Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[grampa1114]

This weekend I am heading to Whitehall. Has anyone been fishing their lately?

Went to Whitehall today and it's still alive and well and the fish are still in the weeds and on the pads in areas with uneven bottoms.......good luck....Grampa

[trupp30]

Grampa I want to thank you for your help with Whitehall. I had a decent day, but some off the guys had real good days. One of the guys caught a nice 5 lbs. The guy I was with lost one at the boat that was right around that 5lbs mark, as well. Again I want to thank you .

I will be up in the area this weeknd again. I am fishing at Cochituate. I have never been to this lake. Has anyone been their lately? Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

[grampa1114]

I think that you need to put me on speed dial...fished Cochituate some also.....Suggest that you concentrate on North lake and fish like normal....you'll be fine.

[Fishing Rhino]

Fish the outer edges of the vegetation. Worked for me a couple of weeks ago. Got a guided trip from Grampa the week before that.

[trupp30]

Guys,

Thanks for the info on Cochituate. I forgot to ask; are there alot of lily pads, or is the cover mostly milfoil, etc.? Thanks.

[Fishing Rhino]

There are some lily pads in the middle pond, and some in the area you traverse to get into the north pond. There are a few in the north pond. There are several types of vegetation. You should find some to your liking.

[trupp30]

Thanks, Gramps and Rhino. I fished Cochicuate yesterday and had a real good day. I caught my 5 fish limit and 6-7 short bass. I ended up fishing all 3 sections, but spent most of the time in the Northern and middle sections of the lake. I have to say the weed lines were the key in middle lake and, in the Northern section, I found focusing on the shade and downed tree worked well.

Did the DEP use weed kill in the northern section recently? The weeds were almost nonexcistant in that part of the lake. Thanks again, you guys have a nice fishery in that lake. I just wish some of the big ones had been biting yesterday.

[mhtranger]

Hey guys, was wondering if there was any place to fish from shore on the merrimack river around the lawrence area? My boat stays on Winni so I don't have a way to get up the river. If anyone wants to trade a seat on the river for a seat on the lake let me know.

David

[je1946]

Back to Quabbin yesterday gate 43 6AM to 1PM, hot, humid, with haze so thick U could cut it with a knife, not even a ripple on the water, water temps 80 to 83 degrees, thought we would have a great top water bite but not even a blow up, not even at first light. Landed about 15 smallies running up to 4.5lbs all on jigs, concentrated on water in the 20 to 35ft levels as that is where most of the bait balls showed on the screen, fish in the well were up chuckin alot of small white and yellow perch.

[je1946]

Hey guys, was wondering if there was any place to fish from shore on the merrimack river around the lawrence area? My boat stays on Winni so I don't have a way to get up the river. If anyone wants to trade a seat on the river for a seat on the lake let me know.

David

If U follow what I believe is Rt 110 from Lowell, right after the water treatment plant their is a dirt path leading down the hill to the water, keep going down 110 there are a nimber of places to pull off the road and fish all the way down to Rt 93

[deaknh03]

If U follow what I believe is Rt 110 from Lowell, right after the water treatment plant their is a dirt path leading down the hill to the water, keep going down 110 there are a nimber of places to pull off the road and fish all the way down to Rt 93

Yes, I have fished that area many times. Be prepared to catch some bigass carp.

[Fishing Rhino]

Mashpee Wakeby on Thursday.

Caught on this rig.

I've been fishing mostly this, and wacky rigged Senkos, mostly four inch, but some three and five inch versions. I fish 'em on the same Jackall Wacky Jig Heads that I use with the grub. They are tungsten so ok for MA. I also use a drop of super glue to button the nose of the grub to the weight. A single bait will last a long time this way. If a fish grabs the tail and the bait tears at the bend of the hook's shank, it can easily be mended with a drop of the super glue.

I also use this hook for shaky head fishing. I like the four inch Strike King Elaztech finesse worms. Rig them the same way as the grub's body and use a drop of glue to secure the worm to the weight. You can fish one SK worm until you lose the rig to a fish or lose it to a fish or a hangup. I've caught over thirty fish on a single worm with only scuffs on the surface to show it had been used. If I hadn't lost it to a hangup, it could have caught many more fish.

I prefer the Loctite in the picture below. You get a lot more for your money and it has a better applicator than the Crazy Glue.

Thanks to Tate, the guide for the day's fishing.

[trupp30]

Nice catch. What did that one weight? I like the rig, too. What technique do you use when you fish that rig?

