Those who view December through March as anything but the offseason are fearing the weatherman more than the boogeyman. The long-term weather forecast is not exactly favorable for extending hardwater opportunities. The beat remains the same, relief only exists out west or up north.
Shops out west are looking like the Gillette Stadium ticket booth before a Pats playoff game. The forlorn looking for ice are making pilgrimages from as far away as Rhode Island. While that’s great that their business is brisk, the poor folks closer to the coast are starving. When spring comes (officially!) those small businesses are going to need anglers support in a major way to avoid becoming another casualty of the modern era, where big-ticket tackle is invariably bought elsewhere. That aside, if you’d like an alternative to fishing from the Connecticut Valley Region through the Western Region, consider Lake Winnipesaukee which I cover in the New Hampshire/Southern Maine portion of the OTW Forecast.
Massachusetts Connecticut Valley Region Fishing Report
Please forgive if the forecast is beginning to look like a scene out of the movie Groundhog Day, but there hasn’t been a whole lot of change out there. Rod from Flagg’s in Orange did see some impressive walleye that he figured were between 5 and 6 pounds taken out of the “quarry” section of Barton Cove. Not surprisingly the guys catching are fishing at night when these nocturnal beasts beat up the night blind quarry they dispatch such as yellow perch. The technique is hardly sophisticated, anglers are simply dropping shiners into depressions under tilts. Sonar is major boost if you’re unfamiliar with this area. Elsewhere, Lake Rohunta continues to give up the goods for the gamut of warm water species, while Mattawa and Moore matter if trout are your interest. In spite of anglers hitting these hardwater destinations for weeks both spots are still giving up rainbow trout up to 19 inches! If you’re a fly-fisherman and you’re looking for something to do ,Rod suggests the Swift River which is heavy on trout and light on pressure. Downsizing helps a lot; drop into Flagg’s where Rod will set you up with one of his hand-tied best bets.
Western Massachusetts Fishing Report
I could almost picture Jim from JCB Bait in Cheshire shrugging his shoulders when I enquired about good ice. In fact, it’s hard to say which is better the ice or the ice fishing. It’s amazing what a different world out there exists. When comparing temperatures with Jim I realized that they are often a full ten degrees colder than Greater Boston! The top toothy that he knows of so far from Cheshire Reservoir is a 15-pounder tag-teamed by John Carpenter and his grandson Zach. Reports from the big three – Onota, Buel and Pontoosuc – have all been favorable with some skipping out on northerns and targeting the terrific brown trout which prowl the latter. Regarding “alternative” species, Cheshire has some underappreciated largemouth bass. If you coax Jim he just might steer you to a honey hole that a departed friend use to pluck out 4 to 5 pound largemouth out of regularly! The love out west in this report tends to be lopsided toward largemouth, but some would rather duke it out with a smallmouth any day. To that Jim suggests picturesque Crooked Pond in Plainfield.
Berkshires Report From Paul K Tawczynski of chartertheberkshires.com:
The ice has thickened and solid ice is now on virtually all Berkshire water, most lakes with between 7-10 inches. Despite a few warm days, colder nights have kept any ice loss to a minimum.
The winter storm last weekend stirred up a strong bass bite on the lakes with many 4+ pounders being caught off of Pontoosuc Lake and Stockbridge Bowl. Tip-ups with big pond shiners or Pike Bait have produced for the most and biggest Bass. The stock trout bite has remained strong on most stocked waters. Laurel Lake and Stockbridge Bowl have been producing great Rainbow trout since ice over, and the warmer weather has brought the fish right back under the ice making them an easy target.
The Perch and Bluegill bite remains terrific. Don’t overlook the deeper water as a key bite has been in 8-12 feet of water for both. Shallow weeds will always produce numbers, but some fat slobs are lurking right off the edge.
Pike get targeted aggressively in the Berkshires with nearly half of fishermen after them. If you want to catch numbers, run a medium heavy shiner on a weededge or just inside a weedy flat. Big Ones are out there and require patience when there are so many anglers on the water. Try coming before sunrise or staying until just after sunset when the lake quiets down and fish just a bit deeper that you think you need to…they have to eat! Pontoosuc Lake, Onota lake and Lake Buel are your best bets in the Berkshire for a big one while Cheshire reservoir is a good place to catch your first pike…if not a small one!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
If the backdoor weather forecast after this weekend’s freeze is accurate, we may soon have more open-water options than frozen ones! One open-water prospect is the west branch of the Swift River, which obviously sees far less pressure now than other times of the year. Meanwhile Mattawa and Moore continue to be worthwhile for trout, including some big bows. Two nearby aesthetic winners – North Spectacle and South Spectacle Ponds – give up good crappies, especially after dark. That after-dark thing also pays dividends for walleye from Barton Cove.