Conference wahoo::fishing

    JUST CALLED MDC IN CLINTON.THE DATE SET FOR OPENING OF WACHUSETT
    RES. IS APR.1ST.I BELIEVE QUABBIN IS THE SAME.

    I did not think you could fish Quabbin. It is Bostons water supply
    as I understand it. As for Wachusett it also is a water shed but
    it can be fished from shore. No boats however.....as for when, 
    when the ICE is gone. (and that is none too soon for me!)
    
                                       NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~
    

                  WACHUSETT RES IS APRIL 1 . EVERY YEAR THE SAME,BUT
    WALL TO WALL PEOPLE. BE READY TO SHOW YOUR LICENCE,EVEN AT 4:00
     AM.THE GAME WARDENS DRIVE AROUND WITH 4 WHEELERS AND LOOK FOR
    EVERYTHING,ALCOHOL,TENTS,SMELTS,ECT.IT IS NOT WORTH GOING OPEN-
    ING DAY.IF YOU DO BETTER GET THERE AT 1:00 FOR YOUR BEST SPOTS.
    
       QUBBIN I THINK IS THE 3 RD SATUDAY OF APRIL. 
    

    I take it then you can get a boat in the quabbin. How is for Bass?
    I can do without the crowds and I think it should be against the
    law to fish without beer. 
                                      NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~

    You can put a boat on quabin but.....
    
    No more than 20 hp, the boat must be clean, no drinking, no smoking and
    the list gets longer.
    
    They do rent boats though. I think they are 14 ft V hulls with either a
    6 hp or 4 hp. I think it is $20 a day.
    
    Rich

        As for the Quabin the limit is 1/2 the rated horse power of
    your boat up to 20H.P.  So if your boat is rated for 35 H.P. max
    and you have a 20 h.p. engine you cant get on it.  Wierd rules???
    
    
    
    
    

	Check notes 18.*, 301.*, and 326.* as well for Quabbin info

						Al

    To many rules for me!
                              NIGHTCRAWLER~~~~~~~~~~
                            

    For all the rules at quabin, to me it is still worth going. There
    is a large assortment of game fish such as large and smallmouths,
    salmon, lake trout, rainbows, and browns. Last year while fishing
    we saw a bald eagle, golden eagles, hawks, wild turkeys, beavers
    and one deer. It is a nice place to go once in a while. But the 
    rule about beer does keep me from going more than I do.
    
    Rich

    
    	Make sure you know all the rules for these 2 great MDC fishing
    areas, because they do and enforce them! I fish Wachusett regularly
    and have a couple of favorite spots. I get depth maps over at the
    fish and game headquaters in Westboro. They don't however have a
    depth map of Wachusett, just a gate map with rules and regulations
    on the back. I asked on of the officers there about this and he
    said none are published, then he told me to follow him and showed
    me a large old blueprint with soundings taken shortly after the
    Wachusett was filled. I now have that map etched in permanant memory
    and it has helped me to find some of the best fishing spots on the
    reservoir. They are all a brisk walk in from the road so generally
    you will only find serious fisherman and wardens there. I know about
    Quabbin and have mapped and hiked there when I was in school but
    I have never fished there, Anyone have extra room in the boat?

    Hey Worm!!!!!!, Go ahead and bring that new fiberglass barge to
    Quabin, you'll be using the trolling motor all day!!!!. Can't do
    a hole shot with that!!!. I read Garrys note, kids still eating
    beans? 
    
    Wish I had one,
    
    Ray

    I thought I'd post an article from this mornings (3-30) Worcester
    Telegram. The news isn't good.
    
