Close to the coast and in southeast Massachusetts, the scuttlebutt is all about the stocking of trout, which will be imminent, provided the Masswildife folks can find enough open water to release the 12-inch-plus rainbows. However, out west and up north the measuring standard is far greater, with talk of yardstick-long pike and ice averaging about 2 feet!

Massachusetts Fishing Report

When a hardwater junkie’s concern switches from leader length to plank length, it’s time to look for another option. After an ice-fishing season for the books, eastern shorelines in the Bay State are mostly shot. You can get a fishy fix by snooping around the Southeast trout ponds and lakes, which are being stocked as you read this, wait until next week when the first of the Northeast district water bodies will be stocked, or heed your own “manifest destiny” and head west, where hardwater continues to defy the calendar.

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston told me that after surveying Wachusett Reservoir from the causeway bridge the other day, he was wondering whether the ‘res would open at all in April, let alone the pushed-back date of April 12! One option may be where the Stillwater Basin meets up with Waushacum Brook, which is open enough to work it with a fly, spinner or “garden hackle.” Farther downstream by the railroad bridge, which will often harbor early season and sometimes big lake trout, the ice will not let go yet.

Rod from Flagg’s in Orange said that the DCR spot-drilled by boat launch gates the other day and there was 19 inches of ice 200 feet from Gate 31 – yikes! Suffice to say that in the Quabbin area, ice depth is not a problem. Tully Lake in Athol had 24 inches of ice recently and the trout fishing was good enough that the anglers didn’t mind sweating through a few holes. At Sheomet Lake, you are looking at about 30 inches of the hard stuff. In this season of the big pike, Rod remarked how the Orange section of the Miller River has had scant traffic on it this year and in the past it has given up some monster pike. Folks are expecting a big pike feed any day now at Barton Cove on the Connecticut River; now may be the best time to double down with double-digit baits and see if you can coax that monster pre-spawn pike. If you’re itching for any open water, a good choice is the Swift River just downstream of the Winsor Dam, which is catch and release and teems with trout. Because of the big chill, it has been under the radar of most.

Jim from JCB in Cheshire said that the 20 inches of ice, solid shorelines and pike on the feed make the western portion of the state the place to be in late March. While Cheshire Reservoir is noted for its northerns, some patrons are partial to largemouth bass and he told me on one angler who tallied four 4-pound bass in a recent outing and that was after another guy took his preferred spot! Just like the pike, the bass are in the shallows now. If it’s pure pike you have on the brain, then perambulate to Pontoosuc where, according to Jim, some real corkers have recently been taken. The shop continues to carry out-sized bait for the guys looking for trophy toothies.

New Hampshire and Southern Maine Fishing Report

Joe from Granite State Rod and Reel Repair in Nashua has been getting busy with repairs recently as anglers have hit a wall of ice after a months-long season and are prepping for open water. Meanwhile the few that are still at it are catching crappie at Mill Pond, trout at Massabesic, Long Pond, Cobbett’s, and Baddacook. The oxbows and coves of the Nashua River have good ice and a good warm water species bite. When asked if pike have found their way into this river as they have so many others Joe said he wasn’t sure.

Fresh from hardwater heaven in Minnesota with other members of Clam’s Ice Team, Pro Guide Tim Moore of Suds ‘N Soda wasted no time putting a hurting on the white perch population in Lake Winnipesauke – and these beasts are running up to 16 inches long! Speaking of beasts, there is no shortage of lake trout willing to crash the panfish party among 19 Mile Bay as well as Moultonborough Bay. The lakers have been loving the firetiger Pscycho Shads. Elsewhere the crappie have been crushing Clam’s Dingle Drop draped with spikes at Pawtuckaway Lake. Some are keeping vigil where the Merrymeeting River meets up with the big lake in Alton Bay; this section is fly-fishing only and the quarry consists of salmon and rainbow trout. Consult the New Hampshire Department of Fish and Game for all the regulations.

Dylan of Dag’s in Auburn has just acquired magnum 10-inch shiners in preparation for the best pike-fishing stretch of the season. Big bait had been in short supply, and with angler participation waning, now might be prime time to revisit Lake Sabattus as well as the Turner Boat Ramp section of the Androscoggin River. Speaking of Androscoggin, Androscoggin Lake deserves special mention as a worthwhile brown trout spot. Don’t be shy about sticking a big bait in front of a trout. A buddy of mine recently took a three-pound brown trout that had the tail of an 8-inch alewife sticking out of its maw! Brownies are as rapacious as anything which swims in sweetwater in these parts. Option B for brown trout could go to Cobbosseecontee Lake. And a sleeper pike spot may be where the Dead River adjoins Androscoggin Lake.

Best Bets for this Weekend

We should soon have it all: freshly stocked trout for those dying to cast as well as plenty of ice-fishing options. Look for the Southeast District of Masswildlife to have stocked some water bodies with trout as you read this, while the Northeast will have to wait until early next week. In the meantime, the Swift River in the Quabbin area remains a rock-solid option for holdover rainbows and is one of the Bay State’s blue ribbon trout watersheds. After a long winter goad those trout with something big like a Wooly Bugger.

Farther out west pike have put on the feedbag on Pontoosuc and Cheshire Reservoir has big bass blasting shiners within the shadows of the shoreline. Farther north the coves of the Nashua River have solid ice and a steady bite for everything from perch to pickerel to bass. This weekend is last call for Winnipesauke white perch as the season ends at the end of March. Even though it seems as if they’ve been ice fishing in Maine since September, the season has begun anew as shops are super-sizing their shiners in anticipation of the best pike fishing of the season. The often reliable Lake Sabattus and Androscoggin River are certainly worth another look-see!