Pre-Spawn Smallmouth Bass Fishing

If you time your trips just right, you’ll be rewarded with trophy smallmouth bass.

Fishing on Cape Cod isn’t as easy for me since moving up to the North Shore of MA, but there are a few things that I venture down there for, and the pre-spawn smallmouth bass bite is one of them. It is difficult to pin down exactly when smallmouth bass will go into pre-spawn mode, but on the Cape it usually happens anywhere between late April and late May. During colder springs, the spawn may even be pushed well into June. This year; however, my first successful trip was April 21st.

As smallmouth move up to their beds in their pre-spawn mode they are not overly aggressive. After spawning, they will become aggressive as a mean of protecting their eggs and will virtually hit anything that poses a threat, but in the pre-spawn period they are mellow, often interested in two things only: making their bed and finding a mate. This behavior makes pre-spawn smallie fishing frustrating and exciting at the same time, and it usually requires a stealthy approach and quality polarized sunglasses.


Smallies beginning the mating process on a bed - they usually can't be caught at this stage.

I bet you’re thinking: “So if the smallies aren’t aggressive, and they aren’t overly interested in eating, how do you get them to bite?” The pre-spawn bite is unique and often takes patience in order to hook up. During this period, smallies will pick up a weighted soft plastic or jig just to move it off their bed. Most of the hookups occur just because the bass wanted to move the intruding bait off their bed, and had absolutely no interest in eating it. Accurate casts, good sunglasses, and ultra-sensitive tackle will be your friend during the pre-spawn bite. If you can’t see or feel the bass pick up the bait, you’ll miss out on some great action.

First thing to look for are the beds. Smallies will begin making their beds sometime in April on Cape Cod depending on the weather and sunlight we've received. A good place to start is the North East corner of a pond as it gets the most sunlight at that time of year. Beds will be anywhere between the size of a large dinner plate and a snow tube, and are often near some sort of structure.

Any soft plastic bait or jig dragged across their bed will likely draw a strike, but one method I like to imploy is what I call the "Drop and Drive." Locating beds is often difficult and sometimes you spot a bed too late and accidently spook the fish on it. That's ok! While you're over the bed drop your bait down onto the bed and slowly motor away with your reel in free spool or bail open, ensuring your bait is staying on the bed. Most of the time the bass will come back and pick up your bait to move it - that is when you set the hook! 

This nice smallie fell for the Drop and Drive trick.

If you haven't tried pre-spawn smallie fishing, you're missing out. It is likely too late as the smallmouth are in the spawning process or post-spawn, but make sure to mark your calendars for next year!

A 5lber that fell for a chigger craw/steel bullet weight combo.

Taken with a Pentax Optio WG-2

Taken with a Pentax Optio WG-2

More than Just Catching Fish

A recent fish-less outing reminded me there is more to fishing than catching fish.

Too often do fisherman rate their experiences based on their catch. “What’d you catch?” “Any luck?” “How are they biting?” These phrases are often the norm in conversations with fishing buddies. Don’t get me wrong, I love catching fish, and that is my primary goal each time I head to the beach or out on the boat; but I’ve also learned to appreciate more than just a singing drag.

From sunrises and sunsets, to rainbows and rainstorms, to seeing more stars in a sky than you could ever imagine; each time you go fishing you’re likely in for a treat - other than a fish on the end of your line. I’ve even stood on top the banks of the Cape Cod Canal and watched a school of stripers corral and pick apart a school of herring, without even causing the slightest of ripple on the surface.

So hopefully you're angling adventures are full of fish, but if they're not, remember there is more to fishing than catching fish.

MV Derby 2011 is Underway and Over-exciting

It is over-exciting for me atleast. I can't get enough of the Derby, even though I haven't weighed a fish in for the past three years. Does that make any sense? Probably not since I did have a shot at a few daily prizes and potential mystery prizes, but its not all about the prizes to me. I try to tell myself that I'm fishing for a grand prize winner, and I check the leader boards frequently to know what it will take.

I'm leaving for the island Saturday am, and can hardly wait as I sit in the office writing this post. In fact, this is a pretty pointless blog post, since I'm writing it mainly so I can release some excitement and make it through these final two days of work before I leave for a week of Derby fishing. I'll try to make this post valuable by adding some Derby advice - something that may help the angler who is only there for a short time (a week, a weekend, a day) be successful.

