IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Massachusetts => Ice Fishing Massachusetts => Topic started by: BaitBucket on Feb 26, 2018, 02:56 PM
-
About 6 more weeks and the Q wil be open for business!! Heres some vids to get the blood pumpin while we wait for whats left of the ice to melt away.
ENJOY!!
-
I need to do this year..I live so close and I havnt been on a boat there since I was a little guy!
-
Matt, you got a seat with me man. We can set something up .
-
Good stuff Will!!
I sent you a pm with my number. I still have to get you out for a Bluefin. Give me a ring in late June and I’ll have a better idea when we can get it done.
Skippy
-
Them smallies got me pumped for open water!!! Gotta try the Q some day
-
I can't wait to start filling the freezer with Flatties.
-
Good stuff Will!!
I sent you a pm with my number. I still have to get you out for a Bluefin. Give me a ring in late June and I’ll have a better idea when we can get it done.
Skippy
I wont say no to that offer man!!
-
I can't wait to start filling the freezer with Flatties.
I hear yah buddy. If u ever want to hit the Q you got my #.
-
Matt, you got a seat with me man. We can set something up .
sounds great, always down to fish!!! we will set somthing up! I'll bring food and gas money 😁
-
Im probably going to throw a kicker on and seal just for the opener...granted I say this every year and ride in a buddies boat instead...
-
Bait bucket you do a great job on your videos thanks for sharing
-
Bait bucket you do a great job on your videos thanks for sharing
Thanks man.
I plan to do more this year as well. If you subscribe to the channel youll get notifications when i post new videos.
-
Im subsrcibed coops been for the last year
-
Im subsrcibed coops been for the last year
Cool! Thank you
-
Will , grab you're boat and gear and meet me at Flathead Lake Kalispell Mt . I think you would like this place 👍 . I hope you had a decent season so far.
-
Will , grab you're boat and gear and meet me at Flathead Lake Kalispell Mt . I think you would like this place 👍 . I hope you had a decent season so far.
I think you are right. It looks amazing..
-
Will , grab you're boat and gear and meet me at Flathead Lake Kalispell Mt . I think you would like this place 👍 . I hope you had a decent season so far.
I would take you up on this....
-
I can't wait, last year sidelined with baby, now she is older and easier I will be hoping to make it out a lot more... I enjoy the summer even though the lake bite slows the salmon can be got long after the crowds dwindle. My first salmon from the Q came in may on a drainage culvert when i used to walk 45 mins to a spot that had deep water. That got me hooked.
-
Sweet videos baitbucket! Never fished it. Looks like an amazing body of water. What’s the primary feed in there with all the lakers? I have to get out there with the boat!
-
Got invited to fish 2 big Ontario tourneys this year so, might not get much Quabbin time in. I do look forward to the place every year.
-
I loved the videos! Keep them coming!
Last year was the first time I rented a boat in the Quabbin and even though we only caught a pan fish, it was a blast!!! It is really clear water. I loved it.
-
Nice to see the video going to get out tonight and hope to get them smallies. Hope to see you at the Q this year
-
If you rent a boat, I used to take those things to the barrels out of area 2 at 7mph its a long run and burn just about all the gas in the tank... LOL Get out to the deep water or hit the salmon early and close to shore. Virtually any place will hold salmon.
-
If you are going to rent and want to troll for lakers, salmon, and rainbows, go to gate 8. you can catch all of them 200yrds from the launch. If you want to target smallies, the other two gates are better and offer good area very close to both boat launches.
More time fishin, less time running to the areas with fish..
-
Thanks for the tips! I will keep area 8 in mind. If anyone wants to rent one, let me know, I will be up for it a few times this year.
I decided against my weekend sports league this year, to keep it free for fishing!
-
Ash maybe we can link up, I spent the majority of the past 10 years fishing gate 8 and know all the hiding spots there, and there are a lot of them!
More tips...clamp on rod holders for the rental boat are a must have. You don't need trolling rods in the early season persay. A snap weight kit and some mh 7' - 8' rods will work fine. Line choice is key for flatlining. You'll want the thinest braid you can get. I prefer fireline crystal but anything 8lb or smaller will be acceptable. Thin braid will help you get down. Then ill rock a quality micro swivel to a long floro leader. Earlier in the season you can get away with shorter as the water isnt as clear as later in the season when 30' of visibility. From there I'll snell a small octopus hook, and tie a tiny trebel on the tag end of the snell. (If the fish are funky Ill just use a single octopus) 10lb test floro is what I use most of the time.
