Bass fishing trip May 18-20th

[mcro]

I'm heading up for three days with my two sons for some bass fishing. I fish often, (not on Winni), but my boys do not. I'd love to put them on some fish. Anyone know good spots this time of year for smallies or largies? Here in RI the largemouth are on the beds. I was wondering what stage the spawn was in up there and what will it be like the 18-20th? Any info would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike C.

[GusMan]

Hi Mcro,

The fishing should be really great that time of year, as the smallies will be in all stages of the spawn depending on the weather over the next week or so and what area of the lake you're planning to fish.

I haven't been to the big lake yet this year, but according to the water temp listed on this site, the temps are currently in the mid 50's. The smallies should really start moving up into the shallows and start hitting anything flashy! I'd suggest throwing hard jerkbaits over the spawning shoals, particularly in the central and northern sections of the lake (where the spawn will be further along than say down in Alton, Wolfboro and the main lake).

Let me know where you're staying, and I'll see if I can give you a few specifc suggstions....

Cheers....

Gusman

[KPW]

There is a place called the Barber Pole in Tuftonboro (Northern end of the Lake). There are usually quite a few smallies along the Cow Island side of the Barber Pole.

[mcro]

Thanks GusMan and KPW,
I'm staying in Paugus Bay. More specific info would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Mike C.

[GusMan]

Hi Mike... thanks for the additional information. I'll try to help you out!

Paugus Bay has some great fishing spots... and I love to fish it in the summer... mostly because the fishing is excellent... but also a beer at the Naswa Beach Bar is never a bad thing! (it won't be open next week, however).

What kind of boat do you have??? Do you have a winnie chart?? (Get One!!!) While you could certainly catch fish in Paugus Bay that weekend, I suspect you could do better if you could run up to some areas in the central and northern sections of the lake.

KPW mentioned the Barber's Pole... It lies between Tuftonboro Neck and Cow Island... If you could make it up there (it's a bit of a haul.. and potentially some decent waves.. depending on the wind) you'd have *lots* of spots to fish. The rocky shoals around Cow, Ragged, Little Bear, Dow, Whortleberry, and all the other islands around there will be loaded with prespawn smallies.

Again... throw suspending jerkbaits! The smallies will crush them.

If you want to stay a little closer to Paugus bay, head across to the bays north of Merideth Bay.... the ones on each side of Stonedam Isalnd.. lots of rocky shorelines where the smallies are sure to be up and hitting.

Have a great time up at the big lake..... I'd rather fish there than *anywhere*!!

Cheers...

gusman

[mcro]

Thanks GusMan,
I do have an 18' bass boat with a 150hp, so I can move around a bit. Thanks for the advice. I can't wait!

Mike C.

[GusMan]

Hi Mike,

I just returned from a trip to Northern Bass Supply in New Hampshire. I'm not sure if you're familiar with this place, but the owners and all the employees are big time bass fisher-people! They informed me that the winnie pre-spawn and spawn are well underway... particularly in the central and northern sections of the lake.

I too have a 18 foot bassboat and wouldn't hesitate to cruise up to the area around Long Island (as I mentioned.... make sure you have a map, and pay close attentions to the numbered bouys... it's very easy to get turned around on the big lake). You cannot go wrong with the aforementioned jerk baits... I like Bomber Long A suspending baits.... Blue/silver or yellow/red "clown" colored baits....

Specific locations:

The South/East side of the Long Island bridge.. on either side of the channel are rip-rap walls that drop off into deep water.... I *always* catch fish here if the fish are still in prespawn... to the right, a nice dropoff extends off the riprap out towards the little island and the red marker near it.

ALL around Dow, Whortleberry and Ragged Islands are nice rock/gravel shoals that will definitely hold spawing smallies. The northeast side of Cow Island down to the Barber's Pole will also be great.

If you want to stay a bit closer to home... head out of Paugus Bay and over past spindle Point and fish that cove... then head through sally's gut (always a nice "tour" spot!) and fish all those coves... I wouldn't bother heading into Fish Cove..... as it sandy/mucky.... and not really a smallie spot.

One other thing I thought I'd mention.... NH now has a requirement that all boaters take a boater safety course and be "certified" (aka Licensed) to operate a boat in NH waters. the requirement has been "grandfathered" in and only people over the age of 45 (I think) can still operate a boat without this certification.

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

Cheers...

Gusman

[Major problem]

You'll also have a lot of company on the water.

The 25th annual Winni Derby is that weekend.

[Grant]

While diving Winni last weekend, I noted a LOT of good sized smallies in shallow water. Must've seen 8-10 nice fish -- none deeper than 9 feet, so they are moving in for the spawn.

Don't take the fish off the beds.

[mcro]

Wow! What great responses! Thanks everyone for the input. Now I have no reason not to catch fish, right?
Gus, I am very familiar with Northern Bass Supply. I make frequent stops when I make my trips between RI and ME on business. Great place. I am 46 years old and will not need a boaters liscence until next year. I plan on getting it online this winter. I have been on the lake once last year for a day and realize how big it is. I have a GPS and Bizer map for reference. I've already began planning my strategy. Hopefully the rain will lighten up before next Thurs.
Grant, there has always been a lot of controversy surrounding bed fishing. I am not sure if bed fishing hurts poulation, but personally I feel there is little challenge in it. Especially when the fish are visible and readily take anything thrown in to the bed. I have come to enjoy just watching fish on beds rather than plucking them.
Major, thanks I know about the derby. I still planned the trip thinking that the majority of the fisherman will be trolling the deep waters and I will be fishing closer to shore. Thanks again everyone for the input. I'll put up a quick post upon our return.

