Happy Thursday folks! The frost is here, the temperatures are down, but the JigHeads are still chasing the fish, and having success!
Tim hit up local Lake Congamond today, with a chilly morning of 30 something degrees and frost on the ground. He reports that the water temperature started out at 58 degrees and got up to 60. Tim was able to find some deeper fish dragging a ned rig and a Carolina rig. He also said that he saw some bait balls where the bass were busting them, but just couldn’t get those to bite. He ended up getting a spinnerbait fish off of a main lake dock as well as a bullhead on the Carolina rig.
Nelson got out a few times this weekend out on the Cape with Shawn and their favorite dude, Nate Chagnon. Saturday morning Shawn and Nelson went to a herring fed pond that had bass feeding on the herring in the shallows and he reports that it proved to be very tough to get them to bite. Nelson said that he got several decent bass by skipping a soft plastic stick bait into the bushes, twitching it quickly but reeling slow. He also landed a smaller bass and a decent sized white perch on a drop shot in 12 feet of water on the edge of weeds.
The next outing was on Saturday evening to a pond with very clear water and very little structure. Ponds like this usually prove to be very tough to find biting fish. Nelson said that after seeing several trout on the surface and casting to them with smaller lures, with no luck, he tried trolling a size 11 Rapala and quickly caught a rainbow trout. His real focus was to find some smallmouth bass, which he did after some searching. He found some smaller sized smallies and decent sized white perch in 21 to 25 feet of water on a drop shot, and reports that these fish were not on any particular structure; but they were within a few feet of the thermocline depth.
Nelson’s last outing was with Nate where the focus was to find large smallmouth and the bite proved to be very tough, as he only hooked into one decent sized smallmouth on a crank bait which jumped and spit the hook. Nate caught a smaller largemouth and a decent sized yellow perch. The best part of this outing was the adventure we had getting into and out of this pond as we had to navigate a very shallow stream to get in and out of there. It was a great time nonetheless.
Water levels are still very low and the temps are dropping quick. Get out there while you still can and please be safe. Good luck everyone!!
Shawn the Fisherman did a little fishing out on the Cape last weekend with Nelson and Nate. He said that he hit a weedier pond where the largemouth were pounding baitfish shallow. Shawn said he tried both deep and shallow, and hooked into a large white perch on a lipless crankbait. Then he decided to move shallow at that point, and boated a few largies on various weedless plastics. The water was close to 60 all day, so 2022’s open water window is closing rapidly. Get on the water asap and finish the year strong!
Ryan the Butcher got out on Sunday where he fished a big charity tournament on Webster Lake, and reports that it was a very tough day with water temperatures ranging from 65 to 68 degrees. There were 67 boats and there many that could not even stick a fish. Luckily, Ryan was able to find a limit, consisting mostly of smallies, in about 26 feet of water. He said they were biting both a drop shot, and heavy ned rigs out deep and they ended up at 24th out of 67 boats, having missed a few key fish.
Yesterday, Mr Butcher got on the Connecticut river and reports that he had an awesome day chasing the brown smallies. With water temps in the low 50’s Ryan said that it was reaction bite after reaction bite. Fish are on the move! Crankbaits in 15 to 18 feet of water got it done for him with multiple big smallies.
Today Ryan was able to get out on Brimfield Reservoir for a morning session in the wind, and reports that the fish were chewing on all the wind blown points in 54 to 56 degree water. He reported that chatter baits and spinner baits in the heart of the wind was what got it done.
Great week or Both largies and smallies. Get out there! Fish are getting hungry and aggressive
Jerry had one hell of a week, really hitting all the species! HIs first time out was Saturday for a tournament on Quaboag. When he launched on the river the air temperature was 45 degrees and the water was 56 degrees. I had never fished this river before so I just went with finesse baits in natural colors. He reported that his first fish came on black four inch stick bait an hour and half in and then the next fish was a small, then a Northern pike on the same bait. Jerry said that the bite was slow, so he tried a floating stick bait on top of pads and caught two bass on black and blue. He ended the day only catching four 12 inchers and over to enter for a second place finish. Only one other competitor caught a limit.
Sunday morning Jerry hit a Hilltown lake with a lot of pickerel, which he reports were feeding up. He said he was throwing soft plastics around for bass but the pickerel were on fire, catching twenty two, most of which were in the 16 inch range except for two: a 27.75 and a 26 inch. He only landed two small largemouth caught on a ned rig green pumpkin.
Monday evening Jerry fished a pond in Berkshire county looking to catch some trout. After not having any luck trolling with inline spinners tied jerkbait, which caught them good in the spring he switched to a ned rig. He landed a Rainbow trout and three largemouth bass in just fifteen minutes, an 18,15 incher and 19 incher.
Tuesday afternoon Jerry was at it again! He went to a small clear water pond in Berkshire county looking for some smallmouth action. He reported that he started out throwing green pumpkin wacky rigged stick bait and right away hooked into a big smallmouth of 18 to 20 inches but unfortunately, he lost it at the net. I did manage to catch some other smallmouth all around eleven inches. It was a great week on the water and the fish are still feeding up! The lowest water temp I’ve seen was 53.6.
The fish are feeding up, but the temperatures are trending down. It’s been cold, and the season is coming to an end, so get out and fish! Saturday is looking like a great day to get out on the water with temperatures predicted in the low 60’s and a clear sky. Get out and fish while you can.As for all you hunters out there like me chasing pheasants or deer, good luck out there.
Whether you’re hunting or fishing please remember to stay safe! Wear your PFDs, tree harness, or blaze orange!
Don’t forget to check out this week’s episode of the Jig’s and Bigs podcast! This week’s episode, just like all the rest, will NOT disappoint. You can catch Bobby Roast Beef and Shawn the Fisherman on Apple Music, Spotify, the J&B website and more!
Enjoy your week folks, and as always tight lines!
Wild Woman 