           "Officals Warn of Mercury In Quabbin, Wachusett Fish."
      "State health officals yesterday warned fisherman that too-high levels
    of mercury have been found in two smallmouth bass from Wachusett
    Reservoir, and worrisome average levels of mercury have been found in
    40 fish from the Wachusett and Quabbin Reservoirs.
       Accordingly, the state Department of Public Health has issued an
    advisory against eating fish from Wachusett, and has continued an
    advisory against eating fish from Quabbin.
       Pregnant women, women who are breastfeeding, women of childbearing
    age, and children under 12 are warned to eat no fish from Quabbin or
    Wachusett, and all others are warned to eat no more thanone five-ounce
    portion per week.
       "We have decided to err on the side of caution and continue the
    advisories while we continue our search for the source of the mercury,"
    state Environmental Affairs Secretary James Hoyte said.
    				Many Tests
       Repeated tests of the reservoir water by a variety of state agencies
    have found no problem with the water, with mercury levels 10 times
    under the allowable federal level, James Simon, assistant secretary for
    environmental affairs, said yesterday.
       The state recently completed tests on 40 fish taken last fall from
    Quabbin and Wachusett Reservoirs. The 25 new fish caught in Quabbin all
    showed levels of methylmercury below the 1.0 parts per million (ppm)
    level allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Simon
    said.
       Of 15 new fish caught in the Wachusett and tested, two exceeded the
    1.0 ppm level and 13 were under it, he said.
       Elaine Krueger, chief toxicoligist for the state Department of
    Public Health, said her agency was concerned about the average level of
    mercury in the fish tested and its effect on fisherman and their
    families.
       			Concern for Fisherman
       "Our concern is for recreational fisherman and their families, who
    are consuming more and different types of fish than the average
    person who buys fish in a supermarket or restaurant," Ms. Krueger said.
       She said the federal limit of 1 ppm of methylmercury in fish applies
    to fish sold commercially in supermarkets and restaurants, and is based
    on the effects of methylmercury on a 70-kilogram man. She said methyl-
    mercury can have a much greater impact on the central nervous system of
    a fetus, an infant, or on a developing child. 
       Larger fish with higher levels of mercury are caught less frequently
    than smaller fish with lower levels, Ms. Krueger said, so the health
    concern is for the average amount of mercury found in the entire sample
    of fish from each reservoir.
    				Leaflets
       Signs and leaflets will be distributed at the fishing areas,
    detailing the advisory and explaining the potential for mercury caught
    in the reservoirs, he said.
    	The fishing season opens April 1 at Wachusett, and April 16 at the
    Quabbin.
    	Advisory signs, first posted last August at Quabbin, were
    recommended as a precautionary step by the state Department of Public
    Health after four of five large lake trout tested last summer were
    found to have levels of methylmercury higher than 1.0 ppm. 
       Hoyte said the new fish tests underscore the need for the
    Metropolitan District Commission to move quickly and use $25 million of
    the 1987 Open Space bond to purchase watershed land around the
    Wachusett Reservoir to help protect the area."
    
    -Copied from the Worcester Telegram, March 30, 1988-
    
    Well the results are in, what do we do now??????
    
    Jim Thomann
    

    re. 12  Well the results are in, what do we do now??????
    
      Heavy metals tend to affect certain organs and areas of a fish
    more than others.  I watched a fishing show this winter that went
    through detailed explaination on cleaning fish.  They showed the
    areas of the fish that should be discarded, due to contamination,
    basically the lower sections of meat and the dark strip running 
    near the center, they were lake and brown trout.  Maybe somebody 
    rememebers seeing the show or has information on this subject.
                               
    You can always try catch and release, thats what I'll be doing
    Friday morning on Wachusett,   SEE YOU THERE!!!!!
    
    Les
    
    

    	My favorite lake here in Colorado also has a Mercury problem.
     Seems the old timers who used the Mercury for processing the gold
    in the smelters didn't use too much caution with it.  So, we have
    mercury problems out here too.  
    	Rather than calling it a problem, I call it a blessing.  ALL
    BASS AND PIKE must be returned to the lake.  It seems that the fish
    at the higher end of the food chain get more mercury than the lower
    fish.  The policy in the lake is, "All Bass and Pike must be returned.
    Only 1 trophy fish may be kept per year.  Bass must be a minimum
    of 18" and Pike must be a minimum of 36".  Crappie must be less
    than 16" and a limit of 10 fish.  Cats must be less than 24" to
    keep with a limit of 5 fish.  Blue gills have a limit of 10 fish."
    This doesn't hurt my feelings at all.  When you say "catch-and-release
    only" to most worm drowners, they turn green and head toward a
    different lake.  I use the policy to teach my children some
    conservation policies.  Seems that the fun of catching more and
    larger fish from a lake within a given time period of fishing appeals
    more to them than catching a few fish to eat.  So, I say, if the
    problem is advertised well enough, have fun fishing.  The more fish
    there and the fewer fishermen, the more fun fishing I have when
    I go.
    	Rather than a problem, look at it like a blessing in disguise.
    The levels of mercury in my favorite fishing lake are 0.05 ppm for
    Bass and Pike, 0.01 ppm for Crappie, and less then 0.01 ppm for
    blue gill, small cats and bullheads.  I have only seen one fish
    that could have possibly been deformed from the mercury in the lake.
    Knowing the aggressive feeding tactics of the Pike in the lake,
    it could have just been that he decided to try to eat a boulder. :-)
    His jaws were bent open at a point just in front of his eyes. 
    TALK ABOUT A MEAN LOOKING DUDE!!!!!  All those teeth sticking out about
    caused my son to give him rod, reel, line, and hook.  Anyway, I
    like to fish the lake better than catch-and-kill lakes because it
    makes fishing more fun for everyone and teaches a valuable lesson
    to my children at the same time.