Tip #1: Have fun. Don't worry about catching a grand prize winner. In fact, a good portion of derby winners have been inexperienced, yet extremely lucky anglers, just enjoying themselves on the island, while other experienced, diehard anglers can fish the Derby their entire lives without claiming the top prize.

Tip #2: Go to the Derby Headquarters at some point between 8am and 10am or 8pm and 10pm. Even if you're not weighing in a fish you can get some great Keurig coffee, some stickers, brochures, some cool Derby gear, and you can even check the wharf to see whats going on.

Tip #3: Stay safe. Weather this time of year can be downright nasty. No fish is worth putting your life on the line. Keep a constant eye on the weather.

I am going to try my best to post next week while I am on the island. Hopefully I'll have some good pics, stories, and reports - but we'll see.

Tight Lines

The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby

The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, or more popularly know simply as "The Derby," is one of the oldest and most prestigious fishing tournaments on the east coast. In less than two weeks, the 66th annual Derby will begin, drawing anglers from across the world to the waters of Martha's Vineyard. Though the Derby was started as a way to generate off season revenue by an advertising executive and the ferry company, it is now run by a non-profit committee, with all the proceeds going to scholarships for local kids. All prizes are donated, including the grand prizes, an Eastern boat and Chevy truck. I won't give too much of a background, because authors David Kinney and Robert Post have given excellent descriptions and stories in their works "The Big One," and "Reading the Water." I recommend giving each a read.

The Derby is more than just the hunt for a trophy fish that will lead to some really cool prizes. It is a combination of passion, comraderie, skill, luck, and most importantly, fun. Though I've been a fan of the Derby all my life, this fall will mark only the third Derby that I've registered for. For some reason my parents didn't let me miss school to travel with my old man to fish the Derby every year like he did (I think this will be his 35th consecutive year). Now that I've been out of college for three years, I am taken over by Derby fever each fall.

Though it began as a primarily shore fishing tournament, the Derby has transformed to suit a variety of anglers. Whether you are the hardcore wetsuit-clad surfcaster; the daytime bait soaker; the dedicated fly fisherman; or the boat/shore/light tackle/somewhat serious surfcaster like me, the Derby has what you're looking for, even if you never weigh in a fish. The history, the pursuit, the luck, the skill, the heartbreak, the success; in the the end it all results in a truly spectacular experience.

I am heading to the Island on 9/16 for the entire week, and can hardly wait. If you haven't experienced what the Derby has to offer, I highly recommend checking it out. There is no place I'd rather be between September 11, 2011 and October 15, 2011. Plus, I hear they have trucker hats this year.

Check out the Derby website and Facebook page for more info. I'll do my best to post updates, reports, and more while I'm there.

Wire leader or no wire leader? That is the question.

I hate to lose lures. For some reason, the thought of losing even a $3 bucktail jig really upsets me. I know that it is best to fish your jigs or plugs close to the bottom for bass, so I’m ok with the occasional lost lure if I’m flirting with the bottom, but when I’m cut off by a bluefish, I just really feel bad about it.

This past weekend, I was able to get out in the boat in Boston Harbor with my brother and father. We got out later than anticipated, but stumbled upon a school of mackerel that seemed content feasting on juvenile herring. I decided to fish the outside of the school with a small soft plastic shad hoping there may be some stripers around feeding on either the herring or mackerel. My brother put on the sabiki and tried getting a few macks to live line. It didn’t take long for me to hook up, but it wasn’t with a striper, or even a big optimistic mackerel, but rather with a ten pound bluefish. After a short fight, the razor sharp teeth found my 20lb mono leader and that blue was gone. In the meantime, my brother hooked up with a few mackerel that were nailed by a bluefish or school of bluefish on the way in. There was only one little hook left out of 6 on the sabiki rig.

Being the hopeful angler that I am, I still felt there would be bass hanging around this bait. I fixed up another rod with a 40lb mono leader and a slightly larger soft plastic and got back to work. A few casts later I hooked into a much better fish. After some good runs I got the fish to within sight of the boat. Turns out it was another bluefish, this time around 15 lbs. I could see that my line was in the danger zone near the corner of the blues jaw. As I reached to grab the fish, one quick move parted the line and off went my second lure for the day. I was upset.