Choose the appropriate snap weight 1/4 for example would be a good starting point. Apply a shiner and let a ton of line out. Prior to owning line counters Id just guess and check, progressively letting more line out and or adding weight until I hit fish. I used to crush salmon this way prior to having leadcore setups with line counters.
If you want lakers find some shallow flats and drag the snap weight accross the bottom. We nail a ton of them very shallow in 5-10 fow dragging shiners, stickbaits, and spoons. Shiners work pretty consistantly out there. If we are chasing salmon I like medium shiners and db smelt spoons, even flatlining. Krocadile spoons are nice to flatline too and troll nicely at rental idle speed. For lakers sometimes we get excessive and use large baits. After seeing some high 20# lakers shocked in the fall survey I think that approach is justified.
What I've found I dont like about the other fishing areas is the smallie fishing...not its productivity but the number of people who fish over there for them. Not conducive at times to trolling efforts. The fishing pressure of the two areas compared to gate 8 is noticably different. Not to say we havent had stellar days on the big side but nothing compared to what we've done at gate 8.
The above should help anyone lacking trolling gear to go out there and flatline some nice fish.
-
Ash maybe we can link up, I spent the majority of the past 10 years fishing gate 8 and know all the hiding spots there, and there are a lot of them!
More tips...clamp on rod holders for the rental boat are a must have. You don't need trolling rods in the early season persay. A snap weight kit and some mh 7' - 8' rods will work fine. Line choice is key for flatlining. You'll want the thinest braid you can get. I prefer fireline crystal but anything 8lb or smaller will be acceptable. Thin braid will help you get down. Then ill rock a quality micro swivel to a long floro leader. Earlier in the season you can get away with shorter as the water isnt as clear as later in the season when 30' of visibility. From there I'll snell a small octopus hook, and tie a tiny trebel on the tag end of the snell. (If the fish are funky Ill just use a single octopus) 10lb test floro is what I use most of the time.
Choose the appropriate snap weight 1/4 for example would be a good starting point. Apply a shiner and let a ton of line out. Prior to owning line counters Id just guess and check, progressively letting more line out and or adding weight until I hit fish. I used to crush salmon this way prior to having leadcore setups with line counters.
If you want lakers find some shallow flats and drag the snap weight accross the bottom. We nail a ton of them very shallow in 5-10 fow dragging shiners, stickbaits, and spoons. Shiners work pretty consistantly out there. If we are chasing salmon I like medium shiners and db smelt spoons, even flatlining. Krocadile spoons are nice to flatline too and troll nicely at rental idle speed. For lakers sometimes we get excessive and use large baits. After seeing some high 20# lakers shocked in the fall survey I think that approach is justified.
What I've found I dont like about the other fishing areas is the smallie fishing...not its productivity but the number of people who fish over there for them. Not conducive at times to trolling efforts. The fishing pressure of the two areas compared to gate 8 is noticably different. Not to say we havent had stellar days on the big side but nothing compared to what we've done at gate 8.
The above should help anyone lacking trolling gear to go out there and flatline some nice fish.
Thanks Jon, all advice I could use!
-
Happy to help Matt. I did well for a number of years there doing that. I should mention you can use steel barrel sinkers in place of snap weights too. If your fishing bait you want to take the rental boat out off gear off and on too. This has gotten me a ton of bites, especially going into gear. I think the sudden motion of the bait helps.
-
Whoa! This is a great write-up. I am most of the times just happy to be outdoors to fish and see a few caught! I will definitely reach out to you. Thanks again for the effort in writing it up. My knowledge of trolling was to put a line out with a weight and then paddle slowly in a kayak and I have caught nothing so far. I was using 20lb mono with a 15 lb floro leader for trout while also not letting out as much line as I should have in my local lake and now I am starting to realize what I am obviously doing wrong.
I also realized I need to read up on a bunch of the terms you used like flatlining, line counters,leadcore setup etc. Will give them a read. Thanks again!
-
Nice sunrise pick, I know exactly where that little house is. I'm still heading up to moosehead for one last trip but it stinks how the ice went early this year. Early start, early end I guess.
-
Nice sunrise pick, I know exactly where that little house is. I'm still heading up to moosehead for one last trip but it stinks how the ice went early this year. Early start, early end I guess.
There is ice to be fished in Mass off the beaten path of the interwebz. Just takes homework, gas and a spud bar...
-
I would take you up on this....
Anytime Jon 👍 This area is more incredible than I could describe. The blue/green lakes, rivers and ponds are all around me. Flathead river is amazing too ! Whitefish lake, Ashley lake, Seely lake, Swan Lake ,Echo lake, Bitterroot lake, and a bunch more.