Also, has anyone been to Long Pond lately? I have never fished their, but I hear good things and I was wondering if anyone could help with some info about the lake. Thanks.

[Fishing Rhino]

Fish it very slowly. Cast it, and allow it to drop to the bottom and sit there for a few seconds. You can mix up your retrieve by lifting it from the bottom and letting it settle and you can twitch your rod to hop it from the bottom, then let it settle again. I've had fish grab it when I've finished the retrieve and was just cranking it back to make another cast. Didn't weigh it. I've caught smallmouth about that size from the same pond.

Which Long Pond? I know of at least three, one in Freetown/Lakeville, one in Plymouth, and another in Harwich.

I've only fished Lakeville. Stay away from it on the weekends. The ramp is insane, and many of its users don't have a clue about common courtesy. I've seen someone working on their motor with the rig backed into the water because it wouldn't start. This with four or five rigs lined up to launch. Others seem to take their own sweet time like it was their own personal ramp. I've been there four times, and had good fishing once out of the four. It's a shallow place with a few rock piles just below the surface in the middle of the pond.

If you don't know your way around, pay attention to the traffic, and you'll get some idea of where it is reasonably safe to transit. Based on my one good day, I'm certain there are plenty of largemouth in the pond. Finding them is the trick. There is a lot of bottom with vegetation, and a lot of rocky bottom. For a pond its size I've only found a few places where there are some steep dropoffs. And that's relative since the dropoffs may only go from two feet to six or seven feet deep.

The water has a tea color stain, probably from the oak trees around the pond. The clarity is pretty good, maybe six to seven feet. The water is not murky, nor have I noticed any algae. Clarity is limited mostly by the stained color.

[trupp30]

Rhino,

Thanks. I am talking about the Long Pond in Lakeville. I appreciate the warning about the rock piles in the middle of the lake. I would hate to hit something like that while cruising along. I think I will give that rig a try; when I do I will let you know how it worked out for me.

Anyone else who has been fishing their lately who could help out please do I appreciate the help.

[grampa1114]

I haven't been there since last year when Rhino and I managed to rip the skeg off my outboard....use a navionics map or a DFW map but get a map. By the way...before that, I'd fished the place many, many times.....be careful.

Southwest corner inlet mouth has a ridge and dropoff to the right. The northern most big Island fishes well on the west end and along the ridge above it. The other Islands generally fish well on the deeper side but stay out in front or be careful of very shallow shoals on the east sides.

Don't forget to have fun.

Grampa

[trupp30]

Rhino,

One thing I forgot to ask is what size jig (1/16, 3/32, or 1/8) do you use for that rig? Again, thanks.

[Fishing Rhino]

I have all three sizes, but use the 3/32 for most of my fishing. If the water is deeper than 15 feet, I may go to the 1/8th. The 1/16 ounce can be used in shallower water, or for small baits like 3" sluggos.

Be sure to check your line often for nicks and wear. Those critters cost over two bucks per. If in the slightest doubt, retie. I use four pound test on one of my rods. Doesn't take much damage for that to part easily.

[trupp30]

Thanks for the info. I was on Long Pond yesterday. I don't know when the last time you went to Long Pond, but they must have put weed kill in it lately. The vegetation was scarce and most of what you would pull up was thin and black.

I fished a tournament yesterday and did OK. I caught a few nice keepers, but most of what I caught were largemouth that were just short of 12". Most of my bass were caught wacky rigging on the jig head Rhino posted earlier. However, I did catch some fish with a Texas rigged worm. Again, I want to say thanks for the report on Long Pond it was helpful in the making of a good fishing trip.

[Fishing Rhino]

3/32 for the worms, and 3/32 or 1/8 ounce for the curly tail grubs. 1/16 ounce for small sluggos and similar baits.

[trupp30]

I fished a tournament on Manchaug on Saturday. The fishing was pretty good. The weed lines were the only places that where producing bass. You had to get it right in the weeds and let it sit for a few seconds give a twitch and a slow horizontal drag to get the bass to bite. All of the bass I caught were on wacky rigged worms. Nothing else I tried would get a bite. However, I know a few guys caught bass using tubes with the same technique as wacky. Anyone going their should give the weed lines near the islands a try. Those weed lines were pretty active.

[Jigfishn10]

My son and I will be hitting Buckmaster's tomorrow after school. I know the jig and craw has been on, we'll see if I can get him on a spinner bite. Spinners have been touch and go, but man, I would love to see him nail a nice one this year!

