Pictured: In addition to Merrimack pike, there is the occasional striper surprise in the river!
If the rainbows of last week weren’t enough to do it for you than maybe a little brook trout and brown trout additions will make you happy! Of course there will always be those other anglers who dismiss stocked trout by pointing to the cavernous maw of a big bass and saying, “Look at that mouth, this thing could eat a stocked trout”!
Massachusetts Fishing Report
While most patrons are walking through Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate in search of spinners, trout worms, Power Bait and small shiners, there’s a troupe of trophy hunters who are asking Pete for the biggest shiners in his tanks. I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet those guys aren’t hanging on the latest stocking intel! Pre-spawn lethargic “Larrys” are shaking off their winter slumber and looking to put on calories quickly to pull off a spawn in a couple of months. While “Hawg” hubbub later in season will revolve around crankbaits, jigs, spinnerbaits and a panoply of soft plastics when water temperatures are this cold it’s had to top “meat”, in this case shiner meat! Ponds and lakes which are the headwater of river herring runs are spots always worthy of consideration. The progeny of alewives and blueback herring are fuel for potbellied largemouth bass and a volume of them is unsurpassed in most “closed” water bodies. Do a little bit of homework and search out herring headwater and you just might find your own “Hawg heaven”.
Pete did tip me off to stocked brown trout in Peters Pond and brookies in Little and Long Ponds and up through the South Shore. If you’re a spin-fisherman pray that there’s not a significant bug hatch if you’re target is brook trout. Nothing will make them fussier than a massive midge hatch going off! The word on the brookies is that quite a few are 2-pound specimens!
Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy said that patrons are making the pilgrimage to Plymouth for rainbow trout and brook trout in Long and Little Pond. There have even been a few tiger trout taken! Closer to Boston, Houghton’s Pond has also been stocked with rainbows. Bass fishing is picking up too with the Charles River, Brookline Reservoir and even Jamaica Pond giving up good fish. The latter is known for its trout stockings but it does have some impressive largemouth bass swimming in there as well.
Rod from Arlington Bait & Tackle talked of trout in Horn Pond when we spoke. Right up there among other options is bass from Spy Pond, Wedge Pond and Winter Pond. While Horn, Walden and White are noted trout ponds, all three hold good largemouth bass and in some cases smallies as well. Rivers which hold herring such as the Charles and Mystics are always worth a look. Above all, look for inlets/tributaries in those rivers; the shallower water of which will warm up more quickly and in March water temperature matters greatly. If you’re looking for an alternative bait source north of Boston then consider Round’s Hardware in Stoneham. Bruce Round, who is one of the owners, is very enthusiastic about making this iconic hardware store a stop for anglers as well!
Eric from Lunkers in Ashland said that anglers are stoked that stocking has begun in Lake Cochituate, Hopkinton Reservoir and Ashland Reservoir. So far rainbows have been the only trout stocked but a holdover brown trout is always a possibility. For bass, Eric suggests Dudley Pond, Farm Pond, Whitehall Pond and Winthrop Lake. Eddie of B&A in West Boylston said that with the state of local ponds and lakes stuck in neutral, watching Wachusett Reservoir, which will be open for fishing two weeks from this Saturday, has become a local pastime. Eddie said that the reservoir is wide open with the only ice near the Stone Church and even that is looking as if it’s ready to go! About the only actual fishing is taking place in the Stillwater, Quinapoxet and Nashua Rivers. Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshires didn’t miss a beat once local ice became unsafe as he has transitioned to the Swift, Westfield and Connecticut Rivers. Walleye is the big prize among the latter two at the moment and during most outings, he’s tallying 1 or 2 with some nights being as productive as 6! Jerk baits are working but so are paddle-tail shads. Patrick’s hunch is that when worked at night and slowly across the bottom the vibrations from those tails draws in those nocturnal predators.
Up north there has been a bit of a buzz about a 41” striper caught downstream of the Lawrence Dam on the Merrimack River. When I asked David from Merrimac Sports for an insider’s perspective on holdover stripers in the Merrimack River, he wasn’t surprised in the least. He mentioned where both the Spicket and Shawsheen Rivers dump into the Merrimack as focal points for both stripers and pike. There aren’t many places in Massachusetts where there’s the possibility of hooking both a 40” pike and 40” striper in March! In addition to pike, shiners, and suckers, the shop carries the essential Daredevil spoon in the must-have color – copper with red/white top! Elsewhere in the Merrimack Valley Region rainbows have been stocked in Forest Lake in Methuen. Largemouth bass of all sizes are beginning to awaken from Attitash Lake, Tuxbury Pond as well as Millvale Pond. Patrons are beginning to pester the shop for bloodworms/seaworms for the imminent Exeter River white perch run!
Massachusetts Fishing Forecast
It’s a regular “troutnado” out there and just in the nick of time for winter-weary anglers! Brookies and in some cases browns have supplemented the initial stocking of rainbow trout. While Powerbait, shiners, worms and all manner of hardware are catching their fair share, it’s the angler with the fly rod who is cleaning up when there is a hatch! For brookies and brown trout, the Southeast Coast into the Cape are a best bet while rainbows are now ubiquitous throughout many districts. Not all quarry worth targeting hailed from a hatchery however walleye, largemouth bass, pike and even the errant holdover striped bass are cooperating, especially in rivers. Next up regarding rivers is the white perch run just across the border. As for a hint as to when that might happen keep an eye out for that first tree bud!