Massachusetts Fishing Report- December 1, 2022

With November chock full of salty surprises, I’m left wondering what could be in store for December. Curtain call at the Chu’ has left many panting for more, although they’ll have to wait for April to get it. Moving forward until ice sets up, there is still plenty to do, it’s just that anglers have to adjust their expectations!

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Report

It’s official, the Little Sister‘s’ reign of terror on tautog in Buzzards Bay is over for the season so those tog can crunch crabs with less worry that there’s a hook in the carapace! If you’ve been out with Captain Jason this year odds are that you had tight lines aplenty – it was that kind of season. Forever the perfectionist, the skipper apparently is not satisfied with the gazillion way points he already has saved so he fired off an excited email to a few friends about two new spots which look special. As he described it, he noticed a wreck in 100’ of water and a “rock” in 84’ but a short distance away. He’s betting that there will be the enviable combination of cod and tog as early as mid-June when he expects to haul the Little Sister back to Tripps Marina! His message included an invite for an exploratory trip to those spots. My “fishbrain” tends to switch to attention deficit disorder during just such an offer so I was seconds away from answering “tommorrow?” when I composed myself long enough to realize that the trip wouldn’t take place until mid-June! Suffice to say I’m already blocking out that date!

Hunter Thayer worked off his Thanksgiving fixings last Friday by indulging in a different kind of feast! Namely one in which bait, birds, seals and – bass – all partook! The late November blitz happened off Plymouth with some of the bass mid-30” specimens! That prompted me (just for kicks) to contact my Cape Ann buddy Steve Pappows to enquire how late into the fall they enjoyed linesider luck! I was holding out hope that fish were present into late October but was not braced to learn of fish residing that far north only 4 days before turkey day! It’s one thing to hear of holdovers but fresh fish days before the calendar is switching to December is virtually unheard of!

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy told me that the shop has been selling sabiki rigs to anglers who are capitalizing on mackerel off Nut Island Pier. Smelt savants are finding their favorite fall fish in Hingham Harbor. Not to be outdone Pete Santini of Fishing FINatics in Everett had similar tales from Winthrop as well as Charlestown. Those Winthrop fish should eventually wind their way to breed in the Belle Isle Marsh as well as the mouth of the Mystic River. Smelt need eel grass to breed, feed and hide from predators and its impossible to gaslight the importance of eel grass habitat! Let’s hope that the eel grass planted by the Encore casino flourishes and the smelt find a home there. Should that be the case then we just might see an uptick in smelt numbers!

Tomo from Tomo’s Tackle in Salem said that anglers are catching mackerel off the Marblehead Harbor pier as well as the Beverly Pier. As for which has been hotter, he said that each spot has it’s fans! Far bigger game awaits those who have their sights on bluefin tuna which should remain off Jeffrey’s Ledge, Tillies Ledge and Stellwagen Bank until the end of the month. Timing is good for just such a pursuit of these premier pelagics as NOAA has transferred 55.2 metric tons of Atlantic bluefin tuna quota from the Reserve category and 2.3 mt from the Harpoon category to the General category for the remainder of the December time period.

Massachusetts Freshwater Fishing Report

Wachusett wrapped up a winning season this year with all kinds of anglers enjoying this pristine gem! The last few weeks were especially productive with a number of species cooperating. Trophy white perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and plenty of lakers were all part of the equation. During our last outing on Tuesday, we spoke to a DCR biologist performing creel surveys. He told us that the hottest spot this fall for a number of species was by Scar Hill Road. The discussion turned to numbers with the ranger recalling an exuberant angler who had just had a 9 laker outing and was over-the-moon with excitement. While that was a heck of a day, my friend Rick Holebrook once tallied a 20 fish outing! The action was all on Kastmasters and the spot was just northeast of the bait shop on Route 110 in West Boylston. The trigger to that tremendous fishing was a significant rainstorm which brought along current from the tributaries though the Thomas Basin and out into the main reservoir. When that happens it draws in lakers and other salmonoids like a magnet into the moving water and you’ll want to work your wares in that current. If you’re having a hard time tending to bottom and have to increase the weight of your spoon than you are doing it right! File this away for next year, it has worked way too often to be an anomaly.

Rodney Flagg of Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange told me that sportsmen in the area have been very busy but they’re all deer hunters! The few anglers who are still at it are doing well, however. The lone angler still catching trout from Lake Mattawa might be lonesome but the word is he’s not complaining because he’s too busy catching. A gent who lives close to North Spectacle Pond continues to hammer crappie there with white wooly buggers working best. The Connecticut River continues to give up everything from channel catfish to walleye. When asked if there was any luck in the perennially hot Hinsdale hardwater honey holes just across the border Rod said that no one was fishing them! This could be squandered opportunity because those setbacks off the Connecticut River hold pike, walleye, bass and panfish but for some reason most of the angling attention there is reserved for the ice!

In addition to saltwater stuff, Pete Santini also clued me into patrons who are putting up impressive numbers of brown trout from Quacumquasit Pond in East Brookfield/Sturbridge! Blown up crawlers have been the key to success there. The landlocked alewife forage base coupled with oxygenated deep water contribute to the capacity of this place to grow big brown trout! I fished it a number of times with Russ Eastman who was the tackle manager of Monahan’s Marine for years and he was really dialed in there. Russ would tie a two-hook minnow rig which would secure a medium shiner in the mouth and behind the dorsal fin. He’d slip on a small egg sinker above a swivel and we would slowly troll shiners over humps or at the edge of drop-offs and we caught some beautiful brown trout! Bonus catches included the big largemouth we usually caught by accident. Best of all, it seemed that just prior to ice in the bite was best! More towards the east, White Pond has been good for brown trout while rainbows are the reality at Horn Pond with the culvert area fishing best. As for local largemouth, Farm Pond in Framingham has been a favorite and anglers fishing Fairhaven Bay on the Sudbury River are finding pike and panfish!

Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

With the calendar flipping over to December it’s time to finally put any seven-striped notions to bed – or is it? With South Shore reports less than a week old and accounts of North Shore fish not much older could it be possible that stripers are still cruising off your favorite beach now? Most likely smelt and mackerel are more reliable with lit docks/wharves along the inner harbor steady for smelt while the North Shore gets the nod if mackerel are your priority. With Wachusett wrapping up for the season, those thirsting for more trout should consider Horn Pond, White Pond, Quacumquasit or Mattawa. Should you have the boat for it still at the ready, there are giants still cruising among offshore ledge and just in time – regulators have freed up 55 metric tons of quota!