|
MASHPEE WAKEBY POND
Mashpee Wakeby is one of my favorite ponds to fish. I am still awed by the number and size of the fish that are caught. The pond has changed over the years, especially in the quantity of the grass beds. Mashpee used to have lots of grass around the 10 foot depth in the early 1990's. Then the grass "died out" or just vanished?? In the past 2 years, (2008,2009) I have tried to pin point just where the "quality"grass beds are located. Bass relate to the grass in this lake, as in other lakes. Let's start in Mashpee: I have only found 4 areas that have a distinct grass bed. The point running east into the middle of the pond on the west side about 300 yards north of the ramp, has grass along the 11-13 foot depth at it's end. On the same west side, north about another 300 yards is a large flat about 8-10 foot that extends eastward into the middle of Mashpee for about 100 yards. In the 13-15 foot depth on the east end there is another "quality" grass bed. The 3rd. is on the west side, just about 250 yards further north. This is another flat about 8 foot deep. The very edge of the flat, about 10-14 feet has a grass bed that pretty much extends around the entire flat. On the north end of Mashpee, in front of the sandy beach, there is a small hump, that has a "quality" grass bed in 18-20 feet in the summer time. Looking in Wakeby, there are lots of scattered and thin grass beds. The "quality" grass beds are around two islands. The first island , just north of the gut, has a good amount of grass around the west side, and a small "quality" bed, on the east side, in about 8 feet. The 3rd island, located in front of Sandwich Beach also has a good quality grass area. The flat between the island and Lowell Reservation holds a lot of fish, because of this grass. The grass has been migrating over the years, and with storms and waterfowl, has changed the fish locations. Roger Bogosh is a well respected fisherman in Massachusetts. He has shared some of his knowledge and techniques with me and I thank him.
My Techniques
These are 4 of the 8 bass that Vern Santos and I caught during the Barnicle Tournament, October 21,2001. I really like to fish shallow, but recently I have been practicing hard on deep water techniques. Over 15 feet was deep water to me and I'm sure lots of fisherman will be in "my boat". These fish were in 25 feet of water, one big one came out of approximately 18 feet, because it was on a drop off and I'm guessing. You can see by Roger Bogosh's techniques that he fishes deep and is very good at it. During the Spring, water temperature about 55, I look for the largemouth and small mouth in water less than 10 feet deep. The key areas will have rock because that heats up quickly, and deep water very close, within 25 yards. I have found the fish "cruising" in the shallows and catch able. They are spooky and you must be quiet and not splash your lure. Lots of fisherman like pickeral cove during this time of year, the mud bottom is another area that warms quickly and the drop in front of the cove gives the bass that deep water area they can retreat to. Rocky points are a good area to fish at this time, I use sluggos to catch cruising fish. 4 and 6 inch worms on 1/8 oz jig heads is my real strength, bouncing them down the point, and ripping them from any fresh grass that may be emerging. There are many spawning areas in the lake and each fisherman has his/her own preferences on fishing spawning fish. There are still areas where the grass is plentiful and those are the areas I like to concentrate on during the summer months. I will not give up on "cruising" fish, and the docks along the edges of the pond offer great fishing. I go to a 6 inch and maybe 8 inch worm during the summer, red shad, black shad, junebug, camo, greens, are some of the colors. Like other ponds, if the fish stop biting in your area, switch colors and see if you can get one or two more. Night fishing is a lot of fun on Mashpee, especially in the summer when there are so many tournaments and tourists on the pond. Get out about 10:00pm. Rattle jigs, spinnerbaits, and top water will catch some great fish. I fish the same places that I fish during the day, where the flats drop into the deep water. At night the fish start coming up. Points are also great. I always put a "stinger" hook on my spinner bait. I like a red and black skirt/black head, and a white trailer. I use a colorado blade for maximum "thumping". There's nothing like getting the rod jerked out of your hand and then a big splash. Here's a picture of Jim Halpin and his 2 big 6lb fish out of Mashpee with a top water:
In the fall, when the Barnicle is held, I had to learn to fish deeper water. Deep crankbaits were the key in the late 90's. They were getting down where the schools of herring were. I like to "crank" starting in September. The water is starting to cool and I find that the bass want a horizontal bait at that time. Slow rolling spinnerbaits on the outside of the weedlines. The carolina rig is a technique that has to be learned and used in Mashpee. Roger states in "his techniques" how much weight and line etc. You have to experiment with this technique, because there are so many variables. Vern Santos is a master at using light weight and plastic to catch those fish in 20-25 feet. We both like lizards, usually watermelon or some green, and either the 4 inch or 6 inch. The bass will tell you, sometimes it's the size not the color that you have to change. I have been using spider jigs, because I use them on a ball jig. I have better control with a ball jig, because I have fished it for so many years. Green pumpkin, black and watermelon are good colors. 