Unnamed Pond on East Spring St, Holbrook, MA

This unnamed pond is probably my favorite hidden gem. Located behind a shutdown factory in Holbrook, this pond actually has a pretty interesting story behind it. This used to be an old rock quarry so it's pretty deep in the middle. One day while they were digging, one of the cranes hit an underground spring that ended up flooding the quarry. They were able to get all of the machinery except for one crane that is still stuck in the ground on the eastern shore.

So to get to this place you can either park at the end of Spring Lane and walk over to the eastern shore or you can park behind the building on Spring St, which I'll mark for you, and navigate the paths through the trees to find the water.  There are several spots to fish around the pond, including near the crane, a spot on a big rock on the northern shore, or along the path that wraps around the western and southern shores. 

If you fish from the big rock on the northern shore, there is an island that you can cast out towards where there are some lilly pads that a lot of fish congregate around.  If you're over by the crane, you can fish to the right where there are some weeds and bushes to work.  There is also another island off of the western shore where a friend of my caught an 8 lb bass.  I know right? 8 lbs for such a small pond?  That's why this place is such a great find.

There are very few weeds in this pond so you can pretty much use any type of lure that you want and I'm sure you'll have some success.  I had the most success fishing off of the rock on the north shore .

If you have the energy to carry a boat over from Spring Lane you can get it in there and work several more spots that are sure to be potent like in the coves in the south east corner or the most southern shore that can't be reached from the land.  Good luck!

Successful Bait: Worms- Pumpkin seed, Black, Silver.  Frogs- Dark Green. Spinner bait- whit skirt, black/red skirt. Crank bait - Shallow Diver Perch, Deep Diver White.  Jerk bait- Silver w/ blue 
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? No

See this unnamed pond in Google Maps

Denison Pond, Stoughton, MA

I used to think this was unnamed until a reader informed me that it was called Denison Pond.  Anyway, this pond on Plain St just down the street from the world renown Town Spa, is small but definitely has a good amount of fish in there if you can get them to bite.  The weeds are pretty thick but there are some big openings in the weeds that you can work with any type of lure.

I've only fished this pond from the shore because it just isn't big enough to warrant the effort of getting a boat in there but I guess if you had nothing better to do, you could put a little canoe or kayak in it.  There are often breaks way out in the eastern corner where I heard the fishing used to be great before all of the bushes made it impossible to get to.

Anyway, there is plenty of room along Plain St to fish from the shore.  I've fished here several times and usually catch at least one bass but one day I was very surprised when I pulled out a 2.5 pound bass from this tiny pond.  The fishing spots may be limited by the weeds but apparently there are some decent sized fish in there, at least one that I know of for sure at.

This is pond is often a big tease as well.  You will constantly see fishing moving out in the middle of the water but no matter what you cast out to them, often times they won't take the bait.  Which tells me that they are either too small to be interested or the pond has been over-fished and they're no longer interested.  But hey, if you decide to go out and fish it for a little bit, good luck!

Successful Bait: Worms- Pumpkin seed, Frogs- Dark Green. Spinner bait- yellow skirt. 
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? No

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See this Unnamed Pond in Google Maps

Hackett's Pond, Hanover, MA

Hackett's Pond is a little pond in Hanover, MA hidden in between a couple of neighborhoods.  Access to the pond is very limited as there are only 2 places where you can get to the water from the streets.  Unless you live on the pond, you must access the pond down Dillingham Way off of Main St.  It can be a little strange using this road though as it is more like a driveway which leads to a home/office of a small company.  Although anytime I've parked down there no one has had a problem with it, its still a little weird.  There is also a path leading to the pond through the woods that you can find on Hackett's Pond Drive.

Ok so now for the fishing, from the shore there are a couple of spots you can try and fish where I have had success.  All of the shore fishing access is located on the southern shore which is the short side of the pond.  The southeast corner is where you can drop in a small boat if you so choose.  On that corner are some tall reeds and lilly pads that you can fish with some rubber worms/frogs.

Along the southern shore there are more lilly pads and some overhanging bushes that often have some activity nearby.  Since there are a lot of insects around this pond, there are a lot of fish feeding on surface of the water so it's easy to locate some fish.  The southwest corner, where the dam is located, is much deeper and has a large tree overhanging the water.  This has been the most promising spot for me when I have fished at Hackett's.

