Teddy Makes "The Board"

The annual pilgrimage from Long Island to Bow Lake took place last weekend and one of the legions came to town with a very specific agenda - make The Board. The questions of course was whether Teddy could post a 2 + pounder in the four days he was in town. With the type of action seen in the FWD Classic only two weeks before, it would have seemed to be highly likely. However with warming waters, a whole lot of kids, and a mysteriously malfunctioning electrical system on the Worm, the deck seemed stacked against him. One day 1 Teddy pulled a 1 lb, 5 oz smallie from the teeth. He was so determined to make The Board that he answered "no" even before I could finish offering to take his picture with the undersized catch. On day two he began using live bait, turning a team of pint sized perch catchers into his own personal bait shop. His live bait strategy seemed to pay off when he got what was definitely a 2+ pounder close enough to touch. Unfortunately, the bass sensed the proximity as well, turning hard and leaving Teddy Tight Drag with a snapped line and canoe full of regret. Just a few hours later his shouts of victory could be heard from across the cove as he hoisted the pictured small mouth over his head for Soeren and Lenny to row in and weigh. The judges made the call remotely - not a 2 pounder, not worth the row. Dejected but not defeated, Teador continued bobbing unlucky half dead kid trophies and struck gold about a half hour later. His 2 lbs 9 oz Board fish is a testament to his creativity and determination. On behalf of the FWD Weighs and Means Committee, welcome to The Board Ted.

2010 Fishing With Dummies Spring Classic - Results

Congratulations to all of our contestants. Unless you didn't win anything. In which case, at least you didn't fall in.

Friday Evening Biggest Fish

2 lbs 13 oz, Junior.

(2 lbs 12 oz, Senior - so close & still accepted under protest)

Saturday Biggest Fish

6 lbs 6 oz, Ack

Saturday Team Results

Ack & TR (winners)

6 lbs 6 oz, Ack

4 lbs 4 oz, Ack

1 lbs 15 oz, Ack

Estimated 10 bass

2 lbs 12 oz, Jr

1 lbs 15 oz, Sr

15 oz, Jr

Estimated 18 bass

Sunday Team Results

Jr & Tr (winners)

3 lbs 9 oz, Jr

1 lbs 11 oz, Jr

1 lbs 9 oz, Jr

Estimated 5 bass

Sr & Ack

3 lbs 6 oz, Sr

1 lbs 10 oz, Sr

1 lbs 1 oz, Ack

Estimated 5 bass

Sunday Biggest Fish

Junior 3lbs 9 oz

Biggest Fish of the Tournament

Ack 6 lbs 6 oz

The Swimmies Award

Ack

Happiest Ack Fell in the Water

Senior

The Tommy Award

(least fish)

Tommy

Worst Restaurant Recommendation

Junior

Worst Fish Weighing

Junior

The Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Award

Senior (1 oz short on Fri, 3 oz on Saturday)

Worst Rain Pants

Junior's $6 Lowes special

The Mush

(most $ lost)

Senior*

*awaiting the details of Ack's mobile phone insurance plan

The Rise and Fall of The Dumbest

While certainly there was no shortage of incredible story lines coming from the inaugural Fishing With Dummies Spring Classic, the tale that tops all others is the incredible rise and fall of Brian D. Ackermann.  Early on Saturday Acky recorded what is by far the largest fish caught among the group ever at 6 lbs, 6 oz.  With that one fish he outweighed all of team D'Avolio's catches.  Incredibly, he followed it in the afternoon session with a 4 lb, 4 oz pig. Having broken the group's Bow Lake record with his second fish, he left onlookers wondering - why do they call this guy the dumbest?

And then Sunday happened.  The day's pairing of Senior and Acky started out strong with Senior pulling a 3 lb, 6 ouncer.  An hour or so later Senior hooked up again.  With what was estimated to be a 2 pounder approaching the side of the boat it happened.  Acky, unfamiliar with playing role of supporting cast member went in a bit too hot with the net.  What went through his mind at that moment is anyone's guess.  Maybe he was angry with the idea of someone else getting all the action.  Probably he was hungry and distracted by his liver's call for more green tea.  Definitely he was regretting his dozens of comments following Senior's swim.

