Northeast Angler? How Was (Is) Fishing Summer 2015 2024
JazzPipes reply :
Hey guys,
I'm from Boston and I was wondering how has it been the fishing this summer for you guys that live here in the Northeast. Talking about numbers and size, compared to other summers and more important other seasons.
For me it has been super difficult. I'm trying many different approaches with minimum feedback. Me and my wife are hitting different lakes and pounds almost every weekend with the same results. Besides one that was a bluegill (small) fest even with bigger hooks.
I dont own a boat so, if you have been fishing from the bank/shore, I'm also super interested in knowing how productive this summer has been.
FinCulture reply :
All my good catches have been from shore this year. I haven't had a great year, but I've gotten a 4.5, a 3.5, a couple threes, a bunch of 1s and 2s. I don't get to get out too much since I'm not driving. The key for me has been jigs (mostly swim jigs), as well as topwater (buzzbait and hollow body). if you're having trouble, try fishing finesse. Throw an unweighted senko or a finesse jig, maybe a small shakey head and just work 'em real slow. That should get you bites. Also, try to get out at dawn and dusk, especially because you're stuck on shore. I'm from the south shore by the way. Tight lines! 
massrob reply :
I haven't had as good a year as last year but I haven't fished as much either. My best day this year has been 2 4s and 2 3s and a few decent fish. No big fish either. Last year might have been a fluke but I had caught a six and 5 5lbers by now and hundreds of fish. I don't know if it was the brutal winter or what. I'm hoping the fall is going to be better with them feeding up for winter. Anyway good luck and if your new on here go over to the eastern MA reports in the northeast section lots of guys from around here that will help with any questions you may have.
Weld's Largemouth reply :
Very slow. Fish are very specific in what they will take.
DogBone_384 reply :
Massrob & FinCulture about sum it up for my Summer.
Didn't fish as much this year as last. Caught bigger fish and fewer numbers.
Found my bite starting much later, likely because of the late winter.
Looking for a good Fall season.
Djf3864 reply :
Start of the summer was pretty good, but from mid-August on I haven't caught much in the way of Bass. Did get a couple of nice Pike, the first time that I have caught one (ended up with two that day) so that was cool.
Mainebass1984 reply :
This summer has been great fishing for me in Vermont and Maine. I have caught more largemouth in Vermont over 5 lbs this summer then any other summer including a Vermont best 6 lb 14 oz Largemouth. I also got a personal best Vermont Smallmouth a 4 lb 13 oz smallmouth. I haven't been fishing in Maine this past summer as much as I would like but they big bite has been very good. My best day in Maine this summer I had a heavy 5 fish limit with a 6-2, 5-11, 4-13, 4-2 and 3-14. I keep a detailed fishing log that allows me to key in on seasonal and water body specific patterns as well as look at data compiled from fishing all year, year to year. This summer, July and August, 26 % of the largemouth I have caught have been over 3 lbs. The spring was even better in Vermont and Maine.
Once surface temps hit 75 degrees I fish "deeper" water. Usually targeting isolated offshore cover and structure, submerged weed beds, sunken trees, etc. There are times though when the fish are super shallow slamming frogs and flippin baits. It seems that a lot of fisherman still try and beat the banks in the summer and think they will do well. Getting away from the shoreline in the heat of the summer works best for me. Night fishing is awesome this time of year especially when its around 90 degrees during the day.
Bluegiller reply :
Poor summer for me here in central N.J.
I've been fishing seriously for the past 3 summers and I just can't seem to get the combination of lure/location/method lined up correctly this year.
I'm looking forward to the fall though, because I caught all my personal best's during that time of year.
Scarborough817 reply :
numbers this year have been good better than normal size is also broke my PB this year
BaitMonkey1984 reply :
I am glad you asked.
I fish the MA/NH border. This has been my worst summer fishing in 10+ years. The numbers and quality of fish are both down. I go 4 times a week so I have a rotating cast of family and friends that I take fishing with me. For them, it is the same, with the exception of one friend who has not caught a lot of fish, but the right kind. He has got a 7lb 2 oz bass which is huge for these parts, and a 6+lb pickerel.
