Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[Meowmicks]

Went back out to Neponset Res on the kayak for a few hours today.

The spot that was productive for me last time had no action, threw a squarebull 3.5, small lipless, and a jerkbait but no bites so headed to the bank. Found a small 11.5" bass and a few decent pickerel pitching laydowns with a pitboss.

Wind picked up and I had to reposition so started throwing the jerkbait while drifting and got a white perch on it.

Wind picked up some more so back to the squarebull when I got another and the last largemouth of the day up shallow. A couple more pickerel later and 13-14mph sustained winds I called it a day.

 

Overall it was fun, minus the wind. The wind sucks.

 

[MassYak85]

2 hours ago, Meowmicks said:

Went back out to Neponset Res on the kayak for a few hours today.

The spot that was productive for me last time had no action, threw a squarebull 3.5, small lipless, and a jerkbait but no bites so headed to the bank. Found a small 11.5" bass and a few decent pickerel pitching laydowns with a pitboss.

Wind picked up and I had to reposition so started throwing the jerkbait while drifting and got a white perch on it.

Wind picked up some more so back to the squarebull when I got another and the last largemouth of the day up shallow. A couple more pickerel later and 13-14mph sustained winds I called it a day.

 

Overall it was fun, minus the wind. The wind sucks.

 

Wind can be nice if you're on the bank or in a boat. It's the Bane of my existence when kayak fishing. 

 

4 hours ago, Frezzy said:

 

I got my first two swimbait fish beating the bank in my waders over at Whitehall.  Couple of 2 pounders on an 86 Baits doomrider glide.  No giants, but I'm hooked on the big baits.  Just a little warm up before the absolute beatdown I'm going to put on some brown bass this weekend.  

I've slowly sprinkled in big baits over the last few years but I'm like 75-25 now it's just so fun. I can't describe it but like, grinding out tough days is easier and I have more confidence sticking to a few baits. Whereas conventional I'll switch baits like 20 times on a tough day and leave the lake scratching my head clueless. 

[MassBass]

I see big baits like glides and Hudds as just another tool that has its time and place. You don't have to go all in everything or nothing and get skunked for months just to eventually get a pb. Last year I started throwing big glides and I was amazed at the drawing/pulling power of the bait. You can really lure a fish out of cover to come bite the bait. Ill admit I am fairly new to big baits. I have a big ole Hudd but I don't fish it much. I will not quit rattlebaits and spinnerbaits to only throw big baits, but obviously big baits have an important niche for LM (and SM). My goal to get better with big baits is to better recognize when and where to throw them, not to only be throwing them.    

[Mr. Aquarium]

I love big swimbaits, but I’m either fishing a topwater,  a shallow diver or a big soft bait.   When it warms up it’s mostly hardbaits, topwaters and shallow divers.   Love big wakes. That’s my favorite 

[MassYak85]

2 hours ago, MassBass said:

I see big baits like glides and Hudds as just another tool that has its time and place. You don't have to go all in everything or nothing and get skunked for months just to eventually get a pb. Last year I started throwing big glides and I was amazed at the drawing/pulling power of the bait. You can really lure a fish out of cover to come bite the bait. Ill admit I am fairly new to big baits. I have a big ole Hudd but I don't fish it much. I will not quit rattlebaits and spinnerbaits to only throw big baits, but obviously big baits have an important niche for LM (and SM). My goal to get better with big baits is to better recognize when and where to throw them, not to only be throwing them.    

Agreed I'm never gonna stop fishing conventional. But I upsize when I can. I might fish a crankdown hard swimbait as a search lure instead of a chatterbait or crank for example. Topwater I'd rather be fishing a bigger wake than a spook. But jigs will always have their place as well as small baitfish imitators like tailspins and blade baits. Everything's a tool but you can upsize when it makes sense.

[bass.slayer69]

On 3/30/2021 at 7:20 PM, Meowmicks said:

Went back out to Neponset Res on the kayak for a few hours today.

The spot that was productive for me last time had no action, threw a squarebull 3.5, small lipless, and a jerkbait but no bites so headed to the bank. Found a small 11.5" bass and a few decent pickerel pitching laydowns with a pitboss.

Wind picked up and I had to reposition so started throwing the jerkbait while drifting and got a white perch on it.

Wind picked up some more so back to the squarebull when I got another and the last largemouth of the day up shallow. A couple more pickerel later and 13-14mph sustained winds I called it a day.

 

Overall it was fun, minus the wind. The wind sucks.

