Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 12-8-2011

Ahhh…the incomparable rush of a 35-pound saltwater gamester as it bucks the rod and peels the line, threatening to bare the arbor of the spool! While this image probably has you thinking in terms of stripers and the month of May, why wait? There is a blistering pollock bite just off our coast that is sure to forever change your attitude about groundfish. Elsewhere the smelt are hitting as well as they have all season, and those who have trout on the brain are finding heftier fish on the line than merely last month’s stocking.

If you think hibernating is for the bears and you’re dying for something to do, consider jumping aboard a headboat for a pollock escapade. Captain Jim Walsh of Walsh’s Deep Sea Fishing Charters out of Lynn sets sail every Sunday all winter (weather permitting), south of the GOM in search of the true pugilists of the gadoid gang – sea pollock. This fishing is not for the faint of heart or weak of back. Pollock are powerful fish and hooking a 30-pound specimen in 400 feet of water (or a double, which is highly probable) will test your mettle.

Weather is the all-encompassing factor this time of the year, and the skipper refuses to ship off if the wind is predicted to be over 17 mph. But there have been tranquil outings and with water temperatures still hovering near 50 degrees it can be surprisingly comfortable out there. However, I must warn you after experiencing this first hand – there are times that achy muscles the following day make comfort not part of the picture.  But after dining on fresh pollock fillets (as well as popping a few Advil) and viewing some of the day’s photos, my usual reaction is that I can’t wait to get back out there again.

Captain Walsh told me that he has found a honey hole where exceptionally large breeder pollock are gathering. But as anyone who knows Jim can attest, he is nothing if not a conservationist and he limits the fishing time over these spawning fish. Regardless, if you want a crack at a true trophy pollock, then there may be no better time than right now. In addition to Walsh’s American Classic, the Yankee Fleet out of Gloucester also schedules winter pollock trips.

Trout across our region are living up to their billing as cold water gamefish. It’s not hard to scratch together a few stocked bows among many of the more regularly stocked trout ponds and lakes. On a recent outing with Rick Paone Sr. and Jr. we offered the resident trout a buffet of goodies to see what they were interested in. The usually reliable “garden hackle” was largely ignored but green Power Bait as well as shiners did the trick. The difference was in the size of the fish: the Power Bait resulted in foot-long fish that were doubtless stocked this fall but the shiners took more broadly proportioned bows of about 15 inches. It isn’t always a case of “big bait/big fish,” but if you’re going to go through the effort of fishing for trout, bring a variety of baits.

On the South Shore check out the dynamic duo in Plymouth – Long and Little ponds; these two favorites are liberally stocked and feature a variety of salmonoids. Closer to the Hub, try Whitman’s in Braintree, Jamaica Pond in Boston as well as Whites and Walden in Concord. Out west, there’s Lake Mattawa in Orange and Comet in Hubbardson. And on the north shore, give Pleasant Pond in Rowley a shot as well as Sluice in Lynn.

I’m beginning to see smelt fans gathering at upstream bridges from where the fish were encountered a few weeks ago. Now might be time to search for smelt behind the CVS store on the Southern Artery in Quincy. Or maybe the Belle Isle Creek in Revere and the Chelsea Creek in Chelsea, these last two are usually December steadies. On higher tides you might find a meal’s worth of smelt throughout Rumney Marsh in Revere at the end of a number of streets off Revere Street. I recall “Uncle Phil” Gaetta, whose Massbait shop at the circle in Revere used to always tout these two places.  Farther north it wouldn’t hurt to experiment to see where the smelt have moved to. I’ve often driven by the bridge over the Forest River in the Salem/Marblehead area and thought it had smelt potential. North of the border a few smelt can be found among the docks and wharves of Rye, Hampton and Portland Harbors.

Best Bets

If you’re up to the task, pollock are pounding jigs in 400 feet of water and you can hop aboard a head boat to take part in it. The bow bite is on in Lake Mattawa, Long Pond, Whites and Pleasant ponds. Power bait will do nicely, but you may take bigger fish with a lively shiner. And thankfully we can still rely on the one steady playmate we’ve had all fall long, the rainbow smelt. But if you’re usual haunts have dried up, just check upstream a bit as the fish stage closer to spawning areas. Try the Town River, Chelsea Creek and Belle Isle Creek, but don’t stop there – your own little smelt spot could be just upstream!