A note for viewers.  There is no need to adjust the brightness setting of your monitors. It's really that bad.  Thank you Dummy.

Teams for the FWD Bass Classic

Method:

The four contestants were listed as:

1. Len Jr.

2. Len Sr.

3. TR

4. Dummy

The numbers 1-4 were entered into a random number generator (http://www.random.org/sequences/).  The top two were chosen as team 1, bottom 2 as team 2.  This was done twice, once for Sat & once for Sun. 

Teams are as follows:

Saturday:

3. TR &  4. Dummy  vs. 2. Sr. & 1. Jr.

Sunday:

2. Sr. & 4. Dummy vs. 1. Jr. & 3. TR

Boat order to be drawn Fri night.  

Strategy for the FWD Bass Classic

Going with three, maybe four rods.

1. A double 6" senk tied onto a football head jig, wacky style for drop shots.

2. 3/8 oz raging red lipless crank bait for grass

3. 5" green texas rigged senk. Ol reliable.

4. bitsy jig with a craw tail for bouncing off rocks.

Good chance my yet to be chosen team mates will try 3 so I'll work the other strategies.  Of course, it's all out the window as soon as one hits.  

Preview of the Fishing With Dummies Spring Classic

We are one week away from the FWD Spring Classic, a tournament so exclusive that only four hand picked pros are invited. This year's event pits icons of the sport in a brutal two day, winner takes all battle. To the winner goes one full year of bragging rights. To the loser - an inbox full of mocking emails. We break down the action with a behind the scenes preview of the competition.

Len 'Senior' D'Avolio Sr.

There is no one in the field that presents more of a challenge to the odds makers than Senior. He has logged the fewest hours on the water and recently ended a fishing trip by turning it into a log rolling competition. On the other hand, he opened the season with a 5 lbs, 15 oz whopper on 6 lb test. Senior is therefore either the luckiest stiff in the competition or playing a con that he's gone to chilling lengths to maintain. Look for Senior to hook a league record or his team mate. Odds: 20 to 1.

Tommy 'TR' Rogers

TR enters the field with only limited success at the ever challenging rocky shoals of the Bow. Limited that is, until a season ending Bow Lake record of 4 lbs, 2 oz off the Teeth. That catch has left Vegas in a lurch - can the seasoned Salt Water vet pull off another last minute miracle? Keep in mind, the Worm was once TR's. Will Lady Luck drop a bit more Karma his way? Working against him is a 250 mile commute from the bowel's of Massachusetts in Friday rush hour traffic that may severely affect his Friday scouting. Then again, he does live in Lakeville... Odds: 13 to 1.

Brian 'The Dumbest' Ackermann

In terms of hours on the water, The Dumbest comes in a close second to Lenny Jr. In terms of stupidity, he remains unrivaled. This is the man who once suggested that he might take a quick cruise to Hawaii during a visit to LA. Despite his overwhelming stupidity, The Dumbest does catch in consistent numbers. Look for Dummy to help anchor his team in terms of total poundage. Odds: 8 to 1.

Lenny 'Junior' D'Avolio Jr

Few know the nooks and crannies of the Bow like Junior. Which puts him squarely in the position of fighting a midget. Knock out the competition, and of course he should have. Lose and and you have to listen to the midget brag for a year. No question he's got the heart - but heart didn't help him top Tommy on the Bow nor the Old Man's league leader. This is a big tourney for the home town hero. If he goes down on day 1, expect the judges to check his fish for sinkers on day two. Odds: 6 to 1.

Breaking in the Big Lake

First weekend at the lake house.  Arrived Sat night and by midnight we had installed two new seats in the worm and reinforced the fiber glass below them.  Was waiting on a gift certificate to come in from Bass Pro Shops after cashing in credit card miles but it didn't arrive in time and I stripped the old seats off the worm months ago.  Stopped in a Walmart in NH on the way up and found the two plastic seats I was planning on buying for $38 a piece vs. $85 at the Pro Shops. 

