Conference wahoo::fishing

76.0. "The New England Story" by FELIX::SCHOLZ (Ron....and thanks for all the fish) Tue Mar 11 1986 13:21

	I came across this article in an old issue of Bassmaster and I 
	couldn't resist copying it for this file. Some mention has been
	made earlier about fishing in New England and this article seems
	to address it quite well. It was written by Dick Rainville of
	Salem, Conn.

	"A bass fisherman I know who loves in Arizona said to me, "How
	can you catch bass in New England, the water isn't warm enough?"
	He said, "You have to have warm water, like Arizona or Florida,
	to get good bass."
	"I agreed, warm water year-around makes for large bass, but we dis-
	agree on New England's ability to hold bass. Bass fishing in New
	England offers something to the beginner as well as the advanced
	angler. New England contains, way of the Ice Age, natural lakes
	and ponds by the thousands. New England also has rocks. Rocks
	of all sizes, ranging from stones to huge boulders, lie on the 
	surface of the land.
	"Rocks in the days of the early settlers provided a means of per-
	manent boundry lines and livestock fencing. Walk in the New England
	woods anywhere, no matter how remote you think you are, you'll find
	stonewalls. Ponds and lakes take their share of shear pins of small
	outboard motors on rocks hidden at the correct depth to ruin a
	fishing day or evening. The bottoms of lakes and ponds are equally
	covered with stone and rock, as is the land. Large oak, maple and
	pine trees line the shores and banks.
	"Rocks and shade from tall trees around the shoreline provide an 
	excellent habitat for largemouth bass. As the sun moves its way
	across a pond, the largemouth moves to follow the shade. Water
	temperature in these areas rises rapidly with the spring rain
	and sun. Spawning beds can be clearly observed in May, and by
	the first week of June bass are in the mood to chomp on most any-
	thing that swims by, and July brings 80-degree water temperatures.
	High water temperatures are the result of shallow water 3 to 4
	feet deep in small ponds, and hot sunny days without rain. The
	warm water generates plant life and lily pads along with several
	natural grasses and weeds that hold bass. Fishing the shade, rocks
	and natural plant life in New England, produces great bass fishing.
	It is not unusual to take bass 2 to 8 pounds on an average fishing
	day.
	"Learning where the bass are is not as difficult on small ponds
	as it is on large impoundments. Watching the surface of a small
	pond fro small fish such as bluegill and sunfish, taking mayflies
	and small flying insects is the key. Wherever these small fish
	take flies, there are no bass. However, keep a sharp eye on the 
	feeding action of the small fish - the activity most likely will
	attract any nearby bass.
	"When fly-taking is over, generally when the sun has just slightly
	come up, bass are moving. The largemouth eats in the open water
	for about one hour before holding up in its favorite cool spot.
	Spinner baits in white, yellow and black can be used successfully
	durning this short but productive period. As the fish slow down,
	so should the angler. Plastic worms fished slowly is the next step
	for landing bass consistently.
	"The area that surrounds my log home in Salem, Conn., has no less
	than 10 ponds with a 10 mile radius of home. By studying and fishing
	these areas, I have been able to get a pretty good handle on New 
	England bass fishing. My friend in Arizona has not fished New
	England, and if you have not, you're missing those bass that sit
	in all those farm ponds and small lakes, year after year, just 
	waitng to be caught."
				- Richard J. Rainville


Hope you enjoyed this as much as he seemed to enjoy writting it.

Tight lines, Ron (a_mass_basser)	

    Concerning 'no bass in New England', we have bass in Colorado. 
    Not in the mountains, but in the plains.  This year we've had a
    mild winter (60-70 degrees) so the ice hasn't been staying on the
    lakes.  The last week in February, a friend of mine caught 4 bass
    at Pueblo Reservoir.  It doesn't have to be hot all the time to
    support bass.  I must admit that I was surprised and I've lived
    here half of my life, 15 years.
    
    Spence
    

    Really Spence,
    
    I was down at pueblo last weekend and did real well using some of
    the tips I learned from tight lines Ron. I was out at the crack
    of dawn and did not come in until it was dark I must have caught
    between 20 to 30 bass most of which were keepers, needless to say
    I only kept a few of the ones that I caught. most were between 15
    to 21 inches weighing 1 1/2 to 3 lbs, and BOY did they taste good.
    I also did real well on the cropie about 20 but I let them all go.
    
    
                         Jack using_jig_and_pig_for_the_first_time
                              and_thanks_Ron

    Wow, now that's what I call a "success story". And with that smallmouth
    you registered, I would add a great day of fishing. I think that
    you caught more bass in one day then I caught all of last year.
    
    Way to go Jack...........glad I could be of some little help.
    Keep it up and I'll be asking you for pointers.
    
    More tight lines, Ron (green_with_envy....we_still_have_ice)
    :^))

     Went to Pueblo again last weekend and did alright even though I
    let the big one get away. we got on the water about 7:30 am and
    the waves were about 3 feet with a 20 mile an hour wind, needless
    to say we did not catch much in the morning. After about 12:30 the
    wind and waves calmed considerably we tied up to some big trees some-
    where on the lake (and I am not telling where) and caught about
    20 cropie between me and a buddy all in the span of about 45 minutes.
    I had to be home by 3:30 so we started to head back at trolling
    speed (I just got a new trolling motor) I was using a orange color-
    c-lector rebel, anyway I got a big hit and my drag was screemming
    I tightened it down and started to real in big walley. I got the
    damn fish within 10 feet of the boat (he look to be a 6 or 7 pound
    rainbow trout) when he came to the surface and turned I let him
    run for 20 feet or so the he came up on his tail looked me in the
    eye and snapped my 4 lb test line (I don't ever use anything heavier)
    no bull here, I was so mad I had to drink a six pack to settle down.
    
 
   Jack who_is_thinking_about_using_20lb_test_line_while_trolling_anyway