Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[DogBone_384]

Dropped into Sunset Lake for a couple hours late this afternoon.  Water temps were 60.x - 61.x.  Weeds are already growing.  Pickerel hit almost anything I threw at them, including one poor fella that still has my little square bill in its mouth.  Caught 7 pickerel, the biggest was 3-6.  Got one dink LMB to the boat on a 5" wacky Senko in perch.

[Chris186]

Fished a tourney at Webster yesterday. One end of the lake, the water was 57. The other end the water was 62. I saw beds, but they were all empty. From what I gathered at the weigh in, there were only 2 fish caught on beds. We ended up with 5, but missed a few in  the process. Couldn't get them to hit anything moving at all. I got a nice 4.2 on an ugly otter, the other 4 were small keepers. 

[JAB50]

I fished another 3 different places today. First place there were largemouth on the beds. Males. Smallmouth beds were all empty. Missed it by a week Id day. Other place the smallies were on beds here and there. Caught 6. Waded around the other place and caught a 3.5lb largemouth chunk. Prespawn fish slammed up against the shoreline! Every lake has been different for sure. The weather has been crap! Windy as hell today. Couldn't get a good look. So, the next couple of days I will revisit at least 3 of these places and hope the wind dies down to get a real good look!

FYI Dogbone,

aba was on long pond Harwich today with a tournament! Place has been getting pressured big time! Probably why it's been so tough!

[Mr. Aquarium]

On 5/5/2017 at 11:10 PM, MassYak85 said:

Went to Chauncey in the downpour for a few hours. Decided to only bring my swimbait stuff to try for some big ones. I got a halfhearted blowup on a lunker punker but I couldn't tell if it was a dink with a big stomach or a big fish just nudging it. Also got a nibble on a real prey perch but no way to tell what it was. Skunked. I'll be out again tomorrow, hopefully with more luck.  

 

@swamp hawgs I'm going to have to get me one of those slammers eventually. Only wakebait I really have right now is a G2 shellcracker but the thing is so noisy I feel like I'd have better luck with it in the summer. Do most of your slammer fish come on a slow steady retrieve or are you able to walk and twitch in in place? 

 

 

i mix it up a bit, mostly slow crank but ive had some great luck slow twitch near cover.  the 9s are better for waking but 7s are better for cranking. big different in sizes between the 2.  the 7 looks like a regular crank bait next to a 9.  they do have cranking 9s as well.  biggest one i got is a 10 inch slammer, but the eel is long due to the tail

[MassYak85]

8 hours ago, swamp hawgs said:

i mix it up a bit, mostly slow crank but ive had some great luck slow twitch near cover.  the 9s are better for waking but 7s are better for cranking. big different in sizes between the 2.  the 7 looks like a regular crank bait next to a 9.  they do have cranking 9s as well.  biggest one i got is a 10 inch slammer, but the eel is long due to the tail

Cool thanks. Not sure when I'll get one. Maybe late summer or fall.

 

Went to Webster today with my dad. It was pretty slow but there was just enough action to stay from 8 - 5. Water temps all day were 56 or 57 so we started off in some coves hoping to find some on the weedlines before the shallow flats. Immediately I got a bump on a Rapala Shad Rap and a Savage Gear Soft Vibe. Neither fish took it and I didn't get a good look at either. Continued in the area but didn't get any more bites. Decided to pull out of the cove a bit and fish around some of the docks where it starts to get deep. Immediately had what I'd guess was a 2-3 lb bass come up and attempt to eat my fluke, he missed it completely somehow. 

 

Kept getting bites on the fluke in that area but none of the fish were committing. Then I realized it was trout going after it not bass. After about 10 bites one of them finally got it good enough for me to hook it. Got it to the boat and it was a beautiful brown trout. That's actually a first for me, anytime I ever accidentally catch trout it's usually a rainbow. I didn't weigh it but I'd guess around 3 lbs. It was pretty good sized and a slippery fella. Next time I catch one I'm leaving it in the net lol. Also got a dink bass in the same area on the fluke. My dad got a pickerel on a white chatterbait. 

 

That was the end of any excitement for the next few hours. Tried another larger cove with the same game plan but no bites. Little 5 minute rain storms kept coming on and off with sun in between bringing some serious wind along with them. Around 3 we went to the edge of a shallow flat that drops into deep water where we have had luck in the past, I was hoping the smallies were going to be more cooperative than the largemouth. Thankfully they were and I managed to get a decent 2lber pretty quickly on an underspin. Also managed to get about a 2lb largemouth on an S-Waver 168 in the same area. We drifted down the drop a little ways and got some more action. My dad hooked a 2-3lb smallie on a little rooster tail but he got off. I managed another 1lb smallie on a 2.8 keitech. All in all not a terrible day, definitely not what I was expecting, was hoping to get on a better pattern but Ill take it. 

