Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine Fishing Report 3-29-2012

Most would cherish any sort of saltwater fishy feedback in late March, but double-digit numbers of stripers and a volume of mackerel that dwarfs that? And all taken from local waters? Welcome to the weird, wacky and wonderful spring of 2012. For some sweetwater stuff more sugary than cotton candy, bruiser bass are already being taken from the Wachusett watershed and the Bay States most prized freshwater body, the mighty Quabbin, is slated for an early season opening.

Massachusetts Fishing Report

Some who have a grade-A addiction to striped bass just never stop. My friend Dave Panarello and his good buddy Carl Vining is just that sort of linesider junkie who, regardless of the month, is out there looking to best a few bass provided there’s enough open water to fish. Holdover striped bass, which abound in many rivers throughout the Commonwealth, have stirred to life and these guys are now tallying 32 fish outings on fish up to 32 inches long. The hot bait is exceptionally small black tubes that are hand tied by Kay Moulton of Surfland, and the special spice is provided courtesy of a sea worm. Gulp sandworms and bloodworms are an effective alternative.

I saw a guy furiously working the banks of the Neponset River the other day casting some tin into the brackish water and keeping on the move. Boy did he look as if he was onto something. Some catch striped bass in the Weir River in early April, and they may be stirring now. I haven’t been seeing much of some hardcore kayakers in their usual haunts, but I’ve got a sneaky suspicion that they may be hitting the Charles River from the hot water discharge out to the Sonesta Hotel, and that area may be having a banner early spring for holdover stripers. Later in season, when the big girls come calling, the mouth of the Charles from the Rutherford Street Bridge to the locks is where the first big fish are often caught.

I’d like to hear about someone plying the area from below the Tobin Bridge to the Alford Street Bridge right now. A friend of mine used to get 20-pound fish in the middle of winter on (again) the tube and worm, all the while bundled up in a snow suit, as this was pre-Ice Armor days, obviously. My friend Dave told me that the guy who supplies him his seaworms knows of folks that have picked up a few winter-over linesiders in recent weeks from the shore in this area.

Fresh from the talk of mackerel in Gloucester Harbor came word of macks a lot closer to the Hub. Rick of Fore River Bait and Tackle told me he sold John Foite a couple packages of over-sized Sabiki rigs and the angler promptly bee-lined to Pemberton Pier and put a serious hurt on mackerel from tinker-sized all the way up. How many? The guy claims he won’t be able to fit anything else in his freezer for awhile! The question begs: where else are those mackerel, if some have been taken on the North Shore and from Hull? If you want an alternative to stocked trout hunting, grab a Sabiki rig, check out some shore piers that are near deep water and you my give that trout rod a more stringent work out than a few stockies ever could.

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston told me that big bass are being taken from the Stillwater Basin, which is the portion of the river upstream of the railroad bridge and is open to fishing all year long. Spinnerbaits and shiners are responsible for hawg largemouth up to 5 pounds. It’s nice to see warm-water species thriving in this primarily cold-water species fishery. No word on that first forktail laker yet, but that should change soon. In the meanwhile, anglers are loading up on stocked bows, brookies and browns from the Quinapoxet and Stillwater Rivers. Picturesque East Waushaccum Pond also has a good black bass bite for fish up to 4 pounds plus.

Excellent news from Rod of Flagg’s in Orange: the ice-free winter has led to an early opening day scheduled for the Quabbin Reservoir – April 14th. Early season is the great equalizer – it definitely levels the playing field and everyone stands a chance of hooking something special and often with yards of the boat rental areas at Gates 8, 31 and 43. Start hatching plans now, as those rental boats will be in short supply come opening day. To get an edge, I talked to one of the salmon sleuths of Quabbin, my friend Bobby May. Bobby took a 7-pound 6-ounce silver leaper last year among numerous 5 and 6-pounders! He recommends small shiners, monofilament or fluorocarbon line of 6- to 8-pound test and a dual-hook minnow harness that attaches to the shiner at the lips and behind the dorsal fin. Let your line way behind your boat – 100 feet – and don’t set up on a hit until that rod is bowed over. And of course, dab some BioEdge smelt wand on the bait periodically. Smelt are the principle forage of the Q and it doesn’t hurt to have a shiner smell like one. You can find the minnow harnesses and the wands in Rod’s shop in Orange. To curtail those cravings in the meantime, check out Lake Mattawa where they are catching stocked trout and broodstock salmon of over 11 pounds.

Kay from Surfland sounded the mackerel siren when we spoke. They are being jigged up at Breaking Rocks, which is just south of the Hampton River. And there’s been news of river herring coursing the Parker River already. It just might be time to toss some plugs into the wash at the Lawrence Dam on the Merrimack River, usually holdover stripers there start shaking their slumber about now. There’s also a rumor floating around of a 32-inch linesider take from the Little River in Gloucester.

New Hampshire Fishing Report

The beginning of April is hardly lacking in opportunities in the Granite State according to Chad from Dover Marine. Foremost on many “to-fish” lists is Winnipesauke which is ice free and should be salmon heavy by opening day on April 1st. Chad suggests that you try trolling with shiners, smelt and streamers along Alton Bay, Wolfeboro, the Meredith area and Center Harbor. Since salmon, rainbows and even lake trout will be cruising just under the surface, a floating fly line is the perfect way to present your wares to the fish. Chad recommends using 4- 6-pound fluorocarbon leader of about 10 to 12 feet long. Willham Pond has been giving up big bullheads to those soaking night crawlers in the evening. Most of the designated trout streams, brooks and rivers have been stocked with trout now. Some of the better ones are the tributaries of Great Bay; check the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game for special regulations which apply to many of these water ways.

Not expecting much in the way of the brine, I was pleased to hear that some of the headboats in New Hampshire such as Al Gaurons and Eastman’s are running. Word is that the redfish bite is a red hot one among the hard-bottom of Jeffreys Ledge. And not to be left out of the mackerel high times, there’s even news of pockets of mackerel from the mouth of the Merrimack River all the way to Portland, Maine.

Maine Fishing Report

Dylan of Dag’s in Auburn wasn’t fooling when he told me that Downeast Anglers were counting down the days until Sunday, April 1st. The reason is that this is the opening day for river, stream and brook fishing and those 12-inch-plus brookies that were stocked in the fall are feisty and hefty by now. There are buds on the Maple trees and that’s usually an indicator that the brookies are hungry. A favorite of Dylan’s is the Little Androscoggin but he suggests that you find most any riparian pocket of deep water, whether it be a pool, at a culvert, undercut bank or dam, and you’ll most likely find brookies and  just maybe a wild one or two. Folks are also looking forward to fishing Lake Auburn for landlocked salmon and lake trout. It’s not every year that you can open water fish this place in the beginning of April.

Best Bets

Don’t be a fool, wet a line and catch a fish this weekend! It may only be April, but holdover stripers are hungry from most any large river in the Boston area to just maybe the Harbor itself and quite possibly the Merrimack and Annisquam rivers. For some fast action and freezer-fare, break out the Sabiki rig and pull in a few mackerel from Pemberton Pier, maybe even Nut Island and Castle Island, and I can’t help but wonder if there’s a school or two by Salem Willows! Farther north, macks are on the attack near the Merrimack River and Hampton River as well as all the way into Portland. Freshwater fanatics should try for trout in the Little Androscoggin in Maine and for a shot at a salmon troll a smelt along Alton Bay in Lake Winnipesauke.