I usually get a half dozen of so 5lb bass a year, majority right after ice out. I have one fish at 4lbs and then biggest after that is prob 2.5 lb. Pathetic. I almost broke down and got some shiners to see if I could catch a decent fish.
I do not know if it was the long winter or the hot/dry summer but the fishing is off. Maybe it is the fish gods for punishing me for keeping a 6lb bass last year. The only silver lining is that come deer archery season October 1 I will not be torn between fishing or hunting if this keeps up.
MikeOGNR reply :
It's been fair nothing to great this year. I fish up in southern nh mostly. I have caught about 3-4 bass over 4lbs but it definatelly has been slow. Not that I've moved around to much I have mostly been on Northwood Lake this whole summer, here are some of the bigger fish I've caught. Although my little cousin whose just starting to get into fishing begs me everyday I go out to take him and finally I took him one night and he ends up catching his best fish yet and the best fish of the season so far at 6lbs 1oz. The 6lber is in the last picture
Bruce424 reply :
Yea not that great either but this summer I haven't gone out as much as I wanted to. Probly only went out out 10 times. Which is low. Last year I was practically out 3 or 4 days a week all summer. Just 1 to 2 pounders this year.
Smokinal reply :
Well, I have had some huge numbers days; I mean huge; with 2 of us boating 147 one day and 189 another, 1 day was around 5 hrs and the other about 6. Last Sunday we caught 90 in 4.5 hrs and more days like that. But, our weight is down. I attribute that to the fact that we have discovered the Ned for one thing. Another is we stopped throwing jigs. Not for any other reason than we are having great success with other baits but just smaller fish. I'll be honest with you, I don't mind some of the numbers days we have had, even if our biggest was 3-3.5 lbs. Sure, I have an itch for a big fish but I don't get to go very often so when I do, I like to whack em!
I recently bought a kayak, put a finder on it with some other accessories and plan on hitting a small pond that always produces at least a few 7's and an 8 every year through the ice. Carry in only so it really doesn't get fished during the summer. I'm on vacation the week of Oct 12th and you'll find my truck parked on the roadside of said pond every morning. Then I'll be looking for a sow....
Bassguytom reply :
I've had a good summer fishing with both numbers and size. What do I think the main reason is? I forced myself to look for structure off shore. I have always been a bank beater would try off shore and when didn't catch anything move back to the shore. This year I just kept moving from spot to spot off shore. It paid off big time. I don't even want to go back to the banks now. Lots of great info. And people on here that have helped me tremendously. Tight lines.
WilliamMcCabe reply :
It's been pretty bad haha
only "quality" fish i've caught was a 6lber on 4th of july and a 5lber the day after other then that ive caught maybe 10 4's and the rest was just a grind haha
JazzPipes reply :
Guys I deeply appreciate your comments! Its really interesting how much it varies from one to another. I will keep fishing and trying to get better!
thanks a lot!
desmobob reply :
My summer was definitely slower than last summer. The water on southern Lake Champlain was higher than normal through the middle of summer and the fish didn't seem to be where they were last season. On days that I had good numbers of fish, I caught a lot of small bass, which wasn't the case last year.
Things seemed to have picked up toward the end of August for me though, and I'm looking forward to a good fall (if I can find more time to get on the water!).
Tight lines,
Bob
einscodek reply :
Central Jersey here.. fishings been as good as last several years. Numbers have been good as well as size.
Lots of 4's and 5's .. only down is this year is that have not broken 6 lb yet but the seasons not over.. a good time window is coming up which is end of summer and fall transition.
I've only taken my boat out a couple of times this summer.. been able to reach fruitful deeper waters from certain parts of steep shorelines with long ripping casts and also taking big girls from the thick stuff.
Been playing around with different presentations and new lures and I'm finding well its really come down to that if you can find the bass and at the right times.. itll bite just about anything.