2004- I reread what I wrote and said "yes, these techniques still work!" I will modify baits and techniques to try and adapt to the conditions. In May the ABA held a tournament on Mashpee and I happened to win it. It was very satisfying for me, as I haven't won an ABA in a number of years. As I said above, in the spring, the fish "cruise" the shallows. Others were seeing the same fish that I caught, I'm sure of it. I was on one particular flat, and mid morning, and watching other boats in front of me, throwing there baits, and not just randomly, it appeared that they were throwing at a fish. When I reached the area, they were fishing, I saw the fish, just "sitting still". I threw my sluggo at it, but it would spook and swim away. Now comes the adaptation- I didn't move the boat. The other fisherman, moved down the shoreline- I stayed where I was, and I saw the fish would eventually come right back to the spot it was "sitting on". I then would throw a drop shot rig to the spot and watch the fish swim away. I would leave the drop shot there and wait for the fish to return. I would then shake the line, and when the fish "ate" the worm, I was able to catch it. During the Barnicle tournament, Vern and I once again, tried fishing deep. We had some success, but because the wind was blowing almost gale force, it was very difficult to present our baits the way we practiced and only caught 2 fish. We then decided to try in shallow, where we had caught some fish 2 weeks earlier. In October, the water temp. dropped almost 8 degrees in those 2 weeks. We caught 2 more fish in 6 feet of water on wacky rigged senkos, those fishing on the drops, 10-15 feet, didn't get a bite ( those 5 teams that I talked to after the tournament). Now we had 4 fish but needed another to be competitive- Vern caught another about 3 lbs with 10 minutes to go. We finished 4th in the tournament and only 3 lbs out of first, 1 good fish. The winners and 2nd place again fished deep- 25-35 feet!!! More Practice for me, patience is a must, too. Here's a picture of our fish!
2006- I fished Mashpee during May . May is always good- pre spawn and spawn. The fish in the prespawn mode were holding in the 10 foot range around the spawning flats around the middle of the month. ABA held a tournament during Memorial Day weekend and most of the small mouth were already through the spawn. There were still some good size small mouths on the beds but not many and you had to hunt for them. We had a nice day to sight fish and that makes it easier to see them and catch them. I find that using a drop shot rig and a small worm works well during this time because the fish don't seem to be too aggressive. You would think that they would be attacking anything that comes around the bed, but most times you have to keep the bait in the bed and make them bite. The large mouth were still around 10 feet. I did see a big large mouth on a bed in 9ft of water. I had it hooked but lost it. I didn't fish Mashpee again until the fall. The Barnicle tournament was held in September and it was very windy. Vern and I did manage one really nice largemouth on our first spot, we were fishing deep, 20 feet. The wind played havoc with staying on the spot. I later found out that the winners caught some nice small mouth in front of Pickeral Cove in deep water. That is a hit or miss spot- there isn't any structure to hold the fish there- they had to be on the bait fish. This is a typical fall pattern- find the bait fish and the small mouth will be around. I fished a lot during November and December in the 35-50 foot depths. The small perch were holding on the bottom and you could catch them with a jigging spoon. I found that the small mouth were holding a little shallower than the perch. I would make an arc around the perch and soon run into the small mouth. I was fishing next to a fisherman who was fishing with live minnows and watched him catch small mouth right and left all about 2- 3 lbs. I was trying to use a jigging spoon to get better at it, but I decided to change up to a Carolina rig and that was a good change, as I began to catch the small mouth. I stuck with the Carolina rig for the rest of the month, I would occasionally throw a tube bait and drag it along the bottom. The speed and direction of the drift was important as well as the bait. One day it was so calm, I didn't move, but I couldn't get a bite. I would move with the trolling motor and drag the carolina rig and finally I caught a real good small mouth. I threw a marker buoy and I caught 5 other good small mouth within 50 feet of that buoy in the next hour using the same drift. I saw a lot of small fish caught on drop shot rigs, once you get around the school you catch them. This time of year, the different sizes of fish usually school together. 