Lake Champlain United - Forums

Very cool!!
This lake brings a lot of memories. 1st time trolling for cold water species and also the 1st time taking my wife out on a boat.They have some impressive fishing in there too. It was my oasis from the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan lifestyle. Thanks for sharing Ron.

Fascinating documentary and very detailed. I have never been there but it sure looks huge on the map and stories of how restricted the whole fishing part of it is. C-Hawk was telling me today stories of a gate locked until sunrise and lines of people waiting to launch on the weekends.

Cool stuff!

Thanks for sharing Ron! I grew up between there and Boston, fishing the Sudbury Reservoir and the section of the Quabbin aqueduct that flows above ground there. My first lake trout were caught in the Quabbin, then Wachusset Res, then Maine, then Champlain. Back in the early 50's the restrictions on fishing in the Quabbin weren't as severe as they later became - gave up fishing there in the late 60's due to the crowds and rules. My Mother co-authored a book about the building of the Sudbury Reservoir System, which is part of the Metropolitan District Commission and was built before the Quabbin was. It was entitled "Fences of Stone" and I well remember interviewing the older locals and collecting the photographs for the effort. Amazing how they accomplished such major projects with the tools they had in those days! Really enjoyed the documentary.

Spent a lot of time on Quabbin in the 70's, early 80's. Used to sleep in the car in a line of 50 or more to fish opening day. Even at 1 in the morning, we would not be near the front though, kind of a festive atmosphere , waiting for the gate to open at 6.Mid summer was more fun for me as a we found a reef where we could catch 5-7 lb largemouth pretty regular. Big fish are still caught here with a 25 lb lake trout a few years ago( some one can correct me if I'm wrong, it may have come from Wachusset Res). Salmon and LT were off a bit this past year. Best thing about Quabbin is the 20 x 40 mile wilderness that was created in the middle of the state, blocking westward devolopment for those of us in North Western Mass. This wilderness has been a living labrotary for our state biologists, studying wildlife in a wilderness setting, without having to travel to far northern New England.

Great video of Quabbin Reservoir.
And 2 nice videos of great catches.
Spring is only a few months away.

Interesting documentary. It provides some history to what we see when we are fishing there and the videos are a teaser for the coming season. I have fished Quabbin most of my life and still spend a lot of time there. While the fishing doesn't compare with Champlain and is not as good as it was during the sixties and seventies, before they poisoned the smelt population, it still provides good fishing and a great place to spend a day - no speedboats or kayaks, great scenery and wildlife including Eagles which will follow your boat whenever you have a fish on
The boat seal restrictions have certainly eliminated a lot of fishing pressure but, to be honest, I don't miss the overnight tailgate parties on Rt 202 waiting for the gate to open. The "Big Lady" still produces some big fish including a twenty six pound laker in 2016. That fish was caught along the "Little Egypt" shore across from Curtis Island which is where the remnants of the golf course club house mentioned in the documentary remain. Back in the sixties and seventies, before the emphasis on stocking salmon, Quabbin was on the way to becoming a world-class trout fishery and produced an eighteen pound Brown which ,I believe, is still the state record. Considering that nearly one third of the deepest part of the reservoir is off limits to fishing, I am sure there are still some big fish waiting to be caught. Can't wait !!