Bass behavior dont vary that much year to year unless the lake experiences drastic changes..you need to adapt to the conditions which may slightly change year to year.. the bass are mostly always hungry
Hurricane reply :
Caught this 50 inch 18lb Musky on my last outing on the Niagara river with my brother in law.. My wife is due any day with our 3rd boy in a row so I am not trying to head out on the water again for the year..Don't need to be out there when her water breaks lol.. Fish of a lifetime for me..Great ending to the summer. . Strictly pond fishing around my house now till the day comes so I am close to home..
Jon S reply :
Don't know if many people consider Maryland to be North East, but fishing has been sporadic for me. Some days it will be 30+ bass, some days it will be all pike and pickerel. I have noticed that all the smallmouth this year have been really chunky, almost all of them have been footballs. Was slow yesterday until a storm hit. Rain lasted an hour or so and we landed about 10 bass, so it's not too bad. I'm definitely ready for fall, though.
Racerx reply :
Glad to see I'm not the only guy up here that's having a rough summer.
JOBU1967 reply :
I live in Ohio & I fish both public lakes & privately owned farm ponds. All my shore fishing is done on farm ponds. what I do is try to be the first one on the pond by fishing as soon as I get off work. that way I can catch the most aggressive bass with reaction type baits (spinnerbaits, crankbaits, rattlebaits) then when others show up I fish slow with soft plastics & jigs. I've been doing this for 20 years & have no problem catching bass during the summer months. if I had to compare this summer to previous summers I would say it's the same. this summer we had a lot more rain than usual and it kept the water temp. lower than usual so the weeds didn't grow to the surface like it did in the past. so I didn't get to use frog/rat lures instead I used chuggers, poppers, & walking style top water lures. Summer bass fishing is great but it isn't even close to spring & fall. Spring is always the best (numbers & size). there are days during prespawn when I would catch over 100 bass in 4 hours after work. during the fall I catch 10-12 bass an hour, & during the summer I catch around 5 an hour. the fishing on these ponds are so great I don't even want to fish public lakes anymore.
GoodMemoriesz reply :
From central New Jersey. Wasn't having that much luck this summer until i discovered this golf course pond with my friend. We go at night and you can tell barely anyone fishes there. Basically just throw a wacky rigged worm and get slammed over and over. Caught tons of 5 lbers and less, there are bigger ones in there have yet to catch them though. Caught some sunnies that were over 1 lb.
MIbassyaker reply :
I feel like Michigan belongs in north central rather than northeast, but no matter. My summer has been quite a bit slower than the last few years. Some of that is because I've spent a lot of time learning some new waters and trying out some baits and techniques (new to me, that is). But still, on my "home turf", both sizes and numbers have been down. My biggest bass of the year was my first of the year, back in May, a little over 4; Since then, I can count the number of bass I have caught over 3lbs on one hand. I had quite a few over 3 last year and several over 4 (I may have even broken a pb, but I had an scale that wasn't accurate enough to be confident). I'm an academic so over the next month I'm about to get too busy for anything. My season's basically over.
dcreign reply :
I'm from CT. I haven't go na out as much as I did last year, but I feel that I caught better fish..it's tough..I've only caught em finesse style..I missed the spawn this year lol. But guys in my club are still bringing in 14-20 lbs bags
Last_Cast reply :
It was great in the early summer, started to die down for me now, getting decent fish, had a bunch of 2-3lbers.
guess they're picky this year..
bigbill reply :
Been out a few times but the water levels are low looks like we're in a drought in some places in ct.
Last_Cast reply :
On 9/11/2015 at 11:12 AM, bigbill said:Been out a few times but the water levels are low looks like we're in a drought in some places in ct.
yeah water levels are low for me as well..hasn't rained at all. got a very good amount of rain yesterday so hopefully it helps.
Mainebass1984 reply :
Water levels in VT and ME are incredibly low as well. Perfect conditions for finding new off shore isolated cover / structure.
Big fish have been biting lately. Got a 7-4 last weekend.
