Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:59 am Post subject: Burr Pond 08/02
After reading some recent posts about topwater action, I decided to head up to Burr Pond with my daughter to fish with soft plastic frogs on weedless swimming jigs over the weeds and pads in the SW cove. Since TurtleKiss (aka Kira) fishes topwater more than anyone I know, I asked her to join us. She agreed to come along and use my little kayak, while my daughter and I fished from The Other Woman in what has become our usual back-to-back tandem seating arrangement. Here's a shot of Kira on the pond in my little kayak:
There was a gentle SW breeze and scattered clouds, so it was a pleasant warm day. The water was also warm. We drove up to the pond in my father-in-law's NJ-tagged Yukon. Even though I have a CT driver's license and we were towing my CT-tagged trailer, we still had to pay the $10 non-resident admission fee:
I drove to the turn-around circle by the beach to drop off my Hobie, my little kayak, Kira and my daughter. While we unloaded the Yukon and the trailer, we spoke with the DEP guy on duty at the beach area of the park. He seemed a little bored and it was really nice talking with him. That's when I learned that there's a boat launch ramp. On the NE shore of the pond. Paved. Just a little way up the hill from the entrance to the park (i.e., NE). With parking. For free. Now, although I had been to Burr Pond a couple of times in the past, I had never paddled up to the NE shore. I had always stuck with the coves to the SW, S and SE:
I had no idea that there is a boat launch ramp. I had never seen any boats other than kayaks and canoes on the pond before. Oh, well, the next time, I guess.
The pond was weedier than I thought it would be. There are weeds covering most of the bottom. When we used sinking lures and let them sink to the bottom, we would pull up weeds most of the time. I ended up catching 5 largemouth bass and 2 little chain pickerel. Here's everything that I caught:
12 inch LMB with frog
12 inch CP with tube
12 inch LMB with tube
14 inch LMB with tube
14 inch CP with tube
12 inch LMB with tube
10 inch LMB with worm
I caught the first largemouth bass with a soft plastic Yum frog on a swimming jig head slowly retrieved at a depth of about 2 feet in the open space between a few clusters of lilies and weeds. I saw the bass hit the frog and I actually set the hook. I'm kinda proud of that. Afterward, however, I got only one more hit on the frog and failed to set the hook quickly enough. I caught both chain pickerel and three more bass with a 4 inch Yum mardigras (i.e., watermelon/purple flake) tube on a 1/8 oz Arkie jig head. The pickerel hit the tube when I was cranking it. The bass hit the tube when I let it sink to the bottom. I caught the last little bass just off the cattails next to the spillway in the SE cove. It hit a wacky-rigged 5 inch smoke/purple flake Dinger.
Unfortunately, my daughter didn't catch any fish. However, she caught some dragonflies, a windblown spider, a snail, a frog and a freshwater jellyfish. Yes, that's right, a freshwater jellyfish in its medusa (i.e., swimming bell) stage that was about an inch in diameter.
I'll let Kira post about the fish she caught, including the lunker largemouth bass that she got in the weeds and pads. She might also post about pulling a "Jed" and dropping a rod and reel to the bottom of the S cove.
I had a good time on the water, yesterday. But I can't wait to go back and use the FREE PAVED BOAT LAUNCH RAMP! _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Last edited by PECo on Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:49 pm; edited 3 times in total
Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:39 pm Post subject:
So it sounds like you didn't end up with any topwater action? Even the frog was submerged when you caught the LMB right?
Typically with the frogs I have to let the fish take the frog and wait a second or 2 before setting the hook. If I set the hook to soon it's usually a miss. But that is with topwater frogs. I never tried swiming them before which it sounds like you were doing.
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 12:53 pm Post subject: Yeah
I pitched the frog to the edge of a bed of pads and weeds, and slowly swam it back to the boat. The bass came up from below and to the side, and I saw the frog disappear into its mouth. The line was already under tension and I gave the rod a smooth tug until it bent over pretty far. I can't say enough how much I like being able to stand up in my new boat. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Tue Aug 03, 2010 1:35 pm Post subject: Some Photos
Here are some photos I took of the freshwater jellyfish last night before I ate it:
Just kidding. Remember, it was only one inch long, so it was waay to small to eat! _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 4:08 pm Post subject:
I'll just start off by admitting that I wasn't too fond of Phil's old kayak. My dinghy is a total POS, but I'm used to having a motor, an anchor, 4-6 rods, a cooler, a 23 lb tackle bag, a camera bag, stability, and (most importantly) the option to stand up. That makes a HUGE difference. I downsized my gear to 3 rods, some soft plastics, hooks, scissors, pliers, my phone, and my pickerel glove (no matter how small...never trust a slimedart.)
I missed maybe 20-30 hooksets due to directional issues/fear of tipping/losing another cellphone. The bites were fairly consistent all day. The kayak would point in the opposite direction after every cast. I had no idea what I was doing wrong or how to fix the issue until I put the kayak on top of some pads. I caught a LMB on a Stanley Ribbit frog (fast retrieve)...nothing I'd bother measuring or weighing even if there was room for my scale.
