Quabbin Fishing Guide

Fishing at Quabbin Reservoir is allowed during the Quabbin Fishing Season, which runs from the third Saturday in April to the third Saturday in October (in 2026, April 18, 2026 to October 17, 2026). Shore fishing from the designated shorelines now continues to December 31. Anyone over 15 needs a Massachusetts fishing license or a $5 one-day Quabbin Fishing License. Lake trout, landlocked salmon and smallmouth bass are the headline fish.

Quabbin is a drinking-water reservoir first, so fishing here runs on its own calendar and rules, separate from the statewide season. The good news is that the rules protect a fishery MassWildlife calls one of the premier fishing destinations in the state.

The Quabbin Fishing Season

DCR opens the reservoir to fishing on the third Saturday in April, weather permitting, and closes boating on the third Saturday in October. Since October 2025, shoreline fishing stays open after the boats come off, through December 31; DCR keeps the right to close it early if ice forms. Shore anglers can fish from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset, seven days a week. Shore fishing has been allowed since 1946, the year the reservoir filled; boat fishing followed in 1952.

Licenses

Everyone over 15 needs either a valid Massachusetts fishing or sporting license or a Quabbin Fishing License. The one-day Quabbin license costs $5 at the boat launch areas or on the MassWildlife website, and it is good only in the designated Quabbin shore and boat areas during the season.

What You Can Catch

MassWildlife surveys have found largemouth and smallmouth bass, lake trout, landlocked salmon, chain pickerel, yellow and white perch, black crappie, bluegill, pumpkinseed, rock bass, brown bullhead, rainbow smelt, white sucker, banded killifish and golden shiner. The reservoir is stocked with trout each spring.

Quabbin is one of only two waters in Massachusetts where lake trout and landlocked salmon reproduce naturally. MassWildlife's advice: shore anglers do best for trout and salmon in spring, when those fish cruise the shallow edges after smelt. By summer they go deep, and you need a boat. Smallmouth bass are plentiful, some large, and bite from shore or boat all season.

Limits and state records

• Lake trout: 2 a day, 18-inch minimum. The state record, 25 lb 7 oz, came in 2016.
• Landlocked salmon: 2 a day, 15-inch minimum (state record 10 lb 2 oz, 1985).
• Brown, rainbow and brook trout: 3 a day combined, no minimum size.
• Largemouth and smallmouth bass: 5 a day combined, 12-inch minimum.
• Chain pickerel: 5 a day, 15-inch minimum.

Those are the limits in DCR's Quabbin guide. Check the current Massachusetts freshwater regulations as well before you keep fish.

Where to Fish: Boat or Shore

Boats launch only from the three boat launch areas. DCR's rule of thumb: most deep, cold-water fish are in the west arm, reached from Gate 8 (Area 1) in Pelham; Gate 31 (Area 2) in New Salem and Gate 43 (Area 3) in Hardwick also reach shallower water that's better for warm-water fish. No boat? DCR rents boats at all three.

From shore, fishing is allowed in daylight along the designated shorelines from Gates 8 to 16A and Gates 22 to 44, on foot. It is not allowed on the baffle dams, and not inside Quabbin Park except for the Swift River below Winsor Dam. Park beside the gate, never in front of it: DCR tows cars blocking gates. Gate locations are on the gates page and the official fishing map.

Night fishing

Night fishing on the reservoir needs DCR's online Night Access Permit, available only during the season, and is limited to pedestrians entering through Gates 16, 31, 33, 35, 41 and 43. No permit is needed at night on the off-watershed ponds (Peppers Mill, Bassett and South Spectacle) or on the Swift River below Winsor Dam to Route 9.

Swift River below Winsor Dam

The Swift River from the "Y" Pool below Winsor Dam down to Route 9 is open all year for catch-and-release fly fishing, from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. A no-trespassing zone surrounds the power station.

Ice fishing

The reservoir and its regulating ponds are closed when frozen. DCR allows ice fishing only on three off-watershed ponds: South Spectacle, Bassett and Peppers Mill. Call the Watershed Rangers at (617) 828-2452 before going out.

Bait, Tackle and Sinkers

• Live bait is allowed. Smelt may be used as bait only after May 15. Chumming is prohibited.
• Lead sinkers and jigs under 1 ounce are banned in all Massachusetts fresh water. Use non-toxic weights; lead and line recycling bins are at every launch area.
• DCR says bait shops are near the launch areas in Pelham, Belchertown, Ware and Orange.

Fish Advisory: Mercury

DCR and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health have a health advisory on eating Quabbin fish because of mercury found in fish samples. It recommends limiting or avoiding certain species. DCR adds that the mercury has not affected the drinking water. The full advisory is posted at the launch areas.

Loons and Eagles

Quabbin is one of the few places in Massachusetts where common loons and bald eagles nest every year, and DCR has found fishing line and leaders in eagle nests. Keep boats 500 feet from loons, steer clear of perched eagles and nests, and take your old line home or to the recycling bins.