Lendiesel22 reply :
Decent year so far in MD and DE. Club stats are 21 fish for 45lbs with 3 tournaments left, and my practice fishing has been great. Lots of practice days with 20 plus bass. This is the 2nd season the swim jig has been real hot for me, and I have developed several other techniques that have been day savers. All in all a good solid season so far. Biggest fish was in April 6.6lbs
Weld's Largemouth reply :
On 9/11/2015 at 8:30 PM, chris7390 said:yeah water levels are low for me as well..hasn't rained at all. got a very good amount of rain yesterday so hopefully it helps.
where you been fishing?
ww2farmer reply :
Same as it ever was. Better than the last two summers, not as good as the best summers in recent memory (2011 + 2012 were fantastic) My tournament results are about the same as they have been the last few years.
Out of 12 tournaments so far (10 on Silver, 2 on Conesus):
1 Win
3 2nd places (two on Conesus, 1 on Silver)
4 3rd places
1 4th
Lunker once
One or two places out of the money in 2 more and only one stinker.
Smokinal reply :
On 9/14/2015 at 9:29 PM, ww2farmer said:Same as it ever was. Better than the last two summers, not as good as the best summers in recent memory (2011 + 2012 were fantastic) My tournament results are about the same as they have been the last few years.
Out of 12 tournaments so far (10 on Silver, 2 on Conesus):
1 Win
3 2nd places (two on Conesus, 1 on Silver)
4 3rd places
1 4th
Lunker once
One or two places out of the money in 2 more and only one stinker.
Dang! That's AOY stuff right there.
bigbill reply :
Fishing from shore when the waters levels are low take advantage of the situation to checkout the bottom structure while it's exposed. One of my spots has a 4'x4' square cement block sitting in the open water. Great snag spot to avoid.
Mainebass1984 reply :
Going on vacation for the next 11 days. I am going to be starting out with back to back 12-13 hour days on the water. I plan on fishing everyday if possible. Hopefully I can catch a couple bass. Would love to see one over 8 but that may be pushing it. Going to bring a bunch of friends and family fishing. Some good times ahead this week. Bass beware.
Smokinal reply :
^^^Hey Maine, I'm on vaca the week of Oct 12th and I think my buddy and I are headed over your way for a 2 day stint. I'll keep ya posted as I know more. Good luck on your vaca.
Last_Cast reply :
Had zero luck last weekend. 
attemoted to go yesterday and the traffic was so bad i went home...cant win for the past 2 weeks
Hurricane reply :
Went to a couple ponds around here in orchard park and used a black and blue booyah jig with a green pumpkin super chunk and caught a bunch.. love jig fishing..
hatrix reply :
On 9/7/2015 at 8:50 AM, JOBU1967 said:I live in Ohio & I fish both public lakes & privately owned farm ponds. All my shore fishing is done on farm ponds. what I do is try to be the first one on the pond by fishing as soon as I get off work. that way I can catch the most aggressive bass with reaction type baits (spinnerbaits, crankbaits, rattlebaits) then when others show up I fish slow with soft plastics & jigs. I've been doing this for 20 years & have no problem catching bass during the summer months. if I had to compare this summer to previous summers I would say it's the same. this summer we had a lot more rain than usual and it kept the water temp. lower than usual so the weeds didn't grow to the surface like it did in the past. so I didn't get to use frog/rat lures instead I used chuggers, poppers, & walking style top water lures. Summer bass fishing is great but it isn't even close to spring & fall. Spring is always the best (numbers & size). there are days during prespawn when I would catch over 100 bass in 4 hours after work. during the fall I catch 10-12 bass an hour, & during the summer I catch around 5 an hour. the fishing on these ponds are so great I don't even want to fish public lakes anymore.
Other people show up at these private farm ponds and fish or is it a public place? Any farm pond I fish is only ever me there as its private and you need permission. I am also from Ohio and fishing has been ok for me. I haven't caught as many 5 and 6# fish as I would like but I didn't fish much this year. It's hard to compare this year vs a other since I have maybe fished 1/10th of what I nornally would have.
JOBU1967 reply :
On 9/21/2015 at 8:40 AM, hatrix said:Other people show up at these private farm ponds and fish or is it a public place? Any farm pond I fish is only ever me there as its private and you need permission. I am also from Ohio and fishing has been ok for me. I haven't caught as many 5 and 6# fish as I would like but I didn't fish much this year. It's hard to compare this year vs a other since I have maybe fished 1/10th of what I nornally would have.