    My buddy and I hit the Quabbin on Saturday (opening day).  We only
    had one hookup all day, but it was a beauty.  He took a 10 pound
    laker at about 4:30 pm, trolling a Krocodile.  It was the largest
    fish weighed in at gate 31 that day.  Due to the Mercury scare,
    this one is headed for his wall.  Looking forward to the next trip,
    hopefully the luck will be mine this time.
    
    Brian
    

    
    
      Could anyone tell me when Quabbin closes?
    
                              Thanks  
                                           km

    The 3rd Sunday of this month (24th of Oct)
    
    Jan
    

    I just called the MDC in Clinton and they told me that both the
    Wachusett and Quabbin close for fishing on Oct. 31.  This sounds
    kind of late for Wachusett, but thats what the officer said.
    Went to the Quabbin on Sunday, caught one short salmon on the
    surface and a small smallmouth.  Hopefully this cool weather
    will bring up more trout and salmon.  Don't stow the rods yet.
    
    The Gaffer
    

    
        GOOD NEWS!!!
    
            I just read in sundays paper that gate 8 (fishing area 1)
        will be opening one week earlier than the rest of the lake. So
        as it stands now...
    
                             GATE 8 .....APRIL 13TH
                             GATE 31 & 43  APRIL 20TH
    
           GAFF YOU MUST BE THRILLED !!!  GOOD LUCK TO YA.
    
                                                           KIV

    Oh no!  All my secret, killer spots are on the other side!  Why can't
    they just open everything at once.  Of course that would make too
    much sense, this is after all, Massataxus.
    
    Gone fishin
    Gaff

    Yeah  !
      That's kind of dumb to open the narrowest part of the lake first.

    I think I'll wait a week.

    Jim

    
      Well maybe for some it may be dumb...
    
         Try looking at it as an extra week to fish one of the most
      (if not the most) beautiful lakes in the north east. By opening
       it one week earlier gives parents (who did put up a stink) a chance
       to take there sons/daughters out fishing during school vacation.
     
    
                                                       Thats a good thing
                                                                Kiv  

    Kiv man, The dumb part about it, is that all the gates were open that
    week 2 years ago and back. Last year they hosed us by opening a week
    later, and jacking up the price of admission. Oh ya they are really
    looking out for us! All I can say is have a good time and get there
    about 3:00 am if you plan on getting in. They have a limit you know!
    Since the other gates are closed, where do you think they will be
    going? My bet would be gate 8. Like the other man said, I'll wait
    a week.

    A perhaps unneeded word of caution:
    
    DON'T EAT ANYTHING YOU PULL OUT OF QUABBIN!
    
    Anything big enough to keep is poisoned by mercury of undetermined
    source. The DFW is still trying to determine the source of the mercury
    so they can come up with a real solution. In the meantime, the problem
    is still real and still very dangerous.
    
    FWIW
    
    
    John H-C

    From the Worcester Telegram;
    
    Gate 8,  Kiv is right, that gate opened this past Saturday in respose
    to the parents who wanted to take their kids fishing during school
    vacation.  The kicker is it will close a week earlier in the fall!
    
    Gate 31, opens Sat. the 20th.  Opens 5:30am the 1st weekend, then 6pm
    daily thereafter.  This gate will be closed on Tues. & Wed. throughout
    the season.  Boats for rent only, no motors available.
    
    Gate 43, opens Sat. the 20th.  Open seven days a week, boats and
    motors available.
    
    Plan to bring a trash bag with you, the MDC has removed all trash
    barrels as a cost saving measure.
    
    Gone fishin

    "Cost savings?"
    
     Yeah, they don't mind spending 2x to clean up the trash that's left on
    the ground when they could spend x to put barrels out there. Penny
    wise, pound foolish...
    
     The Doctah

    Well, I haven't been yet, but a guy I was talking with this morning
    said that it was a real zoo at gate eight. Long lines, and they sold
    out all the parking spaces. Is this true, or is this bull ?

    Jim

Anyone know the prices they are charging this year for boats and/or motors ?
Any other fees ?

    
      After parking boat and motor rental $31.00 for the day
      6:00 am to 7:00pm
    
    
                                                        kiv