Massachusetts Fishing Report – April 2, 2020

Along with the somber themes of toilet paper pandemonium, social distancing and the mask-wearing masses, April brings with it a lot of uncertainty along with a ray of hope. The bad news is that some freshly stocked water bodies are being closed to the public and no determination has been made as of yet on whether Wachusett or Quabbin Reservoir will open as originally scheduled. The good news is that as of now haddock season is a go on April 15th and by the end of the month, fresh schoolies will energize the Bay State!

Massachusetts Fishing Report

Pete of Belsan Bait and Tackle in Scituate said that herring watchers are reporting steadily increasing numbers of alewives making the upstream run in rivers such as the North River/Indian Head River. Odds are that by the end of the month there will be a certain seven-striped predator very much interested in those herring as well! Many are gearing up in anticipation of the opening of the haddock season on April 15th. Due to less demand for seafood, there appears to be less commercial effort and with fewer nets to dodge, we might have more haddock and just maybe even flounder inshore. Trout fishing from Plymouth through the Cape remains the stuff of legend, with trophy brown trout encounters almost routine! Gold and copper spoons appear to be the go-to offerings. Pete’s also been seeing impressive pictures of gape-jawed pickerel and bass from Jacobs Pond and the Aaron River Reservoir.

Lisa from Fore River Fishing Tackle in Quincy also has customers who are catching heretofore unimaginable trout from Jamaica Pond as well as Long Pond in Plymouth. For a close spot to tempt a trout Whitman’s Pond fits the bill with rainbows, even if the size is not all that impressive.

What is the very definition of impressive, is the size of the brown trout stocked in the Metrowest area according to Eric from Lunkers in Ashland! How does a 10-pound broodstock brown taken by an 11-year-old out of Hopkinton Reservoir sound? Or almost-common catches of big brown trout up to 7 pounds from Ashland Reservoir? The pictures/reports have proven too tempting for Eric who is now putting in a few casting hours most evenings after closing time. Not all is about trout however as some are catching some real hawg “Larrys” out of the Sudbury River on jigs and jerkbaits. Fairhaven Bay has no shortage of crappie and when you get into a school the catching is often non-stop! Downsize your gear to ultra-light and four-pound test and twitch a tiny finish swimmer and you’ll find those crappy to be incredibly scrappy. Walden Pond is proving to be a real fish-bowl as a shiner under a float is as likely to be gulped by a smallmouth bass as it is brown trout.

Eddie of B&A Bait in West Boylston informed me that authorities had yet to give him the green light on opening day regarding the Chu. The message on the DCR website as of this writing read as follows: “Watershed Fishing Update: No decision has yet been made about Opening Day for fishing at Quabbin Reservoir (scheduled for April 18) and Wachusett/Sudbury Reservoirs (scheduled for April 4). Updated information will be posted on this website.” I placed a call to DCR Headquarters looking for an update but as you would expect no-one was there to answer and I did not get a return call. The only sensible thing to do is watch their website for the decision before heading down there. I’m hoping that there is not a parking closure as there is on many state beaches.

Rod from Flagg’s Fly and Tackle in Orange was as perplexed about opening day in Quabbin as everyone when we spoke. What he did say was that the few who are steering clear of the “trout-nado” in Lake Mattawa and Comet Pond are finding lightly pressured largemouth bass by the dam side of Lake Rohunta. However, in spite of the attention, the catching of browns, rainbows, brookies and the occasional tiger trout is still something special! For something entirely different have a go at the Holyoke section of the Connecticut River.

Patrick Barone of Charter The Berkshires continues to have luck there with walleye and pike as well as the occasional smallmouth bass. Stick to downstream areas below the dam in South Hadley stretch.

No sooner did Donny from Merrimack Sports tell me of the terrific trout fishing on Plugs Pond in Haverhill than he got word that authorities have shut the area down due to concerns of the pandemic. An alternative option is for bass which are cooperating in Lake Gardiner as well as Lake Attitash. The shop will be carrying seaworms again to meet the demand for white perch fishermen who are expecting to be catching in the Exeter/Squamscott Rivers any day.

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Massachusetts Fishing Forecast

Thankfully we have a hysteria in our midst which is healthy and it is fishing, especially for trout. Plymouth through Cape ponds have trophy-quest competition now as banner reports trickle in from Metro-west and other areas. Warm water species are receiving less attention but those catching crappie and bass from the Sudbury River, Lake Rohunta and the Merrimack Valley Region aren’t complaining!