Bass fishing
Contributors to this thread:Connecticut
From: Shawn
13-Jun-23
Who else is out killing the bass?
From: Shawn
13-Jun-23
From: Corax_latrans
13-Jun-23
Now that I’m thinking about it, I realize that it has been quite a long time since I really thought about getting after largemouths. I don’t really like to beat up on them too much when they’re on their nests… But a little bit, now and then ;)
I got into a PILE of schoolies the other night, though…. Some nice eating-size blues, too. Tonight was tougher; I wanted to use the 9-wt, but the breeze was a bit much. Too much bait around to attract any attention without a popper, and too much onshore breeze to throw one very far.
And I’ve gotta say - the sunset tonight was mind-blowing….
From: Blood
14-Jun-23
Those are great bass Shawn! Looks like fun trip!
From: soapdish
14-Jun-23
Getting ready to head up to lake Champlain. Fishing is usually out of this world. With any luck I'll get my new boat back.....that's another story
From: Big Dog
14-Jun-23
Shawn,nice one
From: Coondog
14-Jun-23
Those are some really solid fish! The only freshwater fishing I’ve done this year has been for trout. Have been out a couple times for stripers though.
From: Corax_latrans
14-Jun-23
Little one from Sunday night
Little one from Sunday night
I was talking to a guy who works out of the Norwalk Orvis shop last week, and he said they were getting them from 20 to 40 pounds. And there’s a kid who works at a shop nearby I saw a picture of… He had taken one (on a bunker chunk) which was bigger than the top end of the slot.
From: Swamp_Donkey
14-Jun-23
I've been seeing 50+ ponders here in south long island sound spearfishing. Too big to shoot. I'll be going to block island and fishers island more to chase the migration. Sorry to say it but most of CT has seen the push of the migration already
From: Corax_latrans
14-Jun-23
Honestly, I am thankful for every minute I get out there…
Kind of a Bucket List item to fly-fish the flats up on the Cape…
From: Coondog
14-Jun-23
Swamp, how difficult is it to tell which fish are 28-31 inches while spearfishing?
From: Corax_latrans
14-Jun-23
Removing bad information, lest my ignorance become contagious
From: Tall 1
14-Jun-23
Nice largemouths Shawn. I’ve had an excellent spring fishing for smallmouth in the CT river north of Hartford.
From: Shawn
14-Jun-23
Nice fish everyone!
From: Woodsnut
15-Jun-23
Been doing well so far-both salt/ fresh water. Enjoying the Jackson kayak
From: Coondog
15-Jun-23
Corax, I don’t know where you’re seeing anywhere that the slot limit doesn’t apply. That wouldn’t make any sense with what their goal is with the striped bass fishery. You might want to double check that…
From: Corax_latrans
15-Jun-23
Removing bad information, lest my ignorance become contagious.
Yes, not only wrong, but persistently so. Apologies.
From: Smoothdraw
15-Jun-23
Shawn, Wearing camo, background is blacked out. Must be an illegal spot. Lol! Those are always the best spots. Good fishin!
From: Shawn
15-Jun-23
Smooth just don’t want to give up my honey hole!!
From: Blood
15-Jun-23
Corax, the slot limit is 28”-31” regardless of how you catch the fish.
Swamp, can you please elaborate how that works for all of us here? Thanks.
Some really nice fish guys!! Keep the pics coming.
From: Corax_latrans
15-Jun-23
Removing bad information, lest my ignorance become contagious.
Yes, not only wrong, but persistently so. Apologies.
Getting tired of repeating myself, but I paid good money for this one! LOL@myself - no offense if you guys feel like joining in ;)
From: Blood
15-Jun-23
Corax that’s a federal slot limit. It’s all up and down the whole East Coast I believe.
From: spike78
15-Jun-23
Yes same in MA
From: Corax_latrans
15-Jun-23
OH…
Well, that’s good to know, then… So now I’m trying to find the post which I took to say otherwise….. ???
I’m not up on the regs outside of my own back yard anymore, since I don’t generally travel to hunt/fish… but I’m glad that the Fed IS regulating the migratories, because…. Migratory.
There - I went back and pulled the earlier posts….
From: Ace
16-Jun-23
NJ has apparently decided not to participate in the 28-31” slot. It remains to be seen how the Feds will deal with this.
