Month: March 2019

Date: March 30, 2019

Time: Noon to 4 pm Eastern

Location: Fishing Spot: Whitehall Reservoir, Hopkinton, Massachusetts

Weather: Partly Cloudy, gusty winds

Air Temperature: 60-65 degrees

Water Temperature: 46 to 48 degrees

---

Notes:

Today was the warmest day of the year here in the Boston area. It just so happens that today was also the day that I had scheduled to pick up my Nitro Z-18 out of winter storage. Perfect timing I say !

Like last year, I had no expectations of catching a bunch of fish, or even any fish for that matter. The main purpose of today’s trip was to just clean the cobwebs off of the boat and myself and to just get out onto the water for a little while. For whatever reason, Whitehall Reservoir and I don’t get along with low water temperatures. Until last week, there was still a fair amount of ice on this body of water.

When I got to the launch just before noon another angler was just coming off of the water. He’d been out for a few hours and managed a bag of zero bass and a few pickerel… Hmm… more confirmation that the fish here don’t like cold water ;^)

And… my experience today was no different !!! I caught a total of zero bass today – but I did manage to get a fat perch !

I also managed to get my new rods setup for the season… I even managed to create a massive bird’s nest on my Senko rod and reel… I’d failed to realize that I’d forgotten to set the brake on the reel… I make the first cast and whoosh… bird’s nest galore… To clear it I had to nearly de-spool all of the line on the reel… fun times are always to be had on the first time out every year ;^)

At the end of the day, I was at the boat launch hooking my boat up to the trailer to pull it to of the water. A few anglers in a Ranger boat had just come in as well. They’d been out for about 8 hours and had only managed two bass and few pickerel. Again, at least it wasn’t just me that struggled to find the bass today.

It was good to be back out on the water again though after a long winter. Looking forward to getting out more this year than last year.

---

Catch summary…

Species	Weight	Bait	Comment
Perch	?	Jerkbait – Green top, silver bottom	Just a silly fish…

---

If you’re like me and live up in the Northeastern part of the United States, you only have two options when it comes to fishing during the winter months… It’s either ice fishing or ‘Couch Fishing’ … I typically opt for the ‘couch fishing’ option ;^) It’s not that I don’t like ice fishing – lots of folks really enjoy it. It’s more that I am not a big fan of being cold… I’d rather be sweating it out on a humid, sunny 85 degree day than standing out on the borean tundra waiting for a flag to tip.

Anyway, many months spent ‘fishing from my couch’ and catching nothing but glimpses of my packed away rods and tackle, occasional snippets of professional anglers competing in televised/streamed warm weather tournaments and consuming a fair amount of decent IPAs have resulted in a body that’s definitely no longer in tip-top fishing shape.

Now, you may be asking yourself – ‘What do you mean by fishing shape’ ?

You may also be thinking to yourself – ‘Fishing is a quiet, fairly sedentary activity. Why would anyone need to get into shape to fish ?’

Well – fishing can be a very quiet, sedentary and relaxing activity… IF that’s how you choose to fish. Casting a bobber and worm from the bank or a dock and waiting for a bite is a perfect example of this.

However, when you typically fish from your bass boat (or kayak) like I do it is definitely not a sedentary activity…

• Launching and pulling your boat isn’t always simple or easy and can require a push or pull or just some old fashioned muscle
• Standing on your boat for many consecutive hours requires stamina
• Controlling the trolling motor pedal
  • Add some wind and waves and both standing on your boat and controlling the trolling motor becomes even more difficult and taxing
• Making hundreds of casts during the course of the day…
  • Have you ever tried casting a 1/2 ounce or heavier spinner bait, jerk bait or a deep diving crank bait at the end of a long day ? Oh my aching upper back and shoulders…
  • Sometimes at the end of a long day it’s all I can do to just lazily toss a weightless worm ;^)
• You’ll also notice that I don’t have the seat in place at the front of my boat… that’s a conscious decision as I find that it gets in the way more than it helps… If I need a break I just go and sit down for a few minutes in the regular boat seats.

I’m not the only one that thinks fishing is a physical demanding activity ! For example, check out this ‘Anatomy of a Fisherman’ article.

So, watch out fish !!! It’s off to the gym I go !

Oh yeah… what good is a blog post about fishing without fish pictures ?

• 

• 

•