Eastern Ma & New England Area Fishing Reports

[Mr. Aquarium]

fished a plymouth pond saturday 6am-4pm. couple of dinks all fish 1-3lbs. my buddy and I both missed big fish. he had his PB larry snap him off in some brush. this was pushin 6lbs. i had a big fish looked 5ish jump and spit the hook

["hamma"]

Finally got the boat out for a test run today, fished monponsett lakes.,... found the females just off the spawning areas fished a rapala dt 16 perch pattern to find them and a black/blue jig and pig once I pinpointed the "highways"  all fish were caught in at least 10 feet of water (guesstimate). Most of the ladies had eggs still so the spawn is still on,  caught 11 fish and none under 4 lbs with the best pushing 6.5 (most 4 to 5+lbrs) I dont know what the temps were as my new lcr didnt work, (loose wire) and my primary lcr  i broke the transducer at the ramp before I launched DOH!  All fish were healthy and clean

 I saw some  fishing from kayaks and a few bassboats, guys I did talk with were catching males up shallow. I like the new ulterra trolling motor, kinda noisey, and it will take some getting used to. but the spotlock feature i really liked, it kept me on one good spot til I was satisfied i fished it thru without me having to "handle" the motor and it was windy there., the autopilot is a godsend too, never mind the deploy and stow. My back and leg were fine all day WOOHOOOO! I just cant wait til i fix the loose wire on the new helix so i can lock some waypoints and such,// but all in all? Im glad i dropped the $ and got what my health called for. Now if I can just fix the broken transducer issue and the loose wire I will be fishing nh  smallies soon.

[DogBone_384]

Hey Mike, just curious.... why are you secretive about locations you fish?  I find that MAF is like that.  I don't see much of that here.  

Thanks for your reply.

[MassYak85]

Wow Kieth! Sounds like an awesome day. 

 

I was debating going out this afternoon in my kayak but I was a little tired and didn't want to deal with anchoring in the wind. Looks like I should have gone out. 

[Broke bass fisherman]

Continue to pull large and small mouths out of the Charles near Watertown Dam. Perch have been making it difficult the last few days as they are filling all the holes I normal pull bass out of. Bass are on their beds now and have been hitting on reaction strikes and topwater. Killed my buzzbait today. All dinks, but on ultralight all of them are a challenge

 

Tight lines to you all

["hamma"]

11 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

Wow Kieth! Sounds like an awesome day. 

 

I was debating going out this afternoon in my kayak but I was a little tired and didn't want to deal with anchoring in the wind. Looks like I should have gone out. 

All considering it was a great first outing of the year, some setbacks, but at least I finally got to wet a line, catch some decent fish, and test out the new trolling motor,... The wind picked up around 1ish and the sun disappeared shortly after. I left at around 4 and they were still biting,..Id imagine with the weather thats  coming its going to be hit or miss for a few days

[Mr. Aquarium]

11 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

Hey Mike, just curious.... why are you secretive about locations you fish?  I find that MAF is like that.  I don't see much of that here.  

Thanks for your reply.

i dont like pressure on my lakes! ive put alot of time in to find these spots! yes i know im not the only one to fish these spot but i dont want to see 5-10 boats out there. ive had ponds get ruined due to pressure! there was a place! stull has big bass in there but word got out and the fishin isnt what it used to be! ive had days where we had 20lbs plus bags for smallies but those days are long. word got out and fishing went down hill! 
 

also people suck! they litter and trash the place! thats a good way to get a place shut down. not saying you trash the place but people do! 

oh if you have any questions about a spot! hit me up i have no problem helping people! 