From: steve
16-Jun-23
Ace that sucks!!! A lot of big fish are being released in Long Island sound
From: Blood
16-Jun-23
There’s so many stripers around, they would be just fine with relaxing the slot…. They are everywhere.
From: Swamp_Donkey
16-Jun-23
This was from Long Island yesterday. They still haven’t implemented the new slot. Still shooting 28-35” out there. This one was 33”. But after a lot of practice I know how to shoot a 28-31” slot window. I knew this fish was going to be either 33 or 34 inches.
From: Swamp_Donkey
16-Jun-23
From: Swamp_Donkey
16-Jun-23
Our screens were looking like this earlier in the year. The thick of it has headed east.
From: Coondog
16-Jun-23
CT
CT
RI
RI
NY
NY
NJ
NJ
From: Blood
16-Jun-23
Swamp, you’re incorrect. That new slot went into effect immediately when they imposed it.
From: Big Dog
16-Jun-23
Swamp ,Nice fish; way to go.
From: Gene
16-Jun-23
Last largemouth that I got was a 3 pounder a few weeks ago while fishing for redfish, speckled trout and sheepshead in the brackish water of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (Mister Go) in Hopedale LA. Down here locally they are called green trout and that fish was caught on a live shrimp. Always know when I have a bass on as they like to jump. My trip out last weekend didn't produce any bass, but I did bring home one decent redfish and 2 goodsized sheepshead fishing from my Kayak in MRGO.
From: Corax_latrans
16-Jun-23
That last picture made me grin a little…. I caught (AND RELEASED!!) a 33” a few years ago and it didn’t look that big!! ;)
LOL
From: Corax_latrans
16-Jun-23
And a follow up on the general topic of fishing… May as well keep it in one place…
Especially when you know there are decent-sized Blues around, do you guys use a blues-proof shock tippet, or does that mess up the action of a plug? Or a big popper fly like a boilermaker, for that matter…. I recently picked up a lifetime supply of American Fishing Wire - it’s pretty stout, but I just spooled a rod with braid for the first time and I think I saw somewhere that you want to keep a mono leader on that stuff. Given the cost of flies and plugs these days, a couple inches of wire out there seems like cheap insurance….
From: Big Dog
17-Jun-23
CL, Swamp is long arming the fish which gives you that illusion....
From: Corax_latrans
17-Jun-23
Yeah, I just thought I’d tease him about it, because a fish that nice doesn’t need any help ;)
From: Corax_latrans
18-Jun-23
Well, I took some time today with Thing Two and we lit up some Sunnies on sponge-bugs and poppers. He was busier learning to cast a fly than catching fish, but always good to have a break ;)
And not-for-nothin’, but the old Lee Wulff Triangle taper was a bit of a revelation….
From: Tall 1
18-Jun-23
Enjoyed an afternoon on the boat Friday.
From: Shawn
19-Jun-23
Huge crappie!
Huge crappie!
From: Shawn
19-Jun-23
From: Shawn
19-Jun-23
Let’s go!!
From: Corax_latrans
19-Jun-23
Nice! I don’t think I’ve seen a crappie since I moved out here!
From: Blood
19-Jun-23
Shawn, awesome!! That reminds me when I was kid pond hopping. Cool!!
From: tobywon
19-Jun-23
Nice Fish all!! Floated down river on the kayaks for some river smallmouth with kids for Fathers Day. Hard fighting and acrobatic fish!!
From: SILVERADO
19-Jun-23
Hey shawn this is a bass lol!!
From: Rackem
19-Jun-23
Awesome Striper Silverado!!
From: Bwhnt
19-Jun-23
My daughter got her personal best on a father's day fishing trip.
From: soapdish
19-Jun-23
Here's a Champlain Smalley, 3.75 lb. That lake is phenomenal. My new boat blew the power head, so my buddy let me borrow his bass boat.....that may or may not star lol. Needless to say we didn't go far from the launch. We still did ok considering. You don't realize how big that lake is until you only have a trolling motor.
From: Corax_latrans
19-Jun-23
That’s a GINORMOUS Smallie..,
Wow.
From: soapdish
20-Jun-23
One can get pretty spoiled up there. Catch 2 to 3.75 lbs all day most times. Plus, you never know what's going to bite on the next cast. Could be a walleye, pike, largemouth. Crazy
From: JohnNWCT
20-Jun-23
Champlain is great fishing. For years my dad and I fished the LCI tourney during father's day week. Great time to go. Only bad thing, all the cotton from the cottonwood trees on the water. Had to re-spool almost every day. Great fish guys.