Very intentionally stuck with the bait caster using a bitsy jig + a rubber craw most of Sun and Mon morning.  Worked out pretty well.  Took probably 10 fish, all smallies.  There's nothing like a fat large mouth but those smallies know how to fight.  Most of the fish were caught in 7 to 17 ft of water. Water temp about 71.  Winner was 2 lbs, 10 oz off the Teeth with the bitsy + craw.  Acky probably won on numbers.  All and all a good start for the big lake.

Catch of the Day - My Dad

Acky, my father and I took to the pond today with Acky and me in the Game Changer and my Pops in the canoe. A very slow day with my father catching just one pickerel. Would have been the only thing we hauled into the boat until my father broke the cardinal sin of canoeing. Let's just say his attempt to stand and adjust his seating to make himself more comfortable backfired. Acky and I were grateful that he would go so far out of his way to try to make a bad fishing day memorable.

Catch and Release - A Primer for the Uninitiated

Two years ago, two guys went by me in a canoe while I was fishing. "Any luck?" they asked. I responded negative. The guy in the back of the canoe got to do what he was hoping to do from the outset, holding up a pretty two to three pounder that he had apparently decided to keep for himself. I was mad. Not because I was part of some jerk's ploy to show off his fish. My fishing inferiority was no more a secret to me then as it is now. I was mad because killing that particular fish - a large mouth bass on a fresh water lake - was an incredibly stupid thing to do. I couldn't help but wonder - why didn't he think so?

Now that fishing season's finally here, I end up steering conversations toward it at some point during social gatherings. That leads almost invariably to the question, "do you keep the fish?" It's quite clear from the quality of the people asking the question that there's just a knowledge gap at work here. Sort of like buying puppies from a pet shop. Seems perfectly reasonable - until you start to understand the many splendors of industrial dog mass production.

First, a disclaimer. I eat fish. I have eaten fish that I caught. Striped bass. Tuna. Some big cold water that I've reeled in on charters like haddock and cod and all that too. I've eaten dolphin fish, which isn't really a dolphin at all but shares the name of a mammal, making it seem more wrong to eat.* So I'm not coming at this from a holier than thou, fish are people too angle. Instead, I'd like to explain why killing a large mouth is a bad idea.

Large mouth bass are hard to catch. In most cases, they need to be tricked into striking and they rarely strike anything that isn't placed within 16" of their noses. That means large mouth bass fishermen need to understand where they are likely to be based on any number of factors like weather, water temp, season, water turbidity, etc. Once a fisherman is able or lucky enough to zero in on the most likely locations, the fisherman but match the conditions to a lure that is likely to evoke a strike. The types of lures at the fisherman's disposal number into the thousands and each must be matched with a particular presentation in order to culminate in the strike. Land too close, you spook the fish. Too far away, the fish won't leave the comfort of its hiding spot. Too slow, you're ignored. Too fast, you're avoided. Do you bump off a log to wake the fish up? Can you pull it off without getting hooked on that log? You get the picture.

That, really, is the sport and attraction of fishing this particular fish. It's about learning what works through trial, error, and study. And as with anything that requires practice, the payoff is in proving you can do it and in experiencing success after investing the effort.

So why the hell would someone eat the prize? That's like popping a basketball after dunking it. It's downright stupid for a number of reasons. Bass have favorite hiding spots they return to again and again. Last year my father took the same 2+ pounder from the same spot two days straight. On both days, it was the highlight catch and we still joke about how he threw his line on top of mine to hook that same fish on the second day. You decide to eat that fish and you've just decreased the number of fish you could possibly catch by one. If you own the lake and no one else fishes it, and the eco system is such that you're not making a dent - no big deal. But if everyone decides to be like the asshole in the canoe, killing fish so they can show them off to strangers, it quickly leads to over fished lakes.

Plus any given 5 pounder is usually at least 8 years old. After 8 years, there's a good chance that fish has seen some things, including being hooked more than a couple times. Who knows how many other people have great memories of catching that fish. Seems a bit selfish, if not inappropriate, to end that journey because you feel like it.