[DogBone_384]

Tried to fish Hedges after work, launching around 5:00. Water was 58.x - low 60.x. Many equipmet problems. Threw in towel and left after 45 minutes.

 

[JG233]

Real good day at Devol with Rhino - largest LMB went about 4 lbs - the avg size (30 or so fish) was 2 lbs. 

[Fishing Rhino]

 

Real good day at Devol with Rhino - largest LMB went about 4 lbs - the avg size (30 or so fish) was 2 lbs. 

 

The fish were tight to the bank.  All were caught on Rage Tail Lobsters, Craws and a Keitech fat swing impact.  The Rage baits were not weighted.  The Keitech was on a keel weighted hook, 1/8 ounce or less.  What did not produce were a topwater Whopper Flopper, a shallow running crank bait, a wacky worm, a Rage Menace, a Fat Albert and a few other baits.  Interesting that these baits generated no interest while they eagerly went after the other three.

[JG233]

Picky fish!

[Fishing Rhino]

Here's some images of Devol.

 

 

 

 

[KenP]

The easiest way to find the water temp is to use a pool thermometer around 10'. The surface temps will be all over the place. You can also use a thermometer in a fishes throat to get it since they are cold blooded. 

[je1946]

Hamma and I hit Quabbin today, took awhile to find them, but we wound up with 15 smallies on blades, jigs and jerkbaits.  Biggest at 4.5lbs.   Water temps at 55 close to the ramp, 51 on the main part of the lake.  

[DogBone_384]

Was running around Boston yesterday so I dropped into the Charles at the Watertown/Newton public launch.  It looked and felt like the other two spots I launched at in Dedham & Needham: root beer water between 3 and 5' deep with lots of structure along the shoreline.  Threw a bladed jig, perch Rapala, and greed purple/gold Rage Tail for about an hour with only a yellow perch following and laughing at the Rapala.  I got the same results as the other two spots I fished last year, so off I went to Sunset Lake, which offer better odds.

 

Launched at Sunset Lake around 4:30.  I cruised the shallows looking for beds.  Only saw a few, none were of any size.  I threw the same baits as the Charles, adding a T-rigged black/blue flake swim Senko and wacky rigged 4" nightcrawler colored Senko.

If it weren't for the handful of dink Pickerel that liked my Rapala, yesterday would have been a bust.  

 

Going to try something different (?) in order to figure out why I'm stuck spinning my wheels when others are catching many & good sized fish....   

 

Water temps at both locations were 59.x - 60.x.

[Janderson45]

Last weekend was tough on me as well, got out and battled the high winds last Sunday at the A1 in westboro.  Caught 2 dink pickerels in my 5 or so hours out there... had 1 good bass annihilate my wacky rig in a patch of lily pads... 10lb test braid wasn't going to cut it, the fish slammed it on the fall and buried itself in the pads... I tried to keep tension on it but I couldn't make up any ground, had to pull my anchor and try to work my way to the fish and get a better angle... while doing this I felt it pop loose, stole the senko and was gone.  Quite frustrating considering it was my only good hit of the day.. I know they say the big ones don't necessarily hit the hardest but this was the hardest hit I've had all season, would've at least liked to get a look at the fish :/ .  Lesson learned I guess (not the first time this has happened to me though so perhaps not)...

 

The two pickerel came on a topwater wake bait that seems to always save me from a skunking.. pickerel love it for some strange reason.   I threw a wacky rig and a keitech fat impact all over the place with no results, just a few fish that bumped the swimbait... unfortunately I left my spinnerbaits at the house.. was kicking myself all day as it was going to be my bait of choice for the day.  Also didn't bother setting up the Lowrance so I can't report on water temps, but I didn't see any fish up shallow or on beds there whatsoever.  I guess they could've been out of sight with the wind/low light conditions but I think if they were bedding I would've spotted a few.

 

Planning to get out on Saturday somewhere, perhaps prefishing Mashpee/Wakeby with my tournament partner (Fishing my first ever tournament in two weeks!) but I'm unsure at this point if it'll happen.  Weather looks crappy for fishing again this weekend.. really missing my far more flexible work schedule from last year when I could actually get out on a nice weekday.  Oh well- here's to hoping I can put something together this weekend... the Largemouth bite has been brutally tough on me so far this year, not a lot of bites and certainly no good ones to speak about.. If only I could translate some of my Quabbin success to the largemouth waters throughout the state...

