Hey guys
I'm pretty new to fishing that doesn't involve a guide or captain etc... I've been catching a lot of bass and perch at Lake Cochituate... some bluegill and calico in between. I'm trying to find all the big game freshwater fish in mass and surrounding areas. So far I've got on the list Pike, Tiger Muskies, Catfish, and Carp... any I'm missing. any spots and specific tips for going after some of these beasts? Or even catching LARGE Bass. I seem to can't get any over the 15-20" game
I'm pretty new to fishing that doesn't involve a guide or captain etc... I've been catching a lot of bass and perch at Lake Cochituate... some bluegill and calico in between. I'm trying to find all the big game freshwater fish in mass and surrounding areas. So far I've got on the list Pike, Tiger Muskies, Catfish, and Carp... any I'm missing. any spots and specific tips for going after some of these beasts? Or even catching LARGE Bass. I seem to can't get any over the 15-20" game
yeah. i was fishing from a tree at one point and let u borrow a frog. I've been killing it at Cochituate where we went across the street ever since. I picked up a kayak and well the rest is history. 3 pike today! no monsters!! Should get yourself a kayak and we'll slam some pigs!! well, i'm still working on catching monsters!
Honestly, since you are asking, stick to carp... Last summer was great: I set out to catch carp. I had a great time and cleaned up.
I set my eye on Pike late this summer. It's been a whopping pain in the @$$, and I haven't gotten one in 4 LONG trips... Carp I hooked up with 3 in 1 day on the Charles with 3 hours and corn. The next trip I landed 1 (heavier line and a net
)
It would be easier to drive to Maine or Canada, catch Pike, and come back home.
I did have one hook up at cochituate on a yellow perch by a big toothy fish in 8 hours of fishing. I used live yellow perch I jigged up from cochituate. It was probably a huge pickerel or stocked salmon though.
Hope this helps...
I set my eye on Pike late this summer. It's been a whopping pain in the @$$, and I haven't gotten one in 4 LONG trips... Carp I hooked up with 3 in 1 day on the Charles with 3 hours and corn. The next trip I landed 1 (heavier line and a net
)
It would be easier to drive to Maine or Canada, catch Pike, and come back home.
I did have one hook up at cochituate on a yellow perch by a big toothy fish in 8 hours of fishing. I used live yellow perch I jigged up from cochituate. It was probably a huge pickerel or stocked salmon though.
Hope this helps...
I got 3 pike yesterday at cochituate. and i know they weren't pickerel as they were spotted not making a chain pattern and much more brownish than green. I heard 15-20 pounders in the sudbury and seen pics for proof. Nothing's impossible!! just mastering the angling is all! pike i know hit anything from hotdogs and bread to bass lures. and you'll know when it's not a pickerel too cuz pickerels dont thrash as long as the pike once caught. the pike were 100x more aggressive!!
3 pike yesterday? Post a pic, please. It's not a slight difference between greenish and brown. It's green or brown.
Virtually identical makeup, but pickerel don't grow as big and can take warmer temps.
The fish in the post bounced away with my scale through his gills at 7:00 tonight. At dark, he jumped out of the water and thrashed with my scale hanging out of his mouth, so I'm not sure about the thrashing angle.
Also, Pike haven't been stocked there in years... If the fish wasn't 10-plus pounds, I think you caught the 3, lonely juveniles to come out of there in nearly a decade.
PLEASE: post a pic.
Virtually identical makeup, but pickerel don't grow as big and can take warmer temps.
The fish in the post bounced away with my scale through his gills at 7:00 tonight. At dark, he jumped out of the water and thrashed with my scale hanging out of his mouth, so I'm not sure about the thrashing angle.
Also, Pike haven't been stocked there in years... If the fish wasn't 10-plus pounds, I think you caught the 3, lonely juveniles to come out of there in nearly a decade.
PLEASE: post a pic.
I would love to post a pic if i could of even got one. i dont have a net. im getting one pay day. i couldnt even grab these guys. i've caught so many pickerel and no pick hase ever thrashed like these. it's not really difference of green and brown it's the spots. pickerels make chain links, the pike dont make up such distinctive chains, but bigger ones a bit. they werent big. one was smaller than any pickerel i caught. the other one might have been the same fish as hooked with 3 casts. i couldnt even hold it. it thrashed so hard my hand slip and cut itself on the lure. they all thrashed nonstop until they fell off. all my pickerels have stopped thrashing after 20ish seconds and then an occasional thrash. last time it was stocked was like in 04 i think. but according to some depth finders the lake goes as deep as 50 feet that would give the pike the temperature they need. the water was much cooler. saw some other guys going for pike there with rats. rare yes and not big. i'm hitting up the sudbury for big guys. heard 15 pounders and up. you can believe whatever you'd like, but i don't tell an intentional lie and trust me the spottage was much different. u hold them side by side u can see it. i've been spending countless hours looking at pics online. definitely juveniles. next time i'll try to get a vid as i dont have a net. can u post vids on here?
Not my fish in these pics but first is pike
https://www.google.com/search?q=difference+between+pike+and+pickerel&biw=1138&bih=526&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0nYOVITYNLeMsQTPoYHICQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=2MrUXluexLCSuM%253A%3BvEf19_9okUkmkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252Fpike.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FpikepickerelBN.html%3B720%3B252
speckled pattern not forming chains. more brownish.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pike+and+pickerel&biw=1138&bih=526&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8XcOVIviEPH8sASJjIKoCg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=difference+pike+and+pickerel&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=FsnUhxq8CHXRhM%253A%3BvEf19_9okUkmkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FPickerel719.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FpikepickerelBN.html%3B659%3B217
this one spots make the spaces between look like chain links. more greenish and yellow. yes color can very. the pickerel signature is the tear mark under the eye. normal pickerel i can find it. these guys thrashed so violently they were never still enough to see even with trying to hold it.
https://www.google.com/search?q=difference+between+pike+and+pickerel&biw=1138&bih=526&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=0nYOVITYNLeMsQTPoYHICQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=2MrUXluexLCSuM%253A%3BvEf19_9okUkmkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252Fpike.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FpikepickerelBN.html%3B720%3B252
speckled pattern not forming chains. more brownish.
https://www.google.com/search?q=pike+and+pickerel&biw=1138&bih=526&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=8XcOVIviEPH8sASJjIKoCg&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=difference+pike+and+pickerel&facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=FsnUhxq8CHXRhM%253A%3BvEf19_9okUkmkM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FPickerel719.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.penrodsguides.com%252FpikepickerelBN.html%3B659%3B217
this one spots make the spaces between look like chain links. more greenish and yellow. yes color can very. the pickerel signature is the tear mark under the eye. normal pickerel i can find it. these guys thrashed so violently they were never still enough to see even with trying to hold it.