Snipatuit Pond

Snipatuit Pond is a shallow 710-acre (2.9 km2) warm water pond in Rochester, Massachusetts. The average depth is five feet and the maximum depth is six feet, except for one very small nine foot hole near the pump station on the west shore. The pond is the headwaters of the Mattapoisett River. The inflow comes from two sources: Cedar Swamp, which is located to the northeast, and Great Quittacas Pond, which is connected to Snipatuit Pond and located to the northwest. The water quality is impaired due to wetlands vegetation. The boat access to the pond is a dirt ramp with limited parking located off Neck Road. Shoreline access is limited to the area east of the pond bordering Neck Road.

According to fishing writer David Kaplan, Snipatuit offers excellent largemouth bass, northern pike and pickerel fishing. An annual run of spawning herring maintains an abundance of these protein-rich bait fish that assures high growth rates for the game fish species. Kaplan cautions however that this shallow, dark-water lake can be very challenging to fish in the summer months. Relatively easy spring fishing yields good numbers of 1-4 pound bass and even some in the 5- to 6-pound-plus range. But once the spring spawn ends and the big female bass move out of the shallow nesting areas, they are much harder to locate and catch. That is because most bass feed in the large beds of slim, grassy reeds that line many shore lines and extend out into the dishpan-shaped lake floor. Since the reeds are so thick, it is nearly impossible to work the interior of the beds with any kind of live bait. Fishing close to the edges of the reeds will often take fish at dawn and dusk and on hot, overcast, gray-sky days. But most big bass are deep into the reeds, searching out small fish that hide there. Weedless artificial lures work best, especially when worked in and around pockets and holes deep in the reeds. Kaplan recommends larger sizes of Texas-rigged plastic worms and big grass frogs with weedless hooks. Boaters will need to use an oar or push pole to move through these weed beds as the propellers of gas and electric motors will quickly become fouled with reeds and grasses. It is also possible to wade through some of the weed beds, but soft, muddy bottoms limit this approach. So if you're looking for a challenging and different bass fishing situation, with a shot at some big pike too, find a sturdy push-pole, rig a stout flipping stick and head for Snipatuit.