It’s hard to improve on the current hard-water playground that in most locations features just the right amount of ice and little if any snow to thwart access. About the only way to top that is to spread the ice fishing love to the South Shore and even the Cape – it looks as if we have that too!
Massachusetts Fishing Report
Regarding the South Shore section of the forecast, the news I heard should pay dividends more towards the future as opposed to the present. I caught Pete Belsan of Belsan Bait as he was hurrying out the door. He told me that he has his sites set on a potential new spot for his shop in Scituate Harbor! While he lamented missing what is shaping up to be a solid ice fishing season on the South Shore he did pass along a few good bets. For crappie and bass he emphasized Lilly Pond in Cohasset as well as Scituate Reservoir. For trout not only Little and Long Pond in Plymouth should be a go but the arctic chill should freeze up “across the bridge” onto the Cape with choice locations being Peter’s Pond as well as Cliff Pond. The latter has a neat forage base composed of smelt and alewife. Sheep Pond also has given up some big browns through the years and then there’s Long Pond in Brewster for jumbo yellow perch and slab smallies.
As befitting of a place called Lunkers, Eric of said shop told me of some major league pickerel which have been taken recently from the North Pond section of Lake Cochituate. Walden and White have anglers chasing the different species of trout that live in those spots. Walden Pond habitually has had smelt as one of the forage species so bring along a slim profiled jigging spoon such as a Swedish pimple or Kastmaster XL. Eric had little to say about the Charles River coves in Waltham which do not get a fraction of the interest they did when pike populated the watershed but the flip side may be that the crappie and largemouth bass which swim there are relatively unmolested. Don’t discount the possibility of hooking a white catfish either, they fight and look like a horn pout on steroids!
Pete Santini of Fishing Finatics in Everett is embarking on his annual odyssey to the Galapagos Island area to pursue a plethora of pelagics and other exotica. However, the shop will be stocked with bait and staffed by his first mate Denise, just call ahead first!
When asked where the bite is best, Donny from Merrimack Sports said “everywhere”! It looks as if you could do a lot worse than spend some time fishing Northern Massachusetts! When pressed the proprietor passed along Plugs Pond for trout, with Round a runner up. Millvale still gets the nod for largemouth bass and Attitash and Tewksbury are it for pickerel. Attitash also has pike and of so do the quieter sections of the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
Whenever I call Eddie of B&A in West Boylston, I just have to ask if Wachusett Reservoir is locked up, even though you can’t ice fish it, it doesn’t hurt to fantasize. Other than a small hole in the ice within sight of the causeway, the Chu’ has “caught” – April can’t come soon enough! Meanwhile Maple Springs is still given up some nice largemouth, while East Waushacum Pond is the spot for smallies. Asnacomet Pond has been good for rainbow trout and while most of Quinsigamond has good ice, the wind/current combination has kept the middle open, so be weary. In years when ice is lacking along the coast and on the South Shore, there’s a parade of anglers who head out west.
Rod from Flagg’s in Orange said that interest in all the local ice fishing prospects is so high, he’s been running out of bait on the weekends! Some jumbo yellow perch have been coming out of Lake Mattawa – not bad for a “trout” pond! Rod gave the nod to Whitney Pond in Winchendon as a warm water species winner, especially for crappie and largemouth bass.
According to Jim from JCB, there’s been a sudden drop in patronage from “away” now because those anglers finally have good local ice. That’s a shame since the teen-sized toothies (8 year old 12-14 pounders) have been on a tear intermittently at Cheshire, Pontoosuc, Buel and Onota! JCB has the bait and Jim’s up on the latest intel on where the northerns are most hungry.
Patrick Barone of Charter the Berkshires Outfitters said that now is one of those rare times when most everything is biting. Smelt schools are spread out and won’t bunch up pre-spawn until mid-February so it’s wise to keep on the move with sonar and a couple of choice jigging rods looking for roving schools of prey and predators. For a local score, there’s Laurel Lake in Erving/Warwick where in years past brown trout over 5 pounds have been found fattening up on golden shiners!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
It’s not every year that the first of February brings with it first ice, but some – especially those on the South Shore – are taking a good look at Peter’s, Spectacle, Cliff and Sheep on the Cape and itching to tempt the un-pressured trout which swim there! Closer to Greater Boston, Walden and White’s are always worth a go, especially for wily brown trout which are stealthy, feed indiscriminately and are far less likely to be fished out compared to their rainbow cousins. Whitney Pond in Worcester County has been creating buzz as a warm water species producer. Farther out west, 8 year old pike are making their presence felt at Cheshire Reservoir, Lake Onota and Pontoosuc. Demand for big bait in Northern Mass points to one thing – cooperative pike among the Concord River and Merrimack River.