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View Kevin G's Profile
| This user has 20 trips in their collection. |
| Name | Details | Map It |
Spy_6-5-11_and_Lower-Mystic_6-12-11
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 4
Views: 4356 | Lower Mystic Lake, Medford MA
6/5/2011 - 6/12/2011
Combining two short trips. I spent an hour out on Spy Pond in the kayak 6-5 and had trouble finding the bass, but got one decent one. Then Sunday 6-12 I spent just a half hour on the Mystic River at the mouth of Lower Mystic Lake by the bridge and picked up my first smallie of the season on a lightly weighted Kreature bait by the bridge casting at the usual locations and letting the current take it. | 
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Spy Pond 5-29-11
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 3
Views: 3671 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
5/29/2011
I took the kayak out today for its first trip of the season, first with my son and then for an hour with the rod. The wind was really strong and bad for the kayak, so I hid on the north side of the island and picked up several bass, a few small and one decent. Spy looks good, hoards of small bass visible (< 6", maybe stocked recently?) but few weeds. They have cut back many of the dead reeds. My reel broke, so I had to call it short. Good excuse to buy a new one... |
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Lower Mystic 5-28-11
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 1
Views: 3611 | Lower Mystic Lake, Medford MA
5/28/2011
This was my first outing of the season, if you don't count the trip I took with my 3-year-old son to catch dinks in Menotomy Rocks Park. I didn't have much time so I wandered over to lower Mystic near the river mouth to see what I could come up with. I was there for about 45 minutes in the late afternoon and managed to pick up a couple decent bass and a few dinks in the shallows from shore. Beautiful weather. |
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Spy Pond 8-29-10
Avg. Rating: 4.8
# Reviews: 5
Views: 4123 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
8/29/2010
Today I was reminded why I still go back to Spy Pond. I took my 3-year-old son out around 1 pm for a cruise in the kayak (without gear) and located a few new spots that looked promising. When he got tired and Mommy took him home for his nap, I headed back out to see what I could come up with. Spy was more active today than it has been since early May, once you find the fish. I caught more 8-13 inchers than I cared to count, in a couple areas pulling a bass in on every other cast of the 4" Senko (many, many dinks, to the point of being a nuisance since they were ripping up my Senkos). I switched to a 5" Senko and moved around and a few more 10-12 inchers then hooked into my biggest pull from Spy of the year. I was only lightly equipped, and wished when I got the hook into this guy that I had bothered to put fresh line on (let alone something stronger than 6# mono...), but I fought it out and eventually got him to the kayak (should have brought a net, too, in retrospect...). No scale with me, but in length he was about 21", and very healthy looking. He did not appear to have suffered much from the recent weed treatments, nor did he appear to have been caught recently, either. Caught a few more after that and picked up a good sunburn. The dinks were deep in the "cover" Spy has to offer, the bigger boys on the edge of it, usually in the shade, where available. Overall a great day... |
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Spy Pond, 5-22-10
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 2
Views: 4304 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
5/22/2010
I live very near Spy Pond. In fact, much closer than last year, since we moved this past winter. So this afternoon, around 5:30, I had a choice: Go out and do some errands, or grab the kayak and try to get as much time as possible fishing out on Spy. No brainer. So I timed it. The decision was made at 5:30 pm, I changed my clothes, threw the kayak on the car, drove over to Spy, dropped it in, paddled out to the other side of the island, and... at 6:02 pm, fish on! Well, he got off, but a couple more casts and I landed a respectable one (13 or 14 inches). See, I needed to be home a little after 7 pm, for family reasons, so time was really of the essence. I managed to fish for about 45 minutes, and caught 4 fish, two of which were in the 13-14 inch range (the others still at least over 10 in...). I talked to a guy in a canoe who had fished for a while and he apparently had a great day. I will confirm, after this and last week, that Spy is healthy for bass. No pigs, but healthy, active fish. I got home a few minutes late, but no big deal. I will be out again... |
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Spy Pond 5/16: First trip of 2010
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 3
Views: 3708 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
5/16/2010
Life's complicated. So this was my first trip of 2010. I went to Spy Pond for an hour and a half while the kid and his Mom and friends were playing in the park for the morning. The water was reasonably clear, and the lake fairly free of weeds after last years purge. They have killed the reeds that were growing around the island and the east shore. The wind was strong, so I fished just west of the island for a while. I had a decent bass on a senko, but he spit the hook. Then I saw a fellow kayak fisherman catch a good sized "pickerel". I later spoke with him, and let him know that I had never seen a pickerel in Spy Pond before, but I had heard that there are tiger musky there... I didn't see it close, though...
