quabbin reservoir MA

[ErikmonBillsfon]

Any one fish the quabbin? I never have and I have been interested in renting the boats they have there. I would be targeting smallmouth. I just moved to speingfield, MA so it would be the southern side. Thanks for any help and good luck this season

 

i currently fish alot in Lee, Ma at Goose pond. if anyone else is around there and looking for a fishing buddy my gfs parents have a nice lakehouse.

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

yep great spot!  ive fished there a few times! last time i caught my PB smallie of 6.9lbs on a topwater!  great place big largemouth big smallies. go with a some one who knows the place! its big  and you can get lost very easy, every thing looks the same. no houses and only trees. looks like your in northern maine or canada. its beautiful. hills and mountains, all woods. deep clear water. you need to know where to find fish! theres a lot of water out there

theres also a ton of regulations about the place so read up on rules and look at the map

[ErikmonBillsfon]

ya im used to small tidal creeks and close quarters combat in ponds from a canoe. I only fish shallow and i dont know anyone local as i recently moved here from central CT. I think im going to rent a boat next weekend. thaanks for the response, the search tool is hard but i googled it and found a lot of older topics from this forum.

[Mr. Aquarium]

if you are renting get there super early!!! gates open up at 6ish theres a line by 5am. when i go up there! i sleep in my car so i already have a spot in line

 

[DogBone_384]

I fished the Quabbin a few times last year with Fishing Rhino and JG233.  We rented/launched from fishing area #3.  

 

Boat & parking was $46 if you're younger than dirt. If you're older than dirt, I believe it's $23.  

 

Like Swamp Hawgs says, get there early on weekends.

[Janderson45]

I'll be out there on Saturday-- Launching from Gate 8 (Fishing area 1).  Looking to mainly target landlocked salmon and lake trout, but will also probably catch a few smallmouth.  I only fish gate 8 in the early spring and fall, in the summer when I'm hunting smallmouth fishing area's 2 & 3 are typically much more conducive to smallmouth fishing.  

 

As SwampHogs noted- the Quabbin is expansive, with lots of water to cover.. very deep and very clear water.  Going with someone who knows it well is definitely a good idea, but if you can't do that it's understandable.  At the very least you should have a good topography map and a GPS/Sonar unit to help you locate fish... there are very few clues from looking at the surface of the water as to what lies underneath you.. you might be in 25' of water or you might be in 125' of water and you'd really have no idea without a good sonar/gps/map.  Also, fish in the quabbin relate almost entirely to structure, points, ledges, humps, etc.  There is very little in the form of cover (weed beds, stumps, etc.).  Finding rock-piles on flats and fishing main lake structure is generally going to be your best bet.

 

If you are still planning on going and renting a boat this weekend (it's opening weekend) You'll need to get there VERY early to obtain a rental boat... My car will be parked in line on Friday overnight to save my spot for Saturday morning.  Rentals always go quick on the weekends, and opening weekend is just that much worse than any other weekend.  I fish Gate 8 every year on opening day with a group of friends in our own little "tournament" setting.

 

Good luck, and feel free to ask more questions either here or via PM if there's more info I can provide you with.  Despite some rather annoying restrictions the Quabbin is in my opinion the best freshwater fishery in Massachusetts.

[JG233]

@Will Wetline knows a ton about the Quabbin. You should search through his posts. He also recommended a good map to work with: www.necartographics.com and spend $7.95(?) for their very good Quabbin Reservation map.

 

Good luck!

["hamma"]

Was there monday and the lot attendant stated that the maps are at the visitors center now, so you will have to inquire there for a map.

[Damn Yankee]

Maybe this will help.https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/watersupply/watershed/maps/quabfish.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjqk6r2v7PTAhWLOyYKHRWYDTAQFghUMBA&usg=AFQjCNHclOOJn4Su_zdxflS_J7egM2V4Dw&sig2=ARaitPXynmwYDxBgVfOIoQ

["hamma"]

That map on d**n yankee's post is also found in the new "Quabbin guide" they will provide you at the ramp areas,... I was handed one when I asked about the depth maps. Its the depth maps I was looking for,.. as last I knew?,... you could buy one at the ramps,..(which makes sense). But they are only available at the Quabbin visitor center now,.

 So if you want a "Quabbin depth map"????,.. no more "at the ramp availability"

[Janderson45]

I'm not sure if maybe they have better maps than that.. but the one linked here isn't terribly useful.  The water levels fluctuate a lot, and the complexity of the underwater structure isn't even close to being shown on the maps I've seen the state provide...

 

I use my Navionics + mapping chip with my lowrance sonar/gps .. however if you don't have a portable gps/sonar that you can bring with you Navionics also offers (for a small fee I believe) a web application that gives you access to all of their community edited sonar charts... it's what I use to research a lot of places before I show up to fish them.. the Quabbin is a big beast and if you don't have an idea of what you're looking for as far as structure to fish before you arrive it's very easy to get caught up motoring around and searching for what seems like a good place to fish.  If you're not in a productive area out there you can fish all day and not even get a whiff...

 

On a side note, I think I'll be heading out again on Sunday if anyone would care to join me.  Both of my regular fishing partners are busy this weekend, so I'm planning on fishing solo for now.. probably out of gate 43 but also considering gate 31.  Going to troll for salmon/trout early and then switch over to targeting smallmouth as the day drags on.  Weather is supposed to be 50 degrees overcast and a slight (3-5mph) north wind... sounds like good quabbin conditions to me!

[ErikmonBillsfon]

@Janderson45 i have to go to my girlfriends lakehouse in Lee, MA and help with puttin the boats in on sunday but good luck. I caught a smallmouth in CT today so the fish are active. I definiatly need to go to quabbin soon i just love fishing banks, docks, and structure in small bodies of water. 

I also need to invest in electronic sonar. Any one know of any lower end sonar fish finders or informative threads to help me learn how to fish deep.