Ponkapoag Fishing Report

Ponki Pickerel

OK, so it's been a few days since I was fishing. I had a new spinning outfit (Abu Cardinal 603ALB and Vendetta 6'6"medium rod) that need to be broken in. I also needed to get the Hobie out for its maiden voyage this year in prep for tomorrow's NEKF Spring Thing and Upper Mystic.

After early morning rain stopped I hit the Ponk around 10:30 and started throwing a new Sebile Koolie minnow and got a medium pickerel on first cast of the day, a fairly auspicious start and the new setup was officially "slimed". I then headed west trolling the Koolie. Another medium pick, followed by a decent bass and then a gator pick.

The wind was really beginning to pick up when I noticed another yaker coming toward me in an Ascend FS10. So I peddled over to meet Nick, a sometime MAFF lurker and newb to kayak fishing. We swapped some info and then went about fishing. After that, things died down for me. I tried throwing my white spinner bait without any success. The wind was howling by this point and blowing me west to east at a pretty good clip.

I was switching between the Koolie on my new spinning setup and the spinnerbait on my Revo STX. I lost a good fish on the Koolie just east of the boat launch. I worked the southeastern side of the pond for a while without any other hits. I then peddled west trolling the Koolie without much success until I passed into the western half of the pond, then I nailed a couple of mid-sized picks in succession.

Now in the western end of the pond, I decided I'd just drift with the wind back to the launch site. Throwing the spinnerbait I was able to land a couple more medium picks. So for the day, I landed one bass and at least 8 picks.

I also learned a few things. First, spinning gear is much better in the wind than baitcasting gear, which will backlash if not thrown downwind or cross wind. Second, the Hobie performs much better in the wind and waves than my Ascend D10. However, the Ascend, being a SINK, offers significantly more protection from the wind and elements. So all in all, I learned a few things, met a cool dude, caught a few fish, used my new Rhino Rack for the first time and prepared for tomorrow's NEKF Spring Thing. Not a bad day.

• Added By: bloomagoo on 04/20/13 06:56 PM
• Location: Ponkapoag
• Report Date: 4/20/2013
• # of Photos: 2
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