Fishing and lots of things in the wild world are heating up earlier than usual because of the mild winter and unseasonably warm spring. Three weeks ago, I opened my shed and found a baby cottontail, which had already left the nest and was old enough to be on its own. The magnolia in my dad's yard has bloomed and the blossoms are already dropping their petals. The grass needs mowing. Already?Birds began mating and nesting early and wild turkeys started their spring mating rampage a couple of weeks ago, moving into their breeding areas with the toms strutting, fanning and gobbling in hopes of winning breeding rites with hens. It's in such full swing, it might be all over even before the spring turkey hunting season begins on April 30.I could be wrong, but I also think the largemouth bass spawn, which traditionally occurs in June, will be early this year, by a month. Bass are biting and they're leaving deeper water and seem to be staging closer to shore, where they'll soon be preparing to make their nests and spawn. On Sunday evening, Farell Plank and I put the canoe in at Leonard's Pond in Rochester to fish for just a couple of hours. Within that time, we went through a dozen shiners and caught half as many stocky largemouths up to five pounds. They were hungry and on the bite.What surprised us was how ripe with eggs the females were. So full and bloated that it would be impossible for them to hold any more, never mind keep growing with roe for another two months. One particular fish looked like it was about to burst open and the outline of the two lines of roe were evident along its belly. We found fish just a short ways from shore, along weed beds and against deep undercut banks with overhanging trees. One shady cove was also full of big yellow perch and crappie.Bass often bite heavily before the spawn, and will readily eat big, live shiners along with a myriad of lures. I'm not a purist, therefore I enjoy using live bait and the action associated with such a presentation. To fish big shiners, a 6½-foot medium-heavy action rod with good backbone and a reel loaded with about 15-pound test is a typical rig, though some go heavier with the line.Simply tie a stout, sharp, single hook on the end of the line. The hook size depends on the size of the bait, but about a 3/0 or 4/0 is standard for large size shiners, but go larger with bigger pike-size or native shiners, and go smaller with medium-size baits. Put a float (bobber) about three feet up the line, hook the shiner ahead of the dorsal fin, then toss it near likely-looking cover and let the shiner do its thing. Some prefer to hook the shiner behind the dorsal fin, but bass like to swallow the bait headfirst, so I like to hook the bait up front, which results in more hookups.Often a bass will chase a shiner clear out of the water resulting in a big, exciting surface boil. When a bass takes the bait, I usually let it run a few seconds before engaging the reel and setting the hook, but if it's near trees or heavy cover and the fish is headed for it, I set it sooner before the fish gets the line tangled around roots, branches and such.Another method is to troll or drift shiners. For this, you can do it with or without a float. Hook the shiner through the lips, flip it behind the boat, let some line out and troll or drift very slowly, snaking it along undercut banks, over submerged weed beds, around rocks, and in front of weed lines. A weedless hook is better if you're going to be covering some weedy areas. You can usually tell when a bass is after the bait because the shiner will get antsy and you'll feel it through the rod and line.If you're using a baitcasting reel, leave the reel in free-spool with just enough spool tension to stop the shiner from taking line, but allows a bass to grab it, run and take line without feeling resistance which would cause it to spit out the bait. If you're using a spinning reel, keep the bail open and hold the line with your forefinger, then release it when the fish eats your bait so it can take line before you flip the bail and rear back on the rod to set the hook. Those "baitrunner" type spinning reels are ideal.Once the spawn begins they usually only hit out of being annoyed or to protect the nest. Pre-spawn is the time of year when the large females are at their heaviest, sometimes a pound or more than their usual weight because of the eggs, therefore it's the best time to catch a trophy. There are mixed emotions on keeping heavy pre-spawn or spawning females. Some release them so that the fish can spawn and the population will flourish, with those offspring carrying on the genes to grow big, like their mother.Others, like myself, figure if you catch a trophy fish, there's nothing wrong with taking it home and having it mounted to preserve the memory and enjoy its beauty for many years. It's an old fish, will die soon and has already made its contribution to the gene pool over many years. It's not going to hurt the population. Bass are prolific, their populations are self-sustaining and there are many others to take its place. If you were deer hunting, would you pass up a monster 12-point buck? Like hunting, being selective in the fish you take home is conservation, the wise use of renewable natural resources, as opposed to preservation, which means you leave things as they are, unaltered and disturb nothing. I believe in conservationism.In Massachusetts, a largemouth bass must be at least seven pounds to be considered a trophy and qualify for a bronze pin in the adult division of the Sportfishing Awards Program. In the junior division, the minimum weight for trophy status and a bronze pin is four pounds. The state record is 15½ pounds, a 37-year old record that has held since 1975. The fish was reportedly caught through the ice at Sampson's Pond in Carver.MassWildlife has a "best bets for bass" list and most of the ponds are in our Southeast District, which typically produce the biggest bass in the state. The list is based on waters that have turned out trophy largemouths over a10-year period of the Sportsfishing Awards Program records. They are: Agawam River, Glen Charlie Pond and Dick's Pond — Wareham; Sampson's Pond — Carver; John's Pond and Mashpee/Wakeby Pond — Mashpee; Long Pond — Plymouth; Long Pond — Lakeville; Snipatuit Pond, Mary's Pond and Leonard's Pond — Rochester; New Bedford Reservoir (Lake Street) — Acushnet; Lake Noquochoke — Dartmouth; Wachusett Reservoir; Quabbin Reservoir; and Webster Lake — Webster.The largemouth bass remains the most sought-after species in freshwater and now's the time to catch a whopper.The Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) opened the Quabbin Reservoir for the spring fishing season yesterday. In addition to shore fishing, all three boat launch sites in the reservoir — Gate 8 in Belchertown, Gate 31 in New Salem and Gate 43 in Hardwick — are now in full operation. During the season, which runs through Oct. 13, the launch areas will be open at 6 a.m. seven days a week.Quabbin Season Parking Passes, which include parking and launching fees, are available for purchase at all three boat launch areas. Passes are $50 for the year or $25 for seniors over 62 with proof of age. Passes are also $25 for handicapped individuals with handicapped placards. The vehicle and trailer parking fee without the season pass is $8 per day.All private boats launched on the reservoir must meet boat specification regulations and have an intact Quabbin Boat Seal which affixes the boat to the trailer. Boat owners who do not have a seal can make a boat inspection and decontamination appointment through the Quabbin Visitor Center.In addition to private boat launching facilities, boat rentals are available on a first come-first serve basis at all three boat launch areas. The cost for a boat and motor is $40 per day with a $6 per vehicle parking fee. The reservoir is home to 27 species of fish, including lake trout, salmon, smallmouth bass and white perch. For more information, visit the DCR web site at mass.gov/dcr/waterSupply/watershed/quabfish or call the Quabbin Visitor Center at 413- 323-7221.West Marine's free boating seminar on Saturday from 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. at its Berdon Plaza location in Fairhaven will feature a fishing show on topwater tactics and trolling techniques for stripers and blues. Call 508-992-8484 to reserve your seat. You can also sign up for the store's free striped bass and bluefish derby, which begins on May 1 and runs through Sept. 3.Marc Folco is the outdoor writer for The Standard-Times. Contact him at openseason1988@aol.com
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