Another Thursday with lots of great fishing content! I’ve been wrapped up in preparing for deer season, as bow season opener will be here before you know it, and have not had a line in the water for a few weeks. The guys have been busy tho so let’s get to it!
Cousin Jon and Tim and got out this morning in northern Massachusetts. Jon said that they were able to get on some smallies using mostly finesse presentations. Jon said he also had a few largemouth willing to hit senkos. Once the winds picked up later in the morning, it more or less turned off the bite.
Jon also hit Tim’s other favorite lake earlier in the week where he had one rock bass hit a creature bait off the docks.
Andy started his week fishing the Connecticut River at Barton’s cove in Turners Falls with his nephew and his friend. He said that the water was a balmy 80 degrees and the air was under 60 degrees at 6 am. Andy reports that they had luck in the shallow edges with top waters later in the day, and most of the action was in the area where weeds met steep drop offs. Much of the success for the day was on weighted plastics.
Andy’s second outing was on Ashmere lake in the Berkshires on a cool night with smooth warm water. Although they were able to get some fish midday on soft plastics they returned to the water after dinner and Andy couldn’t resist the possibility of topwater blowups on that smooth water. He started throwing a plopper around which he quickly lost to a pickerel. After tying another one on, Andy was able to enjoy the show as the bass started feeding in the water about 25 feet from shore. We fished well into the dark of night.
Jerry reports that for him this week was all about tournaments! First he hit a Hampshire county lake in the hilltowns looking for some multi species fish for the Jigs and Bigs tournament where he ended up finding some bluegill, rock bass, yellow perch and largemouth. He wound up catching them on drop shot and neds in natural colors.
Jerry’s next two outings were to a Berkshire county reservoir were he was looking for some big largemouth bass for the MAKB monthly tournament. He managed to find some good ones the first night, landing a couple 17’s, a 19, and a 16 on neko and wacky rigged stick baits. The next day he scored another 19 incher .
Then, Jerry reports, came Saturday where he fished the MAKB West’s RT 57 Run tournament. Jerry ended up at Upper Spectacle pond which is a small hidden pond in Berkshire county. He says that the water is dark so the bait colors were black. Black and blue is what seemed to work best for him.
Last, on Sunday, he returned back to the same lake he was on Thursday and Friday looking for an upgrade for the monthly tournament, but he said that unfortunately with the cold front the bite was extremely slow.
Nelson got out a couple times this week. Saturday he also competed in the MAKB Western Division event #6, The Rt. 57 Run. This was a 7 lake tournament. I picked the same lake as last year where I finished in 2nd place and took Lunker. This year it was completely different. Nelson said he had his limit within the first hour and things were looking good again, with tater temperatures in the mid 70s. At the end of the tournament he had landed 35 bass, but with the biggest one only 14.25 inches. He said that he caught fish anywhere from six inches of water out to twelve feet deep, and that almost every lure or technique he tried produced at least one bass. I just didn’t have enough to do well in this one. I finished in 13th place out of 22 anglers.
Sunday Nelson headed to Rhode Island for the first time this year where he was joined by Shawn the Fisherman, Deryk from 3 Belles Outfitters, and Deryk’s friend Devon. Nelson said that the saltwater bite was pretty strong for most of the time they were on the water and that black sea bass and sea robins were the main catch, with multiple double ups on a jig and teaser rig. We also had some smaller Fluke and Scup mixed in. Nelson said that the stripers were in the area but they proved to be finicky. Deryk did hook into one on top water, but unfortunately lost it. He said that most of the larger fish came from 40 to 50 feet of water, but they had action from 18 to 55 feet of water.
The best time of the year for saltwater fishing is just getting started. The next 2 months will give you the best opportunities to get into some multi species fishing. There are so many different species around Southern New England this time of year that you never know what will be on your hook. One of the best things about fishing in the salt and my favorite for sure. Get out there! Be safe and Good luck!!
Shawn the Fisherman was about to get on the water three times this week.
First, Shawn fished the MAKB West “Route 57 Run” tourney on Saturday. He pointed out that although the mountain lakes are starting to cool from summer highs a bit, the bite was still hot! He landed quantity over quality, and eeked out a 6th place finish using all manner of weighted creature baits in weeds. Shawn ended the day with 50 largemouth and saids that the other competitor he shared water with (shoutout to Dan Regan) hit 42 himself. Crazy numbers day!
The next day he accompanied Nelson, Deryk, and Devin to the Rhode Island coast, where they had another quantity day, boating countless sea robins, black sea bass, and fluke. I’m still learning the salt-game, but this year has been nothing short of exhilarating when fishing outside of my freshwater comfort zone!
Finally, Shawn the Fisherman got out with his partner in crime, Bobby Roast Beef, to a central Mass hawg farm to see if they could break the slump. Bobby RB succeeded, landing two of his three longest Largemouth of ’22! He did it by throwing a BRUCE GILLIS wakebait. I continued my success with weighted creatures in the weeds, and we both celebrated with chips and a soda on the way out.
Shawn said that the summer bite still reigns over the northeast, even with the recent (thankful) cooling temperatures. The fish are biting everything, so get out and enjoy the last few weeks of summer on the water!
Last, but certainly not least, we have Bobby Roast Beef who got out quite a few times this week! He said that it’s been a bit since he’s really been able to post anything significant this summer for any catches as most of the fish he has landed have been in that 9-12 inch nibbler range. Bobby said that last week he took a different approach to the body of water he has been working on breaking down this year in the Pioneer Valley. He made the decision to venture out and focus specifically on lay downs and submerged wood and to throw jigs. It paid off as he managed to land one on that short trip that was a nice bump upwards on the Ketch board!
Bobby hit up another local spot for a short bank session with the same strategy just downsized with 3 inch ned rigged soft plastics and he managed 4 nibbler sized largemouth in 90 minutes of fishing, before being pulled away for work.
His next trip out was over the weekend, in Berkshire County where he visited a place that’s yielded great results in the past with substantial fish. The goal was to catch something of quality. Bobby said that ultimately, downsizing proved to be more effective as his buddy managed a 15 inch largie dragging a Texas rigged creature along the edge of a weed bed in a good size flat. I managed a 16 inch largie at the buzzer for this trip on our way back to the ramp, and ned rig once again proved to be the key here.
A couple days later, Shawn the Fisherman and Bobby RB met up at a body of water out east where they got on the water for 5:30 pm, with a good amount of other boats out there. After throwing the recommended presentation and getting a rogue strike while swimming it back to the boat, he eventually downsized after throwing a swim jig for a bit. Busted out the ned again and it produced… a nibbler! At least the skunk was out of the boat for me. He said that as the wind died down with the sun beginning to set, it was time to throw a BIG wakebait (Bruce Gillis from Mr. Tightlines) over the finally still water. My focus was to retrieve slowly, yet erratically over weeds in hopes to call them up. As it would turn out we doubled up with a pair of 17’s, making the perfect setup for a cheesy pic! We continued to fish into the darkness and I managed one more that night, the biggest LMB I’ve managed all year: a 19″ slob on that wakebait! I was delighted to celebrate by buying a round of chips and sodas!
Yesterday, he also managed to catch a chunky little nibbler on a prototype presentation. Not bad for a few casts between errands!
The weather seems to be on the warm side for the upcoming weekend during the day, but nights are starting to cool off down into the 50’s, which is great for evening fishing.
Get out and fish folks! Tight lines!
Wild Woman 