From: Shawn
20-Jun-23
I can’t stand that cottonwood. Every cast ripping it off the line. It sticks to it too. Nice fish guys! Massive striper Dave!!!
From: Rackem
20-Jun-23
Gene I fished out of Port Sulphur two weeks ago. We too were using shrimp for bait. A bunch of small reds drums. One nice 25# black drum. It was a little windy which turned up the water. I was hoping to use the fly rod for a big red but that didn't happen.
From: soapdish
20-Jun-23
NW.....the cottonwood can be a real pain in the arse, it's like clockwork up there. There's one lawn that looks like it just snowed. I've been doing the derby for 31 years with the same core group of guys. Three generations at a time. It's the wind that can really suck lol
From: nehunter
21-Jun-23
I was fishing inside Cape Cod Bay on Monday and had huge fishing totally jumping completely out of the water. They were over 3 feet long. Kept drifting live mackerel without any hits. Then heard on the radio guys talking about the Sturgeon jumping. So I guess Sturgeon are thriving in salt water.
Crazy amount of them too
Caught this Striper while trying to figure out what the jumping fish were.
From: Corax_latrans
21-Jun-23
“Caught this Striper while trying to figure out what the jumping fish were.”
Well, at least you were able to find a way to pass the time…. ;)
Nice fish!
Silverado’s is just ridiculous big… Any guess how many pounds and inches on these puppies?
From: steve
22-Jun-23
52 lb
From: CTBobcat
22-Jun-23
Have a friend visiting from out of state next week. He's buying a 1 day fishing license. He's a fly fisherman. Besides the Pomperaug, where can I get him on some trout closeby ?
From: nehunter
22-Jun-23
I recommend the Housatonic along the Sharon/Cornwall side of Rt7, or the Farmington River near Pleasant Valley.
From: Corax_latrans
22-Jun-23
“52 lb”
I shot a deer that big here in CT…
LOL
Bruiser!
From: Notme
22-Jun-23
Boat fish don't count..lol
From: Blood
22-Jun-23
Cmon now. Silverado is 4’12” tall. That fish is also 4’12” ;)
Sweet bass!
From: steve
23-Jun-23
Notme it still counts.
From: Rackem
23-Jun-23
CTbobcat, Fish the Farmington, it has been really good as of late. New Hartford area was just stocked with some big rainbow trout. Farmingtonriver.com. Upcountry Sportfishing is really knowledgeable. A great store to get some tips and flies.
From: Tall 1
23-Jun-23
Just got back from a few days of smallie fishing up north.
From: spike78
25-Jun-23
12” Crappie today
From: soapdish
26-Jun-23
Spike you left a hanging curveball....and notme is at the plate lol
From: Notme
26-Jun-23
Notme's Link
https://youtu.be/DAcfOWaFSek
From: soapdish
26-Jun-23
Not me never disappoints
From: soapdish
26-Jun-23
39 1/2" from the CT river last month...... from shore
From: Rackem
27-Jun-23
Great catch Soapdish!
From: soapdish
27-Jun-23
Ty. It was phenomenal back in the early 90's. We used to chase em down with top water plugs up and down the river as they busted the surface. With some pushing 50".
From: Shawn
28-Jun-23
So the same thing happened to the stripers that happened to the deer. Over abundance and over harvesting…
From: soapdish
28-Jun-23
Sprinkle in some technology to boot. Livescope, panoptix etc.... the internet. Randy Blauket (pro bass guy) has a you tube channel. He spoke about electronics and fishing. Live forward facing panoptix etc...for the pros, he pointed out poachers have the same technology. Now off to Cabela's to get my panoptix for my new Garmin lol. Not a poacher though
From: Blood
29-Jun-23
The biomass of stripers is so massive….they are everywhere. They eat everything.
From: Corax_latrans
29-Jun-23
Makes you wonder what the population looked like historically… You know how people thought we could never run out of whales or bison or passenger pigeons and all those others which we managed to wipe out.
And with all of those whales gone, no longer eating bunker and blue-backs and alewives… you’d think that the blue-backs and alewives should have a shot at a comeback if we could just get them back to a good, clean spawning ground…
So I guess the forage base can support many more tons of predators…. And I don’t know the history of the commercial Striper fishing industry…. Maybe none of us are old enough to know what a “natural” population of bass looks like?
