New England - New England Freshwater Fishing Reports

Talked with Ollie at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk who declared smallmouth and largemouth bass results at Saugatuck Reservoir “steady.” Both species are relating to shallow and deep cover and structure. However, Ollie has been contacting his bass with a 4-inch Keitech mounted on a heavy jighead delivered to alewives showing on the surface in the evening. The bass are suspended beneath the sawbellies, and sometimes walleyes or trout are present too. The crappie bite has been excellent as well. The slabs are running 12 to 16 inches and hitting little crappie jigs, 2- and 3-inch paddletails, and even tiny drop-shotted baits. On the subject of bass, Ollie heard from others that largemouths in local ponds have been very obliging. Some people have also reported trout hitting in the Norwalk River and Mill River in Fairfield.

Colin at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown let us know about a flurry of angling activity last week, lots of youngsters coming in with parents to purchase shiners for use as bait for largemouth bass at numerous local ponds especially Millers Pond in Durham and Black Pond in Middlefield/Meriden. The kids were making the best of their final week of summer vacation by going fishing. Colin also heard reports from a couple of adults of very good bassin’ on shiners at Hidden Lake in Haddam. Fishermen at Harbor Park in Middletown continued catching channel catfish in the Connecticut River during the day on dead shiners and chunk eels and bluegills.

Jeff Sullivan in Bristol went perch fishing from shore at Cook Pond in Fall River, Massachusetts, and caught a bunch of nice-size yellows along with a few smaller whites on jerkbaits and spybaits.

Mike at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay was sorry he did not have a freshwater fishing report and said the reason for the lack of news was that the two colleagues who did a lot of sweetwater angling and reporting had returned to school. He was sure that largemouth bass action was still good in ponds and lakes on and just off the Cape, especially those mentioned in previous reports including Queen Sewell Pond in Bourne, Mashpee-Wakeby Pond in Mashpee, and the ponds in Plymouth. Freshwater reports may remain hard to come by until autumn trout stocking commences in late September or early October.

Jerry in Milford noted a slowdown in fishing activity last week. It happens every year at this time, he explained, as kids return to school and adults run out of vacation time. That said, though, enough people were out bass fishing to generate a few reports of decent largemouth bass action here and there with North Pond (Lake Maspenock) in Hopkinton and Lake Winthrop in Holliston being most popular. Jerry has been selling mostly topwater lures because water is so low and weedy in most places that subsurface offerings are difficult to use. However, wacky-worms and live shiners have also been working wherever conditions permit.

Roger Aziz, Jr., in Methuen let everyone know that the Merrimack River is very low below the dam in Lawrence (Essex Dam). It is a little better downstream in Haverhill, but you have to be mindful of tidal influences in that section. No water-level problems exist in the Hooksett and Nashua, New Hampshire, sections, and both stretches are still producing nice smallmouths. Above the Essex Dam, water is deeper, and anglers there are contacting pike. For the past two or three weeks, Rog has been catching largemouths and some dandy pickerel up to 4 pounds on white spinnerbaits and Aziz-rigged plastic worms in small out-of-the way ponds.

Word from Skip at Saunders Boat Livery, Inc. in Southwick is that bass in Congamond lakes are “on fire.” Thursday evening’s big-bass event yielded not only an abundance of bass but also better than usual numbers of big largies including a 4-pound, 9-ouncer that captured first place in the big-bass category, a 4-pound, 8-ouncer, and several in the 3-pound bracket. Also, a tournament the following Sunday produced a winning eight-fish total of 26+ pounds, a 5+-pound tournament lunker largemouth, and two or three additional 5-pound largies. Skip explained that this late-summer bass blitz at Congamond Lakes occurs every year in the last two weeks of August and often continues into early September. The bass are “all over the place” in both deep and shallow water. Surface temperature is still around 80 degrees but should soon start decreasing rapidly as summer fades. Skip also mentioned that bass are hitting well in the Connecticut River.