If it's about eating it, I guess I'd have to ask why not just swing by Shaw's and pick up haddock or some other ocean eating fish? Not only will it taste better, but you'll be eating less mercury. According to the MA Game and Wildlife reports, the fish in almost every MA & NH lake should be avoided (at least by children and the elderly) because we've been burning coal, driving cars, and mining asbestos for too many decades to keep relatively still water mercury free.

So now you know. Please don't be the asshole in the canoe.

*If fish had any say over their own evolution they would be wise to develop the ability to scream. Tugging on the emotional capacity of humans is probably the most effective defense against the world's greatest predators. Just ask dogs, cats, eagles, dolphins, whales, and so many others. Except piglets. They're just too delicious.

Five 2+ pounders in less than 3 hours

Today was the hottest April 7th in Massachusetts history. 91 degrees at 2 pm must have done something to accelerate the pre-spawn gorging. This following the rainiest March in history* leading to mosquitoes hatching weeks early. My best guess is that mosquitoes aren't the only animals shifting into gear ahead of their normal routine. How else do you explain 5, 2+ pounders (10 fish total) in less than 3 hours?

Seeing this fluke day coming up in the forecast, Acky and I made some arrangements and were in the Game Changer and on the pond by 4. By 7pm we left the pond with the following catches and in this order: 3 lbs 5 oz (me), 3 lbs 3 oz (Acky), 2 lbs 11 oz (me), 2 lbs 7 oz (me), 3 lbs 7 oz (Acky). In between were a few pickerel and a couple perch. Pretty much non-stop action and all on 5" green senkos cast right against shore. To put this in perspective, I only documented 2+ pounders last year and I probably logged 11. That's from everyone I fished with on the NH lake and on local ponds - 20+ trips easy. My largest fish last year was 3 lbs 15 oz. Two weeks ago I saw my father pull in a 5 lb 14 ouncer and today it was a bass parade. And this is all from 1 small local pond and all caught with senks.

Of course I know this was just 'one of those days' and I realize that using the same damn pattern isn't exactly the road to respectable bass mastery but you can't knock the numbers. I'll be quick to switch to alternatives when old faithful isn't working but if it ain't broke... The trolling motor and putting the worms within 2 foot of shore made a big difference too. Until today I had been fishing in an anchored canoe and mostly helping to keep Mia from tangling or hooking herself. We were able to cover more ground, we retrieved bad casts right away, placed our bait right on spots, and crawled the worm back to life for the first few feet and then quick retrieved.

I'm also starting to believe we've tapped into an under-fished gold mine with this local spot.

This weekend - up to the big lake in NH. It will be colder (50s forecast) and we'll be out on bigger water. Will the streak continue? Will it pay to switch to the football head jig to bounce around the rocky bottom? Have NH bass moved into the flats as quickly? The good news is, possible failure this weekend will be easily forgotten among the dozens of other slow fishing days that have previously been the norm for me. Those all too common slow days are usually passed with stories that start with "it was record-breaking hot and me and Acky cut out of work early to get a little fishing in..."

*That's a lot of "in history" weather. If Acky's republican friends hadn't told me otherwise, I'd think there was something to this global warming thing.

Learning to work with the bait caster (and catching nothing in the process)

Spent 3 hours on the water on the small pond where my father caught the 5lb 14 oz whale on the last nice weekend. Lots of action with bait fish boiling all along the southern edge but couldn't get a thing going. Tried swim baits, 5" senkos, the bitsy jig with a super chunk (frog legs), bitsy jig with a prosenko hanging off the back, and a rattling crank bait. On the last cast pulled in a 9" perch which still puts me squarely in the category of getting skunked.

I did however get a chance to practice with the bait caster. After several horrible birds nests and too much time spent trying to untangle them, I think I have it figured out. Sort of. First, it's important to balance the reel for anything you're about to throw. I learned that from the youtube videos and it's spot on. You know you're balanced when you pull down on the hammer to free the spool and the lure doesn't just drop to the water. Instead it should slide down slowly once you start shaking it back and forth a bit. The guy at Dick's told me this could be achieved with the 1 to 10 magnet dial on the left side of the reel and that the small knob on the other side has to do with tension also but that I'd never need to touch it. He was wrong. That thing seems to me to be the heavy tension adjustment and the 1 - 10 magnet is more for fine tuning.

