Massachusetts Fishing Report – April 6, 2017

Other than the possibility of boatyards getting requests for “arks,” the incessant rain has not done a lick of good. The water level is so high that Wachusett regulars have taken to casting from the trees. And, while it’s not a reason to fire up the engines and mix up some fresh chum, there’s news of flounder!

Game on for Wachusett, Wait is on for Quabbin

The water is so high at Wachusett Reservoir that anglers are having to make like the Flying Wallendas just to navigate the shoreline. But according to Eddie of B&A in West Boylston, the ones who are finding the fish which are finding the smelt are catching 4- to 5-pound lakers as well as landlocked salmon. Anecdotal evidence points to the south side of the reservoir – Gates 6 and up – as the place to find all of the above. The big laker so far is a 33-inch, 11-pound, 10-ounce forktail taken by Mike Fournier on a shiner. No word on smallies or white perch yet but hopefully these April showers will bring both, along with May flowers of course.

The mighty Quabbin will open for business one week from this Saturday. Rodney from Flagg’s in Orange said that water levels in the Q’ are running opposite of the ‘Chu and he heard it is 12’ down! If you prefer conquering the Quabbin by shore as opposed to boat, then this is good news for you! After several years of a downward smelt cycle, could this be the year the Quabbin rebounds? If that’s the case than the salmon will prosper as they did a decade ago, when Rod was tiring from filling out so many state award affidavits! Meanwhile the best trout bets are Lake Mattawa and the Miller River with the latter getting a brace of nice browns.

All that rain is obviously not making for good river conditions. Donny from Merrimack Sports has most steering clear of the Concord and Merrimack rivers and instead taking advantage of freshly stocked trout in Forest Lake, Plugs Pond and Round Pond. While waiting for the ripping rivers to subside, the shops pike bait is not going to waste as some are putting those shiners to work in Millvale Lake in Haverhill where they are finding impressive largemouth bass.

Nice relaxing couple of hours on the water this evening. I only brought 1 rod and a handful of my hand tied crappie jigs, and that was all I needed :blush: #keepitsimplestupid #crappie #blackcrappie #calicobass #panfish #schoolingfish #jigging #jigs #handtied #maraboujig #crappiejig #kayakfishing #connecticut #newengland #freshwater #oceankayak #stormr #onthewatermagazine #thefishermanmag

A post shared by rj_kayakfishing_ct (@rj_kayakfishing_ct) on Apr 3, 2017 at 5:47pm PDT

Found, that First Flounder of the Year

Other than a holdover striped bass, someone had to catch that first saltwater fish of that year and two of Tomo’s Tackle’s regulars came through! One guy caught a flounder off The Fishermen’s Beach in Swampscott, the snag however was that it was a mere 9 inches. Hopefully it was a Pied Piper leading the charge of keeper flounder. Other regulars of the shop set sail for Nahant hoping to catch a rack of mackerel, pollock or maybe even a cod. They did mark fish, which turned out to be sea herring. Cod are known to shadow sea herring schools so there might just be a few around.

Lisa from Fore River said she is getting inquiries if the shop is carrying seaworms. If demand is there, combined with the sweet weather predicted through the weekend and beyond, then she is strongly considering it. Meanwhile prior to the torrent, herring watchers were increasingly reporting sightings of alewives coursing upstream through rivers such as the Weymouth Back. Thanks to the surge in numbers of river herring among local rivers, these places will be among the first to frequent if you’re hoping for more than just schoolies beginning next month.

Pete from Belsan’s Bait in Scituate said that customers are reporting impressive brookies from Lout Pond in Plymouth. The shop is also moving big shiners for “hawg” hunters from Cohasset Reservoir. As for saltwater stuff, one customer vowed to toss some clams into the horizon off Humarock Beach. In a bygone era that was common practice for catching cod. Many have one eye on the friendly weather forecast in the hopes it will be a catalyst for catching to come.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

The hatchery folks are beginning to stock water bodies with “interesting” trout as reports trickle in of brookies and browns of 17 inches and up. I would not be surprised if more broodstock and maybe even tiger trout are added to the mix in the next few weeks. Wachusett has been hottest on the south side of the reservoir where, not surprisingly, anglers are finding signs of smelt to go along with willing lakers and salmon. Anglers are finally beginning to dust off their saltwater gear with reports beginning to come in regarding flounder and sea herring.