I had 2 false strikes in the same area, then my frogs started swimming upside-down, the wind blew me off the pads, and I decided to try my luck in calmer-looking water. By the time I got there, it was no longer calm. I spent 90% of the time paddling/drifting/trying to stay out of trees. A while later, one of my rods fell in the water, but thankfully it was clear and shallow. Phil was able to see it and hook it for me due to the awesomeness called "standing up." Shortly after that, I decided it was time to abandon the kayak. I'm not equipped to paddle, fish, and avoid falling in all at once. 2nd cast from shore got me another LMB on a Smokin' Shad superfluke...not a trophy fish, but it validated that I could still catch them.
Burr has the biggest snapping turtle I've ever seen...and I've seen thousands thanks to growing up on swampland and fishing slow-moving waters regularly since the age of 5. This snapper has a head the size of a 2-liter soda bottle and a shell the size of a rubber trash can lid. Just seeing this thing is well worth the admission price that you don't even need to pay if you go to the paved launch. Bring your camera...if you see this monster turtle you're going to want a photo, trust me. East side, near the spillway. They'll start being active around 5 p.m. on a hot day. When I was a kid, I used to have the creepy talent of timing my visits to the bridge just as the snappers would swim under the road to the other side. The time was always different due to temperature and other weather conditions, but I somehow knew what time I'd need to get there to see them every day. They didn't seem to care that I was there either....but painted turtles were always freaked out by the slightest movement.
Phil's ridiculously smart and polite daughter noticed these tiny freshwater jellyfish/medusae. I brought this one home and put it in a Petri dish for filming - they're fascinating little creatures.
Derek - I always wait at least 2 seconds before setting the hook with topwater lures & 3 seconds for Spro-style frogs. The first strike is sometimes an attempt to stun the frog...a Spro will float to the surface & if you can restrain yourself for 3 seconds often this will result in a follow-up strike. It you're lucky enough to get a 2nd strike, you can pretty much start celebrating before you set the hook. FISH ON. However....if you get a false strike, retrieve, and cast again into the same spot immediately, don't expect much. Cast in 90 degree increments...if you miss a big fish at 12:00 (directionally) wait a bit before casting to that spot again. Cast to 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, skip 12:00, repeat once or twice, then try the strike zone again. If you're impatient like me & have a 2nd rod on standby, you can try casting something completely different into the spot immediately. Senko, grub, finesse worm, whatever.
Burr Pond is super-nice and I'd gladly go back there, minus the kayak. There's no doubt in my mind that it holds sizeable bass, and we didn't even cover much area. The downside is that it closes at sunset.
Thanks again for the invite, Phil! Winchester...soon... _________________ Kira
*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
Joined: 08 May 2007 Posts: 2219 Location: Newington, CT
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:14 pm Post subject:
Nice report Kira & Phil. I may have to visit Burr sometime.
Jim _________________ Eat, Sleep, Fish......I Love my SKEETER ZX225!!!
If I didn't have to work for a living....I'd be fishing.
If I'm not in my Skeeter then I'm in my Hobie!
Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 308 Location: New Britain
Posted: Wed Aug 04, 2010 6:36 pm Post subject:
Nice reports, the Kayaks take some time getting used to Kira. I know for me the problem is the not standing up. Hey has anyone know if the Jellyfish are normal I don't know if I have ever seen one? I think I may give that place a once over or two sometime.
I just want to throw this out there since you're talking about fishing topwater.
I recently bought the Strike King Rage Tail Toad, and rig it with a 6/0 ewg hook,texas style and just cast anywhere around vegatation. It has worked awaesome,great hook sets and the frogs are very durable. They seem much more easier to hookset than the Spro topwater frogs. If you're interested I would suggest maybe trying some, just a suggestion. Good Luck _________________ -Get your Pole Wet-
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 7:28 am Post subject: Thanks!
weekend angler
I haven't tried Spro frogs, yet. I've used Yum bullfrogs, which wouldn't swim right, and Zoom horny toad bullfrogs, which are softer and swim terrifically. I've never tried rigging them weightless Texas before. I've always used a swimming jig head, probably because I couldn't get the Zoom bullfrogs to swim even close to right without the extra weight. I'll definitely give Strike King rage tail toads a try.
Phil _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Joined: 05 May 2010 Posts: 229 Location: East Windsor
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 12:58 pm Post subject:
The rage toads are defiantly worth the extra cash. Put them on a gamakatsu monster 5/0 ewg weightless and they will even right them selves if they land upside down.
Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT
Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2010 3:20 pm Post subject:
My PB was caught on a Spro, but those get a lot of false strikes. However, when you manage to get a nice hookset on a Spro, you're very unlikely to lose the fish due to the double hook design (assuming you're using some strong braid.) The bass seem to like the garlic scent and kicking action of the plastics in more open water, but they're expensive if you use them as much as I do. Stronger hookset/durability/fewer fish lost vs. versatility/more hooksets/greater cost. If you fish thick vegetation with a slow presentation, the Spro design works better. In my experience, the biggest bass hold under some seriously thick pads on hot summer days. You'll want the double hook, realism, and something that sounds like the thumping of a real frog jumping among the pads. _________________ Kira
*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
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Now, although I had been to Burr Pond a couple of times in the past, I had never paddled up to the NE shore. I had always stuck with the coves to the SW, S and SE:
