Every winter the same itch sets in: the boat is put away, the bass are somewhere off the Carolinas, and there are still months to go. The good news is that there is plenty of fishing left if you know where to look. Massachusetts hands the cold-weather angler holdover stripers, trout that feed all winter, and a hardwater season for pickerel and panfish, and the offseason is also the best time there is to get your gear and your skills ready for spring.
Holdover stripers in the salt
Not every striped bass leaves. A population of schoolies holds over in warm-water outflows, back estuaries and urban tidal rivers all winter, and on a mild afternoon you can catch striped bass around Boston in January. It is small-fish, slow-and-patient fishing, but it scratches the itch like nothing else. See holdover striped bass for where to find them and how to fool a cold, sluggish fish.
Trout, all winter long
Trout do not stop eating when it gets cold, they just slow down. Massachusetts stocks trout into many waters in the fall, and tailwaters below dams stay warm and stable enough to fish through the coldest months. Fish small and deep in the warmest part of the day: see fly fishing trout in winter and nymphing for the fly approach, or keep it simple with PowerBait for stocked trout, a great way to get a kid into fish on a bright winter day.
Through the ice
When a hard freeze locks up the ponds, the hardwater season opens. Chain pickerel are the classic New England ice fish, aggressive and everywhere, and you can add yellow perch, crappie and the odd northern pike to the day. See ice fishing for tip-ups, jigging and the gear.
Open water on the mild days
A warm spell can open pockets of soft water even in midwinter. Pickerel and pike will chase a slow-worked bait or fly in the shallows on a sunny afternoon, and lakes that stay ice-free hold largemouth that can be coaxed with a slow, subtle presentation. Keep everything slow: cold fish will not run down a fast lure.
Tip Winter fishing is a warm-window game. The bite, in fresh or salt, is almost always best in the warmest few hours of the day, so sleep in, let the sun get to work, and fish late morning through mid-afternoon.
Use the offseason well
The quiet months are when good seasons are built. Sit down at the vise and restock the boxes, our fly pattern library is a good place to start, and the striped bass fly box tells you what to tie. Service your reels, respool with fresh line, sharpen hooks, and practice the knots you always fumble in the dark. A little work now pays off on the first trip of spring.
Book the spring run
The other smart offseason move: get on the calendar. The best dates for the spring striper run and the fall albie blitz book up early. If winter has you itching to plan, reach out about a spring or summer charter and we will get you on the schedule for the run you want to fish.