[MassYak85]

@DogBone_384 I was on the charles (watertown) Tuesday afternoon for a few hours and they were cooperating then, I wonder what changed. I only got two largies (both a little over 2lbs), one was on a bladed jig, the other on a red eye shad, but my dad was killing them on a gold bladed spinnerbait. Biggest went 3.2 on the scale. They seemed to be slightly off the bank on the first weed edge or piece of cover in areas where they had access to shallow water (seemed like pre-spawn). The steeper banks that usually produce for me in the summer didn't yield a thing, smallies didn't show any interest either. 

 

@Janderson45 A few years back when I was still fishing worms on a 5' ultralight ugly stick and 10lb braid I had some killer days at A1 with a wacky wormed stick-o. I wish I had known a little better because I probably would have caught double if I had been using more appropriate equipment. I had so many take it, peel drag, and wrap me around 20 lily pads and I'd lose them. 

 

Oh and did you notice that someone threw in a home-made brush pile on the northern side of the dam? It's like 50 branches wrapped in fencing and it just barely breaks the surface of the water. I'm sure it will be great cover at certain times of the year but I'd be careful around it with treble hook lures especially. It looks like a snag waiting to happen. 

[Janderson45]

3 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

@DogBone_384 I was on the charles (watertown) Tuesday afternoon for a few hours and they were cooperating then, I wonder what changed. I only got two largies (both a little over 2lbs), one was on a bladed jig, the other on a red eye shad, but my dad was killing them on a gold bladed spinnerbait. Biggest went 3.2 on the scale. They seemed to be slightly off the bank on the first weed edge or piece of cover in areas where they had access to shallow water (seemed like pre-spawn). The steeper banks that usually produce for me in the summer didn't yield a thing, smallies didn't show any interest either. 

 

@Janderson45 A few years back when I was still fishing worms on a 5' ultralight ugly stick and 10lb braid I had some killer days at A1 with a wacky wormed stick-o. I wish I had known a little better because I probably would have caught double if I had been using more appropriate equipment. I had so many take it, peel drag, and wrap me around 20 lily pads and I'd lose them. 

 

Oh and did you notice that someone threw in a home-made brush pile on the northern side of the dam? It's like 50 branches wrapped in fencing and it just barely breaks the surface of the water. I'm sure it will be great cover at certain times of the year but I'd be careful around it with treble hook lures especially. It looks like a snag waiting to happen. 

 

I work in Watertown by the Charles... been trying to figure out a good spot to shore fish before/after office hours or during my lunch break.. where are you guys fishing or launching from?   The public park/launch from Nonantum road perhaps? 

 

As far as A1 goes... well I love that place.  For some reason in my head I always think I'm going to do better there than I actually end up doing though... it's just tough to really know where you should be fishing.  To be honest I've NEVER fished by the dam or even the deeper portion where the original pond was at all... I always paddle out either to the left or right of the island, most of my success has come when I go to the right of the island... but once you're out there in the stump field it's hard to know where to fish since it's all so similar.  I know the original river bed snakes it's way around out there to the right of the island, I've done well targeting the old river bed and it's easy to find if you electronics with you, it runs 6-9 feet deep and most of the water out there is 3-4 feet or less.   Last time out I tried to target the riverbed the same way I had this past fall and done well, but I didn't get a single bite out there on the wacky rig which is the same lure/location I caught em pretty good out there last fall.  I was fishing 10lb braid to 12lb FC leader on the wacky there in the fall and didn't have any bite/offs or issues losing fish due to the light line, so it works OK as long as you're staying out of the thicker stuff... but tossing it in heavy cover you've got to get pretty lucky to pull a good fish out. 

[DogBone_384]

3 hours ago, Janderson45 said:

I work in Watertown by the Charles... been trying to figure out a good spot to shore fish before/after office hours or during my lunch break.. where are you guys fishing or launching from?   The public park/launch from Nonantum road perhaps?

 

I launched from Nonantum rd and worked my way towards route 16.  

 

 

[DogBone_384]

Today I figured I'd try Aaron's Reservoir in Wampatuck State Park.  Got there around 10:30 and went to the North bank to see what's what.  Water temps were 58.x.  I worked southeast using a T-rigged Senko, yellow perch lipless Rapala, a wacky rigged 4" perch Senko, and a green/red flake Rage Tail.

 

After an hour and a half of nothing more than a few pecks from what I assume were panfish, I got called to work.

 

I've fished Aaron's on and off since I was a kid and have never caught more than one pounders.  I've heard the stories, but haven't figured the place out.  It's car top only and doesn't get much pressure because you can only get the key seasonally, during the day, from the camp ground office.  It's picturesque, has drop offs, points, underwater structure and rock beds...  

 

If you're on the South Shore, it's worth checking out.

 

Hey Swamp Hawgs - maybe you can work your magic there and fill me in....  you've got more fishing MOJO than I do...