[JG233]

 

15 hours ago, Keith "Hamma" Hatch said:

Finally got the boat out for a test run today, fished monponsett lakes.,... found the females just off the spawning areas fished a rapala dt 16 perch pattern to find them and a black/blue jig and pig once I pinpointed the "highways"  all fish were caught in at least 10 feet of water (guesstimate). Most of the ladies had eggs still so the spawn is still on,  caught 11 fish and none under 4 lbs with the best pushing 6.5 (most 4 to 5+lbrs) I dont know what the temps were as my new lcr didnt work, (loose wire) and my primary lcr  i broke the transducer at the ramp before I launched DOH!  All fish were healthy and clean

 I saw some  fishing from kayaks and a few bassboats, guys I did talk with were catching males up shallow. I like the new ulterra trolling motor, kinda noisey, and it will take some getting used to. but the spotlock feature i really liked, it kept me on one good spot til I was satisfied i fished it thru without me having to "handle" the motor and it was windy there., the autopilot is a godsend too, never mind the deploy and stow. My back and leg were fine all day WOOHOOOO! I just cant wait til i fix the loose wire on the new helix so i can lock some waypoints and such,// but all in all? Im glad i dropped the $ and got what my health called for. Now if I can just fix the broken transducer issue and the loose wire I will be fishing nh  smallies soon.

Woah. Real nice day. Glad to hear you're getting your tech issues worked out. 

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, Mike Dixon said:

i dont like pressure on my lakes! ive put alot of time in to find these spots! yes i know im not the only one to fish these spot but i dont want to see 5-10 boats out there. ive had ponds get ruined due to pressure! there was a place! stull has big bass in there but word got out and the fishin isnt what it used to be! ive had days where we had 20lbs plus bags for smallies but those days are long. word got out and fishing went down hill! 
 

also people suck! they litter and trash the place! thats a good way to get a place shut down. not saying you trash the place but people do! 

oh if you have any questions about a spot! hit me up i have no problem helping people! 

It is sad to see all the trash at some of these places. I do my best to pick up line people leave laying around, if nothing else so that birds and other animals don't get tangled in it. 

[Mr. Aquarium]

19 minutes ago, MassYak85 said:

It is sad to see all the trash at some of these places. I do my best to pick up line people leave laying around, if nothing else so that birds and other animals don't get tangled in it. 

yes me2, littering and poaching really tick me off

 

[DogBone_384]

6 hours ago, Mike Dixon said:

i dont like pressure on my lakes! ive put alot of time in to find these spots! yes i know im not the only one to fish these spot but i dont want to see 5-10 boats out there. ive had ponds get ruined due to pressure! there was a place! stull has big bass in there but word got out and the fishin isnt what it used to be! ive had days where we had 20lbs plus bags for smallies but those days are long. word got out and fishing went down hill! 
 

also people suck! they litter and trash the place! thats a good way to get a place shut down. not saying you trash the place but people do! 

oh if you have any questions about a spot! hit me up i have no problem helping people! 

I agree with your opinion about people, but not all of them s**k, and as far as littering, it's going to happen.  I always take a couple pieces of trash with me when I leave, whether or not it's mine. 

And it's fair that you want to keep your 'spots' yours.  You put the time in to find them, but I don't see a problem with sharing the ponds you fish at and let us amateurs figure out where the fish are.  I fish popular waters from Boston to the Plymouth and have never seen more than a handful of other folks fishing.

Anyhow, great to see you on this forum.  I find it a much friendlier and more informative than the other one we're on. Trouble makers are bounced quickly here.

Myself and a couple other members are going to try to get together a few times this Summer and fish in groups, be it kayak or canoe.  Consider yourself invited.

 

[JAB50]

Unfortunately, the small fee ruin it for the many. I've fished the ponds and lakes on Cape Cod my whole life. I can remember fishing Mashpee Wakeby, Wequaqhet,Long Pond Harwich late 80's and early 90's. It was great year round. Once the Federationand several other big money tournaments found out; those places got hammered. It's not the same. You still have some good days here and there. But, much less than was the norm. Sorry, but most ponds can only take so much fishing pressure. And as Mike said again, people leave trash and god knows what all over the place. There's a lot of places on the Cape now where new owners have petitioned the town to close it off to non residents. And the police are now really enforcing no town permits with pretty nice fines! 

[Mr. Aquarium]

21 hours ago, DogBone_384 said:

I agree with your opinion about people, but not all of them s**k, and as far as littering, it's going to happen.  I always take a couple pieces of trash with me when I leave, whether or not it's mine. 

And it's fair that you want to keep your 'spots' yours.  You put the time in to find them, but I don't see a problem with sharing the ponds you fish at and let us amateurs figure out where the fish are.  I fish popular waters from Boston to the Plymouth and have never seen more than a handful of other folks fishing.