Second, it's important to not mess around with very light tackle. You need something with a little girth to pull the line off the spool.

Third, I was more successful throwing straight over the top. What I mean by that is that my throwing motion with a spinner is all over the place. I'll side arm it, skip it, throw it over the top, etc based on my target, the cover, how close I am to hooking the other person in the boat, etc. With the bait caster if you throw side arm and you apply pressure with your thumb to the spool you watch the lure begin to arc further in whatever direction your motion was headed. I'm not suggesting that you can't skip a bait caster. Just that I can't. Yet.

Finally, I found that I had to release it much sooner than the spinner to get the distance I want. Otherwise the thing nose dives and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Birds nest. To make that work I found that a real whip snap motion got me maximum distance. I was fishing a hula popper at dusk while trying to figure all this out and getting pretty good distance from it. Two fish sort of rolled at it, making me think more trout than bass, but I'm not sure trout would be in this little pond.

So, to summarize: use a lure with heft, balance the reel first, over the head throw, release high with a whip snap motion, I caught no real fish.

Jackall Flip Shake (aka., a tweaked out senko)

So this is an interesting idea. I've been taught to mix up the presentation of a senko worm by switching from a Texas rig to a "wacky" rig, where you basically put the hook in the middle of the worm to get better action on the roll (drop...i think). Looks like these guys are attempting to capitalize on that with a 5.8" work designed to give better action on the roll and rigged with a jig head to make it drop faster.

On a related note, a great site for discovering who's using what in tournaments and tracking new ideas / product releases is BassFan.com.

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/Jackall_Flick_Shake_Worm/descpage-JFS.html?from=bassfan#

The Dreaded Bait Caster

Two years ago I used credit card miles to pick up an Abu Garcia bait caster. Bait casters or just 'casters' are the choice of pros. They cast longer than regular spinners and they are more accurate thanks to the ability to control the length of the cast more carefully with your thumb. They're also very difficult to use. I took it out twice and it was a nightmare. Short casts, horribly inaccurate, and nasty birds nests. I traded it to Acky for a regular spinner and went back to placing casts where I wanted them.

But this year and this blog are all about learning how to go from rookie to pro. So with that, I'm going to pick up a low end bait caster and give it another try. I've been reading up and watching videos off YouTube and I'm ready to give it another try. Will post what I learn...

Video of the Pig

For the record, he went with a 5" senko while I tried to drum up some action with a small rubber shad in the spirit of learning new / better ways to fish. Plus yesterday after messing around with a rodent-type soft bait I switched back to rubber worms and caught 3 fish.

New plan - start with senks, if they run dry mix it up. I ordered a bitsy jig and a set of those frog leg looking rubber bait to trail behind it for flipping. Maybe I'll toss that first but again, seems tough to beat a 5" green rubber senko as a starting point.

5 lbs 14 oz Pig!!!

Caught by my Dad on a 5" green senko in 2 ft of water. Water temp of 58 degrees, 3:30 pm or so. On 6 lb test and a super light action ugli stick. First time fishing the pond at his new house and he kills it.

He must have had the drag set perfect plus it seemed like the fish came toward to boat for most of the fight. A 6 lb fish on 6 lb test is awesome. When she flashed and ran it was pretty intense. Great, great fish and it was awesome that he took it on Mia's first 'big girl' fishing trip. By the way, Mia was a champ. She fished for 2 hours with a 5" senk on a princess rod.

First Fish of 2010

Tried to get onto Long Pond in Lakeville in an 11 ft aluminum with no motor. Wind was too much. Tommy knew of a man made pond behind the house he used to live in. Took 3 small large mouths in 2 hrs. 1 with a 5" senko on a bullet style weighted hook, 2 with the same hook but prosenkos (5"). Switched after seeking the size of the fish. All about 1 lbs or less. Didn't weigh them, too small. Didn't bother with the new humminbird wristwatch depth finder. Regretting it now because I don't have water temp or depth.

