Higgins Pond Herring Run

What makes Higgins and Gull so unique is their connection to the Herring River. The river itself provides an annual run of herring that feed to the bass. The connection is a small inlet off of Higgins that may seem accessible but actually meanders a bridge and finally connects to the river. Not coincidentally, the biggest and consistent strikes I've had have been in the vegetation surrounding that connection. This means that when fishing the pond, use a herring crankbait imitation or a spoon to remind the bass of what they crave every year.

William's Pond, Wellfleet

Williams pond is the smaller pond connected to Higgins pond via a sluice way. You can only access the pond by kayaking, canoeing, or swimming from Gull or Higgins. As soon as you enter the narrow passage, it becomes clear that the water quality lessens considerably. It assumes a yellowish tint and the visibility is only about 1-2 feet compared to the 6-12 feet of Higgins and the 15+ of Gull. The pond itself is the smallest of the three and has a few private houses with docks surrounding it. As far as fishing goes, it is a huge disappointment. The bass are mostly juvenile in the 6-10 inch range barring the occasional 15 inch bass that ambushes at the inlet. It is much shallower and the cover on the shoreline is very reminiscent of a river's edge, with overhanging low lying bushes rather than submerged vegetation. The fish seem to reject the soft plastics that work well in Higgins and instead only occasionally spring for the flash of a spinner or a just submerged crankbait.
The placement lends itself to the disposal of debris and dirt in the water due to the down wind position it holds. Most days of the summer there is at some point a strong wind blowing directly down the sluice way. This probably contributes to the poor water quality and general lack of fish. This pond has always been a bust. Try Higgins or Gull.

Higgins Pond, Wellfleet

Higgins pond in Wellfleet is well known for it's trout fishing in the spring and the fall but what's spoken about very little are the largemouth bass that inhabit its 60 foot depths. The pond itself is very small, completely spherical, and very clear. Unlike many kettle ponds on the cape, the water itself is not very acidic so it is able to hold a large number of fish.  Higgins is connected to Gull Pond and Williams via two sleuceways created by Native American tribes years ago. Both passages fluctuate in depth but canoe and kayak passage is very manageable. The west shore of the pond is deeper than the east and has abundant lilly pads in addition to several felled logs and an area of marshy grass. The pond then wraps around the the passage to Williams where the water is no more than four feet and tall grasses reside. The bottom is soft but not mucky with an abundant supply of white perch and baitfish. This is the usual direction of the wind so fishing can be a nuisance without a small electric motor on a windy day. The east facing side of the pond has large areas of lilly pads separated by the sandy beaches of a few waterfront homes. I have been fortunate to stay at one of these houses and it have provided the perfect setting for three amazing summers.
The only game fish besides the trout is the Largemouth bass and oh is it abundant. On a summer or fall day, fishing in the evening can be mesmorizing with the use of the correct bait. I have been fishing this pond since I was eight and my tactics have not changed in several years. Just like I wrote for Morses pond, the floating weedless worm is deadly when dragged over the light cover on the westerly end of the pond. Coupled with a frog imitation soft plastic that is left to sit on the pads, the combination is hours of fun. One night this summer, my brother and I found ourselves spoiled with hits from 18-21 inch bass that literally leapt out of the water to snack on our gary yamamoto worms. We sadly only landed one but this number may have been more if we hadn't run out of them.
The second largest bass I have seen up close was also from this pond. Three years ago I was using a small buzzbait when an enormous bass took it under. Being a little less experienced and much too excited, I kept the rod tip down much too long and two feet from the boat he shook the hook as he leapt out of the water. It was in my estimate about 6-7 and 22-24 inches. The buzzbait itself was tiny compared to the most popular models.
Another favorite strategy of mine is to simply troll around the pond. I have a fishing canoe rigged up with an electric motor so I'm able to cruise around the pond trailing behind me a jig head with a minnow body or a large agila spinner. Although I have lost a fishing rod using this technique, I've also landed a twenty inch bass and several 8-12 inch white perch which put up surprisingly good fights.
This pond is an all around great place to visit. Access points are down a road off of the road traveling to Gull Pond. Good Luck

