Massachusetts Fishing Report
Hardwater junkies were so close to heading out for a little frozen fun in the Bay State but as you may expect the recent rain/thaw put a damper on that. With round two of a late fall warm-up imminent for the weekend it looks as if options remain a bit limited.
Well trusted and dedicated reader of the forecast, I was expecting this week to point you folks to the New Hampshire/Maine section of the forecast but, sadly, they were walloped by the thaw as well and when Al from the iconic AJs Bait in Meredith New Hampshire refers to local ice as “sketchy” and then tells of good fishing but only by those who are familiar with water bodies and don’t wander to far out than it goes without saying we are not going to green light the Granite State or Maine just yet!
Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate did say that a few of his never-say-die troopers took the trip up to Eastman’s in Seabrook New Hampshire and reported an interesting pain-mixed-with-pleasure pollock outing. Tussling with twin-18 pound pollock from 200 foot depths is not for the faint of heart. The trips include a mixture of cusk, hake, haddock, redfish and whatever else Neptune can cook up to make a headboat trip an incomparable fishing grab bag. Locally the only activity is trout throughout the Plymouth and Cape ponds. The good news is that with water temperatures that suit them the trout are in as close to shore now as they will be all season long. From freshly-stocked rainbows to holdover brown trout they are all prowling within casting distance. Those looking for larger are sticking with stick baits and other larger profile minnow-imitating offerings and is spite of the calendar and chill the best fishing for stealthy old browns remains at dark.
Lisa from Fore Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that one of her customers recently reported juvenile flounder off Nut Island Pier! While it’s a huge dose of wishful thinking considering the dismal flounder season we endured, just maybe that’s a good sign. More reliably are willing rainbow trout from Whitman’s Pond and Jamaica Pond. The only other possible option is mackerel off Nut Island, Castle Island and Deer Island. A small diamond jig tossed out should find them in short order if they are around.
The combination of some, albeit little more than skim, ice among the western part of the state has relegated fishing to hope-for-tomorrow status. Even Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshiresintensity has been doing little more than readying his arsenal of ice fishing gear for the frozen show which should begin on the backside of the predicted thaw. The good news regarding the snow meltdown is that he’s able to scout relatively decent ice which had been tucked away under the snow. When conditions warrant, Patrick is poised to hit the Hilltown hardwater.
According to Donny from Merrimack Sports for about as long as it takes takes for a cup of Joe to cool down there was some ice fishing effort in northern Massachusetts in but the monsoon put an end to that. Some are still finding fun in Forest Lake, Pleasant Pond, Badacook Pond, Baldpate Pond and Sluice Pond for open trout. Most of the fish are rainbows but Masswildlife did put a goodly dose of browns in as well this fall. The wait is on for the coves of the Merrimack to lock up and put those big pike in position to be caught. The shop is geared up with tackle and the big bait necessary to do the job!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
The Jeckyl/Hide weather pattern has ice fishing finatics as fidgety as the proverbial annoying kids in the backseat of the car. While we “are not there yet”, the long range weather forecast looks as if it may provide relief! Meanwhile trout continue to be the antidote to cabin fever. The other possibility worth considering is the “pain and pleasure” promise of a headboat trip for pollock!
Good lob