Forge Pond - March 2, 2013

Tim MacNamara and I did a scouting expedition on Forge Pond out in Suffolk this morning.

It was a cold morning. We launched in 38 degree air temps, with a cutting wind out of the northwest. It was far colder than the forecasted 46 degrees.

We launched at 10 am. I fished until 12:30, and Tim was still fishing when I left.

An apparently far off Tim McNamara
fishing some structure on the
Peconic River near Forge Pond

The fishing was pretty good for early March. After launching, I hit the main lake and originally started casting a jointed rapala. Tim held back and worked the sunny spots in the mouth of the river. Well, the water was high, so weeds weren't much of an issue unless you decided to troll a crankbait. Even then, you could keep off the weeds, but not the algae blossoms.

I didn't think that Jointed Rapala was getting in the zone, which is just above the weedline. As such, I started casting a Mepps. Now, I felt like the lure was moving too fast in the cold water. Tim said the water temp was 42 degrees. I thought I may try a crankbait with a rattle. I thought that a rattle was important because the noise sometimes triggers a bite in cold water. Instead of a straight retrieve, I jigged the crankbait because I thought that the lethargic fish would more readily take a bait at the beginning or end of a pause in cold water.

First largemouth bass of 2013. 

The crankbait turned out to the the ticket, and I caught a nice largemouth bass shortly thereafter. The bass measured at almost 16".

Next drift, I caught another slightly smaller larry which measured 14".

Later, Tim came into the main lake and started getting into the action. Soon, he also caught a largemouth.

A little after this, I caught a big crappie, which measured at 14". It was a beautifully colored fish, and Tim was nice enough to take a picture of it for me. That is about almost as big as they come for crappie.

A 14" black crappie.

I moved further downstream in the lake, and caught nothing for the next 45 minutes. After this, I headed back to the launch. Tim caught another larry while I was downstream.

I trolled a Jointed Rapala back to the launch for nothing, and was on the road by 1:05 pm.

As always, it was good fishing with Tim, who I've shared quite a few adventures with over the past three seasons.

The fishing will only get better as Forge as the weather warms and the days get longer.

Second largemouth bass of the day. 

Spectacular colors.

A windy day on Forge.

The Rapala Taildancer was the lure of the day. This
particular plug is 15 years old.