March 31st 2013: Jerkbait fishing in Southern NH

This is my first post on KayakFishingReport, so I thought that I'd say a few words about the blog and what you might find here.  I'm an avid fisherman who fishes all over New England - mostly from the kayak.  You'll find freshwater reports here all year (as long as we don't have ice) and saltwater reports in season.  I release 99% of the fish that I catch, but I will occasionally keep a few for my family and I'll post up cooking ideas from time to time, as well.  Most of what I'm going to focus on is detailed reports about why, how, what, and when I'm fishing, so that you can apply the same techniques where ever you might be fishing.  The only thing that you'll find missing is exactly where, although I will try to give a general location.  Let's get started......

On Sunday afternoon, I took out one of my non-pedal kayaks to a small pond in Southern NH and let the wind push me around.  This was my first trip of the year as the ice just left the ponds in my area.  In the Spring, the location part is fairly straight forward (at least in New England).  You want a few warm(er) days with a S wind pushing warmer water into the northern part of the pond/lake.  Generally, ponds will warm up faster than big lakes, so I usually start with smaller, shallower ponds.  Next I look for shoreline structure where I might skip a jig or weed bed where I could use jerkbaits.  This pond doesn't have great shoreline structure, but it does have some nice weed beds so I stuck with a jerkbait.

In the past, I started off the first trip of the year fishing small (small tubes + spoons - basically icefishing from the kayak). This year, I decided to start big and throw the big Lucky Craft Pointer 128 (aurora green perch) lathered up with herring-flavored smelly jelly.  I got a small bass pretty quickly and then some rat picks - the hits just felt like the bait got heavier.

The part of the pond that I really wanted to fish was a weed flat on the north side where a stiff S wind was pushing. The bass in this area hit the Pointer128 harder - actually hard enough to knock out the eyes - and there were more of them. Got a few more small bass and then a 4-4. A little while later, I stuck a 5-15. A bunch more small bass and a few more rat picks. After catching all I could on the 128, I switched to a smaller Lucky Craft Pointer 115 (ghost minnow) and caught a boat load more small bass and picks. Couldn't buy a hit on anything bigger than 2 lbs, though. I think the bigger fish liked the 128 better.
On my way back to the ramp, I found a little painted turtle. Looked about a year old - maybe just coming out of the mud. As I was leaving, the peeper frogs were starting to croak, too. I think Spring is finally getting started up here. Still some scraps of ice in protected coves.

All-in-all a good first trip of the year.

Here's some pics...