Concord River 06/29

Hi all. I fished the Concord River out of the 225 stretch with one of my flyfishing buddies. This was his first trip fishing for freshwater fish other than trout and salmon in years. We fished topwater stuff - a popper for me and he fished some terrestrials that he tied. I landed one decent bass and missed more...feel the fish before you set Charlie. I am working on it lol. He did well with lots of panfish and 3 small largemouths. I was telling him that people pull pike and pickerel out of the river but I personally haven't.

Question for you guys - what are you looking for in terms of water/structure when targeting pike and pickerel? Not looking for secret spots, just general habitat sort of thing. I know that I can look up the info on the Internet, but you are a knowledgeable bunch and I value your first hand experience. Also, I love to flyfish, but have spinning gear and a new to me baitcasting rig as well.

Thanks,

Charlie

THE ONE I CAUGHT I GOT ON A JIG AND IT WAS TIGHT TO SHORE NEAR SOME COVER .HE RAN MY LINE OUT TO OPEN WATER SO FAST .I WAS REELING QUICK JUST TO GET A HOOK SET ON EM!!!THEY ARE PRETTY NASTY SWIMMERS SO GET READY!!!!ALSO THEY LOVE MOVEMENT SO CRANKBAITS SHOULD WORK TO .GOOD LUCK !!!

---SMOKECITY---

if your going for pike on the concord make sure you have a good line ie: braid or even an ole fashioned steel leader. we have seen 10lb plus pike come out of those waters. throw a grass frog up against shore, give it a good twitch out about a foot and then start hopping your frog and you will see the pike come out after it, hold on.
if you can make the trip to fairhaven bay you'll find em. good luck!

hey thanks guys....getting a pike is on my list of things to do this summer. so fish tight to the bank and hold on...got it. are you looking for similar bass structure? prominent drop offs? weeds? or is all fair game?

thanks again.

charlie

Iv'e had my pike success in the weeds always, some might say they have caught them out from shore more often than not. but that's them coming out from the cover and following the bait , most times striking right at the last minute by the boat. scare the bejezus out of you, lol

Fantastic...thanks for the info guys. Will try to get out next week and I will let you know if I get one.

Charlie

i don't recall the bay area being very deep from a tournament i fished in earlier in june. also didn't see much structure, mostly thick weed and lily pad cover. the guy i was with caught a 4+ pickerel and pike in that river fishing for bass on a spro (i think) frog and a senko type worm. i would think plugs and spooks would target them well too.

WEEDS - aquatic vegetation provides great ambush cover for them to feed. I have watched a pickerel charge out of thick weeds in a foot of water to grab my bait.



and for river fishing of all kinds, there are two words to remember:

current breaks

anything that breaks the current, be it a rock, a log, a shoreline point, anything, has the potential to hold fish.

Fish will almost always face into the current, so bring your bait with the current, or quartering, to bring it to them in a natural fashion. A bait coming up behind them will usually spook em.

The edges of current where faster water meets slower water is an often overlooked 'spot on the spot'. Outside corners of turns will be deeper/faster, because the current digs into it as it comes around the turn - inside corners(especially the downstream side) will be slower/shallower... and often better fish holding spots.

They all go riffle > hole > run, riffle > hole > run, etc.... this applies to the smallest stream or the biggest river. 'Riffles' are more turbulent(like rapids) due to the hard bed the water is flowing over... when it gets to softer bed, it digs out a 'hole'... then the hole usually gently smooths out, making the 'run'. This could be 50 yards or several miles - - it's the same, only the scale changes.

(not trying to write a book, I just like stream/river fishing. We used to hammer the smallies in moving water back home in OK)

WEEDS - aquatic vegetation provides great ambush cover for them to feed. I have watched a pickerel charge out of thick weeds in a foot of water to grab my bait.



and for river fishing of all kinds, there are two words to remember:

current breaks

anything that breaks the current, be it a rock, a log, a shoreline point, anything, has the potential to hold fish.

Fish will almost always face into the current, so bring your bait with the current, or quartering, to bring it to them in a natural fashion. A bait coming up behind them will usually spook em.

The edges of current where faster water meets slower water is an often overlooked 'spot on the spot'. Outside corners of turns will be deeper/faster, because the current digs into it as it comes around the turn - inside corners(especially the downstream side) will be slower/shallower... and often better fish holding spots.

They all go riffle > hole > run, riffle > hole > run, etc.... this applies to the smallest stream or the biggest river. 'Riffles' are more turbulent(like rapids) due to the hard bed the water is flowing over... when it gets to softer bed, it digs out a 'hole'... then the hole usually gently smooths out, making the 'run'. This could be 50 yards or several miles - - it's the same, only the scale changes.

(not trying to write a book, I just like stream/river fishing. We used to hammer the smallies in moving water back home in OK)

great info...thanks!!

I fished the concord Sunday from 4-6:30. The water was very shallow...Had some bites, but didn't land anything. Used primarily jigs and power worms. I wonder if the bass migrate toward the bay with the lowering water in the river? Thoughts or anyone else fish there recently with some luck?

i was there again last friday. i spent a bit with my fly rod and a popper and landed a decent lmb and lost another. i then tried a white spinnerbait, i had one bass follow but that was it. that was my first concerted effort with a spinnerbait. i have an order of frogs coming in from bps so will try when i get back from vacation.

someday i will get that pike!

charlie