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"Charles River Fishing Report: Trout, Bass, and Spring Action on the Waterway"
This is Artificial Lure with your Charles River fishing report for Sunday, April 20, 2025.
We’re in prime spring mode here on the Charles. Water temps are steadily climbing through the mid to upper 40s, with a few shallow pockets kissing 50 degrees. Sunrise today came at 5:56 a.m. with sunset expected around 7:31 p.m., giving you a healthy window for morning and evening action. Weather’s typical for April in Boston: partly cloudy, temps in the mid-50s, and a northwest breeze around 8 mph. Tides aren’t a major factor way up the river, but anglers closer to the locks in the lower basins will see an incoming tide through the late morning, topping out midday.
Trout continue to be the top draw with fresh stockies active in the Esplanade section and around Magazine Beach. Rainbows are hungry, slamming Thomas Buoyants, Kastmasters, and Little Cleos in gold or silver. PowerBait and nightcrawlers are producing well for shore anglers. Browns and brookies are showing too, especially with worms or small shiners fished near cover and drop-offs. Reports from the past week confirm steady catches, with many anglers limiting out in the mornings and evenings. A few larger holdover rainbows up to 18 inches have been reported near the Harvard footbridge and along the shady banks just upriver from the BU boathouse.
Bass are waking up as temps creep toward 50. Early anglers are finding largemouths on slow presentations—think finesse plastics like Senkos, Ned rigs, and small jigs bounced along the bottom. Crankbaits are landing the occasional feisty smallmouth, especially in rocky sections just west of Watertown Square. If you get into the shallows near fallen timber, try a 4-inch green pumpkin worm or a black and blue jig for best results. This is still early season for largemouths, but they’re getting more active by the day.
Herring have started appearing farther downstream in tidal stretches, and though stripers aren’t thick in the Charles yet, a few holdovers have been caught on soft plastics and swimbaits at the locks and near the Museum of Science. Keep an eye on those areas as the run builds in the weeks ahead.
For hot spots today, hit the stretch between the Weeks Footbridge and the Western Avenue bridge, especially in the morning for trout. If it’s bass you’re after, check out the coves near Herter Park or the riprap edges below the Arsenal Street bridge.
Best bets for bait: live nightcrawlers, PowerBait in rainbow or chartreuse, and small shiners for trout. For lures, go with Kastmasters, Little Cleos, Thomas Buoyants, and 3- to 5-inch finesse soft plastics for bass.
Tight lines, and enjoy a classic spring day on the Charles. This is Artificial Lure, signing off—see you on the water.
We’re in prime spring mode here on the Charles. Water temps are steadily climbing through the mid to upper 40s, with a few shallow pockets kissing 50 degrees. Sunrise today came at 5:56 a.m. with sunset expected around 7:31 p.m., giving you a healthy window for morning and evening action. Weather’s typical for April in Boston: partly cloudy, temps in the mid-50s, and a northwest breeze around 8 mph. Tides aren’t a major factor way up the river, but anglers closer to the locks in the lower basins will see an incoming tide through the late morning, topping out midday.
Trout continue to be the top draw with fresh stockies active in the Esplanade section and around Magazine Beach. Rainbows are hungry, slamming Thomas Buoyants, Kastmasters, and Little Cleos in gold or silver. PowerBait and nightcrawlers are producing well for shore anglers. Browns and brookies are showing too, especially with worms or small shiners fished near cover and drop-offs. Reports from the past week confirm steady catches, with many anglers limiting out in the mornings and evenings. A few larger holdover rainbows up to 18 inches have been reported near the Harvard footbridge and along the shady banks just upriver from the BU boathouse.
Bass are waking up as temps creep toward 50. Early anglers are finding largemouths on slow presentations—think finesse plastics like Senkos, Ned rigs, and small jigs bounced along the bottom. Crankbaits are landing the occasional feisty smallmouth, especially in rocky sections just west of Watertown Square. If you get into the shallows near fallen timber, try a 4-inch green pumpkin worm or a black and blue jig for best results. This is still early season for largemouths, but they’re getting more active by the day.
Herring have started appearing farther downstream in tidal stretches, and though stripers aren’t thick in the Charles yet, a few holdovers have been caught on soft plastics and swimbaits at the locks and near the Museum of Science. Keep an eye on those areas as the run builds in the weeks ahead.
