Massachusetts Fishing Report – March 26, 2020

If ever fishing was needed as a diversion to life’s woes, now is the time! And it’s almost as if the fish “sense” it, as piscatorial cooperation on all fronts is now part of the program. Increasingly saltwater is becoming interesting and we can thank river herring for that!

Massachusetts Fishing Report

Bloodhounds don’t have anything on my friends, Captain Dave Panarello and his first mate Carl Vinning of the Bite Me II. While the mission of their canine counterpart is usually to sniff out two-legged targets, D&C can pick up the scent of a herring a mile away. And if they happen to be downwind of herring, they can smell them even farther than that! No sooner did those guys start picking up the scent than waterfowl and more importantly – stripers – began to notice! Cormorants, or Looney Tunes as the boys like to call them, were the first indication that their olfactory hunches were accurate. Their instincts have since been confirmed as resident cows have also taken notice!

According to Pete from Belsan’s in Scituate, the South River, North River, Mill River and Green Harbor are known to hold-over striped bass. Most fish are schoolies but there are drag-pullers in the mix and the arrival of alewives is often the catalyst to waking them up. By nature, big bass are nocturnal predators and whether it’s March or August you’ll always fare better at night! Not all that is sweet in sweetwater revolves exclusively around trout; Pete’s been seeing impressive pictures of pig Larrys taken on shiners from Lilly Pond.

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy was in an especially good mood when we spoke and it was little wonder why: the shop just took delivery of a huge shipment of Bill Hurley lures! She and Maria had just hung up the last lure when we talked. You may be able to put those sand eel-oil-infused baits to good use in the Weir River, Weymouth Back River, Neponset River, Charles River, Mystic River and Saugus River – all of which are known to hold over striped bass. Of course for most, March is all about trout and with brookies, browns and even tiger trout spicing up the stocking, trout fishing is getting really interesting. Shiners are a big seller in the shop as anglers tempt warm water species from Whitman’s Pond and Ponkapoag. Herring watchers are seeing an exceptional run of herring in the rivers than is usually the case for March.

Sadly, some bait shops increasingly are falling victim to the pandemic and are closed but all is not lost in northern Greater Boston as Bruce Round of Round’s Hardware informed me that he’s doubling down on shiners, worms and other bait! More good news is that the shop is open 7 days a week! Timing is good since Griswold Pond, Spot Pond and Silver Lake were all stocked with rainbows. For a chance at a mixed bag of trout try Horn Pond, Walden Pond and White Pond. For warm water species, Harold Parker Reservation has a wide variety of ponds and species as does the Mystic Lakes.

Eddie of B&A in West Boylston said that as of now Wachusett is still slated to open for fishing on April 4th! He did say that water levels are unusually high and “into the bushes”. Meanwhile anglers are taking advantage of the “dump if all now” Masswildlife mindset at Comet Pond and Walden Pond and enjoying unprecedented trout fishing. Two to three pound trout have become an almost common catch! The Stillwater River has been stocked with both rainbows and browns for those who would like to inch closer to the mighty Chu!

Rod from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange told me that Lake Mattawa is insane right now with anglers regularly catching rainbows and brown trout of 3 pounds or more! Just this week the stocking truck visited this place 3 times and there are accounts of schools of trout cruising along in plane sight. The gorilla in the room is how the pandemic will effect opening day for Quabbin which is scheduled for April 18th. As of now Rod hasn’t heard anything to the contrary.

There’s no stopping Donnie and David from Merrimack Sports who are remaining open with tanks practically spilling over with premium shiners! The hot fishing right now is for trout with Plugs Pond and Round Pond two standouts thanks to a heavy stocking rotation of rainbows, brookies and some browns. The Merrimack River also holds over striped bass with the appearance of alewives the trigger for the bigger fish. The myriad of ponds in the Merrimack Valley Region have no shortage of warm water species as well.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Masswildlife continues to fill the role of “mental health care providers” as hatcheries push all available trout out now with ponds and lakes teeming with a quantity and quality of trout the likes of which may never happen again. A buddy of mine who has been fishing from Plymouth through Peter’s Pond in Sandwich texted me a photo of a 4 pound rainbow and 4 1/2 pound brown that he caught practically in succession and the fish were fat and colorful! Black bass from Lilly Pond and Whitman Pond are nice alternative to the trout Tsunami. Out west, spots such as Comet Pond and Lake Mattawa have so many trout that schools of swimming fish can be seen cruising just under the surface looking for all the world like a herring run. Of course in the salt, there really are herring running and they had better move quickly as ol’ seven stripes has taken notice!