Southern New England's Obscure Fishing Wonderland: Quabbin Reservoir

A virtual anglers' fantasy land is situated between the hills of western Massachusettsthat goes by the name of Quabbin Reservoir

. Like many names that are found in the region, the word Quabbin is sourced from a local Indian tribe's term meaning "meeting of many waters". Quabbin Reservoir is also called the Big Lady, the Accidental Wilderness, Big Q. or sometimes just Q. No matter what its called, the Big Lady is a fisherman's paradise.

Big Q is definitely the most massive body of fresh water present within the Bay State. Its almost 25,000 acre surface area impound 412 billion gallons of water when full making it one of the largest, minimally filtered water supplies in the United States. Quabbin's high quality waters are transported around 95 miles east serving 2,500,000 people living around the Boston Metro area.

Lady Q was created mainly during the 1930s. Quabbin has excellent water quality as evidenced by the water clarity which in many sections is greater than 20 feet. The depth of the water changes quickly across the lake in some places exceeding 100 feet. Normally these water quality criteria are often associated cold water lakes, Lady Q is actually a fantastic two-story water body. Over twenty-seven different fishes navigate Q's pristine waters with more than 15 species being actively pursued by fishermen today.

People heading over to Quabbin have the option of fishing from accessible spots on shore or a low powered boat. Since this is the Commonwealth's most significant drinking water source, however, numerous regulations are in force. Every year the Mass Department of Conservation and Recreation releases a fishing guide for the Big Lady that is readily obtainable from DCR's Quabbin Reservoir site.

The colder, transparent waters of Quabbin Reservoir are home to five different cool-water species of fish including four members of the trout family plus landlocked salmon. Though all three of Lady Q's boat ramps enable access to the deep water areas where trout and salmon live, the primo trout and salmon regions is accessible from Gate #8 located on Q's western-most arm in Belchertown.

Where Gate #8 on Quabbin's west arm provides the best access to the cold water area, the other two boat ramps at Gates #31 and #43 provide access to the better shallow and warm portions of lake. Warm water fish most sought from Lady Q include both largemouth and smallmouth bass (though smallmouths reign supreme), chain pickerel, perch, catfish and the occasional walleye. Though fairly rare, the current State record walleye weighing 11 pounds even came from Quabbin Reservoir in 1975.

One additional species found in Q's clear waters is mostly overlooked is the common carp but that is not atypical on most US waters since most American's think of it as a "trash fish".

by: Doc Bass

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