Anyhow, great to see you on this forum.  I find it a much friendlier and more informative than the other one we're on. Trouble makers are bounced quickly here.

Myself and a couple other members are going to try to get together a few times this Summer and fish in groups, be it kayak or canoe.  Consider yourself invited.

 

thanks bud! i would love to meet up with ya and few other guys on here! im always down for making new friends 

if its a popular spot that people know of i dont mind telling em that i fished there! but those small gems i keep a secret! unless of course we are friends! i dont give out spots on line for the whole world to find out! 

[MassYak85]

Fished A1 in my kayak for a few hours this afternoon. Lots of 2-3+ pounders up shallow, but none were on beds, they were just cruising around. Brought my outriggers so I was able to stand up and do some sight fishing. Enticed one around 2lbs to take a wacky rig. Got another between 1-2 near some pads and a dink near a laydown. All on wacky rigs. The bluegills seemed to be spawning and I noticed one bass that may have been approaching 4lbs camping out amoungst them. She kind of slugishly chased a few around but didn't seem real aggressive. Wouldn't take my worm either. I wanted to fish a little deeper to see if I could get any post spawn females but the wind really kicked up. I broke my make-shift stake-out pole in half (it was an 8 foot paint roller extension), pulling it out of the bottom, and A1 has so many hangups and weeds I didn't bother bringing an anchor, so I didn't really have any way to stay put. I tried to do a little drifting but I was getting blown over 50 feet in just one cast so I gave up on that and decided to call it quits. 

["hamma"]

A-1 Used to be phenominal, thats one of those pounded places thats not what it was in the 80's. If I remember correctly a black/blue jig and pig ruled there,.and the small treeline just before the flooded timber off to the right from the ramp was hog heaven,...Last time i was there I got maybe 3  4lbrs off those trees and considered that sad.

 I understand all to well about secrecy, Mass has alot of bass anglers and once the word is out its just a matter of time before the lakes either off limits, or the asians fished it out with shiners, or the launch is trashed and has a locked gate. 

I wish this wasnt the norm here but it is what it is,. when i find a hidden gem, I dont tell anyone, or take anyone there, PERIOD.,.... decent lakes that people already fish and know of I have no problem sharing info about. 

 Another reason I love Maine

[JAB50]

I live in Maryland now. Work in Washington D.C. since 1997. Still get back up to New England to fish about 3 times a year. Maine had some really good lakes and ponds. And not just for smallies either. We have a friend who's family has a house on one. I've seen 8+lb pictures of largemouth they've caught there! 

[DogBone_384]

Met JG233 at Ponkie this morning. Surface temps started in the mid 60s and finished @ 2:30 just under 70. Saw a lot of empty beds by the beach. The wind was light from the SW.

Overall a very good day on the kayaks. I managed 6 to the boat and lost a few close to the 'yak, so they don't count.  One bass & one pickerel liked my top water, everyone decided soft baits were better.  Pickerel outnumbered my bass.  All fish were a little skinny.  

It got really slow after lunch, but I can't complain.

Now that it's Summer it's time to to try to get some groups together.

[MassYak85]

1 hour ago, Keith "Hamma" Hatch said:

A-1 Used to be phenominal, thats one of those pounded places thats not what it was in the 80's. If I remember correctly a black/blue jig and pig ruled there,.and the small treeline just before the flooded timber off to the right from the ramp was hog heaven,...Last time i was there I got maybe 3  4lbrs off those trees and considered that sad.

 I understand all to well about secrecy, Mass has alot of bass anglers and once the word is out its just a matter of time before the lakes either off limits, or the asians fished it out with shiners, or the launch is trashed and has a locked gate. 

I wish this wasnt the norm here but it is what it is,. when i find a hidden gem, I dont tell anyone, or take anyone there, PERIOD.,.... decent lakes that people already fish and know of I have no problem sharing info about. 