It’s nice to imagine, at least, that there could be a population much larger than we had ever imagined :D
From: Blood
29-Jun-23
There are so many stripers around right now, that a lot of you wouldn’t remember when you could barely catch one. There are so many stripers around right now… you can go to almost any marina in CT or RI, cut up some squid and catch as many stripers as you want…..
From: Woodsnut
29-Jun-23
My thought. - we have good population at moment. As the climate changes and water temps warm - perhaps they will move north die off- maybe we have new fish from down south move up -,ie drum - either way I just enjoying while can - and if can just tag 1 doe. Another great year
From: Corax_latrans
29-Jun-23
Yeah, you’d think warmer water would be good for accelerating growth, provided that the forage base can survive the temps….
It all REALLY makes me wonder what this world will look like by the time my grandkids are my age - assuming that there will be any….
“a lot of you wouldn’t remember when you could barely catch one. ”
That sounds a lot like the entire 25 years I’ve been out here! I’ve somehow managed to spend only a small fraction of the time on the water that I’d hoped to when I arrived, but a wife, a coupla kids and a job will do that to a guy…
So I’m try to enjoy everything that I can, while I can. I’m now older than my dad’s father ever got to be, so I’m trying not to take too much for granted….
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
Keep ‘em coming! Here’s a 4 I caught tonight!
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
Huge crappie!!
Huge crappie!!
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
From: Shawn
02-Jul-23
From: steve
03-Jul-23
Is that 6 different fish??
From: steve
03-Jul-23
My grand son and son-in-law
From: Corax_latrans
03-Jul-23
I love that your grandson isn’t long-arming it!
Elbows, or it never happened!!! LOL
From: Shawn
05-Jul-23
Steve 5. I accidentally posted one twice but yes all different fish! This guy swallowed the hook…
From: spike78
08-Jul-23
13” Crappie today pretty sweet
From: Coondog
08-Jul-23
Early morning trip this morning for trout and smallies!
From: Blood
08-Jul-23
Not to be outdone by the Coondog….. ;)
From: Big Dog
09-Jul-23
nothing on earth like a river.... nice fish
From: Shawn
09-Jul-23
Spike that’s a huge crappie!!
From: Shawn
09-Jul-23
Here’s some more from tonight!!
From: Bwhnt
10-Jul-23
If you have a picture you want to post, take a screenshot of it. Then you can crop out of that screenshot what you don't want to see above and below the actual picture. Then if you upload that photo from your screenshot folder, it will be upright every time.
From: Blood
10-Jul-23
This ^^
From: spike78
15-Jul-23
Upped it today to 14 1/4” on this crappie. I’ve always been a bass fisherman but love going for big crappie!
From: Brian M.
15-Jul-23
? Your tape says less than 13". Tape is an inch or more past tail.
From: spike78
15-Jul-23
It appears that way due to the angle. I measured that fish multiple times and got 14” plus each time.
From: spike78
15-Jul-23
It’s impossible to hold the tape measure flat at the mouth and tail while taking a picture at the same time but I originally did it that way before the picture. Unfortunately you have to rest the tape measure on the side and it makes it above the mouth and tail making it look like it’s shorter. I will be ordering a measuring board to take care of this issue as I’m sending in for catch and release awards. I’m hoping the state doesn’t look at it the same way you did but if so I guess I will have to catch another when I get the board in.
From: Brian M.
15-Jul-23
Yup, now it's an inch past mouth. Never seen anyone long arm a tape before. Lol. Nice fish.
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
Ok Brian this was driving me nuts lol so I took some measurements on things. With the angle they both look longer than the end but are directly above it.
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
I’m happy with the results case closed ha. Next fish will be with a legit fish measuring board.
From: Notme
16-Jul-23
Geeeeez,I'm glad Ron Jeremy wasn't arguing the point...lol
From: Brian M.
16-Jul-23
LMAO!
From: steve
16-Jul-23
Lay the fish on top of the tape.
From: spike78
16-Jul-23
Notme now that’s when I’d be embellishing the real length ha
From: Notme
17-Jul-23
Notme's Link
https://youtu.be/6xljA6zJn4I
From: soapdish
17-Jul-23
I never fast forwarded through a video so fast in my life.....I can't unsee that now.