Mike C.

[Grant]

No -- there really is no challenge in fishing the beds. I will admit fishing them in 1984. Fun, but not very hard...just look for the shoals and gravel bottoms, throw a Texas rigged plastic, and BAM. My concern stems from the overall pressure on the bass -- with so many damn tournaments throughout the summer.

I was encouraged, however, to see a large number of very large smallmouths while on a dive last Saturday. Big, healthy fish in heavy concentrations (in a location that will remain nameless!).

Good luck,

g

[mcro]

Well, the fishing was great! We got a little wet but we caught in the neighborhood of 30 smallmouth. To our surprise not one largemouth was caught over the three days. Most fish were in the 1-2lb range with a few pushing 3lbs. Most of the beds were empty, but there were a lot of smaller males cruising the shallows. We caught fish in all of the areas previously suggested in this post. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. On a sadder note, I accidentally left behind several expensive fishing rods when I left. I did not notice them missing until I got home and when I called Xmas Island resort they had not seen them nor had anyone turned them in. I'm out around 1000.00 dollars.

Mike C.

[jrc]

Ouch, too bad about the rods.

Mostly smallmouths on Winnipesaukee. I've heard people catch largemouths in some of the back bays where it's weedy and shallow. If you come back try the basin off Winter Harbor. When people talk largemouths they always mention it.

[SAMIAM]

Just curious.....what's the point in taking bass off the spawning beds? First,it's not very sporting ,since they'll strike at anything that goes by.second.....where will the new bass come from if you catch all the spawning fish?Why not wait till the spawn is over?

[rickstr66]

I am not saying this is true about Winni. I dont know if it is or not, but some lakes actually benifit from bed fishing. Some lakes have an over abundance of smaller fish and by harvesting some spawning fish the poppulation might be thinned a bit allowing for less competition for food and allowing for greater growth . More fish is not always a good thing. Less fish is definitly not a good thing, but there is a happy medium. A perfect senerio would be lots of big fish but with the populartiy of the sport growing year in and tear out, thoise days are over. There are still plenty of quality fish to be had by everyone.

[Grant]

But the big bass in Winni are fewer and further between these days. Many folks will agree that the overall quality of the smallmouth fishery has been impacted over the past 20-25 years. No question. Leave them on the beds so they can make some more! And although I'm bound to get flamed for this, I have to make my annual gripe about the number of bass tourneys on the Lake each year. Enough is enough.

With that in mind, let's go fishing!

[rickstr66]

Also, there are no legit tournaments during the "spawn" or when the spawn is supposed to take place. NH has a "immediate catch and release" period that starts May 15th and ends June 15th. Some fish will spawn before May 15th, some will spawn after June 15th but the overwhelming majoity (95%) of fish will do their spawning during the "catch and release" period.
If you have never caught a bedding bass, once the male is released he goes right back to the bed again to continue the process. I agree they are better off left alone.
I will agree with you 100% Grant that the bigger fish are getting smaller in number. I would not contribute that to fishing bedding bass though. The sport has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years or so. Boats have become faster and safer, equipment has become state of the art and people have become educated on what these fish do and how to catch them consistantly. Go back 20 years ago and if you told someone you were catching smallies in 25' of water in weeds they would have given you a look like you just escaped from the asylum. You caught smallies in rocks, not weeds. Thats where the Largemouth lived.... in the weeds. 25' or water? Only the salmon and trout lived down there. It was bound to happen. 25 years ago no one fished for bass (next to no one) A bass was a garbage fish that got in the way of the salmon fishing. Go up to the boonies in Maine and it's still true. The bass fishing is awesome because no one fishes for them up there. The fishery now is not what it was 25 years ago because people are fishing for them now. Call it progress or evolution. I am sure there are not as many squirrels or birds now as there was before the invention of the automobile. It is in fine condition relativly speaking for todays times. Bass fishing will reach a saturation point. Only so many people like to fish. At that point the fisheries will "find their level" so to speak and will stabilize into what they will be in terms of quality and quantity. Some years the spawn will be more successful because of weather conditions , ect and in corrosponding years the fishery will improve slightly. Other years, probably this one because of the lack of warm temps and all the rain, the spawn wont be as successful and in the years to come you might see a slight decline in quality and quantity
Do tournaments have an impact on a fishery? Yes. Is it nearly as bad as people think..... No. We as tournament fisherman treat our resource very well. It is in our best interest to make sure we treat the fish well and return them to the water safely so they will bite again for us one day and make more of themselves for future generations to enjoy. Bottom line is. Winni and other lake will survive, the fish will survive and we and other generations will have this wonderful resource to enjoy.
Not a bash , just an opinion

[Grant]

rickstr66:

Great post.

But I have to call you on one item: My family's been the Lake for over 60 years, and we've *always* fished for bass! Love catchin' 'em, love eatin' 'em. (Although these days it's mostly 'catch and release' instead of 'catch and filet.')

I was encouraged to see a good number of really big smallies while diving this spring. Granted, it was early May pre-spawn, and they were no doubt moving into the shallower water from their deeper haunts, but still...nice to see such a concentration of cows.