2009- How time flies!!!! The spring time fishing was really different than the recent past springs. We had many cold fronts during the spawning season. Warm days and then cold nights and then a cold rain would "confuse" the bass and the fisherman. During late April through the middle of June, I didn't catch many fish that weren't on the bed. The small mouth seemed to be non existent during this period, unless you found the occasional one on the bed. Some largemouth were caught in the weeds, or on a piece of structure; wood, or cement block. The Rod Jockey tournament we had in June, was unreal. I did get some nice top water strikes but the fish just seemed to be "playing" with the lure and never hit the hooks- woe is me. I did find 2 largemouth and 1 small mouth still on the beds. It took quite awhile to catch them, but using the drop shot, I was able to catch them. The fish were difficult during the "dog days" of July and August. I really enjoy fishing at night during this period, especially on this pond. The boat activity was tremendous this year. Vern and I did win the tournament held by the Bass Fed. Nation of Mass. on Aug 4. We targeted the fish in about 15-20 ft. along the weed lines. I was using worms and tubes; Vern was using his senko. Vern is great at getting just the right size "nail weight" inside the senko. The fish seemed to be spread out along the weed beds. We would catch one here and one there. When the fall arrived, more bad weather occurred. The Barnicle was during the worst rain storm I can remember on that lake. Someone always catches fish and a few anglers caught some nice small mouth. The fish were around the 10-15 foot area. The fall wasn't too cold and during November, the small mouth didn't seem to congregate like they did in years past. Ted B. and I did catch some "keepers" in the 35 foot area, right near the drop to about 50. I started experimenting and found some good largemouth in about 20-25 ft. The Carolina rig was a good tool for me. I like using this rig when I'm fishing "deep". The other is "dragging" a tube; using 1/4 or 3/8 oz. ball jigs (tube jigs) and 8 lb test line, spinning rod; I wll use this rig similar to a carolina rig. I will throw it out and just drag it back, or drift with it. Make sure you can feel the bottom, and let it bounce around. My favorite plastics for the carolina rig are 4 in. senkos, tubes, 5 in lizard or creature bait. I've been finding clam shell areas along points or edges of flats. If you catch a clam, remember where it was and keep throwing there. In December, I was able to feel the clam bed and that is where the largemouth and small mouth were active.
The largemouth was caught in the clam bed area I found with a carolina rig. The 2 small mouth were caught in a clam bed I found in 35 ft along a ridge line. Go to my "hot spots" page by clicking the link below. 2010- May- Mashpee is now in full "bloom"!! The fish are coming shallow and beginning to make beds. You don't have to fish the beds to catch the fish. It's taking me a long time to stop searching for a bed and dropping a lure in it and then search for a new one. It's fun, and I still do it, but try this- Stay in about 5-6 ft, that's where I'm finding the most beds, and throw a lure out toward the deeper water. All the fish aren't on the beds- there are more out there on the edge!! I like throwing a 3 inch grub on a 1/8 oz ball jig. I will yo yo it back, or swim it back. I caught some nice large mouth May 7 while Ted B was looking for beds. June- Terrible June, Steve Goodman and I fished a tournament in early June and couldn't catch a fish unless it was on the bed. Fortunately there were a couple small mouth and largemouth on them, enough to give us around 10 lbs and second place. The last few years has been very tough for me in the month of June- the post spawn fish are very hard to catch- and by a lot of real good anglers!!! July- The fish are now post spawn and are biting. I haven't had a lot of small mouth bites- but the ones I have are coming around 14 feet along the grass lines. I'm actually fishing for the largemouth but get a small mouth!! I haven't been able to get a good top water bite either. Usually by now the top water is good, I think because the sun is up and high before I get on the water!!! Night time is happening- spinnerbaits and top water are taking good bass around 9pm 'til ??? Oct: The Barnicle was another bust for Vern and me. The winners were catching largemouth off the first island with white spinnerbaits. Vern and I had just fished that area. I used a crankbait, he used a senko. It's hard to tell if the fish were there when we went through or moved into the area after we left. Small mouth were caught in the Pickeral cove area with dropshots and carolina rigs deep. The majority of the fish were caught shallow and on spinnerbaits or moving baits. Ted B did catch 2 small mouth in 30 ft with jigging spoons. Nov-Dec: The fishing hasn't been as in the past for the numbers or the size of the small mouths. I don't know if it's because of the fishing pressure, everyone seems to go the same areas during these months. Ted and I did a lot of "searching" so our bites were few and far between. We even caught perch in 75 ft. with jigging spoons.
2011- Mashpee stumped me pretty good this year. I didn’t do as much fishing here, which shows that you have to keep fishing to understand what the fish are doing. I did catch some good early small mouth in March, but then I fished other ponds.This was a Carolina rigged tube and the fish was in the 25-35 foot range. The water was warming but the fish hadn’t moved too shallow. April was a time for big fish on shallow flats and points with deep water nearby. Jerk baits and some crankbaits brought some heavy fish into the weigh-ins. Once again the “brown stringy” grass beds were showing up in various places along the shore. The bass are relating to these heavy grass beds. They are hard to fish- either over the top, around the edge, or into the middle. Sounds easy, but the bass don’t always want to come out, so more often than not, it’s fish in the middle of them. Also, the spawn was drawn out over a couple of months, like it has been for the past 3 years. The fall fishing was difficult for some, especially in the Barnicle, because weren’t deep this year. Deep water was close by, but the fish were really chasing the bait in 5-10 feet of water. The water temp. is still 53 and I was in a T-shirt fishing on 11/8.