Anyway, after that I headed over to the south side of the island along the dead reeds and picked up a couple of good sized bass (maybe 13-15 inches--it's in my plan to buy a scale this year... but weighing them just isn't as much fun as catching them!). The bass looked healthy, so overall I think Spy Pond is not lost from the weed killing last year. And I am curious about this "pickerel" my fellow kayaker caught...
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Little (Spy) Pond, Belmont 9-20-09
Avg. Rating: 3.4
# Reviews: 5
Views: 8499 | Little (Spy) Pond, Belmont MA
9/20/2009
I have been eyeing "Little Pond" for a while now. Located within the Alewife Brook Reservation, it is just across Rt. 2 from Spy Pond (and there are some references to it as "Little Spy Pond") and the source of Alewife Brook, which feeds into the Mystic River. The shoreline is almost entirely inaccessible, and I had contemplated whether it might be possible to traverse Alewife Brook in the kayak. I met some kayakers today that did just that, starting off in Lower Mystic Lake, but they said it took them 90 minutes at a leisurely pace, and they said some areas were pretty tight. Instead, after some searching on the internet, I found someone who shared with me the location of a very well hidden, dirt access road that leads down to an old broken dock where you can park your car and launch a kayak (or canoe, but that's about it).
The water in this pond is very murky, but it is otherwise a beautiful place to visit. Very isolated and protected from the otherwise urban surrounding, wildlife abounds. The pond is rather shallow. There are no lilly pads, but many weeds along the northern shore. There are lots of down trees in the water providing additional cover to fish. It's full of big but skittish carp, and even bigger turtles (and even bigger mosquitos...).
I was out in the kayak for about three hours, half of which was spent just paddling around enjoying the views and the wildlife. I saw some kind of huge hawk/eagle (not the usual redtail hawk) that was screeching like it was the end of the world, many other birds and an albino squirrel. I only caught one fish, a small bass on a 4" Senko, but had a great time and I will definitely be back. I saw another kayak fisherman and two guys wading, really the only ways to fish this water, in addition to the kayakers that made their way from Winchester. Recommended for kayak fishing, no serious shore access. |
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Shigellosis or toxic Microcystis cyanobacteria algae?
Avg. Rating: 4
# Reviews: 5
Views: 4485 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
8/22/2009
Well, the plan today was to take the family up to Sandy Beach (also called Shannon Beach) in Winchester to have lunch and swim and I would get some time out in the kayak to find some lunkers. But Sandy Beach was fenced off and closed due to some kind of Shigella bacteria outbreak that's been causing dysentery. The ranger strongly urged me not to put the kayak in.
Ok, change of plan, we took the kid to the Arlington Reservoir (filtered and lightly chlorinated in the isolated swimming area), had lunch, and afterward I headed toward Spy Pond to see what I could find. I found signs warning against a toxic microcystis cyanobateria algae outbreak that has resulted in a warning not to come into direct contact with the water... WTF is going on with our lakes?!?
I said f#$k it, I'll try not to touch the water much and launched anyway.
Not the Spy Pond of old. Water was cloudy and had a strange blue-green hue to it. It smelled funny. I found a dead catfish floating in the water. No more weeds.
