Spinning reel advice please

thanks towelie. i have not purchased yet as we are preparing to move. i am sick of painting and prep work! i figure that i will use it as a gift to me when i am finally finished with the work and the move. so, thanks for your your input.

btw, we are moving to dracut and the merrimack is so close it is silly. man that is a big river and more than a bit intimidating.

charlie

Nice, yeah the Merrimack is pretty sweet, there is a lot of species in there for sure. There's also quite a few lakes in the Dracut area that I have read about on MassWildlife that sound terrific.

Hope the move goes well!

I gotta put my word in for Abu. I have a Cardinal 500 series, and 3 700 series(not made anymore) and I love them. Im sure the 300 series is good for short money as well.

you guys are great, thanks. i have looked on line at the lakes too. long pond has my attention. also, i am a little closer to the nh line. i would love to find someplace with decent smallmouth fishing closer than the cape.

if anyone knows the area and is looking to fish, let me know. i coach baseball in the spring, so it may be later in the spring that i can get more time. but, the offer stands!

There are a ton of great spots to fish in southern NH, I would definitely invest in getting a license for there. Not exactly sure which lakes have the smallies, but there are a lot of good bass lakes that I've fished in that area. Look around online, and I'm sure you'll find some sort of info on small mouth lakes, or there is the good ol' DeLorme Atlas and Gazeteer, which shows all kinds of stuff (along with all the roads in the state) - fishing, hunting, hiking, paddling, camping spots, defintely a good investment.

volume,

i am a veritable map junkie. gazetters...lol i have all of new england, wyoming, idaho, montana, and ny. those are mine personally. i teach 8th grade science and we have a major mapping unit and for that i have the mid atlantic states, florida and the pacific northwest states as well. great maps! maybe i was a little selfish in that requisition....

you are right, they have a wealth of info. i was just wondering about first hand insight. the last smallie i took was at newfound lake and that has to be about 15 years ago. i think it is about time that i get myself some more!

charlie

One thing to keep in mind for NH is that if you're planning on taking a boat out on the water up there, you need to have taken a boater safety course that is New Hampshire compliant.

michael...i did not know that. ..ok just checked to see where i could get a course but i do not need one. safe boating certs are not necessary for boats with 25 hp or less.

thanks, though, because i did not know there could have been an issue.

charlie

there is only one lake "pond "you need to fish in Souther NH BIG ISLAND POND smallies Larry's big and small ones and what I like to call "all day long" means 1lb - 1 1/2lb fish. One of my favorite spots! also Long pond in Dracut I know that place like the back of my hand. We will get back there VERY soon.

you guys are great, thanks. i have looked on line at the lakes too. long pond has my attention. also, i am a little closer to the nh line. i would love to find someplace with decent smallmouth fishing closer than the cape.

if anyone knows the area and is looking to fish, let me know. i coach baseball in the spring, so it may be later in the spring that i can get more time. but, the offer stands!

I've been doing lots of research on the Merrimack River and I have encountered numerous people claiming it has the best smallmouth bass fishing in the state. (Not sure if i mentioned it yet but it is where I caught my first smallmouth)
In particular, top locations include 2 mile stretch below Pawtucket dam in Lowell and 3-4 mile stretch below Essex dam in Lawrence. Also below the Essex dam is where freshwater and some saltwater fish can be caught. Thats where I caught two smallies on a small Aglia Long spinner.

sorry for the delayed response.....thanks for the info. meatballs, big island pond has come up a bunch in my reading and that will be on tap for the late spring. long pond in dracut sounds good too...maybe see you there this year.

towelie, the mac seems like it would be a good small mouth river. good current, rock everyplace. where do guys put in?

charlie

sorry for the delayed response.....thanks for the info. meatballs, big island pond has come up a bunch in my reading and that will be on tap for the late spring. long pond in dracut sounds good too...maybe see you there this year.

towelie, the mac seems like it would be a good small mouth river. good current, rock everyplace. where do guys put in?

charlie

That is a good question, and I can offer up one location that I know about, the thing is its up river from the Pawtucket dam, above the spot(s) I mentioned. Since I fish from shore because I don't have a boat I am not too familiar with launches, so hopefully someone else here can offer up some advice of launch(es) that allow access below Pawtucket dam and/or below Essex dam.

So the launch I know about is right near the Rourke bridge in Lowell/Tyngsboro. If you go on Google maps and type in,
940 Pawtucket Boulevard, Tyngsboro, MA
you will be able to clearly see the launch area, which I believe has over 50 parking spots for cars/trucks and trailers. Since you are launching right near the Pawtucket dam you can only go upstream, and from what I read there is still some decent fishing once you go upstream a little bit.

Thanks...will have to start playing around with my maps. The river seems like it has lots of rock hazards...or good holding spots depending on your perspective! I really want to see the river when it recedes a bit. There must be some launches below the damn. Any idea where the river gets brackish?

I am looking forward to the season.

Charlie