I’m starting to feel as if I’m filling a role similar to cute little cat videos or some other YouTube diversion when I call shops because seconds into the conversation – I’m hearing laughter! The truth is I’m partly at fault because I’m asking for a fishing report when most water bodies remain in skim ice/junk ice limbo. Not all is lost however thanks to the two Rs – rivers and road trips.
Massachusetts Fishing Report
In order to keep busy during the offseason, Captain Coombs has transitioned from cows to – carp! While some view those fish as having a mug not even a mother could love, there’s no denying this freshwater heavyweight pulls like a tug boat. It’s nothing unusual for Captain Brian of Get Tight Sportfishing to buddy up with his pal and fellow charter captain Anthony Forte when the stripers are on the feed but in this instance they have traded their coordinates from the BG Buoy to the BU Bridge. That stretch of the Charles River holds some brutes with a chum slick of corn just the thing to call them in. Brian is using an entire can to bring them within range of their baited hooks. The fish are continuously on the move so catching is really hit or miss with one day being an outing of note and the next – not so much. That area also holds white catfish with the carnivorous cats craving chicken livers more than corn. The Mystic River also holds plenty of carp but they tend not to be as big or as numerous.
Captain Carl Vinning has been poking around piers near yacht clubs throughout Greater Boston Rivers where he keeps one eye out for chains. Those monstrous chains which secure piers are often the fist link of a food chain that attracts everything from trout to crappie. The weed life that clings to the structure of those piers holds all sorts of invertebrates that attract fish fry as well as larger specimens. Carl employs light line with a jig on the bottom along with a teaser just above. If you’re familiar with jigging through the ice than you already have the gear and technique. Fish are not always present but recent catches have included yellow and white perch, largemouth bass and crappie. But you never know when an interesting interloper will crash the warm water species party. Last year a big rainbow trout, which most likely was originally stocked at Horn Pond, wound it’s way all the way downstream to the upper Mystic Lake where it provided Carl quite the surprise.
While the rest of us wait and hope for any semblance of hardwater, our counterparts out west aren’t waiting they’re fishing! Martin Farrell of B&R Bait and Tackle, who is located at 32 Old State Road on the northern basin of Cheshire Reservoir, gave me an impressive list of ponds/lakes which were sporting solid ice. Among them were Cheshire Reservoir, Pontoosuc Lake, Lake Onota, Plainfield Pond, Windsor Pond and Lake Mansfield. You’d be hard pressed to find a freshwater Bay State gamester which can’t be caught among that varied list of water bodies. From pike to brown trout to smelt, name it and odds are that it swims somewhere among that list.
Man am I ever missing Merrimac Sports! Donny, who was the owner and passed away in June, along with David had their fingers solidly on the pulse of the Merrimack River and more. From my perspective, David was not the least bit shy about sharing where the action was from pike in Haverhill to smallies in Lake Attitash to the springtime salter white perch run in the Exeter/Squamscott River. The intel I got from those guys covered the Merrimack Valley Region like a blanket. Another shop has taken it’s place but despite repeated weeks-long calls I can’t get an answer. While crossing the Merrimack the other day on Route 93, the glass calm conditions sure looked inviting and had me wondering how big the biggest, baddest pike was that ruled that section of the river. There’s only one way to find out and If I have my druthers I’d opt for a silver/black or perch X-Rap!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
Once again there’s perfect timing as a rainstorm/thaw bears down on our state just in time for the weekend! Experienced hardwater walkers however aren’t overly concerned because it’s looking as if on the backend of the nuisance weather a nice little freeze is expected once again out west. The other option for a frozen water fix is to travel north of the border and as luck would have it, we have a New Hampshire/Maine report waiting in the wings. While even northern New England has challenging conditions during the great “non-winter” of 2023, there are more options especially if you keep your ride pointed as farther north as you dare. If you’re determined to keep it in Massachusetts your best bets remain the two Rs – rivers and a ride out west.