Ice fishing addicts can pursue their passion with limitless options from the central portion of the Bay State through the Berkshires. Those who want to stick to the east will have to wait a while longer however with the predicted rain/normalizing of temperatures preventing water bodies near the coast from locking up safely.
Patrick Barone of Charter the Berkshire’s is torn as to which fishy passion to pursue. That’s a good thing to have in mid-December! Innumerable Berkshire water bodies have caught with hard-as-granite black ice offering the allure of an early season treat. The tug of Swift River salmon however remains strong. Should you choose the former, Patrick recommends you stick to depth contours between drop offs and flats. The pattern is similar to what you’ll find in the summer right now, as fish remain relatively active and prone to roaming for prey.
Once the cloak of snow settles in, the fish will remain more sedentary and you’ll have to hunt more for your quarry. Two early-season suggestions are Cheshire Reservoir for warm water species and Goose Pond for trout.
With little snow thwarting travel an attractive trip to consider is for steelhead right now in the Salmon River of Pulaski. With the salmon run over, it is strictly a steelhead fishery right now giving you a prime opportunity for a trophy! Egg patterns will work with Stone Fly imitations another consideration. Jim from JCB in Cheshire said that dozens of anglers have now taken to fishing Cheshire Reservoir with 5 inches of black ice on average reported. No word on pike yet, but the bass are biting well. When asked if patrons are putting in any time at Plainfield Pond or the multi-species Pontoosuc, Jim said most are taking advantage of early ice on Cheshire! Rod from Flagg’s in Orange said anglers are catching bass from Lake Rohunta, which is right behind the shop and trout from Clubhouse Pond, Lake Moore and Laurel Lake.
If you still are chomping for open water options than you can have them in the “big” section of the Swift River as well as Lake Mattawa. Rod saw a picture of what looked to be about a 5-pound salmon taken on a fly just downstream of Quabbin Reservoir.
Regarding rainbows from Mattawa, crawlers fished at the outflow by the boat ramp are just the ticket for trout, many of which are 16 inches! Eddie of B&A in West Boylston has customers catching through the ice from Peter Carr Pond in Holden, as well as Moosehorn Pond in Hubbardston. Speaking of Hubbardston, the wait is on for the heavily stocked Comet Pond to lock up sufficiently. For closer to the coast fishing, I did get a report of solid ice on Tewksbury Pond as well as 4 inches of ice on Lake Attitash from the folks at Merrimack Sports. Above all, please be careful! A spot with 4 inches of ice in one area, may have unsafe ice a few steps away. Buddy up, take along ice picks and spud your way every few steps.
Fishing Forecast for Massachusetts
Ice fishing fans are not viewing the rain/40 degree weather forecast favorably, but with reports of 5 inches plus of solid black ice out west, if you exercise caution you should find a fix. Open water opportunities still do exist and run the gamut from Swift River salmon to close-to-the-coast trout ponds which have open water, stockies and the possibility of a holdover! The east has the least amount of ice but if you’d rather not wait than check out our New Hampshire/Maine report where the ice is better and the flags are popping!