Massachusetts
A complete Fishing Forecast for the South Shore, North Shore, Boston Harbor and all the freshwater in Massachusetts.
May 10, 2012
Mackerel, that most favored striper candy, have moved in en masse. Not surprisingly there has been an uptick in what qualifies as a big striped bass, with fish up to 37 pounds now making an appearance. Water temperatures are finally positioned to bump the 50-degree mark and with that flounder are now feeding with purpose. … Read More
May 03, 2012
April showers may ultimately bring May flowers, but to those fishing our river systems they have brought on the bass. The irony of the about-face weather pattern is that water temperatures have changed little in the three weeks (Boston Harbor has had a +1 change) so in some cases even though fish are here uncharacteristically early, they are feeding only in spurts. All indicators point to bust out fishing once we get a little sun shining on our shoulders. Read More
April 26, 2012
The striper scuttlebutt is segueing from talk of schoolies to keepers – a phenomenon if there ever was one, considering the calendar. But not all remarkable catches that can be kept are being kept. There are photos, with the name of the angler, of a humongous laker in B&A Bait and Tackle Shop in West Boylston that has many whistling and commenting, “Yup…that was the new state record.” But, the sportsman released the massive forktail! Flounder fishing continues to improve and there is even an improved inshore cod fishery. Read More
April 19, 2012
To cut right to the chase – they’re here! While little linesider intel is trickling in from the South Shore, fresh fish covered with sea lice are gracing rivers all the way up to Gloucester. And there have even been whispers of “keepers” being bandied about. We even have the bottom rung covered as the first authenticated winter flounder of the year have been caught. Sweetwater is hardly taking a back seat to the bass and blackback bedlam as Wachusett, Quabbin, Winnipesauke and Sebago have been delivering slamming salmon action. Read More
April 12, 2012
In most years it’s a pretty safe bet that news of a 39-inch lake trout is going to be a tough one to beat for the mid-April Fishing Forecast. But then I got the call from a friend who was eye-balling a locally caught 45-inch striper! And this was days after I received another reliable report of two 40-inch linesiders taken on the North Shore! Welcome to the wacky world of 2012, where it seems as if the unusual is anything but. Read More
April 05, 2012
The theme for this forecast is going to take on a whole different dimension over the next few weeks as fisheries by the boatload open. With Wachusett ready to kick into gear on Saturday the 7th, Quabbin to follow on the 14th and Gulf Of Maine cod to open up on the 16th, things are sure to get mighty interesting. And can the first migratory schoolies be very far behind? Meanwhile for many it is hawg heaven as some huge largemouth bass appear to be pre-spawn bingeing. Read More
March 29, 2012
Most would cherish any sort of saltwater fishy feedback in late March, but double-digit numbers of stripers and a volume of mackerel that dwarfs that? And all taken from local waters? Welcome to the weird, wacky and wonderful spring of 2012. For some sweetwater stuff more sugary than cotton candy, bruiser bass are already being taken from the Wachusett watershed and the Bay States most prized freshwater body, the mighty Quabbin, is slated for an early season opening. Read More
March 22, 2012
Right up there with peepers peeping, blooms blooming and tree-buds budding is another bellwether of fishy fortunes, and that is river herring. Wednesday night the alewives in a Greater Boston river were described to me by a friend as “tons.” No doubt he was a bit over-amped by the alewives, but striper candy such as this and as voluminous as this can only mean that our seven-striped best friend can not be all that far behind. But in the meantime the stockies are fun, some are slamming salmon and smallies and there’s even a place where you can catch that first lake trout of the year. Read More
March 15, 2012
This is one time when the weather forecast and this fishing forecast both run contrary to the calendar. With sweet temps predicted for the weekend as well as the foreseeable future, if your friends get out and you don’t, you may wind up as green with envy as Saint Paddy Day’s beer. And with accounts of striped bass, flounder, cod and mackerel, this March not only feels like May, it fishes like it. Read More
March 08, 2012
That paramount patriot Paul Revere was famous for exclaiming, “The British are coming.” Had he been around today and worked for Masswildlife, he may have been inclined to shout, “The trout are coming…” In some cases, they are already here. In the brine, the holdover striper bite is just fine and smelt are still biting at Nut Island, where they’re even catching a few cod. However, contrary to the spring fling thing, they’re still making ice up north. Read More
March 01, 2012
One glance outside the window on Thursday served notice that winter was not over just yet. Anglers in New Hampshire and Maine are proving that point in another way - they’re still ice fishing! In the western part of the Bay State, the ice may be getting thinner but the fish are getting bigger. Open water options do abound including a bruiser largemouth bass bite in Metrowest and some terrific trout action as well. Read More
February 23, 2012
Word of the Atlantic sturgeon at the mouth of Charles served as interesting fodder for the media, but I’m optimistic that it is yet another indicator of the revitalization of the Harbor. After last season - when the ordinarily transient mackerel refused to leave, the flounder fishing bordered on incomparable and senior members of the smelt fraternity were ecstatic about their season – about the only thing missing has been an inshore cod fishery. Oh by the way, there have been a few of those caught from shore recently. Read More
February 16, 2012
If the claw marks on your walls are starting to talk to you, may I suggest a road trip - to Maine! The numbers really add up: 20-pound plus pike and ice depths averaging between 1-foot and 2-feet. And then there’s that little old matter of scant snow cover to trudge through. And if you’re still not sold, how about free fishing? Read More
February 09, 2012
It’s not often that February offers an open-water option to go along with hardwater possibilities, but depending on where you set your GPS that is exactly what is available. Metrowest anglers haven’t had use for their augers for a while but the ones that are tight to tiger trout and rainbows from ice-free ponds aren’t complaining. But if February to you just isn’t February without a frozen fix, you’ll find ample ice fishing out west and up north. Read More
February 02, 2012
G. Loomis made the expression “fear no fish” famous, but lately I’m in fear of fowl. I’ve been hearing the honking of geese at a Greater Boston pond where they departed in November. And on Thursday I witnessed the return of mergansers! I wonder if they are onto something. Fortunately they’re still ice fishing out west and they are drilling through 12 inches of ice in Maine. Read More