New England Open Water Season

[Kevin Dahlke]

March 30 2008

Winter is fading away and spring is definitely here and open water comes along with that as well and that is where we headed. Very nice to be on open water once again and we took the kayak out to our favorite crappie pond. The air temp was 39 degrees and throw in a light breeze, but just being on open water kept me warm as the excitement of catching fish again had taken hold.

When fishing out of the kayak I generally fish ice style while using the flasher over the side. I use my ice fishing rods and fish vertically underneath the kayak and watch the flasher for when the fish go through. Generally I paddle around the area that I am going to fish and watch the flasher until I start marking fish. Drop the anchor to hold my position but the wind always plays games with me as it will turn the kayak around the anchor so one minute you are over fish and the next you are off again.

Started fishing where we had left off from the ice season, but wasn’t marking too many fish and would keep moving after a few minutes. There was some activity near the bottom of the lake but after catching a few perch that was all that was down that low. Really wasn’t marking many suspended fish, until one of my moves the screen on the flasher lit up. Quickly dropped the anchor and lowered my bait and a couple of jiggles later and the first crappie was in the boat. The school of fish hung there for a few seconds longer and they left and were never seen again.

Moved around the lake to try and get out of the wind but the winds on this lake are always switching directions and this makes it tough. All said and done I had caught a handful of perch and that one crappie. The bait that was used was the Loby Baits Maki in a bubble gum color and the durability of this bait allows you to catch numbers of fish on that one bait. Since the wind was picking up I decided that I might as well head home as the fish were not in the cooperating mood. Once the temperatures raise the water temps some more, we will be back to search the shorelines for these big crappies that live in this lake.

Here is a video recap for the day:

[Kevin Dahlke]

Mar 31 – Apr 1 2008

Now that our lakes and ponds are getting void of ice, I am able to start doing some fishing during my lunch hour once again. I am very fortunate to have a reservoir about 10 minutes from work and this gives me 30-40 minutes to fish every noon day. This particular reservoir is loaded with fish, some say there aren’t any fish there, but from the ones that I have caught there, I continue to fish there quite a bit.

This reservoir is fairly good sized and apparently is a flooded golf course with the raised tees, roads, trees and the New England stone fence as structure under the surface of the water. The fish that I have caught here so far are sunfish, perch, pickerel, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. The bass population is doing very well and this reservoir has a very good population of large smallmouth bass. Topwater and also deepwater tactics have worked here and nothing better than watching a smallmouth fly out of the water after a topwater bait.

Mar 31: I started in my deep water spot and this area has some weeds mixed in and there are a few shelves that I work my bait up and through. The wind was blowing fairly briskly with snow/sleet/rain falling and with the water level very high right now, there wasn’t much action going on. Was nice to be able to start casting and throw tubes and jerkbaits once again after the long winter season.



Apr 1: Since the wind was much stronger than the day before and the deep water wasn’t doing anything thought that I would make my walk to my shallow cove flat area and see if anything was cruising and searching these shallower waters. Stopped at one area that has a gradual drop towards deeper water with a lot of broken stone but there were no takers there. Made my way to a large flat area that has some mixed weeds, wood and broken rocks throughout. The wind wasn’t blowing near as hard here and casting the jerkbait was a little easier and I started fan casting this cove. After a few casts and doing the repeated jerking motion of the jerkbait back towards me, the line got heavy and started screaming off to my right. Wasn’t long and the fishes tail was splashing out of the water and I could seeing that this was a nice fish. Working it back towards shore it was a nice pickerel in the 2-3 pound range and a nice way to start off the season.

Cast a couple of other areas on the way back towards the truck but there wasn’t any action that I could find. I haven’t ice fish this lake or been out there in a boat yet, kayak lake only, but with the structure that is there this could make for a very enjoyable day. I am planning on doing the work of getting my kayak up and into this water this coming weekend as from reports that I have heard over the past, there are a few fish that I need to search for. The crappies are known to get up to 2 pounds there, the perch that have been caught have been over a pound, and the bass population that I have caught there makes me come back as often as possible.

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 7 2008

My early season spot is a good walk around the lake and is a nice sand and rock flat that the bass seem to use for the spring time activities...so far I have only been able to catch a pickerel off of this area but today my first nice largemouth bass has appeared...the last few days have been gorgeous with temps right around 70 and sun with little wind...started fishing this area with a jointed floating topwater bait and there wasn't anything that wanted this presentation...grabbed the other rod that has a tube bait on it and the second cast I caught a nice 2.5 pound largemouth bass...this area usually holds smallmouth in the spring and the way this fish was jumping, I thought for sure that I had a big smally on...the WaveSpin reel showed this fish who was going to win and was finally nice to catch a good fish again...hopefully this is now a sign that things are turning around and good things are coming going forward...

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 8 2008

Was only a couple of days ago that I was wondering what was going on with my spring fishing this year...usually I am into fish and this year isn't the case...but within the last two days I can say that my thoughts of a crummy spring have left my head and we are into fish and now let's keep that line in the water...