 Another reason I love Maine

A1 certainly does get a lot of pressure, it's actually worse during the winter. My profile picture is actually one of my flags on A1 during the last time me and my dad went out ice fishing this season, looking at the west shoreline. On a busy day there might be over 50 people out ice fishing. The pond looks like swiss cheese after everyone leaves. We saw some people pull a couple big ones out of there through the ice this year though. No idea about the actual size but I'm pretty sure the guys had big golden shiners rigged up and we could hear them screaming 500 feet away. I've talked to guys at the ramp that said they got 8-10 pounders out of there back in the day, not sure how credible as many of them were "I forgot my scale" stories, but I don't doubt it. 

Also, was it clogged with weeds back in the day or is that a recent thing? I mean, during the heat of the summer you can have 75% of the pond, bottom to surface, absolutely choked with weeds or lily pads. Nice for frogging but terrible for anything with treble hooks. 

 

["hamma"]

10 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

A1 certainly does get a lot of pressure, it's actually worse during the winter. My profile picture is actually one of my flags on A1 during the last time me and my dad went out ice fishing this season, looking at the west shoreline. On a busy day there might be over 50 people out ice fishing. The pond looks like swiss cheese after everyone leaves. We saw some people pull a couple big ones out of there through the ice this year though. No idea about the actual size but I'm pretty sure the guys had big golden shiners rigged up and we could hear them screaming 500 feet away. I've talked to guys at the ramp that said they got 8-10 pounders out of there back in the day, not sure how credible as many of them were "I forgot my scale" stories, but I don't doubt it. 

Also, was it clogged with weeds back in the day or is that a recent thing? I mean, during the heat of the summer you can have 75% of the pond, bottom to surface, absolutely choked with weeds or lily pads. Nice for frogging but terrible for anything with treble hooks. 

 

There was some weeds there.  but,..not so choked. as far as the stories? There were some hogs there in the late 80's right thru the 90's,.. When I first started fishing it you could "almost" count on hooking a 8-10, Getting it to the boat? with all that wood? proved to be a task. When the wind was right, I did however boat a few where I quoted "hog heaven", that spot offered deeper water in front of the wood.,  so it was a good bet they'd head deep after hookup. Kinda like one of the few spots in there that you had a chance at boating a pig. Those days are long gone now,... If your out in all them laydowns and hooked a pig your chances dwindled, Hence why so many ice fish there, odds are now in the anglers favor. 

[timcauliffe]

Lost some swimbaits close to shore/fishing from shore at Lake Chauncy that I would love to retrieve that snagged on some shallow underwater structure. Can't get my boat out for a bit because of a new baby in the house ().

Anyone willing to help? Can reward with lures, etc. I know exactly where they are.

[Mr. Aquarium]

6 hours ago, timcauliffe said:

Lost some swimbaits close to shore/fishing from shore at Lake Chauncy that I would love to retrieve that snagged on some shallow underwater structure. Can't get my boat out for a bit because of a new baby in the house ().

Anyone willing to help? Can reward with lures, etc. I know exactly where they are.

ill do it if a pats bait is the reward! hahahah! 

[timcauliffe]

16 hours ago, Mike Dixon said:

ill do it if a pats bait is the reward! hahahah! 

If that was the reward, I would say forget it - leave them there 

It's just a couple Real Prey's and a Hudd. Luckily, I work with Joe at Real Prey, so they are replaceable, but losing them always sucks especially when you know exactly where they are!

[JG233]

I made it out twice this week: fished Ponkie with @DogBone_384 on Tuesday and caught about 8 fish, half pickrel, the other half largemouth--a picture of the biggest of the bass is below.

I also fished Santuit yesterday with a friend. We did well on numbers, but all were pretty small. I caught about 20 fish, again a mix of pickrel and largemouth. 

Both days were great. I fished all wacky worms and grubs to great effect. 

[JAB50]

You fished Santiut on the Cape? You should've looked for beds. Now, the smallies could still be on them on some ponds down there still. But, some good places to fish down there are mystic middle, Johns pond, Peters and Ashubel. If your fishing from kayak or smaller Jon or v hull boat. 

[JG233]

Thanks for the recommendations. There are no smallies in Santuit. We saw lots of beds, but no bass on them. The bluegill, on the other hand, are in full spawn and kicking up a ruckus against the shores.