Roger Aziz, Jr.

Roger Aziz, Jr., in Methuen said weather has been so lousy, even he did not fish much last week. He did get out with his dad for a short while at Forest Lake and Round Pond, but neither place produced. In fact, they had just one hit between them. Rog also tried to fish the Merrimack River in Haverhill, but water level was too high and current too strong.

Roger Aziz, Jr., in Methuen cited cold, rainy weather as the reason for slow fishing in the Northeast Wildlife District. Adverse conditions do not keep him off the water, but it does discourage many others. All stocked ponds, lakes, and rivers have plenty of trout in them, so fishing should be excellent when nature relaxes. The Merrimack River is very high and nearly unfishable. However, Andrew Langley popped another 33-inch pike around the islands in the Haverhill stretch and has been catching a few in the same size range in the Shawsheen River. Rog also heard that Lake Mattawa in Orange was stocked with big brown trout. Presumably that information is correct. Atop the leaderboard as of April 4 in the Adult Catch & Keep, Youth Catch & Keep, and Youth Catch & Release divisions of the 2024 Massachusetts Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program are brown trout caught recently at Lake Matttawa: 7 pounds, 10 ounces (Adult C&K); 8 pounds, 2 ounces (Youth C&K); and 26 inches (Youth C&R).