If you do get a boat in there, I would suggest working the western shore where there are two inlets and several patches of lilly pads where you are sure to catch some fish.  Keep in mind, this pond is very small so don't expect to catch any monsters but expect a lot of activity.

Successful Bait: Worms- Watermelon, Black w/ blue flakes.  Jerkbait- Silver, Spinner Bait -Black skirt. 
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? No

See Hackett's Pond in Google Maps

Big Sandy Pond, Plymouth, MA

Big Sandy Pond, like almost every pond is Plymouth, is almost completely weedless and  has a high water visibility.  Also, it is much deeper than most other ponds in Massachusetts.  That being said, it must be fished much differently than your average northeastern pond which is usually riddled with weeds and lilly pads.  Success in this pond takes technique, knowledge, and some help from a depth finder.

Like a few of the other ponds I've written about, unless you own land on the shore, you can only fish it if you drop a boat in.  There is a boat ramp with plenty of parking located down a very bumpy Gunning Point Rd, which can be found off of Bourne Rd.

For the most part, I fished three distinct aspects of this pond with some success.  There are plenty of docks running into the water on Big Sandy which are always a good place to start when you can't find any structure in the water.  They are especially abundant on the eastern shore.  I worked both a rubber worm and a spinner around them with some success.

After that, we fished some of the shores that had tree branches hanging out over the water, providing some shade for the fish.  These can be found on either side of the point that is extending out from the southern shore.  Again I worked a worm and a spinner bait over there, catching both largemouth and smallmouth bass.

The last spot we fished, which was very difficult to find even with our depth finder, is a severe drop off located just a little northeast of that point coming out from the south.  I will mark it on the map for you.  It drops from about 15 ft to around 30 ft in some places and finding a drop is always a good spot to fish as they will congregate on that downward slope.  Obviously in a spot like this you need to work hard to get your bait down to them so think about putting wait on your plastic baits or using a deep diving crank bait. 

One thing to consider is that I haven't trolled the entire pond searching for drop offs so the one I described may not be the only one.  Good luck!

Successful Bait: Worms- Light green.  Crank bait- Deep, white 15 ft diver.  Spinnerbait- yellow/white skirt.
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? Yes

See Big Sandy Pond in Google Maps

Canton Reservoir, Canton, MA

The Canton reservoir has treated me well for the past 4 years but recently it'javascript:void(0)s become a much challenging spot to fish.  The water level over the last 2 years has dropped about 6 feet, wiping out several quality fishing spots.  In the past, you could fish off the shore for hours and have continuous success but if you want to catch some fish in there now, I suggest you get a boat in there.

There is a spot next to the bridge on Pleasant St where you can put in a john boat or a canoe.  I think if you want to get a real boat in there, you will need to know someone with property on the shore.   If you want to immediately catch fish at the Res, you should head straight for south east corner which is directly up against the Wampatuck Country Club.  There is a par 3 hole on the shore, where a cove cuts into the land.  This spot is absolutely stacked with bass.  You can fish the edges or the middle because there are boulders submerged everywhere which give the bass lots of structure.   We've pulled a few 3 and 4 pound bass out of that cove, so that's always our go to spot.

Along the eastern shore there are two large inlets that you can fish if your boat can get into really shallow water, like 2-3 feet.  Between the two inlets tho is  a little rock pile that just barely pokes out of the water.  There are plenty of bass congregating around this spot so feel free to drop anchor and cast a few at the drop offs.

If the water level does come back, and you're looking to fish from the shore, I've got the perfect spot for you.  If you park behind the ENE building on Route 138, you will find a path that leads out to the water.  I'm not advocating this spot right now just because the water level is way too low and it won't produce the number of fish that it used to. 

We have had a little luck fishing in the middle of the reservoir but its pretty big and there aren't many drop offs to fish out there so it's usually just a crap shoot.

Successful Bait: Worms- Watermelon, Black  w/ blue tail.  Spinner Baits - Black & Red
Shore Fishing? Yes
Boat Access? Yes, off of Pleasant St
Boat Ramp? No

See the Canton Reservoir on Google Maps