 

Would you recommend Neponset? I have heard mixed reviews and it is somewhat out of the way for me to get to so I was wondering if a trip there would be worth it...

[Mr. Aquarium]

Caught a beautiful brown a few days ago. Caught a beautiful sucker yesterday 

[Meowmicks]

11 hours ago, bass.slayer69 said:

Would you recommend Neponset? I have heard mixed reviews and it is somewhat out of the way for me to get to so I was wondering if a trip there would be worth it...

Meh Its not too bad, not a lot of shore cover to pitch to, very shallow, and lots of weeds. I'd bet you have better places closer to you. The pickerel are out of control there.

 

There's an upcoming kayak tourney there on the 10th so just trying to figure the place out a little.

[MassYak85]

Had the day off so gave it a go this morning. Ice on the guides, slipping antireverse, and real feel temps in the teens....yea, it was cold. Nothing to show for it either. My rule is usually cold, wind, and rain. I'll deal with 2 of the 3 but not all 3. Well I guess I need a new rule...if the air temp minus the wind speed is below 20 I probably should find something else to do lol. I was mentally defeated before even making a cast. First time in a long time I didn't actually enjoy being on the water fishing. 

[Don51]

Ice fishing without the ice! I do not miss those days.  ?

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, Don51 said:

Ice fishing without the ice! I do not miss those days.  ?

I'm pretty stubborn and will force myself to fish in some pretty miserable conditions. I enjoy the grind for the most part. This was the first time I just sat there for a couple minutes like, "am I even enjoying myself right now? Nope, time to go". 

[Don51]

I have been out in the yak on more than one occasion when it started snowing! It is not enjoyable when your fingers are totally numb!  ?

[BigEyedF11sh]

Got bit at Maquan this afternoon, 15.75 on the ketch board which I imagine is the slight upper end of average at that pond.  only out for a couple hours so I’ll take it! 
 

Vision 110+1 jr in bone white got the bite in 4 feet of water. Water temp 52. 
 

still hunting for that spring lunker! Gonna make some trips south this weekend/upcoming week.

[Don51]

BigEyed, try next door at Indian Head. That is a good cold water spot. At least it used to be.  

[BigEyedF11sh]

12 hours ago, Don51 said:

BigEyed, try next door at Indian Head. That is a good cold water spot. At least it used to be.  

Was there last week! Got 2 trips in and 2 fish, one dink and one 2lber chunking a Chartreuse Double Colorado bladed spinnerbait around in the deep(er) middle. Couldn’t really figure out a pattern. Interesting place I like it a lot, tons of good wood around the whole shoreline that I think will be really nice in a week or two. Water temp was 55-56 over there!

 

Don, did you see the 9.5’er taken out of Hobart?? Kid hooked a live bluegill I couldn’t believe it. Figures I was there once a week all winter ?

[Don51]

No, I did not see that. Where was it posted? Did he release it?   The bass at IH can be anywhere. Hit the 2 coves in the spring. 

[DogBone_384]

Quabbin's opening this year!  Boat rentals start mid May.

 

https://www.mass.gov/locations/quabbin-reservoir

[MassYak85]

Been a tough bite for me. I've been getting a couple bass every time out but they've been small (<2lbs). The only consistency I've found is a jerkbait worked in areas outside spawning coves and flats. Which, makes sense but I'd expect to have run into at least a couple females. Do you guys find they stage a little deeper than where the males are? I've tried slowing down and yo-yoing a lipless or blade bait on the bottom near deeper drops but not too much luck. 

[BigEyedF11sh]

15 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

Been a tough bite for me. I've been getting a couple bass every time out but they've been small (<2lbs). The only consistency I've found is a jerkbait worked in areas outside spawning coves and flats. Which, makes sense but I'd expect to have run into at least a couple females. Do you guys find they stage a little deeper than where the males are? I've tried slowing down and yo-yoing a lipless or blade bait on the bottom near deeper drops but not too much luck. 

I've had about the same experience on my locals.  Have only put down my jerkbait to pick up the spinnerbait.  Some of the bigger water ponds I've been fishing are still pretty lifeless shallow; no fish, no bait, etc...Still finding most of my fish in the 8-10 foot transition zone which makes me think we're a little bit early for the big females to make their push to traditional staging areas.

 

Partly just thinking outloud cause i got my butt kicked today but it felt like this weekend's cold front threw everything off a bit.  Got a really nice steady and stable warming trend incoming the next couple days tho.

