August 13, 2010 - Some of you may remember our trip to West Dennis, Massachusetts, and fishing on Swan Pond River last Labor Day weekend. We return to Cape Code this year, only with a bit more knowledge of fishing and a small boat we have procured in the intervening seasons.

GREETINGS FISHERS AND ANGLERS,I HATE TO COMPLAIN BUT NEED TO VENT ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE THIS WEEKEND AT 2 DIFFERENT SPOTS.

Well, I'd put Squam and Winnipesaukee up against any lake in the country in terms of navigation hazards.  I have the charts from Duncan Press, and I use the Navionics Platinum card in my Lowrance unit.  I have a friend who let me borrow the Navionics paper chart, which is awesome for planning trips, and I use the info in Clark's NH Fishing book as additional reference material.  I like to browse over the maps for my intended route, and scout for any areas that look like potential areas to find fish.  Is there anything else out there that would make navigating a little easier?  What I have is good, but especially for these two lakes, the more knowledge the better. 

I recently bought, and tried, some jointed jigheads to use with my creature baits (Strike King Rodent) and some plastic worms.  I got the Arkie U-Bolt Jighead in 1/8 and 1/4 oz., and the Arkie U-Shakey Jighead in 1/2 oz.  All I can say is "wow"!  These are cool - they let the plastic get hooked separate from the jighead, sort of like a hinge.  They can be flipped, jigged, bounced, or crawled along the bottom and give a much different and more realistic look to your lure's presentation.  I was casting out the jighead, letting it sink to the bottom, and reeling it in like a crankbait along the bottom.  I can only imagine the erratic action the Rodent must have had, and the Smallmouth I picked up seemed to agree.  I have one rod in my locker rigged like this all the time now - I'm a believer.

Wow, I certainly didn't join the fellow fishermen community to take first place or gather the most points, but it definitely is pretty cool (OK, I'll admit it, when I started getting close, I was getting pretty interested in the standings).  I hope I do the site proud, as I try to help out with tips, forums, etc. and hope that if anyone reads the reports I post they have good luck. 

Ah, yes, nothing like the first shore trip of the year.

So in about a week, I will be heading out on a nice road trip to Kenora,  Ontario to fish Lake of the Woods. I have been looking forward to this trip for quite awhile but there's one small problem (SHH!!! don't tell anyone) in the thirteen years I've been fishing I have never gone bass fishing. Partly due to the lack of bass in southern Alberta and partly due to the fact I have been raised a trout wrangler. I was hoping I could get some tips on how to catch bass and muskie.

Just a quick addendum to my last post - I've kept all of my spinning rods at 6'6" - I found the 6' length limited my casts, and I'm just as accurate with a 6'6" rod as with the shorter version.   So, the two I had assigned as 6' M are now 6'6" M.  I've tried the rigs a couple of times now and I'm happy with the results...

So, another month and I'll be thinking about vacation... 3 days in western PA to visit the in-laws, then off to Florida for two weeks.  I know, it's hot there this time of year.  But that's when momma wanted to go, and if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!