That all said, the bass were biting. I first tossed a 5" Senko with a 4/0 hook (watermelon, green flake) and was getting bites, but couldn't set the hook. I switched to a 4" Senko with a 2/0 hook and started catching some fish, though still getting many more bites than I could set hooks. Not sure if they were small bass, timid bass, or some other species like yellow perch tugging on them. The Senko would come up partially pulled off the hook or missing entirely. I caught 6 fish in total over about two hours, nothing huge, all in the 8-12" range.
Then around 6 pm I heard a long tire screeching coming from route 2, followed by a blood curdling crash I could hear clear across the lake that made my own life flash before my eyes. Then the sirens came. I paddled over to see what happened. Apparently only one car in trouble, and the driver taken away in an ambulance. I saw them pulling the car away from the guardrail (that was the big crash sound), and it looked like seatbelts and airbags would have been sufficient for the driver (I hope so). At that point I called it a day. |
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Lake Winnipesaukee, 8-15-09
Avg. Rating: 3.75
# Reviews: 4
Views: 4589 | Lake Winnepesaukee, NH
8/15/2009
I'm up in New Hampshire for a few days, just arrived this afternoon. After dinner and the requisite social niceties I headed down to the dock to try my luck. It was dark and calm, no moon. I threw a black jitter bug and got a little hit on the first cast that gave me some confidence. Then I had a small bass on that was jumping well out of the water over and over before throwing the hook. A little while later I had another hard hit and this one took off. The hook was set well and I pulled up my biggest smally of the year, maybe 15-16 inches, not really sure it was dark. I have a blurry shot from my cell with illumination from an LED headlamp...
The weather up here is beautiful... |
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Hills Pond, Menotomy Rocks Park, Arlington 8-14-09
Avg. Rating: 3.5
# Reviews: 4
Views: 8912 | Hills Pond, Menotomy Rocks Park, Arlington MA
8/14/2009
I stopped by Menotomy Rocks Park in Arlington on the way home from work to enjoy the weather a bit. After a quick walk around Hills Pond and seeing many bass (mostly very small, but at least one good sized) in the clear shallow water, I grabbed my rod to see what I could find. Lots of small bass here, I did not even see a single species other than largemouth. Not sure what they eat, maybe frogs. Maybe that's why they are so small. I caught 3 dinks and had numerous little bites. A guy there said there is a five pounder in there that he caught twice (not big enough for two five pounders!). I didn't see it.
It's a nice park with some lawns, picnic tables, playground, and good shore access. A good place to take kids to learn to fish for bass. I think I'll take my son here when he gets older. Not recommended if you're looking for a lunker... |
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From dusk 'till dark, Upper Mystic, 8-8-09
Avg. Rating: 4.2222222222222
# Reviews: 9
Views: 2445 | Upper Mystic Lake, Medford MA
8/8/2009
I dropped the Kayak in upper Mystic around 6 pm this evening. The water was very low. I first hit the western shoreline throwing everything I could think of into lilly pads but couldn't buy a bite. Lots of other fishing boats out and I didn't see anyone else catching anything either. Finally made my way up to one of my lucky spots by the Winchester boat club and picked up a decent (maybe 13") bass on a Skippyfish swim bait. It was around 7:45 at this point, nearing sunset, so I paddled back near my car. I threw some senkos, crankbaits, more skippyfish and even a jitterbug and still couldn't get a bite. Until it started to get dark.
I was about to call it a night and pull out the kayak (I launched at the point on a hill along Mystic Valley Parkway) when I noticed that all along the gravel shorline there were baitfish jumping all over the place, and I saw a few larger disturbances in the water that looked like bass. I grabbed a Swim 'n Image which looked to me kind of like the little fish that were jumping and landed a 15-incher on the first cast. Over the next 45 minutes I caught 4 more good sized bass (12-16", 16 being the best of the day), all right up against the shoreline in 6" to 1-foot of water. I didn't plan to stay out that late and into darkness, but that's when they picked up.
