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Author Topic: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend  (Read 3330 times)

steve01987

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My gf was nice enough to rent a BnB for the weekend in Monroe NH on the CT River.  I wanna get on some Pike (maybe a musky if they're in there?).  A walleye would be cool but I need to do more research on fishing those and see if I will even be able to get on any of those fishing from the shore.  Not totally equipped for this trip, currently have 12lb mono on my bass rods, will try to run some braid on there and use appropriate leader lines.  I am however bringing my 9ft surfcasting saltwater rods out as well and running 50lb mono leader lines on those.  Gonna fling some suckers out on them from the shoreline and debating whether I should float them or sink them down.  It will depend on depth of where im fishing and water current on how I approach this method.  Yes it's a bit barbaric to use saltwater rods but it would be nice to handle a pike from the shore my first time and I dont have properly rigged gear for a last minute trip. 

I will have kayaks available in Monroe on the CT and then on Saturday she rented us some Kayaks to use on the Moore (I hope I'm not gonna run into a fully or heavily iced in body of water aha..i dont think so but I'll be finding ways to fish either way).  Not crazy about pike fishing from a kayak seeing I will definitely have to rig up my bass rods a lot differently (can't bring a 9 foot surfasting saltwater rod out on the yak).  And hopefully my gf doesnt hook up to a pike on the kayak because that will be a nightmare trying to help her land/handle the fish safely).  So If I can land one from a kayak great, otherwise as far as pike go I'm hoping to access them from the shore by whipping out some large bait and either floating or sinking it.  While on the kayaks I might just bass fish with jerk baits, crank baits, spinners, and chatters and such.  Perhaps I will just focus more on bass while on the kayaks in the moore, but I'm wondering if i'll find the smallies there in 5-15ft of water of Moore this time of year or if they're not gonna sunbathing shallow like the largies would be and could perhaps be in deeper water.  Not sure if theres a lot of largies in moore as those are my most targeted fish year round.
 Would love to find some large bait in that neck of the woods but stopping at Berry's in New Durham this afternoon, they said they have 3-5in suckers and large shiners (not jumbo shiners). So that's what Im working with.  If I find/have time to find bigger bait in the Monroe/littleton area that'd be cool but I hate going to a new area I don't know well without having bait beforehand.  Hey maybe a large brown will take a sucker on the CT river when fishing with those there, who knows.

Any advice or tips would be appreciated, thanks.  As you can see I'm a novice to this landscape/bodies of water and the techniques to fish them.  This will mostly be a learning experience.  I will send pics if I get on anything decent.  It should be a fun time.

steve01987

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #1 on: Apr 09, 2021, 10:09 AM »
Oh, and I do have some pre-rigged wire leaders as well on hand.

stripernut

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #2 on: Apr 09, 2021, 02:04 PM »
I have caught pike (down in MA) on the Conn. River fishing from a canoe. I was casting a spinnerbait as I don't need to have any wire and the fish seemed to like it... I focus more on walleye in the river and this is spawning time or post-spawning, I would fish below dams and stream mouths.Good Luck!

steve01987

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #3 on: Apr 13, 2021, 09:53 AM »
Thanks for the feedback I tried everything, chatterbaits, spinners, spoons, jerkbaits, crankbaits, plastics, live shiners/suckers.  Beautiful area, the water was very cold which I'm sure didn't help me.

AquaAssassin

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #4 on: Apr 13, 2021, 10:50 AM »
Catch anything at all?
It’s not being Cocky if you can back it up.

When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.

steve01987

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #5 on: Apr 13, 2021, 11:02 AM »
Catch anything at all?

Nothing.  Fished for hours from the shore and out of a kayak on the Moore and CT River.  Trying to fish a new species shortly after ice-out was tough for me to say the least lol.

AquaAssassin

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #6 on: Apr 13, 2021, 11:10 AM »
Eh, learning trips. Nothing wrong with that
It’s not being Cocky if you can back it up.

When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.

Pikin Aint Easy

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2021, 01:42 PM »
I would try some of the Maine lakes if you are looking for Pike. Great Pond, Long Pond, and Messalonskee Lake within the Belgrade lake region will give you a good shot at multiple fish in a day, and some really big ones that will get your heart racing pretty hard when you first see them boat side. We usually toss a combination of large spinner baits and have a sucker or large golden shiner off the back. I like Mepps Giant Killers with silver blade and white fur as them seem  to work great up there. Also, you will get some huge small mouth hitting those large baits too!

Look for the weeds that look like propellers up a vine....You can clearly see them on sonar as well. Best to try up there in June or September.

Good luck on getting a pike! I became addicted after catching my first one.

Cheers
Dustin

Steve H.

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2021, 03:11 PM »
We usually toss a combination of large spinner baits and have a sucker or large golden shiner off the back. I like Mepps Giant Killers with silver blade and white fur as them seem  to work great up there. Also, you will get some huge small mouth hitting those large baits too!

