Those who want to keep active in December often believe they have to minimize their expectations. The belief is that any old fish from “truck ‘bows” to smelt is enough to satisfy the 12-month fishy itch. But there are far bigger lurking out there, far bigger. In fact, as the pictures show, the title of this week’s report could be the tale of twin 18 pounders!
Freshwater Fishing Report
With the Wachusett fishing season in the rearview mirror, the last thing I expected to hear from Eddie of B&A in West Boylston was reasons to be cheerful. But I got them, in fact 2,500 reasons to be pumped up about next year. Because that is the number of landlocked salmon that were recently stocked in “The Resi”. This is unprecedented and is a direct result of the failed Atlantic salmon restoration project. Before attempts to restore the “Fish of Kings” were terminated, the Roger Reed State Salmon in Palmer, Massachusetts reared broodstock for the Merrimack River. Once the plug was pulled, biologists had to retool the hatchery to raise landlocked salmon. The goal was for the more reliable rearing of landlocked salmon for Quabbin Reservoir. Quabbin, unlike Wachusett, has little wild successful spawning and state hatcheries are tasked to provide silver leapers to the Bay State’s biggest landlocked water body. The ceiling is 10,000 salmon for Quabbin, and this goal is easier to attain when breeding is spread out among hatcheries, thereby lessening the likelihood of a poor hatch due to problems in one hatchery. When the hatcheries rear more than 10,000 salmon, Wachusett gets a gift! Five years ago, I would have thought 2,500 more rapacious predators in a water body already lacking significant smelt would have been a bad idea. But after the third season of improving numbers of smelt, the timing couldn’t be better, and if the predator/prey relationship remains stable we can expect superb salmon fishing over the foreseeable future!
Meanwhile B&A continues to dole out dillie worms for folks who are enjoying the solitude and occasional trout from the Quinapoxet River upstream of the Oakdale Dam, which is open to fishing year round. Another option is Asnacomet Pond in Hubbardson, Fort Pond in Lancaster, Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester and Webster Pond in Webster. All of these water bodies were stocked with a fall helping of rainbows from September through October and are one of your best bets for fishy action at the moment.
For the “runny-nose brigade” December means ice-fishing. Prior to the monsoons, western water bodies prone to first ice were beginning to skim over and some even had a few inches of black ice on them. The eponymous shop owner to all things ice fishing out there, Jim from JCB in Cheshire was in the midst of plowing 6” of snow when we spoke Thursday morning! It certainly is a far different world out there than the coast! Early freezes are Plainfield Pond, Windsor Pond, North Pond and Dukes Pond, that latter of which is stocked with trout. By all means exercise caution and assume that there is no such thing as safe ice. Pal-up, toss a set of ice picks around your neck, spud your way out to your destination and carry a rope in case. But, there have been guys already ice fishing in some of these locations. Another early season freeze which has trout is Clubhouse or Sheomet Pond in Warwick. Even if you’d rather not venture out now, put these places on your list for the next time we get a sustained freeze.
I spoke to Jim from Barry’s in Worcester and he’s holding pat on filling the tanks with monstrous bait until a big chill returns. Meanwhile guys are using small shiners to tempt rainbows from the north or Route 290 side of Quinsigamond Lake in Worcester. For a black bass bonanza, give Webster Lake a shot. A boat recently tallied an 18 pound, 5 fish bag weight! The bite was via vertical jigging blade baits over marked fish in 18’ of water. Smallies can be fished the same way but are stacked in deeper depressions.
Saltwater Fishing Report
And then there are striped bass that simply refuse to budge from Boston Harbor. Two weeks ago, a friend of a friend took his boat out in the harbor for season-ending medicinal purposes when he saw an honest-to-goodness blitz taking place below the Tobin Bridge! The bass were probably working on whiting, silversides or smelt. My friend Captain Russ Burgess, during a more intrepid time, used to don a snow suit and troll a tube-and-worm in that same area this time of the year and catch until his fingers felt like popsicles. And some of the fish were 25-pounders! I have taken winter-over stripers from the Hotel Sonesta area of the Charles River. This spot is also a multi-species producer where a drifted shiner could result in a striper, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, pike or white catfish. The same could be said for the Storrow Drive section of the Charles River at the effluence of the Muddy River. The macadam warms up the river as it travels under the well-traveled road and this is a major attractant as it mixes with the Charles River. Downsize your gear and you may even pick up some crappie. We have also taken holdover stripers form the Summer Street Bridge, the Schraffts Candy Complex Pier, the Amelia Earhart Dam, the Pines River, the Lynn Marsh, the GE hotwater discharge in the Saugus River, by Spuds in the Saugus River and I’ve heard of a holdover population in the Danvers River and by Winter Island in Salem. It’s not easy to summon up the courage to venture out on a December night when that wind sends a shiver down your spine, but take comfort knowing that stripers are still out there. Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate said that lobster fishermen and a few very hardcore anglers are encountering a lot of cod just “out front” of his shop in Scituate. We can only hope that inshore cod opportunities will be a windfall of the GOM cod moratorium.
New Hampshire and Southern Maine Report
Soon there will be limitless hardwater options in New Hampshire and Maine, but for some there is no need to wait. Last Friday I received a killer account from my friend Mike Dumais of some stunning pike fishing he was into in the Auburn area of Maine. The photos, one of which I’ve included in the report, were jaw dropping! Your reaction may be similar to mine and on the order of “I had no idea…!” Well certainly Mike does! And so did Dylan of Dag’s Bait when we spoke on Wednesday. He had actually just returned from a super day on the ice with the entire family, including his 4-month-old son! Some would say it’s never too early to initiate the next generation into the allure of ice fishing. The game is obviously on up there and Dag’s shop is filled the brim with prime pike bait! They also have stuff for everything in between including brook trout. This is a good thing because next week Dylan is going to provide us with some superb Downeast water body spots which are bubbling over with freshly stocked brook trout! Incidentally I tried to get a hold of Mike for a toothy tip or two but he was back at it again and looking for that 20-pounder.
Fishing Forecast
Card-carrying members of the frozen fraternity have already set about drilling holes and catching fish from western early freezes such as Plainfield Pond and Dukes Pond. Please exercise caution if you attempt this and assume that there is no such thing as safe ice. Open-water options are rainbows from Lake Quinsigamond and largemouth bass from Webster Lake. Asnacomet Pond is another alternative that has received a fall stocking of rainbow trout. For anglers who live by the “in cod we trust” motto, Pete from Belsan’s had encouraging news of plenty of cod just off the Scituate shoreline. If you can cherry pick a pleasant evening, toss some clams off the Cedar Point Jetty to see what is lurking out there. For other salty delights, holdover stripers are present among a number of Greater Boston estuaries and rivers and they are hardly all schoolies either. And for something a bit farther north and big enough to make a meal out of a schoolies, keep in contact with Dag’s in Auburn Maine and get the insider scoop on just where you may ice that 20-pounder!
Any hold over news from the Cape?