A note to shore fisherman: Now is a great time to fish that area (see the map below) from shore, since the water is so low, there is superb access. I suspect tomorrow night, being similar weather, might be as active as tonight, so someone looking to try out their topwater skills from shore might want to check it out. Cast parallel to the shore, as they were coming in really close to feed on these little baitfish.
No pics, as my cell phone has no flash and the pic-worthy fish were all caught at low light levels. |
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Spy Pond, 7-19-09 (now weedless)
Avg. Rating: 3.5
# Reviews: 2
Views: 2157 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
7/19/2009
Wow. They really did torch Spy Pond. When I read meat7gtk's report the other day I couldn't imagine the extent of the destruction. ALL of the weedbeds are gone, fried by whatever chemicals were dumped in there by these guys:
http://www.aquaticcontroltech.com/chemical_treatments.html
I caught five fish out in the kayak, four very small bass and a white perch, but I couldn't find any decent bass, and I didn't know where to look, as all my favorite spots, mostly edges of weeds or over the tops, are gone. The water, normally crystal clear, was completely turbid, maybe for the better so I didn't have to see the aquatic holocaust that lay beneath. A smell of dead fish and decaying vegetation was quite persistent. This is very depressing. I'm hoping most of the fish will survive, but without the cover of weeds for the baitfish to thrive in I'm afraid the growth, and size, of the fish in there will be stunted. Considering my luck in nearby Upper Mystic last weekend that may now be my go to place. It's a shame because Spy Pond is a much more pleasant lake to be out on. No pics today... [sigh] | - |
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Upper Mystic, 7-12-09
Avg. Rating: 3.8
# Reviews: 5
Views: 3276 | Upper Mystic Lake, Medford MA
7/12/2009
I had good luck at upper mystic the day before, so I went right back to see if it would continue. I fished from 5 pm to a little after 6, this time just inside the mouth of the upper bay. Not quite the excitement of Saturday, but I did land one good size bass ~15-16" who put up an admirable fight (pictured) on the 4" skippyfish. |
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Upper Mystic Lake, 7-11-09
Avg. Rating: 4.5
# Reviews: 6
Views: 4451 | Upper Mystic Lake, Medford MA
7/11/2009
Went out in the kayak from about 1:30 to 4 pm this afternoon. Tried out a new soft bait today, Skippyfish 4" Alewife Shad. Got nothing in the little bay by Sandy Beach, but it was really windy, so I sought shelter in the bay near the Winchester Boat Club. Things picked up here. I caught about a 14" largemouth off a dock to kick it off, then another small bass and a yellow perch. Moved on a little and picked up a bunch of bass (five, with three casts in a row to roughly the same spot each yielding a bass, mostly small but one 12"). Had another on after that that shook off. Then I moved around to the other side of the Boat Club and threw Skippyfish along the shore and hooked into a nice ~19-incher to finish a great day. I'm now a believer in Upper Mystic--I've always heard stories of people catching bass there, but never had much luck. I also love the Skippyfish...
