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View Michael K's Profile
| This user has 29 trips in their collection. |
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More Jigging Adventures
Avg. Rating: 3.5
# Reviews: 8
Views: 3205 | Charles River, Waltham, MA
5/3/2009
With my confidence surging after Saturday's outing, I decided to go check out Purgatory Cove following Will's recent success there. I went a couple times last fall, without success. But I figured it's time to break out and try new places.
I got there early, around 6.30 maybe. As the river slowly woke up, fish were breaking the surface. It was hard to see if it was bass or something else, but I had no luck on any of the topwater baits I threw. I fished a pearl fluke for a while, and got my first bite but lost it when setting the hook. Got another bump on a plastic swimbait but no dice.
Switched to the other side of the road, and started throwing a jig. After a bit, I got a strike and another missed hookset. Threw it back out, same area, and a tap and the line starts moving off. Got a clean hookset this time, and landed a healthy looking keeper a touch over 12 inches.
I picked up a spro frog recently, and decided to give it a try. On a long cast, it gets picked up right after landing. I set the hook, and way too fast of course. All I get is a frog flying 20 feet towards me. Nothing else happens, and I change to a Texas rigged Sweet Beaver. I manage to get a bite in the same spot as the jig, but once again whiff on the hookset. Not a good day in that department. Grrr.
Near the end of the day, I walk around the area to see if there are other spots to fish from but I'm having a hard time seeing any good areas that aren't wicked shallow and/or too overgrown to really get a lure wet from. I'll have to come back and scout it out some more in the future.
Not a bad day out, managing some bites on more finessey baits, and another jig fish. I hope I keep getting better, jigs are my second favorite lure and I would hate to keep buying them if I can't catch my share on them! | 
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A Morning of Firsts
Avg. Rating: 4.125
# Reviews: 8
Views: 3261 | College Pond, Weston, MA
5/2/2009
Went out for some Saturday morning fun, trying to build some confidence in lures not named crankbait. I had planned on stopping by the Charles, but ended up having to make an emergency run back home.
When I managed to get back out, I ended up going back to College Pond instead. It was a brisk morning, with a light drizzle of rain from time to time. Great for bass not being too skittish!
Started out with a Zara Spook, trying to polish up on the walk-the-dog moves. Took 5 minutes to land my first real topwater bass, a dink around 9 inches or so.
Switched to a zoom fluke, and missed a couple of fish. One held on for a good 10 seconds, without the hook ever getting set right. Managed to land another short fish a bit later, despite having to drag the poor thing through the reeds. First fluke bass! Maybe 10 inches.
Couldn't help myself, and put the 4S Sexy Shad crank back on. Got another short fish in the 9-10 inch range. Immediately felt guilty, and put a chartreuse spinnerbait on. Nothing. Fished a shadalicious swimbait for a bit, and hooked up with a pickerel that hopped off as I was landing it for maximum convenience.
Eventually I built up the nerve to tie on a jig, a bluegill pattern swim jig. Spent 15 minutes swimming it around without a single tap. Started dragging/bouncing it instead, still nothing. Decided to give some nearby reeds a workover, and felt a very distinct thud. Quick hookset, and a good fight led to a 15-16 incher around a pound and a half. Definitely one of my favorite fish, especially coming on the jig!
I ended up getting nothing else on the jig, and went back to the fluke. Around then, the dinks decided to wake up and annihilate the fluke for 15-20 minutes. Got 3 more on the fluke, one keeper, one short fish, and one that was barely longer than the fluke itself!
Ended up heading home around 11 after a great outing. Very happy to have landed some fish on baits that I don't feel confident in yet. Just gotta keep at it =) |
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An evening date
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 6
Views: 3507 | College Pond, Weston, MA
4/30/2009
My wife and I decided to head out for a couple hours of evening fishing after work. I've been meaning to get a decent picture of me with a fish, and my wife just got her new camera. She gets to play with her new toy, I get to reap the benefits!
We went down to trusty old College Pond, hoping to catch a couple bass. It was a nice evening out with very little cloud cover, and lots of bugs. The weather was better than the bass bite, but my wife had fun pulling in a bunch of sunnies.
I did manage to land one solid bass, a personal best 16 inches and a shade over a pound and a half on a dodgy spring scale. It hammered a Strike 4S crankbait not too far from shore, and freaked out when it got close enough to see me. She made a big run, and I damn near lost the grip on the rod. Definitely more fight than the size would imply. It turned out to be the only fish of the day, but well worth the trip. |
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Early morning at College Pond
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 5
Views: 5975 | College Pond, Weston, MA
4/11/2009
I didn't have time to take advantage of Friday's nice weather, so I set the alarm for 6am Saturday instead. I woke up to low 40s and light rain. I got to College Pond around 6.30.
At the pond the fish were breaking the surface on a regular basis. It almost looked like a warm summer morning! I started out with the same crankbait I used the last trip, but I'd let it sit on the surface for a few seconds after casting. Got an early small one to get the day started, but it felt like I was fishing too deep.
With all the surface action, I wish I had brought a topwater bait. Instead, I ended up switching to a Bandit Footloose crankbait which runs maybe a foot deep. Caught a couple that weren't quite keepers, one of which hit the lure sitting dead in the water while I was working out a birdsnest. Topwater action in April!!! I did manage to land one nice, chunky 15-16 incher in the 1 1/2 pound range.
I picked up a pack of 4.5” Shadalicous swimbaits last night, and gave them a try. Didn't catch any bass on them, but I did manage a decent pickerel. Threw a weightless Yamamoto Kreature for a bit, with no luck and no confidence. I meant to give the jig a shot, to get some practice in, but instead sucked out and tied a bluegill Bandit 100 on. With that lure, I managed another pickerel and 3 more bass, with the last one being another nice chunky 15-incher to close the day. Ended up leaving around 10.30, cold, wet, and happy =) |
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First bass - Ever!
Avg. Rating: 4.625
# Reviews: 8
Views: 4197 | College Pond, Weston, MA
4/5/2009
I've been chasing my first career bass since late last fall, without luck. After reading Will's trip to College Pond last weekend, I decided to give it a try since the pond is around 10 minutes from my place.
the weather was mostly sunny and a bit of wind out of the south. Spent an hour with a crankbait, a shaky heads, and a jig. Nothing apart from weeds and the occasional birdsnest.
With the sun on its way down around 5.30, I decided to give the new crankbait another go. BAM! Line gets heavy, I set the hook in what I expect to be another chunk of weeds. Instead, I get the lovely tap-tap-tap =) My first bass ever, a whopping 12 incher.
For the next 45 minutes, I manage to notch 6 more, all of them in the 12-14" range. It feels damn good to chase off the skunk!
A special thanks must go out to willluvstafish for pointing me to College Pond. I owe you a beer for my first bass ever =) |
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