Lake Cochituate, Framingham

I first started fishing Lake Cochituate about six years ago when I purchased my first canoe. The lake is one of largest fishable bodies of water around Boston due to it's proximity to the urban area of Framingham. This 614 acre lake is divided into three large basins connected by accessible canals. It is heavily developed in parts, but Cochituate State Park has preserved much of the immediate shoreline. The best way to access the water is directly through the park or by the ramp located on the south side of route 30 on Middle Pond. Also, a number of turnoffs provide cartop possibilities in addition to shore fishing. The pond has a maximum depth of 69 in the North Pond but is generally much shallower with visibility around 5 to 7 feet. Middle Pond is 60 feet deep, 143 acres, and has a bottom of mostly much with some gravel. South pond is 233 acres, 69 feet, and full of muck and vegetation. As with most ponds in the Boston area, the pond slowly fills with weeds throughout the season so the late summer months produce some of the more difficult fishing conditions.
The sheer volume of fish is astounding, ranging from white perch, largemouth bass, yellow perch, chain pickerel, black crappie, pumpkinseed, bluegill, yellow bullhead, white sucker, golden shiner, American eel and several other species of panfish and baitfish. The lake is also stocked heavily with trout, usually rainbows, in both the spring and fall. It was stocked with bonus Atlantic salmon in the spring of 1992 and 1993, and the annual stocking of these big fish will continue so long as they are available. In addition, the lake was stocked with northern pike in 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1992. It was stocked with tiger muskies in 1981 and 1991.
I have not fished this lake nearly enough to have caught all of these fish but the usual suspects, largemouth, pickerel, perch, and panfish are very abundant. I caught an eight pound rainbow trout in the fall of 2009 on a large perch imitation spoon while trolling in about twenty feet of water in the North Pond. The fight it put was enough to make me return several times for the same thrill. The bass in this pond seem to go crazy perch crankbaits, most likely due to the immense supply of perch. Fish a shallow rapala runner on the edge of vegetation in the South Pond and at the very least you'll hook a decent pickerel.
South Pond holds some very large bass, especially in the spring and fall. In late september when the weeds start to recede, a spinner over the tops of the vegetation will sometimes trigger a hit. This same technique can be used with a floating weedless rigged dark worm. The american eel population in the lake lends itself to the use of dark colored long shaky worms. Gulp makes a very solid product as do several other well known brands. I've never been a huge fan of livebait but the few times I've used some small perch caught on size one agila in the north pond rigged with bobber and hook, I've attracted some very large fish, including a northern pike that snapped the line a few feet from my boat.
Fishing under the bridges that connect the basins takes time but you are often rewarded for patience. Early in the morning of any season and just jigging with a 1/4 ounce minnow imitation over and over usually gets at least one strike. I've never been too successful with jigs but this is one of the few places where I've found success.
I don't have nearly enough knowledge of this lake to give a complete analysis of it's waters so I encourage any readers who have fished it to add on their own stories, spots, or techniques. Good Luck

Morses Pond, Wellesley

My own fishing roots can be found in the shallow waters of Morses Pond in Wellesley. Just down the street from me, this 105 acre pond is home to a surprising number of sizable largemouth bass. The pond can essentially be broken down into three sections. These include the deeper, clearer left side, home to the swimming beach, and the two unfathomably weedy right sections. The latter two average no more than 10-12 feet in depth and by august are all but covered by an impenetrable sheet of dense cover, almost too much for even the heaviest of jigs. The left side is considerably deeper and contains several solid stretches of workable shoreline, with countless felled trees and convenient docks. This shoreline meanders around for about a mile until it comes to a miniature basin at the mouth of a tunnel. The abundance of large crappie is  impressive in addition to the lurking largemouth bass and pickerel. The pond is also home to several rocky points, which serve as my ultimate go to spots on a slow day.

Now that I've covered the basics of the layout, it's time for the fish population. Morses contains a healthy supply of largemouth bass, pickerel, and bluegill. It is also home to bullhead catfish and the occasional perch, although the oxygen poor waters have all but suffocated them. In past years I usually reel in anywhere from 6 to 12 bass between 4 and 7 pounds and countless 1-3 pounders. Pickerel range anywhere from one to two feet and are obnoxiously abundant. My favorite technique for reeling in the largemouth in the springtime is a sinking gary yamamoto worm or a deep diving perch imitation. Although in August the weeds really begin to take over the pond, springtime offers the opportunity to still drop a weedless rig in without fear of snagging. Although there is plentiful shore fishing that can be accessed by walking around the beach or traveling down the aqueduct at the entrance, the use of a canoe or kayak will open up the opportunities. Anyway, throwing that worm at any point on the shore and just letting it sit on the bottom before slowly raising the rod tip every five to ten seconds nearly guarantees if you find the right spot. Look for the felled logs on the developed side of the pond and the tree cover on the more secluded side. Once summer kicks into full swing, the bass go deep and the best thing to do is fish in the late evening with a floating worm rigged weedless that you can drag over the tops of lilly pads and heavy cover. Using a frog imitation instead of a worm is deadly although you may want to bring more than one. The best colors for both worms and frogs are dark greens and purples. The fish have never responded to the flash so I recommend a dull color. If that doesn't seem to work, the glitter bits in the worms work well or a worm with a different colored tip. The pickerel really tear them apart. Try right off the bridge connecting the main pond to the small pond when the water is high and you'll get the lunkers that travel in between the two. The shoreline near the aqueduct offers the best cover for surface worming but the clearer side is a great opportunity to use the sinking worm.
On the slowest days, trying a size 3 or a size 4 agila spinner without the rooster tail is a surefire way to start off the action, even if it means dragging in a feisty pickerel.
Now that fall is upon us, it's time to start using the techniques that paid off in the springtime. More spinners and crankbaits work best as the bass have slipped into deeper waters and the weeds have cleared considerably. Rapala is the best bet for some great fights. Using a perch imitation off the point of even trolling it on the left side carries success.
If you fish this pond and follow a little of my advice you will catch fish and have a great time. Good Luck