I snapped what pictures I could with my cell phone in the kayak, but they didn't really come out so well... |
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Spy Pond 7-5-09
Avg. Rating: 3
# Reviews: 3
Views: 2250 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
7/5/2009
Went to Spy Pond this afternoon in the kayak after a long hiatus from kayak fishing (rain, sick kid, mother-in-law, you-name-it... but man, it was good to get out again!). Fished from 4 pm to a little after 6. Very windy. Not feeling it today. I caught a couple small yellow perch on a rapala, but was having trouble finding the bass. Couldn't make up my mind what to throw at them, either. Finally, after 5:30, the wind died down a bit and I picked up 3 bass in rapid succession on a jitterbug over weeds near shore. Unfortunately, as usual, just as things started picking it was time to leave... No pics today, largest bass was barely 11". |
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Upper Mystic 7-2-09
Avg. Rating: 3.4
# Reviews: 5
Views: 2906 | Upper Mystic Lake, Medford MA
7/2/2009
I stopped by Upper Mystic for about a half hour after work (~5 pm). Fished from a tight shore spot not far from Sandy Beach. Fished a Senko and pulled in one ~13" bass, the significance being that I have never had any luck in Upper Mystic before. Good way to kick off the weekend. I snapped a blurry shot from my cell. |
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Spy Pond 6-7-09
Avg. Rating: 3.1428571428570997
# Reviews: 7
Views: 3019 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
6/7/2009
I can't resist Spy Pond. Back there again this afternoon from the kayak, as usual, 2:30-4:00 pm. It was windy (winds out of the south-west), so I made my way to the little finger bay in the eastern most part of the lake. There are a lot of large willow trees along the western shore of that little bay that gave good protection from the wind and afternoon shade. Those trees also have branches that reach down to the water providing some good cover to fish. I fished a purple/blue flake senko right along the shore where the trees touch the water, without much success. As I drifted around, I found some weed beds in which there were many bluegills and in one area literally hundreds of small yellow perch swimming around. I finally landed a 10" bass on the senko, but I was having trouble with the thick weeds. I got two strong surface strikes on the senko while reeling it in fast (not trying to work it, but just reeling it in to recast), and decided they were looking for more action and switched to a Zoom Super Fluke (bass color, but the particular bait I used had sat up against a pumpkinseed senko for a few weeks and got a nice red hue to the underside). I prefer the Super Flukes for more active presentation. I picked up a good 12 incher on my fourth cast. Both of the fish I caught at this point were further out from the shore, so I paddled towards the middle of the bay and threw the Super Fluke and hooked into a good sized bass that gave up a great fight, including one good out of water show. I'm estimating 16", and I did manage to snap a shot of him from my cell phone. Then my wife called and said it was time to go. I think Super Flukes are going to be the way to work these huge weed beds, because I think they are too thick for the Senkos to actually fall properly... |
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Spy Pond 5-30-09
Avg. Rating: 2.6666666666667
# Reviews: 3
Views: 2069 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
5/30/2009
I hit Spy again from the kayak from 5-6:30 pm today. Very pleasant weather, sunny with a moderate breeze out of the west. The water was exceptionally clear giving a great view of the massive weed beds in this lake. Not much doing today, one 10" bass on a jitterbug and a tiny 5" bass on a 3" floating rapala, both over a weedbed in a protected cove with a few docks. |
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Upper Mystic 5-25-09
Avg. Rating: 2.3333333333333
# Reviews: 3
Views: 1433 | Upper Mystic Lake, Medford MA
5/25/2009
Upper Mystic Lake, mid-afternoon. Ok, I'll admit it, I was finally encouraged to join here so I could post about my lunker in Spy Pond Saturday. It wouldn't be fair if I didn't include this trip, where I was hands down skunked. Out in the kayak from 1:30-3:30, I tried mostly senkos and some spinnerbaits along the shorelines, but nothing going for me. In the upper bay the carp were going nuts in the lilly pads. I saw someone else pick up a small bass (and toss it in a cooler--out of Mystic??? Isn't Mystic full of arsenic?). Didn't have much luck here last time either. Suggestions welcome, since my wife and son like sandy beach there... | - |
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Spy Pond 5-23-09
Avg. Rating: 3.625
# Reviews: 8
Views: 3653 | Spy Pond, Arlington MA
5/23/2009
Late afternoon on Spy Pond, Arlington. My 5th trip here since I bought my kayak a month ago. Slow afternoon until things started picking up after 5:30 before culminating in the landing of a monster of a largemouth (measured at approximately 22", unknown weight, very healthy, enormous girth) on a Senko. Largest fish I have ever caught from a kayak. Possibly the largest largemouth bass I have ever caught. Thought I was stuck on weeds or a log and started pulling the kayak over before he made one of 4 serious runs. Spy pond is quite a bass hole... |
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