It's a private 35 acre farm pond. The owner's family and friends also fish there.
bass_masster reply :
South Shore MA here, it was tough for me early, then I hit my PB 6lb bass in May, then another drought of smaller fish until late Aug/early Sept, started to hit big fish again. Hit another 5.89lb bass Sept 4, but last few times I went after that were small or nothing. Hoping to turn that around soon here though.
Also water levels this summer and late summer were noticeably lower than years past, and had to change up my fishing style for the common lakes I fished in some cases.
Mainebass1984 reply :
Some of the biggest bass are biting right now. Get out there and fish guys !
Retired@176 reply :
JP High class of 71, been an awesome summer. lots of dinks, 2 pounders and more than a few at 3+ many thanks to BR for all the info
Cyacnba reply :
I started bass fishing this year, and the only thing I use is the t-rig Rage Craw. I've caught bunch of 3lb+, but my PB was 7.8lb at the Brookline Reservoir last month. I've never caught more than 5 bass in a day, so hopefully I learn a few more things to improve this.
WPCfishing reply :
I've had the best season in my life. I'm 58... That's how good it was. Hope it continues until it's to cold to swing my rods.
WPCfishing reply :
On 9/4/2015 at 6:58 PM, DogBone_384 said:Found my bite starting much later, likely because of the late winter.
I agree...
JazzPipes reply :
On 10/2/2015 at 11:26 PM, Cyacnba said:I started bass fishing this year, and the only thing I use is the t-rig Rage Craw. I've caught bunch of 3lb+, but my PB was 7.8lb at the Brookline Reservoir last month. I've never caught more than 5 bass in a day, so hopefully I learn a few more things to improve this.
Yeah baby!!!when are we going to hit that pond again?
Cyacnba reply :
I just came back from Jamaica Pond in Boston. I saw a few big bass close to the shore, but they wouldn't bite anything. I caught a couple of small ones on the Thomas Buoyant spoon though.
I used my new Rage tail Menace like a swimbait and caught 2 trouts. I think they were brown trouts, and I missed 4 more bites.
Scorchx1245 reply :
Been a cool wet summer. Got good in august, then September died off for me.....
thomas15 reply :
2016 is going to be much better.
Can't be worse than this year!
Last_Cast reply :
It wasnt good. Super slow.
Hopefully 2016 will be the opposite.
Mainebass1984 reply :
2015 was great. Lots of big fish. No 8s but lots of 4s,5s, and 6s. The season lasted longer then ever for me and was catching quality fish right up until the end.
markinny reply :
i,m fishing in the hudson valley n.y. and had a super year. actually 2 in a row. caught 206 large mouth bass and 6 pickeral.got a small bass boat this past summer but caught many of these fish from the shore.i use basically a wacky style rig with senko worms, also spinnerbaits, spoons and jigs.all in small lakes and local ponds.when you are retired, you have the time.
added one sentence.
markinny reply :
On 9/5/2015 at 8:25 PM, LastCast721 said:
Caught this 50 inch 18lb Musky on my last outing on the Niagara river with my brother in law.. My wife is due any day with our 3rd boy in a row so I am not trying to head out on the water again for the year..Don't need to be out there when her water breaks lol.. Fish of a lifetime for me..Great ending to the summer. . Strictly pond fishing around my house now till the day comes so I am close to home..
markinny reply :
AWESOME catch!! keep up the good work.
Last_Cast reply :
On 1/3/2016 at 3:18 AM, markinny said:i,m fishing in the hudson valley n.y. and had a super year. actually 2 in a row. caught 206 large mouth bass and 6 pickeral.got a small bass boat this past summer but caught many of these fish from the shore.i use basically a wacky style rig with senko worms, also spinnerbaits, spoons and jigs.all in small lakes and local ponds.when you are retired, you have the time.
What lakes did you go on?
Used to live in Monroe, still have a lot of family in your area.!
markinny reply :
beaverdam lake/new windsor.
walton lake/monroe
white lake/dutchess county
hessian lake/ bear mnt.
chadwick lake/town of newburgh. to name a few.
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