14 hours ago, Don51 said:

No, I did not see that. Where was it posted? Did he release it?   The bass at IH can be anywhere. Hit the 2 coves in the spring. 

I believe he did; My buddy sent the pic to me from a Whitman Facebook group.  Might have to pickup a big bluegill swimbait.

[Dunks N Dinks]

Weekend/Derby Recap:

Fished the annual Easter Bunny Open on LPH Saturday - Cold front made for a pretty tough puzzle with pre-spawners definitely moving back and suspending to a degree. Caught 2 small keepers up shallow off a brush-pile in the AM with a jerk-bait, then couldn't get bit for the following 3hrs. Had to make some adjustments and ended up marking some fish in 28-32fow on steeper structure breaks. Ended up filling out the limit with 30mins to go on deep finesse swim-bait as the wind picked up out of the north. Weighed in 13lbs n change for a 4th place finish, just 0.7lbs from 1st. The field had a pretty tough day too, just 5 limits out of 17 boats. Big fish was a 4.01 smallie. Most guys said they got fish deeper than 20fow on blade-baits or finesse plastics. Water was 44-45 degrees.

 

Sunday I got out on Wequaq with my dad for 4hours in the afternoon. Water was 48-50 degrees in the southern end. We ended up getting 7-8 bass and another 10 pickerel. Wind-blown rock and grass mixture seemed like the best concentration of fish, with 8-12fow being the most productive. Two 2lb smallies and a 2.5lb larry all came on a ned rig dragged in the rock/grass mix. 
 

 

 

[MassYak85]

Got out with my dad in SE MA. We started early hitting Agawan Mill. I broke off a nice fish earlier in the year there and wanted some payback so I grinded it out with the swimbaits to no avail. Pops got a few pickerel on a jerkbait but no signs of bass. I called an audible and we decided to finish the day at The Nip. That saved our day. Winds were absolutely howling when we got there. Not ideal considering we have never fished there before and have no idea where to start. Well it turns out that wind was a blessing. We loaded the boat with 8 healthy bass between 2 and 3.5 lbs. It was the first time this year I've felt dialed in to a pattern. The wind let up a hair and shifted a bit around 4 and that was the end of our bite. I also got a few very healthy pickerel with one being just shy of a pin.

[gjfisher]

16 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

Got out with my dad in SE MA. We started early hitting Agawan Mill. I broke off a nice fish earlier in the year there and wanted some payback so I grinded it out with the swimbaits to no avail. Pops got a few pickerel on a jerkbait but no signs of bass. I called an audible and we decided to finish the day at The Nip. That saved our day. Winds were absolutely howling when we got there. Not ideal considering we have never fished there before and have no idea where to start. Well it turns out that wind was a blessing. We loaded the boat with 8 healthy bass between 2 and 3.5 lbs. It was the first time this year I've felt dialed in to a pattern. The wind let up a hair and shifted a bit around 4 and that was the end of our bite. I also got a few very healthy pickerel with one being just shy of a pin.

Nice!  The Nip has nice fish but it can be tough in the summer.  

 

I went out for the first time this year last Friday on the Charles in Waltham.  Got two bass on a swimbait and one yellow perch on a jerkbait.  It felt good to set hook on some fish first time in about four months!  Got out again in the cold on Saturday morning at a small local pond but got skunked!

[Mr. Aquarium]

Went out bowfin fishing Saturday. Been trying for 4 years to get one, finally did it. Check that off the bucket list!  
 Fished for a couple hours. Got 3 bowfin, bunch of yellow perch and a nice bullhead cat. 

[BigEyedF11sh]

Finally got into my first 4+ pound class fish of the year down on Great Herring in Plymouth this week! Monday was grey, windy,  and nasty but the bite was on.  Got the 19.5 incher first and then this healthy 16 incher who was trying to spit his breakfast back at me. Both on a copper-bladed grey and black jackhammer with a 3.3 inch keitech swing impact trailer.  

Wind blown shore has been hot for me as of lately. Water temp 52°. Can anyone identify what she was chomping on? I theorize it was a big herring but it could have been a yellow perch.

 

 

[MassYak85]

@BigEyedF11sh Nice! Yea I was out Monday too. Those are the kind of days you hit the water thinking "man maybe I should have just stayed home" but leave thanking yourself that you didn't. The wind blown shores were on fire. I got them on a chatterbait and spinnerbait. I stuck with bolder colors on Nip cause of the heavily stained water.

 

That looks like a Herring to me though. I've had bass at webster cough up smaller landlocked ones before.