I went out to try and complete one of the new My Fishing Cape Cod Challenges today after work. I specifically aimed for the largemouth category because that species was the closest to my house.
The areas close to Framingham, MA where I live have lots of little ponds which are all in close vicinity, so that is where I tried fishing.
The sudden downpour yesterday in the early afternoon caught me off guard, but I was already wet so why not try and catch a largemouth bass?
My Gear
My gear today consisted of a St Croix Ultralight Panfish Rod, a 6’9” rated from 1/32-3/16oz.
Pictured here is my St Croix Ultralight Panfish Rod, a 6’9” rated from 1/32-3/16oz.
I picked this rod up last winter and it has become the only rod I now use for bass fishing. I paired the rod with 6lb J-Braid and a Shimano Nasci 1000 spinning reel. This combo is very light and fun to use, but still handles large fish with ease.
I picked up some Lunker City products over Thanksgiving week when they had their Black Friday sale. I find Lunker City to have good durable plastics for a low price. Some of the packs I bought cost as low as $1! I was using a 3.25inch Fin-S Shad which in a natural color, paired with a 1/8oz jig head.
A 3.25inch Fin-S Shad on a 1/8oz jig head is a productive all-around freshwater lure.
This package of Lunker City Fin-S Shads only cost $1 during their Black Friday Sale!
I can cast this lure far and work it deep or shallow. I was also running a small SPRO swivel connected to 12lb mono as my leader.
Searching for Largemouths
I hopped around a total of 4 spots in a period of a half-hour, only spending 5 or so minutes at each spot.
I did this because I knew if fish were there, they would eat very quickly.
The first two spots were spillways with a deep hole. They usually hold several fish, but the sudden rain caused increased water flow through the spillway. I think the increased flow might’ve caused the fish to be blown out as I did not get any bites.
It was raining pretty good yesterday, but I didn't mind.
I did get snagged, but luckily I managed to get the lure free of the snag, since it was the only jig I had with me for the trip.
My third spot was a small square-shaped pond that I usually only fish in the spring due to the lack of weeds after the winter. I gave it a couple of casts but realized the weeds, after growing all summer long, were still too thick, so I gave up quickly.
As I walked up to the last spot I saw several fish dart out of the lily pads right next to the bank as they always seem to do. I am pretty sure those were bluegill.
I took maybe 5 casts and eventually hooked up not far off the shore. A quick picture and off the bass went. This was the first largemouth bass I had caught in several months.
My first largemouth bass in months, that won my first-ever MFCC Challenge.
In Conclusion
I was debating crossing a private yard to get to a dam where the water is deeper, and I am sure there were probably fish stacked in this area, but after catching that largemouth bass, I decided that crossing the private yard to get to the dam was no longer necessary.
The last time I went bass fishing was back in the spring, and for the past couple months I have been busy with tautog fishing. Now that my saltwater season is done, I will turn to fly fishing in Western Massachusetts for trout until April.
The rain certainly got me wet yesterday, but I didn’t mind. 
