Happy Thursday folks! Here we are the last Thursday of September with fall in full swing! The bite seems to be improving so let’s dive in!
Tim got out Lake Congamond this morning here water temperatures are holding steady at 67 degrees. He was fishing offshore humps and caught four bass on a Carolina rig. Tim says the fish were hungry, literally knocking the rod out of his hand. He found success anywhere from 10 to 20 feet, however when he switched over to more shallow water there was nothing biting.
Shawn the Fisherman got out once, fishing the Connecticut Three Belles Outfitters Tournament Series Championship at Gardner Lake. He said that the bite was stingy, but he did manage to fill a limit using a combination of finesse jigs and jerkbaits. The water was still in the mid-60s there, and the quick temp drops everywhere over the past couple weeks have been staggering. Be prepared for any conditions on the water and start thinking about wearing clothing to protect yourself if you happen to go in the water!
Jerry got out a bit this week, first to fish a small lake in Belchertown for the first time. He said it was a chilly morning with the air temperature at 37 degrees and the water temperature was 65 degrees, which caused the whole pond to be fogged in. Jerry said they fished for four hours and only landed four fish, trying different colored soft plastics and eventually got bites on green pumpkin senko. The first fish was big, a largie coming in at 19.75 then a small pickerel, one more bass and a bluegill.
Jerry also fished Lake Buel in Berkshire county one afternoon after a morning of heavy rain. The weed dredger had been removing weeds all morning so there was a lot of dirty water. His first fish was a 21″ pickerel in 10 -12 feet of water and then he caught eight largemouth, all 15 inches and under coming on neko rigged black and blue stick baits .
Tuesday Jerry fished his local lake in Goshen for three hours late afternoon, with nothing happening the first hour, but the last hour before dark the bite fire. He ended up catching eleven bass, a mix of largemouth and smallmouth, along with numerous yellow perch. Jerry said most all the fish were caught on weed line in 10′ water on dropshot rig baited with green pumpkin dropshot baits. Fall is here the bite is picking up. I have seen water temps as low as 59.8 degrees so get out and catch’em while the weather is still comfortable.
Nelson went down to Connecticut to compete in the Three Belles Outfitters Tournament Series Championship. He started the morning with a decent top water bite with plenty of pickerel but only one bass and then nothing for hours. Nelson said as he moved around the lake he picked away at the bass, but most were pretty small. At 12 noon I had 4 bass and I was in 4th place.
As he made his way to a small cove on the opposite side of the lake he landed his 5th keeper which put him in 2nd place. Now with 1-1/2 hours left I felt like I could win if I could find a couple bigger bass. At 1pm he caught a 19.5 inch bass that kept him in second place by only 3/4 of an inch. With 25 minutes left in the tournament he caught a 12.25 inch bass that put him in first place by 2-1/2 inches. Nelson said the water temperatures were in the low to mid 60s and his winning bass were caught on top water, drop shot rig, and weightless soft plastic stick baits.
Nelson finished the tournament in first place and also took the lunker pool. With this win he became the first ever TBOTS Champion! The bite was really tough throughout the day and most, including myself, struggled to find a decent bite. I got lucky to find a couple better bass at the end of the day.
One more Championship tournament left this next weekend so stay tuned for that report next week. Good luck everyone and stay safe!
That’s all we got for you this week folks! The weather this weekend is going to be chilly with clouds and some rain on Saturday. Stay warm and dry out there and stay safe! Tight lines!
Wild Woman 