This week has been another one of getting finesse techniques a try and working to get those bass biting in the post spawn patterns. Let’s dive in, starting with Andy!
Andy is out with his son in Oklahoma! Lake Thunderbird has produced a few saugeye ( hybrids) and some good size crappie so far for them. Andy and his son scrapped their plans to fish in Texas earlier this week due to threats of severe weather, so they went to Lake Ten Killer in eastern Oklahoma and fished in severe heat. All week long was in the 90’s here with no cloud cover while we were out. Clear water and plentiful baitfish for the bass to feed on made a fun day in the Ozark mountains. This lake reminded me of fishing back home in New England but on a much larger scale. If you get the chance to fish here, do it!
Tim got out once with Mr. Roast Beef on Congamond where even with a slow and subtle bite, they still managed to boat 11 bass. He reports that Congamond is usually a dock pattern type fishery but he said they weren’t biting off any that day. Tim said that they were using a finesse worm with 1/16 oz weight; it was a throw it out and talk kind of bite, no thumps, just lift the rod tip and feel the wt. all of my fish came in 10 feet or less. Don’t be afraid to downsize when the usual patterns aren’t producing!
Jerry made it out a couple times this week. At his first spot he met a fellow MAKB member who wanted to check out a pond for an upcoming tournament in southern Berkshire county. They hit the water at 5:35 a.m where water temperatures were 63-65 degrees. Jerry said that the first bass caught just six minutes in and reports that the bite was fairly good for the five hours – the fish were very shallow in the weeds and we had good luck catching them on wacky rigged stick baits green pumpkin and black and blue in the stained water. Jerry said they also landed a few pickerel and bluegills also on the same baits.
The next day Jerry went in search of some multi-species action on a 398 acre pond in Berkshire county where water was super clear with visibility from 10 feet or more and the water temperature was 65 degrees. Jerry reported that being able to see the outside weed line was key to catching fish in that clear water, and long casts. He said the dropshot worked well with a bait fish style soft plastic landing six different species: some bigger pickerel, largemouth bass, crappie, bluegills, white perch, and even a bullhead. He got out again Tuesday night for a few hours and the bass were munching. Jerry landed twenty-three of them ned rig to start, and a top water to finish the evening! A lot of 11 inchers with a few 15 and 16’s in the mix.
Ryan the Butcher has been out a few times this week. He was able to fish a Tri City Elite Invitational on the Connecticut River Chicopee section. With water being very low, about every pleasure boater in America and it being deathly hot, Ryan was able to get on a pattern of smallies. He landed over 100 fish all day but unfortunately only landed 7 keepers – which was good enough for 2nd place! I did drop a 4+ at the boat cause I fumbled. This was a no net tourney and anyone who knows 4lb smallies at the boat are not the easiest to scoop.
He was able to get fish on jerkbait and spooks early in the morning but says that he laid back from the spook cause every fish was a striper in the morning.When the sun came out he switched to drop shot and really just lit ’em up. I was on the “Chicopee shit pattern” caught 3 fish off a shopping cart structure and deeper ledges if you could find them.
Perhaps the craziest moment of the day, he snagged a 4 foot sturgeon in the side with a crank bait; all of a sudden my reel was peeling and I thought it was a striper till about 35 ft from the boat this ungodly dinosaur jumped and broke off. Very dangerous section of the river. Saw 2 props folded and a lower unit ripped off. Please be safe on the river as it’s always changing. Make sure to keep updated on the newest maps.
Nelson got out a couple times this week once in the Berkshires and in North Central Ma, reporting water temperatures in the mid to upper 60’s, and said that the fishing was tough for him this week. Nelson said that he couldn’t find many bass and the ones he did get to bite were on the small side. He caught most of them with a weightless stick bait shallow and in the weeds and also caught some on a drop shot in deeper water on the edge of weed beds. Nelson said he spent about 12 hours between the two ponds and only got 12 bass, and he reminds us that catching bigger bass during this post spawn period can be tough sometimes, as some of the bass go deep and others stay shallow. I saw a lot of bluegills on beds. The areas just outside of these bedding areas can be a great place to hook into some bigger bass. Give it a try. Good luck out there and be safe!!
Don’t forget to check out the latest episode of the Jig’s & Big’s podcast! If you’ve never checked it out, DO IT – I guarantee that it will be one of the highlights of your week!
Stay safe out there folks! Tight lines!
Wild Woman 