Angling activity has plummeted farther than the thermostat readings in Orange last weekend, and it got into the single digits there! But the rainbows, freshly stocked all across the Commonwealth, are making for one heck of an antifreeze for those who haven’t quit. In the salt, the smelt fishing is spotty but whiting remain a winner. However if it’s going to take something more substantial than 12” fish to get you out there then by all means read on!
Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Report
Motivated by, as well as bit of envious of, Jimmy Fee’s recent piece on late-season stripers in New Jersey, I decided to give it a go locally. Very local, in fact, my destination was Boston Harbor. Further inspiration came from my friend Carl Vining, who gave himself an early December Christmas gift by catching some schoolies but also marked far bigger bass that had lockjaw. Knowing that even during December, stripers will be stripers and the larger ones will feed primarily at night, I gave it a go last night after sundown. My success sort of mirrored Jimmy’s, except I found bigger – up to 39 inches and about 25 pounds! December nights can be brutal, and the going slow enough to question your resolve, but catching cows into the 12th month takes a big bite out of down time!
Stripers will stay put if there’s enough forage, and it usually consists of herring fry, smelt and this year – whiting! One of the deadliest baits I have found when fishing at night when the prey is slim-profiled is the 7-inch Berkley Gulp Jerk Shad. Lures are more effective at night when they track true and a striper can get a bead on the offering. Wobbly stuff and erratic lures are best when the sun shines. Stripers are opportunists and will not expend the energy to chase down prey it feels it cannot dispatch quickly. This is why the near-motionless needlefish is also such a consistent catcher at night! Just get your striper fix quickly because January will be here before you know it and you can’t possibly catch stripers in January… or can you?
Lisa from Fore River in Quincy told me that there are a few never-say-die boaters who have been bailing cod by Boston Light! Of course they are adhering to DMF regulations, which allow up to 2 fish per angler, 75-pound boat limit at 19-inch minimum size. The word from these guys was that the size of the fish was impressive and the bite steady! Back when we caught cod from Castle Island in South Boston, I knew of a few who would take their boats just beyond the pier at the edges of the shipping lanes and catch considerably. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts even in winter, and the going was always better after dark. The fish seemed to take advantage of the cover of darkness and cruise in closer to shore.
Fore River is still netting and selling grass shrimp at a brisk pace, but the smelt bite is spotty. They are picking up a few at the Hull Public Pier, Hingham Harbor and the Summer Street Bridge. The latter continues to feature a sterling silver hake bite, but odds are if you’re catching these aggressive, toothy members of the cod family, the smelt are going to be in short supply. If you seek smelt, try some shallower spots out of the main current, and if you’re getting fewer silver hake/whiting, that’s a good start to having a better chance at catching some sweet-tasting smelt for dinner!
Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report
Eric from Lunkers in Ashland said that anglers are dividing their time between catching stocked trout and wishing for hardwater – quickly! Power Bait and shiners are rewarding at Lake Cochituate, Ashland Reservoir and Hopkinton Reservoir. If “truck bows” doesn’t cut it for you aim larger for holdovers! Instead of standard micro-fare, toss out Yo-Zuri Pins Minnows, ¼-ounce Kastmasters and larger than usual spinners. Sure you may miss a few hits from smaller fish and you’re tally will fall short of the guy with two rods baited with Power Eggs, but odds are when that 17” survivor swims by, it’ll be your lure that gets its attention.
Rod from Flagg’s in Orange recommended the less pressured areas of the Swift River as unexpected gems. Everyone who knows the Swift knows such spots as the Y-Pool, but the remote areas where other rivers such as the Ware River and Chicopee River intertwine with the Swift have untapped populations of trout especially wild brook trout. As a starting point check out the Three Rivers section in Bondsville. Now might also be a good time to try your luck at river smallies in the Connecticut River. This river is teeming with bronzebacks which get scant attention this time of the year. A regular of the shop who is a smallie sharpie targets them with a Gitzit-style tube and then attaches one of Flagg’s hand-tied streamers to a barrel swivel just atop of the tube as a teaser. Drag this through depressions along the Connecticut River bed and in addition to smallies you may win over a walleye or two. A steady of the shop breaks down for a half-dozen shiners a few days a week and then proceeds to catch two or three rainbow trout on most outings at the heavily stocked Lake Mattawa!
Now that Wachusett Reservoir is closed until sometime next April, you’d expect angling effort in these parts to drop off dramatically, and you’d be right. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still catch lakers! My buddy Larry Kuettner of Clinton used to double down his efforts this time of the year and find the fishing fine and the lack of crowds even finer! While you cannot fish Wachusett proper now, you can still fish large swaths of the tributaries. There are trout lurking upstream of the Oakdale Pumphouse on the Quinapoxet, where you can fish. As for the Stillwater, game is still on upstream of the railroad bridge by Waushacum Street. Soak some shiners here, and while you’re at it, soak up some sunshine and you may catch a lake trout this December!
Fishing Forecast
Just-stocked trout remain your most consistent bet in such places as Round Pond, Lake Cochituate and Lake Mattawa. Upsize your gear in these same water bodies and you may catch a holdover that has been packing on inches since spring! For something saltier, whiting numbers remains sizeable off Summer Street, with smelt less abundant but still being found there and in Hull and Hingham. And should you not want to donate those December staples to the dinner table, you might want to consider live-lining a few – you never know what is lurking in the harbor!