Tim had one negative interaction with a dock owner and one very positive interaction. When fishing docks or boats, be respectful as a fisherman! And if you’re a dock owner, be courteous and respectful of others that have the right to use the water!
Shawn the Fisherman was lucky enough to get out 3 times this week.
First, he hit a weedy, woody central Mass waterbody and where he hit nearly three dozen largemouth on weighted plastic creature baits. He said that there were a few big ones mixed in, but they were keyed in on baits falling.
Shawn’s next stop was a return to the Connecticut River with his mug main man Nelson for smallmouth and any multispecies bites they could find. He said that the smallmouth cooperated as they hit 32 between them on a combination of topwater and finesse jigging. Capped the day with a small Walleye and we got out of there before the heat set in!
Third trip was a quick pre fishing jaunt that took Mister Fishman up da’ ‘ Shires for the first time this year. Shawn caught a whole bunch of tiny largemouth on stick worms, crankbaits, and creatures. This next tourney might be rough!
Water levels are still down, so make sure you explore deeper water that fish may have retreated to. The fish are biting, take the time to find them!
Nelson got out once this week with Shawn the Fisherman on the Connecticut river. They hit the water just after sunrise. (You can hear more about why it was after sunrise on this week’s Jigs and Bigs podcast!)
Nelson said that this particular section of the river has areas of shallow water with some deeper holes mixed in. He found very active smallmouth in the shallow area with the strongest current. Nelson caught them on a small top water walking bait and weightless plastic stick baits. He said that the top water bite lasted for about 90 minutes and then it was all subsurface action including a couple on a ned rig. He reports that it was a great morning of catching as he put 15 smallmouth in the kayak and lost just as many.
These river smallmouth fight so hard and jump so high. Absolutely awesome!! If you’ve never fished for smallmouth in the river I suggest getting out there and trying it.
Good luck out there!
Jerry said his first outing fishing this week was on Saturday morning for just a few hours looking for some multispecies for the August Jigs and Bigs Tournament . This was on a larger Berkshire lake where water skiing got started at 7:21 am. He reports that all he came up with was a rock bass and some small largemouth and said he caught those fish in and around weeds in eight feet of water.
His next outing was Sunday for a little pre fishing at a small 70 acre pond for MAKB West tournament where he had never been before. Jerry says the water was a dark stained visibility event at 2 feet but he did find some bass using black and green pumpkin soft plastics in 5 feet of water. He never caught any other species and the average size was 14 inches. It’s always fun though checking out new water. Last, he hit a local Hampshire county lake. He was able to find some multi species. Jerry landed perch, bluegill, bass and pickerel on green pumpkin neds in 10 to 12 feet of water
Enjoy the weekend everyone, stay safe!
Wild Woman 