Actually a really interesting set up. There was a cliff overhanging the pond I could see the bass on this one spot clearly. Three swam past my bait when i gave it pretty light snap to try to get them to strike. They spooked. Then another approached and I stalled it and barely moved it across the bottom and watched the fish stalk it for 10 seconds or so before taking it. And that was a pretty small and presumably more aggressive fish than the targeted pigs. Lesson - when you think you're crawling a worm too slow, go slower.

Great to get a few on the board! Going to enjoy this while the freakish 70 degree weather is here. Until it snows next week anyway.

Stocking up for the Spawn

Headed to Dick's tomorrow for the first stock up of the year. Will be casting from shore tomorrow, testing out the humminbird smartcast watch (couldn't resist) in the first fish of the season. Will pick up the Rodent, some 20 lb test for my Carolina rig, and the cheapest waders I can find. Also going to pick up some lead heads (Strike King calls their Shakey Heads - not sure what the generic name is).


Shore fishing sucks but I'd love to start the season off with a fish.

Fishing the Rodent (and Bitsy Jig)

We did an awful lot of worm tossing last year, mixing up colors, sizes, and even shapes. We tossed a tube or two (no luck) and a rubber craw (couple smallies). This same style is often used by the pros but with other lures. I'm watching Karl Kalonka flipping for bass in New England lakes and he was pushing two in particular. The first was a Strike King Rodent and the second was the Bitsy Bug Jig with what looked like a frog head with two dangley legs hanging off it. I realize he's sponsored by Strike King and probably caught the 4 or 5 lunkers he showed over several days but the fishing style seems similar and this looks like a nice bridge from same style to different baits.

With both he was hunting out docks and structures and crawling them back to the boat. He was actually lifting them up off the ground a bit more aggressively than I work a worm back with. The rodent he was fishing with a screw top hook (4s, 5s, 6s) and had a small bullet sinker on the front.

He offered a pretty good tip:
When approaching structure don't just cast at it blindly. Find the shadow edge and put your first shot on it. Emphasis on making the most of your first shot and positioning for the shade, not just the structure.

Will put em on the list and report back.

2009 Gallery - The Before Pictures

The One to Beat
My top fish of 2009
3lbs. 15 oz
Small Pond in MA

Caught late in the season on the Game Changer. All season I said my goal was 4+ and this is my luck - 1 ounce short. This is one of probably 10 or so 2+ pounders that were pulled on either the Game Changer or Worm. And of course, it was caught on the only thing I can catch half decent fish on - a 6" green yamasenko. Tommy, the guy who donated the worm ended up catching a 4lbs 2oz pig on the last day of the season in the Worm on Bow Lake.

Below that are a few more of 2009's memories. Of course all of these will seem like baitfish after 2010.

Current Bass Fishing Gear - Start of 2010 Season

Here's the current layout. I expect this will change some as I become a pro over the course of this season.

Boats: 'The Worm' - 14' 1969 pale green fiberglass Lucraft with an early 80's 30 h.p. Evinrude. Donated by a friend whose wife wanted it out of the yard after it was left behind by a client that moved from New England back to whatever sunny part of the world he came from. This boat once spent summers fishing off the shores of Virginia and still has the Virginia Dept of Game & Fishing sticker to prove it. Took me a few weekends to replace the steering, lights, electric, and install a couple seats to old posts. The motor wouldn't turn over and I found a salt of the earth small engine mechanic in New Hampshire willing to take it apart and clean it up for $50. Yet another reason I love New Hampshire. I also had to install a couple steel plates in the transom because the fiberglass was broken and rotting around where the engine mounts. She's sporting a an Eagle fishfinder that I have no idea what to do with beyond making sure I'm not about to run around. I also found a used electric Evinrude trolling motor with foot pedal for $150. She has a trailer but it needs lights so it's pretty much used to commute to and from the house driveway to Bow Lake. She's definitely the ugliest boat on the water and I couldn't be prouder.

Boat #2: 'The Game Changer" - a 10' Pelican pontoon-style plastic pond boat with an electric trolling motor. Named the Game Changer because it opened the door to fishing locally on weekends. An excellent two man pond hopper that we carry into and out of local ponds.