[JAB50]

Fishing's been tough on the Cape also! The smallmouth and large mouth are on beds down here! Reason being tough is the drop in temps and the d**n overcast and every day has been windy. If you don't get your lure right on the bullseye on the bed then it's futile. I catch a bunch of smallmouth and some good largemouth the other day. 

 

A couple of 6 and half pounders in the same day! It was tough though. Had to find that little lighter colored bottom by some wood or structure and just keep casting and finally a hookup! Crap luck! Dogbone and Jeanderson head on down within the next couple of days. The largemouth are still moving onto beds! Every d**n lake is different! 

[KenP]

Stopped by Stump Pond in Westborough on my lunch break for a quick few casts and my chik-fil-a. Got a nice 3.26 on a 5.8 keitech fat impact. Weedless no weight added just slow rolling through the weeds. Was very hard to go back to work...

 

[Janderson45]

On 5/9/2017 at 9:51 PM, je1946 said:

Hamma and I hit Quabbin today, took awhile to find them, but we wound up with 15 smallies on blades, jigs and jerkbaits.  Biggest at 4.5lbs.   Water temps at 55 close to the ramp, 51 on the main part of the lake.  

 

When you guys are fishing blade baits out there are you using them vertically over structure or casting/retrieving keeping it close to the bottom?  I need to start fishing some blade baits out there as I bought a bunch of them and I know the smallies and trout both love em equally 

[DogBone_384]

2 hours ago, KenP said:

Stopped by Stump Pond in Westborough on my lunch break for a quick few casts and my chik-fil-a. Got a nice 3.26 on a 5.8 keitech fat impact. Weedless no weight added just slow rolling through the weeds. Was very hard to go back to work...

 

Bummer, you're not union, are you?

[MassYak85]

On 5/11/2017 at 4:27 PM, Janderson45 said:

 

I work in Watertown by the Charles... been trying to figure out a good spot to shore fish before/after office hours or during my lunch break.. where are you guys fishing or launching from?   The public park/launch from Nonantum road perhaps? 

 

As far as A1 goes... well I love that place.  For some reason in my head I always think I'm going to do better there than I actually end up doing though... it's just tough to really know where you should be fishing.  To be honest I've NEVER fished by the dam or even the deeper portion where the original pond was at all... I always paddle out either to the left or right of the island, most of my success has come when I go to the right of the island... but once you're out there in the stump field it's hard to know where to fish since it's all so similar.  I know the original river bed snakes it's way around out there to the right of the island, I've done well targeting the old river bed and it's easy to find if you electronics with you, it runs 6-9 feet deep and most of the water out there is 3-4 feet or less.   Last time out I tried to target the riverbed the same way I had this past fall and done well, but I didn't get a single bite out there on the wacky rig which is the same lure/location I caught em pretty good out there last fall.  I was fishing 10lb braid to 12lb FC leader on the wacky there in the fall and didn't have any bite/offs or issues losing fish due to the light line, so it works OK as long as you're staying out of the thicker stuff... but tossing it in heavy cover you've got to get pretty lucky to pull a good fish out. 

We launched from the public launch on Nonantum. That section of river can be kind of a pain if there is a lot of rowing activity (which there usually is). 

 

And I feel the same way about A1, it's got to be the "fishiest" looking place I go to, and I've had enough good days to keep me coming back. Plus I've had a few close encounters with some good ones. Had a good one break me off a while back with sheer strength wacky rigging (my fault from not retying after like 10 fish) but I got to feel it for a couple seconds and it turned my kayak before snapping my line. And then last fall I had one crush a Matlures bluegill and knock about 5 feet of slack into my line before torpedoing off and leaving one hell of a wake. But it's always been I either crush them or catch maybe 1 or 2. Two summers ago I had multiple 20-25 fish days targeting the clusters of lily pads with a wacky worm. And I've had some really fun days fishing with a frog back at the osprey nest. But like you said, it all kind of looks the same so if you can't put together some sort of pattern with the stumps or the pads, it can be tough. I rarely fish by the dam myself either unless it's from shore. But I would definitely recommend giving the spot right off the launch some time. The drop off on the left where the tall grass is can be good at times. I'm leaving for Virginia Sunday for the summer so I won't be able to fish A1 again until the fall. Catch some good ones for me! 

[je1946]

16 hours ago, Janderson45 said:

 

When you guys are fishing blade baits out there are you using them vertically over structure or casting/retrieving keeping it close to the bottom?  I need to start fishing some blade baits out there as I bought a bunch of them and I know the smallies and trout both love em equally 

We are casting.  I let them sink to bottom and lift just enough to let the blade vibrate.  Water temps are getting to the point where they aren't very effective.  Once temps get to 55 I use them a lot less.  Where they really shine is temps in the 40s.

[JAB50]

Same here! Early spring and mid to late fall! I also use silver buddy's and cicadas!