Lesson learned (yet again!) for those of us who held fast to foolish weather-fueled fishing expectations. The dreamy, balmy days of last week now seem like a preamble to a Star Wars movie, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!” And with those spring-like temperatures went a lot of options.
Despite their best intentions and for obvious reasons, Masswildlife appears to have scrubbed plans for stocking this week. Hopefully there are no outstanding issues with the hatcheries due to the repetitive nor’easters and the trucks will begin rolling out next week. There is some good hatchery news, however, regarding Massachusetts’ largest – the McLaughlin Hatchery in Belchertown. A nearly completed coldwater pipeline from the belly of the Quabbin Reservoir will bypass the Swift River and be the primary water source for the hatchery. The expectations are that the controlled, cooler flow from the Quabbin will result in a better survival and growth rate for the hatchery salmonoids. Considering that this hatchery rears approximately 50% of all trout which are stocked in the Bay State, that’s good news all around.
There is also encouraging news for those who can’t get enough of Wachusett Reservoir. It looks as if the long-hoped-for dismantling of the Quinapoxet Dam is moving from pipe-dreaming to a reality. In fact, Massachusetts Department of Fish & Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration has allocated funds to assist the MWRA in getting the ball rolling on the removal of this dam. Freeing up 35 miles of upstream habitat to spawning landlocked salmon along with creating a corridor for brown, rainbow, and brook trout to move in and out from the reservoir should add an exciting dimension to the much cherished ‘Chu.
I spoke to the regional DCR Biologist about Wachusett, and he had some interesting things to say. He did want to pass along a big thanks regarding the overwhelming cooperation from anglers who fished Wachusett in 2017 and willingly participated in creel surveys. In fact, 1800 anglers gave input! Lakers were overwhelmingly the most common catch, to the tune of over 3000 fish. There have been years when smallmouth bass were even more popular, but that was not the case this past season.
Spot gillnet samples during the fall showed a lot of lake trout spawning aggregations throughout the reservoir with the highest concentration between the north and south dykes. Fewer smallmouth bass were snared in the nets than previous years and surprisingly salmon were caught also. That is very strange because the nets were set when landlocked salmon are supposed to be breeding in the Stillwater River as opposed to free-swimming in the main reservoir. One possibility is that the ensnared salmon were the results of two salmon stockings from a few years ago and, unlike wild salmon, the Stillwater River is not imprinted on them!
Wachusett Reservoir is largely a self-sustaining salmon water body, but in recent years, when the Roger Reed Hatchery in Palmer has a higher yield than is deemed suitable for Quabbin (>10,000) they are stocked in Wachusett. The DCR Biologist did say that there has been a spike in yellow perch in the reservoir, including juvenile perch! And as anyone who really knows the Chu’ will tell you, for most of what swims in Wachusett, yellow perch is high on the menu! In a perfect world, you’ll be able catch the preferred bait on site. Eddie of B&A said that the ice on Wachusett is completely gone and (unlike last year) access to the shoreline is good. However, Mother Nature did dump about 17 inches of snow during the storm. Let’s just hope that the melt is gradual and complete by April 7 and there are no additional “gifts.” As most fans of the ‘Chu know full well, April 7th this year is opening day.
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Hopefully the weather pendulum will swing back to the more favorable conditions of last week and reports will be flowing. The trout table is set, water bodies across the commonwealth are free of ice and the hatcheries would like nothing better than to clear the tanks and make room for the next batch! Keep those fingers crossed that this week the games begin!
Not all salmon head to the rivers every fall. They can easily be caught all around the reservoir all October/november. That being said – your best bet that time of year are the rivers.