I decided that even though there had been no surface action and no blitzing fish that I was going to put a wire leader on and a topwater plug with a single siwash. By now the bait had dispersed and it was looking pretty disappointing. We came across a small commotion on the surface, which looked like a mackerel going after a juvenile baitfish. I decided to toss out my newly tied wire leader and topwater to see if there were any bluefish around. It didn’t take long before I had an explosion on my plug. I didn’t get a good look at the fish, but I assumed it was another good sized bluefish. After a couple good runs and some give and take, I got a glimpse of the fish. It was a nice bass.

That was all I caught for the rest of the morning. I need to learn how to take better pictures. This fished pulled the boga down to just below 20lbs. Something about the way it is held, or maybe it’s the white shirt, but to me, the fish looks small. Or maybe it is the crappy cell phone used to take it. I’m still bitter about losing the soft plastic shads, even though it only cost about $1.50.

Deep Water Near Shore for Summer Stripers

Targeting stripers in the heat of summer from shore can be tricky. One way to improve your odds is to find deep water close to shore. Now this doesn't have to water that is 60 feet deep, but look for areas where depths of 15 feet or more can be found close to shore.

One spot that I've had some success at on the North Shore has water that is between 15 and 20 feet deep immediatly off the rocks at low tide. This also means that as the tide rises there are some great points and troughs for bass to hunt prey and still have some deep water nearby. The image on the right shows a rocky outcropping at low tide. I was standing on a similar point and had depths of more than 10 feet right off the tips of my toes. This creates an excellent bass habitat, but also presents a safety concern. I encourage not wearing waders in such scenarios as one false step, or slip, can land you in some deep water. I prefer to fish these areas in the summer, which also allows me to wear a bathing suit, neoprene socks, and studded wading boots. This way, if I happen to fall in, I will not have to worry about waders filling up with water.

A great way to target areas like this is with bucktail jigs. I almost always carry Andrus Jetty Caster bucktails between 3/4oz and 1 1/2 oz, regardless of where I am fishing. Match them with a pork rind strip and you've got a deadly bass catcher. I stick to three colors: white, black, and yellow. Usually white will work day and night, but sometimes black seems to produce better on really dark nights. I really only use yellow if the water is murky or if fishing white water. Yellow seems to stand out better in these circumstances.

Here is a football of a fish taken at the spot pictured above on a 1oz bucktail near the bottom of the tide. Make sure you remain safe on the rocks, pick a good landing spot before you begin fishing, and keep an eye on the tide, swells, and current.

Find deep water near shore and you should find some fish. These areas are filled with prey, both of the fish and crustacean variety. Low light or no light periods are the way to go this time of year. Tight lines.

Beat the Heat with some Lunker Largemouth

Just when striper fishing starts to slow, fishing for their freshwater counterpart - the largemouth bass - heats up in Massachusetts. From mid-July through August largemouth fishing can be very good. One of the reasons largemouth activity increases during this time frame is the abundance of dragonflies. For some reason, largemouth love to eat dragonflies. I equate it to the love (or hatred) that stripers have for eels. You will often see dragonflies buzzing around areas loaded with lily pads and largies will shoot through the cover to slurp the dragonflies down. Quite a site to see.

Despite the warm temps, bass will get active during this time. Fishing a topwater frog or salad spoon across the lily pads is a sure way to draw strikes. My preferred method of pulling large bass, however, is to focus on the edges of lily pads and fish a weighted presentation. My favorite bait is actually the 3in chigger craw by Berkley. I feel that this bait mimics a dragonfly that has somehow managed to get trapped in the water and is slowly sinking presenting an easy meal for a largemouth. This tactic has produced numerous five pound and larger bass for me this summer.

When striper fishing gets slow, or moves to a strictly nocturnal affair, go down to your local pond and try some largemouth fishing. If you see dragonflies buzzing around, you're in a good spot. I would target these areas with weedless frogs or texas-rigged chigger craws, creatures, and rubber worms.

Don't forget a good pair of polarized shades either. Sometimes you'll spot a big largie cruising the shallows that will readily take a soft plastic pitched their way.