Rod / Reel: I don't own a rod / reel combo that cost over $50 because frankly I can't tell the difference. Most are probably $30 set ups. I used miles to buy a fancy Abu Garcia bait caster that probably retailed for $80 and I couldn't cast the damn thing for the life of me. I'd file this in the "because I saw the pros do it" category of foolish fishing expenditures. Not the first, won't be the last. I usually use a light weight 6' rod but I have a smaller super light weight Ugli stick that I keep on board when it looks like making a fight of 6" perch and smallies is the best we'll do.

Line: I use mostly 10lb test. I stopped using the cheap stuff because I actually did notice it spooled up my bale more frequently and it got brittle quicker. I like the light green Berkley line or whatever that one is with the fancy black widow spider graphic.

Bait: I've got swim baits, crank baits, rubber everything. It all fills up space in my tackle box since the only thing I can seem to get working is 3", 5", 6" yamamoto senkos (yamasenkos). Green seems to do the trick. Pumpkin seed or watermelon. At the end of last season I stumbled into the 5" Yamamoto prosenkos with the tapered tail that seemed to produce well. The prosenks are tough to find in stores. I found a few packs at Dicks but it was hit or miss. The only two stores I'd shop at for Yamamotos are Walmarts and Dicks. They're between $5 and $7 a pack. For some reason I've seen 8 packs of senkos in some stores and 5 packs in others. Not sure why. If I find cheaper online options I'll post them.

Planned Upgrades for 2010:
This year I intend to replace the Worm's cheap Walmart-bought $40 vinyl / aluminum bracket fishing seats with seats with the hard plastic seats (they're padded with some kind of vinyl but they are plastic frames). The aluminum bends turning the seat into a kind of sloppy lounge chair. I'm also planning to pick up a Humminbird wrist watch fish finder. We do a lot of pond fishing in the Game Changer and I'm thinking this will be a nice addition. You actually cast it out and look at your watch as you reel in over holes. Seems like a cool thing to own anyway but I'll let you know if I get ripped off.

Fishing with Dummies...The Idea

I grew up fishing Boston Harbor for stripers and blues. Two years ago family bought a house on a lake in southern New Hampshire and a friend donated a pale green 14' 1969 fiberglass Lucraft that we named "The Worm." Since then I've learned that the only thing fishing for striped bass has in common with fishing for large mouth is the word bass.

So now I'm pretty much starting from scratch. In the last two years I've blindly followed the lead of Charlie Moore and anyone in a fancy bass boat that let me get close enough to ask a couple questions. I've watched hours of youtube clips and read a few books so I know what should work. Despite this, I head out most days on one of a few ponds in Mass and lakes in NH and if I'm lucky I take a couple smallies and on a great day a large mouth. So how does one go from the type of fishing any jerk with a skiff and a couple rubber worms can do to bagging a couple pigs per outing? It's easy enough to read that when they're not hitting shallow one should throw together a Carolina rig and try deeper. The books are all written for those states where the real bass fishing happens like Alabama or some other place where the water's likely to be 78 degrees year round. And I'd love to have a few beers with Charlie Moore but why the hell won't he spend a few more minutes telling me what he's fishing and why? In how many feet of water should one expect a Carolina rig to work? Should there be a worm or a craw on it? What color? Which of the 1,000+ combinations of color, size, and brand should I choose? How slow should I crank? Should I fish it down a hill or up it? Why the hell can't I get a bait caster to work properly? Is live bait cheating? What the f am I doing wrong?

Starting this summer I'm going to take a proper run at this. I'm going to move from tying on a rubber worm and casting it at the shore line regardless of temp or season to having a solid strategy. I'm going to weed through the advice of a thousand different bait sellers, blogs, and tv shows telling me a thousand different ways to catch fish by collecting the data. This blog will store the raw data and results of my experiments. At the least, I'll have a convenient place to log my attempts with mobile posts coming from the lakes. Maybe by using the blog a few comments from others will help me and a person or two move up the learning curve. The goal - go from catching no fish in the ugliest boat on the water to being a fish killer in the ugliest boat on the water.

Fishing with dummies begins.