Freshwater fishing and kayak fishing in Bostom: The Charles River Basin

By Dave Williams (Adam Bolonsky)

Associated Content Travel, Monday, November 2, 2009

Of the many freshwater fishing areas of interest to urban Massachusetts kayak fishing enthusiasts and other small boat users, one good place to start is the Charles River basin in metropolitan downtown Boston, near the famous Hatch Shell and Boston July 4th fireworks.

The basin lies about a mile west of Boston City Hall, on the Charles River between the Massachusetts Avenue and Red Line bridges. The surrounding area, urban of course is heavily developed. It's ordered on one side by the MIT campus, on the other by the famous Beacon Hill and Back Bay neighborhoods. The shorelines of the basin have been preserved as a greenbelt.

Shoreline access is good if you're on foot, not bad if you know where to launch your kayak or small boat.

Last time the basin was surveyed, in 1981, and long before the Charles River Watershed Association went to great lengths to clean up the lower quarter of the Charles River, the basin yielded eleven species of fish.

You'll find golden shiner, white perch, pumpkin seed, yellow perch, white sucker, catfish, northern pike, bullhead trout and, oddly enough, striped bass and American Shad that have made their way into the basin via the locks at Boston's Museum of Science. The basin also holds largemouth bass.

The Charles River is very much a success story testament to the utility of the enforcement of anti-pollution laws, improvements in pollution abatement technology, and the efforts of the active and effective watershed protection association.

All have worked together to restore the vitality of this once neglected downtown Boston freshwater fishing resource. The urban angler will do well here, especially if you equip with worms and jigs and concentrate your efforts around the basin's two bridges and associated pilings.

The fastest action, and most reliable and consistent, is on e perch and bullhead.
Bass fishermen will likewise do well if they focus their efforts on the basin's natural and manmade structures.

ome of the better fishing in the basins can be found in the western third of the basin, and along the ripraps of the southern shoreline. Expect a constant parade of joggers, sunbathers, bicyclists and rollerbladers along the paths of this popular downtown

Boston recreational and picnicking area. Also expect the waters of the basin to be dotted with the sailboats launched from the docks of the boathouses used by the Harvard University and MIT sailing teams, as well as sailboats underway from Community Boating, Inc., Boston's sole non-profit public sailing center.

The onwater fisherman, whether kayak fishing or otherwise, will fit right in with the variety of craft.

The several-hundred acre basin is bordered by the Mass Ave. bridge that connects downtown Boston to Central Square, and the so-called salt-and-pepper bridge which connects Beacon Hill and the Massachusetts General Hospital Campus to Kendall Square in Cambridge.

Water depths reach 30 feet, with a series of significant series of hills and rises along the southern shores at Storrow Drive. You'll also find many upwellings near the State Police Station, river locks and Science. You'll also find good structure near the Mass Ave. bridge, particularly along shorelines of Storrow Drive and Memorial Drive.

To launch for kayak fishing or to fish from a jonboat or canoe, one often oftentimes reliable spot is Magazine Beach across the street from the Micro Center and Trader Joe's shopping complex. Parking at the beach tends to come and go, but chances are that if you launch from the beach on a quiet afternoon midweek, you can slip your boat into the water. Take a left, downriver from the beach, and head northeast underneath the Boston University and Massachusetts Avenue Bridge.

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