Massachusetts Fishing Report – March 14, 2019

Pictured above: The mid-March thaw is awakening Boston Harbor holdover stripers! Photo: Ron Powers

As far as ice fishing seasons goes, this has been a pretty good one. Just the right amount of ice, negligible snow and comfortable conditions made for some very content hardwater junkies. But now that we’re into mid-March it might be time to reacquaint yourself with what it is like to cast again. Dovetailing nicely with that are freshly stocked trout and even some linesider love!
 

Fishing Report for Massachusetts

 
Bill Belichick famously chanted “No Days Off” during the Pats Super Bowl 51 victory celebration. While Captain Dave Panarello and first mate Carl Vinning don’t tool around in anything quite as fancy as “VIII Rings”, they do live by a “No Days Off” mantra when it comes to hunting striped bass throughout the harbor, regardless of the season. The “Bite Me” duo began their reign of terror on resident Greater Boston stripers again this week and found the feed impressive in spite of 37-degree water temperatures. When asked for a tip or two the tandem suggested that anglers use a “Surfland Special” red tube and worm and to watch out for icebergs! That last part is only half in jest since on Tuesday they had to dodge bobbing ice flows while watching their sonar for bait and bass. Striped bass winter over in a number of rivers/estuaries in Greater Boston such as the Weymouth Back River, Neponset River, Charles River, Mystic River and Saugus River. I was even talking to someone recently who felt that they hold over in the Merrimack River. A friend of mine used to even get them trolling a tube and worm below the Tobin Bridge, all the while bundled up to his eyes in a snowmobile suit! They are always out there but in order to score stripers 12 months of the year, you pretty much have to have the mindset of “No Days Off”, which obviously is not for everybody!

While there is still plenty of ice out west and among higher elevations, by now most have succumbed to frozen water fatigue. Beginning on Tuesday the Southeast District of Masswildlife began bringing redemption to Bay State anglers by the truckload in the form of rainbow trout starting with the Cape. Other districts will soon follow and with more stocking will come more variety including brown, brook and tiger trout. Usually, a mild winter supports superior growth at the hatcheries so the trout should be special this season.

It does not take long after ice out for pre-spawn largemouth bass to begin filing into sun-swept coves to warm up. West-facing shorelines in the afternoon will be bass magnets, especially those with flooded trees, bushes and blowdowns. It’s something else to see 2 to 4-pound largemouth bass in as little as 18” of water with their dorsal fins sticking out of the water. Shallow water largemouth are extremely spooky making stealth mandatory. Creep towards likely largemouth lairs as low and slow as you can and try lobbing weedless Senko-type baits or soft crawfish imitations. If your line lands over an outstretched branch – don’t fret – just use it to dance the soft plastic on the surface kind of like a marionette working a puppet! With water temperatures still cold don’t expect an explosive strike, but rather a very subtle take.

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Currently, reports are few and far between except for the hackneyed hardwater spots out west that I have been writing about ad nauseam. But with news of fresh trout swimming throughout Cape Cod right now, that’s about to change big time! But then again, if you want to mix it up with the “No Days Off” gang, there are those seven striped darlings swimming throughout Boston Harbor!