Tuna Meltdown

Had a really tough weekend. The fish pretty much had lock jaw for the most part. Only bite I got was a long-skinny 4-9 that hit the Pats trout after I popped it through some weeds.

I sent you a PM. Wachusett is a great spot for smallmouth but unfortunately this is probably the worst time of the year to target them as they are mostly in the deep water out from the shore. They can still be caught but your going to want to fish early in the morning or late in the evening. Also be aware for ticks if you venture off the trails up a Wachusett. The Deer tick populations up there are off the charts crazy. Permathrin on your clothes is the best defense.

That's normal. It's a tool to catch fish. It's not going to look pretty forever. Some of my best producing baits are the ones with little to no paint left on them. In fact, paint often times is to catch fishermen and not the fish.

It's been a while since I've had much to report this season and it's not due to a lack of trying. In fact there have been a few days where Sean and I have questioned our sanity about throwing swimbaits. It's been really tough. Anyhow, last night Sean was free and I was on my home, boat in tow after another 12 hours on the water without a bite, and we decided to give it one more shot at a local pond that I've not really had that much success at this season. We met at the ramp at about 7:00. It was completely dead for the first hour and a half or so and we were both feeling pretty dejected. At about 8:30 we doubled back around to a spot that always holds fish and Sean's Pats Perch got slammed 10' from the boat just under the surface. After a quick boat side battle I had our first decent fish in the net in months. She weighed 5-9. About 15 minutes later Sean hooked another nice fish. This one hit the same Pats perch being waked near a dock. This fish went 5-10. By now I was happy for Sean but I wanted a fish bad. I had noticed both his fish hit on or near the surface over 8-12 feet of water. The Pats bait I was throwing was diving too deep. I quickly changed baits and went with my original Pats trout that can be waked and also cranked down 1.5-2.5 feet. On my first cast to the same boat dock the baits hooks got fouled in the line. I was a little annoyed so I gave the bait a few violent jerks to try and free the hooks but it didn't work and started cranking the bait in fast and the bait got absolutely crushed. I couldn't believe it. After a good battle Sean got the fish in the net. She was short but fat and went 5-11. It was great evening on the water. It was also pretty eye opening that these fish had lock jaw while it was daylight but as soon as the sun went down they turned on. It was also interesting that all 3 bites were top water or just subsurface bites and they didn't want anything cranked down.

Two new pickups for me. Pats Fire Tiger and a Pats Mighty Mouse.

Two new pickups for me. Pats Fire Tiger and a Pats Mighty Mouse.

Here is Stewie.