Yesterday I was able to catch a nice largemouth bass...today I went back to the same spot during lunch and the smallmouth bass are taking residence of the area...since the topwater bait wasn't doing anything yesterday, I used the tube today and they were liking that...wasn't long and the first of three smallmouth was coming in...at a 1-1.5 pound fish this was a great start and this fish had gotten my blood pumping for more...kept casting and a tap on the line and his brother was coming in for a look see as well...I could definitely see that the male fish were moving in and wasn't sure if the females were in suit yet or not...only a few more casts and that question was answered with a 2.5-3 pound smally battling my WaveSpin reel and tube combination...

Conditions were the same as yesterday with mid 70's air temps, sun bright, but there was more wind today versus yesterday but this area was still protected and the water is warming...fishing a tube bait with a 1/4 or 3/8 oz bullet weight and this heavier weight is allowing me to make very long casts and also able to work more water by doing this...tried a couple of other deeper spots on the walk back to the truck but no takers there...I had taken a shortcut through a part of the woods to get to my spot but the deer ticks have let me know who the ruler of those woods are...hoping to get back out there again tomorrow but will have to see where the coming storm is at when lunch time rolls around...in two days my dreary spring has started on fire and tomorrow and the day after that can't come soon enough...

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 9 2008

Was fortunate to be able to get out fishing during my lunch time once again and really had to watch the clock this time as I had another appointment right after...made the trip back to my usual spot to see if the smallmouth were going to be home...weather conditions were drastically different than the previous day as the temps were 15 degrees cooler, stronger wind blowing into this area, cloudy skies as well as rain spitting a little...made many casts and definitely could tell that this coming weather was playing a role in not getting bit...but was fortunate to at least catch one largemouth bass that was around a 1.5 pounds...this fish came on the tube bait and was cruising the shallows checking things out...this was the only fish caught and tried a few other areas before pulling the plug...didn't get out at all over the weekend and we have weather fronts coming through for most of the week so this will definitely be an interesting week of fishing...

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 13 2008

With the cold fronts blowing through and dropping the temperatures all around New England this is not helping the bass with their spring ritual...the last two days we have been experiencing gale force winds once again and the area that I have been concentrating on was getting a beating from the wind...at least spring like weather has come back and the sun was shining but the white caps were tough to fish through from shore...under these conditions it seems from past experience that the smallmouth will vacate these areas until calmer weather comes around...so my plan was not to spend to much time there and fan cast to see if any fish were cruising the area...was just about done and threw my tube into the cove on my left and under the windy conditions I was still able to feel the tap and set the hook...the fish was jumping out of the water and could see that it was a nicer fish and figured that it may be a smallmouth as it was jumping quite a bit...when it finally had gotten closer I could see that it was a very nice largemouth bass...biggest of the spring so far and definitely made my day under these wind conditions...tried four other spots going back to the truck but nothing going on at any of these...chalk this one up as another productive lunch and looking forward to tomorrow... :ugeek:

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 14 2008

Today was shaping up to be a better day than the last two and I was hoping that the winds would have died down from what they were...the winds were considerably lower in speeds but was enough and also blowing into this area once again...the sun was bright with air temps in the mid 60's and hopes of the smallmouth moving back up were on my mind...the lunch trip was going to be short and only 20 minutes or so as I have a hot project at work that needs to get done...fishing with a tube bait once again and making long casts into the wind was the tactic today and fishing in 2-3 feet of water and I was telling myself that I need to get going and figured three more casts will be it...two casts later this largemouth latched on and definitely gave the WaveSpin reel a workout and also had the drag system screaming as well...this was the only fish caught on this shortened trip and we are going to be having rain coming in again tomorrow and the next few days as well...I have been checking to see if the panfish have moved in yet as well but the waters are a little cool for them in the usual places and no signs of them yet...

[Nodie]

Niiice fish Kevin! Keep those reports coming! I always enjoy them Love those colors on the bronzebacks!

[baz fish]

Nice bass Kevin .

[Kevin Dahlke]

May 21 2008

This has been a very tough week for me fishing wise as the shoreline fishing was hampered quite a bit from the prevailing winds. Since air temperatures are not rising very much, this is not warming the waters very quickly and with the nights are staying cool as well not sure yet if the fish are through their spring duties yet. Over the last week I had been out 4-5 times and today was the first day that a nice fish was finally caught. Towards the end of last week there was one outing that I had caught a couple of male bass but that was it. Finally today a nice chunky 2.5 pound largemouth fell victim to my presentation. The area that I am fishing is a shallow flat in a cove and ranges from 1-3 feet as far as I am able to cast. Working a Texas rigged tube bait crawled slowly along the bottom has been the pattern as long as there are fish in the area. These are hard fighting fish and are a blast to catch and always wanting more whenever I am able to get out there. Unfortunately at this time I am restricted to a little time during my lunch time and if I were able to find a few hours I think that more fish could be caught. Just before leaving another male largemouth was caught and capped off the outing and finally felt good once again to have that tug on the line.

