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