Meteorologically speaking, it’s not spring yet but we outdoor types who are synchronized to a different kind of rhythm are feeling it. The sounds of songbirds are now filling the air and the swarms of grackles almost overnight seem determined to empty every bird feeder in the neighborhood. Masswildlife is not immune to such stirrings either as their website is now announcing that the Southeast District will be stocked with trout sometime this month!
Massachusetts Fishing Report
Another sure sign of spring that salters should appreciate is the potential return of the first “scout” alewives. Pete from Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that he’s hearing reports of seal sightings in the North River which usually coincide with the first appearance of river herring. Personally, I’m fairly certain I’ll be hearing of those first few arrivals in Greater Boston rivers within a few weeks! While for most, this is a harbinger of seven-striped quarry to come, a few very hardy souls will relish their return because it wakes up slumbering harbor holdovers! Look for the first serious rainstorm this month to trigger those fish to begin feeding in local rivers and estuaries.
Meanwhile in all probability hardwater junkies have a few weeks left in which to wring out the season. While the South Shore through Greater Boston is shot, there is stuff still to do in Metrowest and beyond according to Eric from Lunkers in Ashland. Bait has suddenly become easier to come by and the shop is expecting to carry some real specimens for swan song pike fishing. While often slow, Heard Pond is still producing the occasional pike and with snow melt/ice melt oxygenating the water there are signs that bigger pike which are preparing to spawn are very active now. Next week’s weather forecast is not looking favorable for an extended ice fishing season so Eric suggests that if anglers want to end the season on a high note then check out Coffman’s Cove in Lake Cochituate, where flags are know to fly!
The news from Wachusett according Eddie of B&A Bait and Tackle Co. in West Boylston is that it is all “socked in” and there is some hand-wringing on whether the scheduled opening day – April 3rd – will go off without a hitch. Way out west is still the best with Jim from JCB in Cheshire telling me that trucks have been out there on 20” of ice! For such a small state, it’s amazing how different conditions are a couple of hours away! The “20” theme doesn’t end with ice depth as there have been some buzz of 20-pound class pike coming out of both Pontoosuc and Onota! Jim and his family have been loading up on Larrys to 4 pounds and smaller pike from the first basin of Cheshire Reservoir.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Massachusetts
Captain Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshires has two more weekends planned for patrons and then he’s calling it. There will still be fishing and guiding service offered but the flag will give way to the fly and the pond to the pool as he heeds the call of local rivers. In parting, his two best bets for last ice action are Goose Pond and Buckley Dunton.
While there are still icy options in the Merrimack Valley Region, I asked David from Merrimack Sports about what would be the first open water options. One that came up was white catfish in the Merrimack River, especially where the Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers mix in. White catfish are swifter predators than their bullhead cousins and are more inclined to chase down a baitfish. They also grow bigger and put up a better fight! The other option was the sea run white perch run throughout the Exeter and Squamscott Rivers which are part of Great Bay. While those fisheries in all likelihood are a week or two away, if the thought of hooking hefty white perch appeals to you then take a peak at our New Hampshire/Maine forecast where there is news of 2 1/2 pound slabs anglers are catching right now!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
That groan you hear is not the lion of March roaring but rather ice fishing’s last gasp! Those who prefer sticking to the east have to pin their hopes on next weeks balmy forecast to shake off enough ice and open up casting lanes. Out west however, the hardwater is heavenly and many species such as pike and perch have spawning and eating on their minds and have moved in close to shore! There are few better times than right now to check off that gator-pike or pig-perch and odds are it’s swimming under ice in the western part of the state right now!
A few blue backs in the herring run Middleboro . Tight lines !