[Kevin Dahlke]

June 2 2008

The last week or so has been fairly tough out there for me catching fish and it surely isn’t from lack of trying. After taking a look and thinking about the conditions that are happening, it isn’t so much weather related but the transition from spawn to summer patterns may be starting to shape up. Probably going to stay in this area that I have been fishing for this week yet and see if things change at all as the water warms, but I am starting to think about moving out to my deeper water spots in search of fish. Today I went back to the spot that I have been fishing recently and decided to change from the tube bait that I had been fishing and put on a BearPaws B-Bug in the watermelon color. I have been doing the same thing all along and by putting on the heavier ¼ oz slip sinker to get some distance in my casts out to around 3 feet of water. Seems that there is a general area that the bites have been coming from and today was no different as the fish picked up my bait and the fight was on. This was a fat largemouth bass and really was reluctant to come into shore but after a good fight I lipped the fish and took some pictures and back in the water to fight another day. Probably only going to spend a few more days in this area as the bites have been getting less and less and start going to my deeper water areas and see if anything is going on there.

[Kevin Dahlke]

June 5 2008

What another crazy day in the weather department for New England as well as what is going across the upper northern tier of this country. The previous day was rain all day and cool and this day was overcast with drizzle, mist and light gusts of wind. Tried for a little while and decided with the conditions to go to the deep water summer spot. I had fished all along a 100 yard stretch that was from deep water over to the other side that has a flat that comes up into a shallow weedbed. There wasn’t any activity what so ever in the deeper area so we must still be in the post spawn phase and they haven’t moved out here yet.

I had to take my daughter to her tumbling class and decided to hit a small pond/river backwater area and was fortunate to even find this spot with all of the different roads it took to get there. I started fishing for bass but after covering the area they were not going to cooperate at all. I had brought along my panfish rod with T.H.E. Jig tied on and that saved my little half hour trip. Casted out a couple of times and the bobber started dancing and an 8 inch crappie came to the surface. Casted back a couple of more times and bobber danced again and a nice hand sized bull sunfish was battling. I was only there for 30 minutes and caught 10 fish between the crappies and bull sunfish. Was using an all yellow T.H.E. Jig and working it slowly along with each cast. There were a couple of other guys down the shoreline and I didn’t see them catching anything over there. There was too much brush between us so I don’t think that they seen me catching the panfish. This is not the first time that T.H.E. Jig has saved my day and will not be the last. May try and get back to this spot this weekend and take my son along as well as he hasn’t been fishing in quite some time...

[Kevin Dahlke]

June 11 2008

The weather in New England has been perfect temperature wise for the fish, but not so much for us anglers. As the near 100 degree temps have finally vacated this region, this should have helped warm the shallows very nicely. Have been noticing the sunfish are moving in and staking their territory and moving into their spawn phase now. The bass fishing has been fairly slow and I still haven’t figured out yet if we are still getting into spawn or if we are into full post spawn already. From my previous records when the sunfish start showing in the shallows that is when the bass are in full swing of their spawn so we will have to see how this pans out.

The end of last week and the beginning days of this week, I had tried a variety of depths to see what mode these bass are in. The efforts were uneventful to say the least with no action shallow or deep. Today the weather finally was a little cooler so I made my hike back to the flat that I had been fishing most of this spring. The wind was blowing into this area and made casting a little tough but watching and gauging the wind gusts for that perfect time to cast made all the difference. Was fishing water 2-3 feet deep and using a Texas rigged tube bait, wasn’t long and the line started moving. Set the hook and a decent smallmouth came flying out of the water a number of times and the fight was on. Was nice to finally catch a decent fish once again and after a couple of photos gently put the fish back in the water to fight another day. Moved around this area and picked up another smaller largemouth that was cruising through the area. Those were the only two fish that were caught but now this has me thinking that maybe they are finally starting to move in and time will only tell.

[CrappieKeith]

Those bass sure are gorgous you've been catching.
It's fun to read through your thread to see the different structures those fish have been hold too as the weather has warmed up.

[Kevin Dahlke]

June 19 2008

Lately the fishing for bass has been very uneventful and believes that we are in that transition phase that they have left the shallows and are migrating out into their summer haunts. Since this had been a slow week I decided it was time to switch gears and go after some panfish that are swarming the shallow waters right now. The setup that I am using today is a short ultralite rod and micro spinning reel spooled with 2 lb test line. For bait selection I am going to use a bobber setup and below tie on T.H.E. Jig in a full yellow color pattern. Wasn’t after too many casts that the fish let me know they were hungry and ready to fight. Only sunfish were caught as the crappies have left the shallows already and are heading to deeper water. The sunfish that were biting were the male bull sunfish in deep dark brilliant colors. I was fishing a lake that I frequent quite often in the winter and there is a trail system around the whole lake and I was fishing from this trail as I walked. It didn’t take long to figure the pattern that these fish were relating to and that was the fish were positioned near tree over hangs that had some wood in the water. If you didn’t fish near these, you didn’t get a bite. Any place that I could find an opening in the shoreline brush I was able to catch fish but you had to get them out of there quickly as they would dig for the tree branches. Was a very fun lunchtime break and will have to do this a couple of more times before they start migrating away as well.