Huge Wachusett laker!

[Wildfisherman]

Yesterday I met my friend fishing at an area of Wachusett I wont mention here. The area is very deep, of course. I left the spot I was at because of the wind, and decided to walk another couple miles to meet him at a spot the wind wasnt hitting as hard.
As soon as I met up with him and set down my gear, his guta bite flag popped up and the line went flying out. He went to set the hook, the running stopped,then he opened the bail waited and the line went flying out again. He set the hook and immediatly yelled at me, too busy setting up my gear to notice he had one, to "GET THE NET". After a long and nerve wracking battle on shore, he pulled in and I netted for him a 33 in, 14 lb laker. It was an absolute monster. He won the spring tournament at wachusett Bait and tackle.
God, i knew fish like these were in there but to get to see one is an experience I will never forget. And I've been told and even read articles in the Mass wildlife quarterly that the biologists were netting ones in the 30 pound range and more!! Just being able to net one that size was incredible. The biggest one i've ever seen caught before was a 5 pounder. This almost triples that!! He caught the monster on a very large yellow perch, seven foot pole,12 pound test line. The perch itself was probably a 3/4 pounder and I still dont know how he mananged to cast it out so far and deep.

[albacized]

That's a nice fish - I don't think I've topped 5 lbs yet in that place...although to be honest, I exclusively sling metal to these fish and don't use bait. I went three times this past spring which netted one rainbow on my first trip, one mediocre lake trout on my second trip, and the stinky skunk on my third trip

[wheels36]

any pics ?

[Wildfisherman]

Originally Posted by wheels36

any pics ?

I'm sorry, I have no pics I can upload online, but if you're in the area, there is a pic up at wachusett bait and tackle.

[Wildfisherman]

Originally Posted by albacized

That's a nice fish - I don't think I've topped 5 lbs yet in that place...although to be honest, I exclusively sling metal to these fish and don't use bait. I went three times this past spring which netted one rainbow on my first trip, one mediocre lake trout on my second trip, and the stinky skunk on my third trip

I havent topped 5 lbs either. I frequent the reservoir at least 2 times most weeks and have pulled in maybe a dozen lakers and several bass so far this year, one bass weighing five pounds. The bait always seems to bring in most of the bigger fish, but I've heard slinging metal has got some very big trout in the past. That 14 pounder was unlike anything i've seen though, and to think the biologists net up fish double to tripple that size is shocking!

[bb1]

That beats the 11lb. 14 oz. one another guy got over a month ago.

[Wildfisherman]

Hey, just to let anyone that knows me here know, my former username was Whitehill. This one suits me more and is a little inside joke between friends.

Yea, I couldnt believe my friend got such a huge trout. The chances of one of them hitting your bait amoung all the 18 in, clone, little lakers are miniscule. I know one thing for sure, for now on I'm putting out big bait on one of my poles. Something large enough that any laker under 5 or 6 pounds wont want to mess with it. Even if it severly decreases my chances of catching fish, I know the one that'll hit the bait will be a lunker. Now I just gotta practice throwing out large bait far enough to hit deep water in the summer heat.

[north coast]

I Hate wachusett, (I also love it) I spent a huge portion of my life there some years ago. The lure of a truly BIG fish kept me coming back.Year after year, day after day. I think my biggest ever was just under 5 lbs. I have seen a few 7 and 8 's but a 14 is truly a slob. I know they are in there but you can win the lottery MUCH easier than catching one. I fished every "spot" on the lake too.I had a few favorites, that took some time to walk into,but still never really caught anything to brag about. Tough place to fish.

[hq2]

Precisely. I've fished it 10 years and only caught five decent fish, but each was pretty nice. You keep coming back year after year for four or fiver reasons. It's close, it's cheap, it's very quiet and scenic (no development), very early and very late no place else is any good, and there's always the chance of getting something really good. No matter how many times I get skunked, I never feel like it was a wasted day.

[bdowning]

My PB laker was 7.5 lbs and I saw one taken right next to me ~ 17.5 lbs, both taken on large shiners. But both were caught at Quabbin, not the Chu. Most of the lakers I've taken at the Chu are of the rat variety, but that's mostly what you are going to get on lures.

-bd

[Wildfisherman]

Originally Posted by bdowning

My PB laker was 7.5 lbs and I saw one taken right next to me ~ 17.5 lbs, both taken on large shiners. But both were caught at Quabbin, not the Chu. Most of the lakers I've taken at the Chu are of the rat variety, but that's mostly what you are going to get on lures.

-bd

Wow, 17 pounds is a monster!! I've been using the large shiners lately and been picking up an occasional trout(laker). Been catching some large, gold pike shiners up to 10 inches long and casting/sinking them deep off some dropoffs. A few weeks ago I caught a 5 pound laker on one and have been getting many bites and runs aside, with several average sized ones. Today I picked up a 3 lb'er on one of these shiners. I'm lucky to find a spot that I can hit deep water close to shore and still be able to get lakers in the heat of the summer. The top layer of water feels like its close to 80 degrees. The lakers sure dont live long in such warm temps, so I try to release them when possible. I'm just waiting for the water to cool off then my favorite spot will get much better. BTW,wow about the water levels!! I dont remember ever seeing it this low.

[e-sea-e]

a few years back i was fishing the quabbin for smallies, right in tight, typical early spring prespawn stuff, and an 11 lb laker ate my 5 inch grub i was using. it was in about 15-20 feet of water.

it is the only laker I have ever caught, and i must say I was very disappointed, as once i hooked it i was pretty sure i would set a new state smallmouth record if i landed it. to see it was a big trout coming to the boat was cool and crushing at the same time....

[bdowning]

Originally Posted by Wildfisherman

BTW,wow about the water levels!! I dont remember ever seeing it this low.

Bet the water levels aren't low now.

-bd

[Wildfisherman]

Originally Posted by e-sea-e

a few years back i was fishing the quabbin for smallies, right in tight, typical early spring prespawn stuff, and an 11 lb laker ate my 5 inch grub i was using. it was in about 15-20 feet of water.

it is the only laker I have ever caught, and i must say I was very disappointed, as once i hooked it i was pretty sure i would set a new state smallmouth record if i landed it. to see it was a big trout coming to the boat was cool and crushing at the same time....

I sure wish I could bag a laker that size, especially out of the Wachusett!

[Wildfisherman]

I have been hitting the lakers real good lately,and have been the entire summer. The past 2 days I caught 6 lakers with countless runs and bites. One of the lakers was just under 4 pounds and got released immediately. The spot I hit is very deep so summer laker fishing is great because they are layered up in this "honey hole". I hit a few over 4 pounds and many over 3, with the usual 18 to 20 inchers common. I've been using a mixed bag of perch, sunfish, shiners, and fallfish for bait. Basically whatever I can catch on my 4 foot ultra light outfit, including some whopper golden shiners 5 to 10 inches