This.
It is understood that fishing licenses, gas, bait, etc., all cost money, but try not to let a limit of trout be your only gauge for success. – Ben Nugent, (NH F&G) Regional Fisheries Biologist

Pikin Aint Easy

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2021, 07:27 PM »
For some reason my computer is not showing any images folks post so I am just copying a link below to the 3 variations of spinners I recommend as I cannot see your picture. They are a bit pricey but work for sure. You can go down a size or two with the Mepps Marabou (which is marabou fur and sometimes can be a difference) or the smallest options being a #5 mepps. (#5 mepps great option for bass and pike) Again, I have had most my fish on white fur with sliver or gold blades, however trying different colors can make or break a day! Also, sometimes the fish want a larger or smaller presentation so it is good to have the variations. If you ever get up the Belgrades at Long Pond, Great Pond, or Messalonskee message me and I can point you in the direction of where to fish. Good luck

Mepps Giant Killers
https://www.fishusa.com/Mepps-Giant-Killer-Spinners?quantity=1&L-Weight=351&L-Color1=12489&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIneaJzonm8AIVivGzCh2ivwHdEAQYASABEgK9NPD_BwE

Mepps Marabou
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/mepps-marabou?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CBPS%7CTopPerformers%7CFishing&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsaTCkorm8AIVNwaICR2NCgOlEAQYASABEgLB3PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Mepps #5 1/2 oz
https://www.basspro.com/shop/en/mepps-aglia-dressed-spinner?hvarAID=shopping_googleproductextensions&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Shop%7CBPS%7CTopPerformers%7CFishing&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjqrDtYrm8AIViZOzCh2aKQ_EEAQYBCABEgINL_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds






Steve H.

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2021, 07:37 PM »
I got a bunch of Mepps Musky Killers and Giant Killers about 15 years ago when you could get them used on eBay for about $7 a piece or so.  Still have most of them thankfully.  Great for pike and jumbo smallies.
It is understood that fishing licenses, gas, bait, etc., all cost money, but try not to let a limit of trout be your only gauge for success. – Ben Nugent, (NH F&G) Regional Fisheries Biologist

AquaAssassin

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2021, 07:53 PM »
Solid posts pikin
It’s not being Cocky if you can back it up.

When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.

Pikin Aint Easy

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #12 on: May 26, 2021, 07:20 AM »
Thank you! I remember how excited I was with my first Pike so it brings me great joy to help point people in the right direction. I know I wouldn't have caught half the pike I have without all the help I have received which comes from others experience. I know it's a fine line because you don't want to spot burn etc...however, if I can somewhat judge they are genuine, not abusing the fishery, and really enjoying the pursuit, then I am happy to share as much as possible because everything gets paid forward as life progresses.

I challenge anyone to try and look back from Pike fishing once you have hooked a 10+LB Pike on bass fishing gear. It really gets your heart going;)

AquaAssassin

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2021, 07:36 AM »
Thank you! I remember how excited I was with my first Pike so it brings me great joy to help point people in the right direction. I know I wouldn't have caught half the pike I have without all the help I have received which comes from others experience. I know it's a fine line because you don't want to spot burn etc...however, if I can somewhat judge they are genuine, not abusing the fishery, and really enjoying the pursuit, then I am happy to share as much as possible because everything gets paid forward as life progresses.

I challenge anyone to try and look back from Pike fishing once you have hooked a 10+LB Pike on bass fishing gear. It really gets your heart going;)

100% it’s like you read my other 1000 posts of bitching about it  ;D

I will not give you a coordinates but I will in fine detail tell you exactly what I used or what you need to use and what to look for. And if youve built up a basis of which I can judge on here I will take you as well.
It’s not being Cocky if you can back it up.

When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.

Johnnh

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Re: Fishing CT River and Moore for first time this weekend
« Reply #14 on: May 27, 2021, 08:36 AM »
Very interesting and enjoyable read.

I grew up in the Northern Adirondacks and was introduced to Pike fishing at about 10 years old. If memory serves me, i got my first pike on a jitter bug. It was not real big, but put up a good battle and i was hooked for life. As years went by i tried all sorts of lures and baits. I learned from a friend of my Gramps that pike are opportunists. As many of us have witnessed, they often sit motionless in  ambush. They have the ability to go zero to 60 in a nano-second or so it appears. Like several people on the board have mentioned, an assortment of lures work. I think the 2 best lures to locate them are spoons and spinners. The red or orange colors do well.
An example of how wrong we can be: while fishing in a bass tournament on the CT river,  i had caught 3 largemouth off a stump using a medium loomis spinning rod, shimano reel, stren sensor 8 lb test mono, 3.0 gami ewg hook and a 4 inch green/bk flake senko. On the forth cast,  i got the usual thump, the line moved about 2 feet, i set the hook expecting another bass == surprise- surprise. I saw this monster go past the trolling motor heading up river burning drag and after about 5 minutes with trolling motor on high and 3 or 4 trips around the boat and 3 attempts to net the beast, i won the battle. The pike was 42 inches long & just over 18 lbs. That was the highlight of my day.

I told this story to show you just never know. Was the pike already there or did he move in because of the comotion caused by catching the 3 bass.

Note, i was on Moore Dam one day and found a large pike next to a log. I lowered a senko onto his nose and he simply turned around, gave me the fin and left the area in a hurry.

Summary: Pike present a big challenge and great memories.
John

 



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