Fishing Sucks here

[1984isNOW]

What up y'all - I live in MA been fishing for 25 years and can't wait until my 2.5 year old daughter is old enough to handle waiting for a fish to bite so I can get a combo in her hands - I already bought it for her haha. This is the worst part of the country to fish and it breaks my heart that I let my once in a lifetime fish get away in Maine. I guess I'll keep trying, although I often feel like why bother because of that.

 

Much love yall,

peace

[TnRiver46]

Welcome, we have some members that catch a lot of nice fish in Massachusetts

[GaryH]

Welcome aboard restless in Ma. Good times ahead with your daughter. 

 

[whitwolf]

Welcome!

[LrgmouthShad]

4 hours ago, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

Much love yall,

Back at ya! Welcome! We can try to offer some help for your rough fishing, lots of guys very knowledgeable here.

[Log Catcher]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[GRiver]

Hi from the Sunshine State of Fl 

[islandbass]

Welcome from the pac nw. 

[Swamp Girl]

Do tell the story of the lost fish. I lived in Mass, but now live in Maine. 

[Jmilburn76]

Welcome to Bass Resource!

[padlin]

Welcome from the other end of the state where the fishing isn't bad.

[Bluebasser86]

Welcome!

[Chris Catignani]

Welcome...we all lose the fish of a life time....usually more than once.

[1984isNOW]

@padlin Yeah fishing the Berkshires ain't too bad from what I hear, NY got some good spots worth a trip.

 

On 9/10/2022 at 10:06 AM, ol'crickety said:

Do tell the story of the lost fish. I lived in Mass, but now live in Maine. 

I'll post the story in the appropriate forum and tag you.

 

Thanks for the welcome ya'll - hopefully something good comes from all this

 

Much love

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

@PUTitinYOURmouthFISH:  I may be missing something, but not sure where in MA you’re located.  I will say that western MA has a bunch of ponds and lakes which produce decent fish.  Don’t know if you’ve thought of this, but if you go to:

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-pond-maps, there is some decent info on lakes and ponds throughout the state. Usually includes a map plus info on the resident species.  Some of the stuff is outdated, but slowly the state is updating.  I’ve found it to be useful for finding fishing holes.

 

(First time I’ve tried copying and pasting a link so if you click and get sent off into the ether, when you get back just go to mass.gov and search for “ponds” or “lakes”.)

Edited September 13, 2022 by GrumpyOlPhartte
Sux being functionally illiterate.

[JG233]

3 words: fish the Q ?

[MassBass]

Welcome, but rather harsh words for 'bassachusetts'. There are some big rivers that offer noteworthy opportunities for smallmouth, largemouth, and other species; such as the Connecticut, Merrimack, and Charles. There are ponds with big bass potential all over the place. The sea is close with striper and bluefish inshore. Try to figure it out the fish are there.

[Deeare]

Try the wachusett res.   Lake trout.  Smallies and salmon.    Oh my!   If you need info pm me.  

[Bluebasser86]

Just saw a picture of a DD bass caught the past week or two from up that way. 

[1984isNOW]

Thanks for the tips and warm welcomes y'all. I will say, I have never heard the term bassachusetts in my life. I do know that the further west you go the better the fishing is in this state. Wachusett is over an hour away and Quabbin over 2 hours, only shore fishing at Wachusett and if you don't know where to go its just a waste of time. Quabbin is gigantic and has the same issue, even if you rent a boat.

 

And its not that there are ZERO big fish here, but percentage wise the likelihood of catching a biggun is significantly lower here than most parts of the country, but without a significant population of smallies to make up for it. SMallies are in very specific waters around here. 

 

And living in the north shore there is practically nothing for me here. Merrimack has a good reputation, but it killed a couple of kids and a mom last month and Iv'e heard that kayakers paddle at their own risk there because it is such a dangerous river to traverse. What I've literally heard is kayakers don't kayak there haha.

 

If anybody knows any spots in North East MA I'd sure appreciate it, thanks y'all.

[MassBass]

When the Merrimack is low it is easily fishable by foot. The first dam isnt until Lawrence so from Plum Island to Lawrence is all bank fishable with consideration of the tide and water conditions. Where those people passed at Deer Island the current is very swift, and the tide is faster because it is still close to the ocean. I wouldn't let it scare you from exploring the fishery. The fall bite can be fire for smallmouth with micro stripers mixed in. There were years when it was said it was the best smallmouth fishery in the state. There is also a substantial Pike fishery that has become well known now. It is a big waterbody, the kind where if you want to put the time in, you won't need to go anywhere else. I am not going to say where to go and how to fish, I am just reccomending that the river is worth an honest effort to figure out.

[1984isNOW]

@MassBass Thanks for the insight my man, really appreciate it. When you say considering water conditions do you just mean the like temp and high/low tide? I'm clueless fishing a river even how to approach it to find any amount of success.

 

You're saying fish between the dam and the ocean? Is there any place on the river safe for kayaking?

 

Thanks again

[MassBass]

On 9/25/2022 at 7:18 PM, PUTitinYOURmouthFISH said:

@MassBass Thanks for the insight my man, really appreciate it. When you say considering water conditions do you just mean the like temp and high/low tide? I'm clueless fishing a river even how to approach it to find any amount of success.

 

You're saying fish between the dam and the ocean? Is there any place on the river safe for kayaking?

 

Thanks again

So for example most of the summer the Merrimack valley was in mild drought conditions. This makes the river very low, even more so at low tide. Above the dam it seems like there is always alot of water regardless of recent precipitation. If you choose to paddle, the current will greatly effect you. When I did it I would go upstream as far as I could, then work back down to where i put in. You have to be a strong kayaker or rower to make headway. So is it safe, yes if you are a capable kayaker. Maybe try kayaking the river without any fishing gear first so you can feel it out and look for spots. 

[Smells like fish]

Welcome!! Great name too!!! 

[Darren.]

Welcome aboard!