Sweetwater Surfcasting (Wachusett Reservoir Lake Trout Report)

In April 2012, I wrote a From The Surf column on getting your early-spring surf-fishing fix by doing some freshwater fishing from shore. On Tuesday morning, I took my own advice and headed for the shores of Wachusett Reservoir with OTW editor Kevin Blinkoff and regular contributor Ron Powers.

Between 20-knot winds, sideways rain, whitecaps on the reservoir and leaving in the middle of the night, it certainly felt more like a day in the surf than a day of lake trout fishing—it was just what we needed. We used light-action surf rods and reels rated to cast small lures a long distance. As it turned out, the lakers were feeding right next to shore. Five out of seven fish hit 20 feet from the bank, striking Little Cleo, Krokodile, and Len Thompson spoons, and came right to the surface as soon as they felt the hook. The lakers were fat and healthy, a testament to the recovery of the smelt population in Wachusett. Just a few years ago, smelt numbers were low and the lakers were skinny and stunted. Kevin Blinkoff detailed the improvement in the fishing after our 2013 trip to Wachusett.

As the wind and rain intensified, we called it quits, our surf-fishing jones temporarily satisfied. On the long walk back to our cars, we talked excitedly about how in just a few weeks, we’d be using the same rods and reels to do the first real surfcasting of the season.