Friday Morning at the CHU

[stripernut]

Will and I made it out for a quick trip to the Chu looking for whatever would bite. We hit 3 different locations with one small laker on a Cleo and a nice (at least for me) Salmon on a Sabile Magic Swimmer. The Salmon was post spawn and we had a number of them running up and down the shoreline not hitting anything (but some follows). I tried the Magic Swimmer and gave it a real erratic retrieve and a male hit it... The sun got high and the salmon disappeared... Little chilly but it was great to get out and what the sun rice!

[taxid]

Nice pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[zwiggles]

Nice salmon!

[bogtrotter]

Is the Wachuset stocked with salmon every year, or is there a wild landlocked population of them in there?

Either way, it's pretty cool that you caught one! 

The only salmon I've ever caught were the fingerlings they used to stock in the tributaries to the CT River.

[Bass to mouth]

Very nice salmon!
Buddy at work said friday there was 13 guys along the shore and everyone was reeling in fish. Sounds like peak at the Chu.

[james1981]

 Both, they supplement the "wild" with hatchery fish every year or so. I imagine that they would also have "wild or spawned fish also although maybe rare I am no biologist but I am sure some of those fish spawn and the young survive.

 FYI I have heard reports way back  of them running all the way up to rt 202 in the quabbin area on the west branch of the I think swift river. I made it out there one year to look but failed to hook a single fish or see anything. Lots and Lots of little places like that if you want to hike in the quabbin to fly fish those small brooks. there are dozens. Some hold wild brook trout, But its a very tight lipped thing aside from me posting on the internet.

[CMD1987]

Wachusett has a large reproductive population of salmon. The only significant salmon reproduction in the state. It is also occasionally stocked when there are salmon left over after stocking the quabbin (and, recently, trading salmon with New Jersey for pike/Muskie). Last stocked heavily in fall 2015.

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

the salmon spawn this year was the best one in five years.

[zwiggles]

Do they spawn in the lake, or in a river that connects to it?

[The Jigger]

Do they spawn in the lake, or in a river that connects to it?

In the rivers

[SalmonAndStriper Stalker]

some will also ridge spawn in the lake along the shoreline as well.