Here's some of the spinners he's been using:

[BenRias]

As a newbie, I still can't catch anything and so I can't add anything encouraging to this thread, but adding to the report is a good thing, right?

Between the end of August and today, I've been to Wachusett Res. (Gates 6, 8, and 10); Upper Mystic Lake; Jamaica Pond; and the Charles between the dam in Watertown and Bridge Street. All shore fishing.

When I first hit Wachusett, it was early September when the weather was cool in the morning and not too hot in the afternoon. I figured the water probably wasn't too prime yet, but couldn't hurt, right? I hit it again today (gate 10) and went all around the walkable areas. Nothing. I figured the water was finally cooler, but I still got no bites. Each time I've gone, I've used senkos, roboworms, a spinner, jigs, and a crawfish looking soft plastic. Nothing...not even a nibble.

Mystic Lake I hit about two weeks ago in the mid morning. Cool weather. I could see some fish jumping beyond some small pads. Tossed a frog and a senko to them, nothing. So I tried a jig. Nothing. Then added a trailer to the jig. Nothing. Not even a nibble.

Jamaica Pond...you can already imagine.

The Charles is where I've spent an inordinate amount of time. Why? Because when I first scouted it in late August, I saw a HUGE fish jump. And he's jumped repeatedly in the same spot almost every time I've gone. While I couldn't get a good look at his coloration (at first) I could tell that he was at least a bass of some sort, not a carp. And it was only a few days ago I finally caught a clear look at him...it was a dirty penny color on his back and no big scales. So now I am thinking it's a big small mouth.

Read on if you want to know about what I've tried. Otherwise, the short synopsis is that I haven't caught anything on the Charles yet either. There's at least ONE fish in there, but I haven't had any luck and the other guys I've seen fish near me (rarely), they've caught nothing either.

So, for details: In August, I started by tossing senkos and roboworms to him. Nothing. Early September, I started with jigs, then jigs with trailers. Nothing. Mid September I started with frogs. Nothing. And now that I realize it might be a smallie, I have moved onto crayfish looking things and tubes along with a spinner, senko, and pretty much everything else I've stockpiled recently. All failures. The only hint of action was seeing a pickerel follow one lure from his hiding spot all the way to the very edge of the water without striking.

Obstacles for this particular fish I've been chasing are that there are very very few good clearings to the water. The spots I've hit most often have limbs above you, and tall growing brush all around you. I broke a couple of trails into the underbrush to a couple of hidden clearings, but they aren't that much better casting wise. And the few places where the casting is good, they are all near waters of depths no more than 6 inches to 1 foot.

Another problem is that between me on the shoreline and the middle of the river where the fish is jumping is a rather large bed of big pads. I've lost a small fortune of hooks/weights/lures to those pads. Because of those pads, and my obsession with this fish, I invested in some heavier gear to handle it after I snapped a rod. It's greatly reduced the number of lures I've lost, and has given me some more distance, but I am still shy of the sweet spot where I see this fish jumping.

It's the never ending balance between going weightless but casting short vs. adding weight but getting hung up more often and messing with the lure's movement. Then there's the whole line weight balance: going weightless but using heavier line to handle the pads vs. lighter line, but losing my bait on every single cast. Rigging my line with leaders or pegging weights high up the line aren't too helpful either since the longer setup frequently gets hung up on limbs or brush.

And thus ends my report on my first two months of bass fishing.

[Fishing Rhino]

Ben, it looks like we'll have to get you out on the water to catch a fish or three. It's a little late in the season in this neck of the woods, but we should still have some fishable days.

I'm still in GA with my wife at our daughter's home. No definite date to return, but should be within two weeks. Will post when I get back.

[The one that got away]

Ben, if you're still after that big fish I would throw a popper near him and work it reeeaaallly slow. I don't have very much experience at all with the other places you mentioned, other than I've been to Wachusett a couple times, several years ago, and got nothing just like you. Some stretches of the Charles a bit further west are productive from what I've heard and read. I use to fish some spots on the Charles in Medfield when I was a kid. My only other advice would be to find some different spots (I know it's tough to find close to Boston, try to get outside 128 at least) or maybe invest in a used kayak to get to some different spots that are not shore accessible where you have been fishing. The fish are still biting and it sounds like you are going about things the right way - just not having luck. It'll happen if you keep at it. Good luck