A Very Slow Start

Fishing yet another overcast day in the 50's yielded yet another zero.  Fired frogs, flukes, and worms on Sr's pond and nothing but a pickerel to speak of.  Gotta break sometime soon...

(from phone)

First Fish of 2011

2011 is off to a slow start. After pitching a 6 man super skunk in what was supposed to be the FWD Classic, a full 8 hrs of fishing in rain and overcast skies on Long Pond produced nothing. Then, during a 10 minute temporary tease of sunlight I landed three fish in rapid succession - a crappie (aka. calico bass), perch, and large mouth. The crappie was caught on a baby bass jerked around on a 2# Gamakatsu EWG and the other two on a green super fluke fished with a huge 5# hook. So the Crappy's first catch was, quite appropriately, a crappie. Seems that the fish are dying for this spring to actually start too.

I'm digging these rubber fluke baits worked slow and paused, like a perch would behave. Just ordered another round and plan to run a yellow marker along the sides of a few. Also rigged a small octopus hook (also called a finesse wide gap) to about an inch of line connected to the larger 5# hook after getting balled at and nibbled a bunch. Might try a weighted swim bait hook to drop it down some.

I'm thinking that this weekend marks the start of the real season with Saturday and Sunday set to deliver at least a little sun and >60 degrees. Will work some local ponds and expect Tommy to check in with a win or two from the southland.

Probably most impressive are the instant messages from newest member to the FWD team, BL claiming to be scouting some shore fishing spots. I'll post pictures of his new boat shortly after he tries shore fishing.

The Spring Classic That Wasn't

The temperature outside was a balmy mid-60's. Unfortunately, with a water temperature of 48 degrees there was no love to be had from the fishes. Three boats and six men took to the water with high expectations on Fri morning. By lunch time Saturday they had boated one 4" perch, two fresh water clams, and the skirt of a dead hooker. That officially ended all fishing activities and possibly any interest in the sport for the two rookies.

Down but not out, the organizers of the 2011 Spring Classic have changed time, location, and format to rebound from the disaster caused by Tommy's sperm. This year's Classic will be re-held on Father's Day on Long Pond. The tournament will necessary be shrunk to two shifts. All other details to be determined...

2011 Fishing With Dummies Spring Classic Line Up

The Preview

It's that time of year again. Time to shake off the cobwebs of a miserable New England winter on one of the most challenging testing grounds in bass fishing - an early spring cold water kettle lake before the spawn. Last year's event was an unprecedented success resulting in the first ever, FWD Classic Champion, The Dumbest. His Saturday performance featured two fish totaling > 10 lbs. His Sunday performance kept his team in the money all weekend. His fall into the lake kept everyone laughing.

This year's Classic will be different in so many ways. Last year's rookies Tommy & Senior are a year wiser. The fleet will see a 100% increase in gas motors with the Worm now joined by the Crappy. The catch total will jump from top 3 fish to top 5. As importantly, 2011 will see a 33% increase in the number of competitors and, due to Tommy's inconsiderate sperm, a month earlier start date. And who are these new competitors? Little is known of these two greenhorns whose combined on-lake hours rival Tommy's total catch in last year's classic.

The Rules

There will be a pre-fish on Fri morning with the first official leg of the tourney starting Fri afternoon. The second leg will begin Saturday at 8:30 and end at an agreed upon lunch hour. Saturday afternoon begins the "no senko" round where all competitors must expand beyond this staple bait. Finally, the last leg runs from Sun morning to lunch.

Categories

Friday Night Round

$20/Man - $120 Prize Pool

Random Teams

Single Biggest Fish - $40

Top 5 Fish, Team - $80

Saturday Morning Round

$20/Man - $120 Prize Pool

Random Teams

Single Biggest Fish - $40

Top 5 Fish, Team - $80

Saturday Afternoon Round

$20/Man - $120 Prize Pool

Random Teams

Single Biggest Fish - $40

Top 5 Fish, Team - $80

No Senko Round

Sunday Morning Round

Every man for himself, but pull randomly for teams on boats?

$10/Man - $60 to the biggest single fish or 3 fish sack?

Overall Prizes

Biggest Fish of the Weekend

$10/Man - $60 to the biggest single fish

Smallest Fish of the Weekend

Picture taken and used for next year’s logo.

Falling into the Lake

One year disqualification from tourney, or a whiskey shot

There will be three boats on the water: The Game Changer, the Worm, and the Crappy. Two have motors. Due to technical constraints, the boat breakdown is going to have to be negotiated further.

The Teams

Drawn at random from http://www.random.org/sequences/?min=1&max=6&col=1&format=html&rnd=new . I chose the last day's line ups and the boat configs to keep things rotating.

Friday:

Tommy & Lanny (Crappy)

Jr. & Dumb (Worm)

Tos & Sr (GC)

Saturday I:

Sr. & Jr. (Worm)

Lanny & Acky (GC)

Tos & Tommy (Crappy)

Saturday II:

Tos & Acky (Worm)

Jr & Lanny (GC)

Tommy & Sr (Crappy)

Sunday:

Tommy & Acky (Crappy)

Jr & Tos (Worm)

Lanny & Sr (GC)

Let the games begin

Car-Top / Canoe Fishing Ponds in Massachusetts

It's painful trying to find lakes that allow motor boats in Massachusetts. It seems like every search dead ends with either a no-motor regulation or a half-assed site trying to see something but offering nothing useful in return. In the process, I stumbled into the Mass Wildlife Pond Maps website which is a nice resource for scouting expeditions in the trolling motor-powered Game Changer.

http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pond_maps_nd.htm

Gas Motor Friendly Bass Ponds and Lakes of Massachusetts

I can feel the pull of a new boat purchase getting stronger. And since there are no new bass boats posted on Craigslist's Boston, North Shore, South Shore, Lower New Hampshire, Maine, or Connecticut sites that I haven't already scouted, it's time to make a list of boat-accessible bodies of water in the great state of Massachusetts. For now, this will serve solely as a reference to raw materials but that may evolve over time.

Criteria for this list is must be within an hour (more of less) of FWD headquarters which is just north of Boston and must be motor friendly.

Assawompset Pond

Located less than two miles from FWD Team Member Tommy, The AssWomp and it's neighbor Long Pond are two of the largest and supposedly best fisheries in MA. We shall see.

is.

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Hamilton Reservoir

The Hammy is way to far from home to even be listed here. However it just happens to be on the way to Uncle Soeren's house. Suppose we're headed down there and I just happen to have a boat in tow and gear on board...

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Lake Chaubunagungamaug,

Beyond it's very entertaining name, this place is on the list because the terrain looks phenomenal and it too is on the way to Uncle Soereno's house.

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Lake Cochituate,

Finally, a lake within easy striking distance for the North Shore contingent of the FWD team. Plus it looks like different parts of the lake are accessible by boat. Need to do a bit more homework on this one but could be a gem.

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Long Pond,

(See Assawompset)

Norton Reservoir,

Can't find anything that confirms Norton is motor friendly but it's close enough to Tommy to include. Plus that island in the middle looks interesting.

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Quabbin Reservoir,

Awesome. Can't wait to hit this one. Should be an awesome place to run the new fish finder's down and side imaging.

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South Watuppa Pond,

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Wachusett Reservoir

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And a nice boat ramp directory website:

http://www.nesportsman.com/ma/boat_ramps/Boat%20Ramp%20Directory.shtml