Above: Herons and other birds make their homes at the Sudbury Reservoir, but what about fish?
Drive down Deerfoot, Parkerville, or Middle Roads during the summer and you’re sure to see at least one person casting their fishing line in the Sudbury Reservoir. Same goes for the causeways over Framingham and White Bagley Roads. There are no shortage of people fishing, but what exactly are they catching?
The state stocks some rivers, lakes, and reservoirs with trout from MassWildlife’s fish hatcheries each spring – among them the Assabet and Subury Rivers, the Hopkinton and Whitehall Reservoirs, and Lake Cochituate. But the Sudbury Reservoir doesn’t get such treatment.
I remember fishing in the reservoir with my brothers as a kid, but I certainly don’t remember us ever catching anything. So tell me, do you try your line in the reservoir? What do you catch? And if you want to share your secrets, where are the best fishing spots in town?
(For those of you who might wonder, as I did, I checked and shore fishing is allowed in the Sudbury Reservoir.)
I remember taking my daughters fishing. We were on the section of the reservoir crossed by Middle Road. This was their first fishing experience. My older daughter Robin caught a fish on her first try (a medium sized large mouth bass). She was very excited. I had to quickly set her future fishing expectations by telling her that we do NOT expect to catch a fish on the first try every time! (She still fishes with me in NH when she comes to visit. We are now out more for the Zen experience of fishing rather than getting sore arms from reeling them in on every cast)
Dick – That’s a great story! Thanks for sharing. It has inspired me to get some rods and take my two kids down to the reservoir.
Right off of Deerfoot is the waterfall with the catch basin. It’s a great place to take young children fishing. When I go there with my son, we’ll catch 4 or 5 sunfish, then throw them back. Lots of fun.
Yes, that is a great location and I have seen one large fish taken from there – big mouth bass I think.
My son does an after school fishing program and fishes right off Deerfoot at the waterfall- they catch a lot of sunfish – My 6 year old daughter caught her first crappy there and just loves telling people she caught a “crappy” They catch a lot there in a short amount of time and now they love to fish!
i grew up in southboro, our house is 100 feet from a cove, which produced alot nice fish.i statred fishing around 6 years old, had to climb over mdc fence, follow nice trail, around toward where the old state police firing range was. it was my own fishing paradise.as i got older i made home made rafts, plywood with truck innertubes worked very well, you could stand, and fish, and fishing offshore opened a new world.started cathing bigger fish, alot bass, smalles, and largies,crappie, pickerel, yellow perch, white perch,catfish, kivers(sunfish)..place is loaded with fish..explored the entire sudbury rez..friend gave me a canoe, paddeled everywhere, alot times by myself, most relaxing thing in the world..i have spent as much as 18 hours a day fishing by canoe(ilegal, but i dont keep fish, pick up alot trash) so i do no harm..not only is the fishing the best in the great, other wildlife is everywhere..canoes are very quiet, you can sneak up on deer, turkey, coyotes,turtles, birds off al kinds, and last year i saw a bald eagle!! 2 days in a row…we also use to ice fish, play hockey..this helped me find shallow areas where rock walls,boulders,attract large fish!.now i am 47, moved away, but still come home just to fish! thats my vacation yearly.relaxing..i take out friends who cannot belive the quality of fish, wildlife..its not un common to catch 50 – 80 bass in a 6-8 hour span, depending on weather conditions..i know ,many spots you cant get to without a canoe, and the fishing is regulated which keeps the rez like 30 years ago, clean, safe, beautiful place..