2014- Mashpee Wakeby is quite the fishery !!!!!!!!! I’ve been fishing it since the late 70’s and it’s as good now as it was. I don’t think the largemouth are as big as they were, because I think they get caught more because of the fishing pressure. There weren’t as many fisherman back in the 70’s on Mashpee, but now, you can’t go there without running into 2-3 other boaters. The grass is not as prevalent as it was. Some of the flats I used to fish had nice moss or grass on the bottom, now they have this long , brown grass in clumps. The fish like it, but it narrows down the area where they might be, and also there is more competition for this area among the predator fish. In the early spring, the jerk bait remains king on this body of water. The rocky points and flats are the hardest hit. The spawn shows the big fish, all over the pond. Wakeby has had a tendency to be a little more stained than Mashpee the past few years, a little harder to distinguish the deeper beds. The summer hasn’t changed the patterns much, with more pleasure boats the bass are staying deeper and harder to catch during the peak hours. Early and late, seemed to be better. When I’m fun fishing, those are the hours I stick to. The late fall, Nov, Dec, are getting to be very popular. I used to go out and see only 1-2 boats, now there are 5-6 boats. During those times, most of us are fishing for the small mouth that congregate near the 25 foot flat, straight north from the ramp. The flat is just before the bottom drops to about 90 feet. Usually in there, you can get bit dragging a tube, Carolina rig, drop shot rig, or a blade bait. I’ve been doing better with the blade bait the past couple of years during the winter. Too much ice last year to get out much, but hopefully this year will be ice free. 2015- May 9- water temperature climbed to 60 degrees from 54 last Monday– All week we had sunshine and the night temps didn’t get below 40 degrees. Very few fish were seen during the week up shallow. Saturday, the small mouth had moved up onto the beds, enough so 18 boaters were able to catch 5 fish and most of the non boaters. I told my RJ friend, Andrew, that if he “drew” a boater going on the beds all day, to fish pre spawn fish– should be in about 8-10 ft of water with the deep water near by. Well Andrew got me– so we shared beds and then went for a while to pre spawn fish. Andrew is very good with a chatterbait and upgraded his bag with a 3 lber that was in about 8-12 ft on the edge of a spawning flat. The small mouth remained on the beds through May, as I won the ABA tournament on Memorial Day. I was really looking for largemouth in the shallow water, I found 1 fish and was able to catch it, but then I realized that the small mouth were still spawning. I went to one bank and found them again in 5-8 ft of water and had 16 lbs in about half an hour. I didn’t fish Mashpee again until the fall, The Barnicle tournament was a bust. In late Sept. I found fish in the 16 ft area, much like in LP Harwich. I did catch some good small mouth and largemouth in the weeks prior to the Barnicle. Again, I used my electronics to position the fish and was able to catch them. The RJ’s held a tournament in October and although the bite was tough, we had some good weight. The winner fished in 35 ft with a drop shot and had some good largemouth !!! Nov and Dec were really a hit or miss. The water temp was 49-50 through November and 48 in Dec. Only one fishing trip to the “community hole” the flat north of the ramp, produced a bunch of small mouth. I was mostly fishing in 16-25 ft near the drop– (same areas since Sept. ) I was using a blade bait and catching the small mouth. 2016-2017 I seem to be fishing Mashpee during the spring and fall for some years now. In 2016 I was there in late May and the small mouth were few and far between, and the largemouth were finicky. I didn’t fish again until October. The Barnicle wasn’t too, bad. I caught fish, both largemouth and small mouth shallow, 10 ft or so. Mostly on baits that mimic the bait fish. Andrew and Morgan, from the RJ’s, had a great tournament in October using crankbaits. They found an area where some big fish were cruising around and kept going back to it during the day. In November, Cranbogs went to Mashpee and the fish were deep. I caught them on tubes and Carolina rigs in the usual 25 ft areas. The flat North of the ramp, and the long point to the NW of the ramp area. In 2017, I fished early in April and stuck to the deep, 25 ft area, catching some small small mouth. The winner was using a drop shot and fishing deep, near the Gut, and caught 22 lbs of small mouth. It was a typical early spring, the water was still cold. During the summer, I fished a night tournament and we caught some big small mouth and large mouth. Finding the grass again proved to be the best areas. The grass seems to be shifting more during the past years. The fish were shallow 10-12 ft. Surprisingly, spinnerbaits did not do well, again. Jigs and tubes were catching the fish. During the fall, I fished a lot around the long point to the NW of the ramp area. The bait fish were there and the small mouth were holding in the area. I would keep moving from shallow to deep, and back again. I would catch 2 fish and then the area seemed to “die”, but I would keep moving and eventually catch another bunch. The talk at every tournament, no matter what time of the year, was how difficult it was to find and catch the fish.
Mashpee Wakeby Hot Spots Pond Index
|