For hot spots today, hit the stretch between the Weeks Footbridge and the Western Avenue bridge, especially in the morning for trout. If it’s bass you’re after, check out the coves near Herter Park or the riprap edges below the Arsenal Street bridge.
Best bets for bait: live nightcrawlers, PowerBait in rainbow or chartreuse, and small shiners for trout. For lures, go with Kastmasters, Little Cleos, Thomas Buoyants, and 3- to 5-inch finesse soft plastics for bass.
Tight lines, and enjoy a classic spring day on the Charles. This is Artificial Lure, signing off—see you on the water.
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By Quiet. PleaseThis is Artificial Lure with your Charles River fishing report for Sunday, April 20, 2025.
We’re in prime spring mode here on the Charles. Water temps are steadily climbing through the mid to upper 40s, with a few shallow pockets kissing 50 degrees. Sunrise today came at 5:56 a.m. with sunset expected around 7:31 p.m., giving you a healthy window for morning and evening action. Weather’s typical for April in Boston: partly cloudy, temps in the mid-50s, and a northwest breeze around 8 mph. Tides aren’t a major factor way up the river, but anglers closer to the locks in the lower basins will see an incoming tide through the late morning, topping out midday.
Trout continue to be the top draw with fresh stockies active in the Esplanade section and around Magazine Beach. Rainbows are hungry, slamming Thomas Buoyants, Kastmasters, and Little Cleos in gold or silver. PowerBait and nightcrawlers are producing well for shore anglers. Browns and brookies are showing too, especially with worms or small shiners fished near cover and drop-offs. Reports from the past week confirm steady catches, with many anglers limiting out in the mornings and evenings. A few larger holdover rainbows up to 18 inches have been reported near the Harvard footbridge and along the shady banks just upriver from the BU boathouse.
Bass are waking up as temps creep toward 50. Early anglers are finding largemouths on slow presentations—think finesse plastics like Senkos, Ned rigs, and small jigs bounced along the bottom. Crankbaits are landing the occasional feisty smallmouth, especially in rocky sections just west of Watertown Square. If you get into the shallows near fallen timber, try a 4-inch green pumpkin worm or a black and blue jig for best results. This is still early season for largemouths, but they’re getting more active by the day.
Herring have started appearing farther downstream in tidal stretches, and though stripers aren’t thick in the Charles yet, a few holdovers have been caught on soft plastics and swimbaits at the locks and near the Museum of Science. Keep an eye on those areas as the run builds in the weeks ahead.
For hot spots today, hit the stretch between the Weeks Footbridge and the Western Avenue bridge, especially in the morning for trout. If it’s bass you’re after, check out the coves near Herter Park or the riprap edges below the Arsenal Street bridge.
Best bets for bait: live nightcrawlers, PowerBait in rainbow or chartreuse, and small shiners for trout. For lures, go with Kastmasters, Little Cleos, Thomas Buoyants, and 3- to 5-inch finesse soft plastics for bass.
Tight lines, and enjoy a classic spring day on the Charles. This is Artificial Lure, signing off—see you on the water.
We’re in prime spring mode here on the Charles. Water temps are steadily climbing through the mid to upper 40s, with a few shallow pockets kissing 50 degrees. Sunrise today came at 5:56 a.m. with sunset expected around 7:31 p.m., giving you a healthy window for morning and evening action. Weather’s typical for April in Boston: partly cloudy, temps in the mid-50s, and a northwest breeze around 8 mph. Tides aren’t a major factor way up the river, but anglers closer to the locks in the lower basins will see an incoming tide through the late morning, topping out midday.
Trout continue to be the top draw with fresh stockies active in the Esplanade section and around Magazine Beach. Rainbows are hungry, slamming Thomas Buoyants, Kastmasters, and Little Cleos in gold or silver. PowerBait and nightcrawlers are producing well for shore anglers. Browns and brookies are showing too, especially with worms or small shiners fished near cover and drop-offs. Reports from the past week confirm steady catches, with many anglers limiting out in the mornings and evenings. A few larger holdover rainbows up to 18 inches have been reported near the Harvard footbridge and along the shady banks just upriver from the BU boathouse.
Bass are waking up as temps creep toward 50. Early anglers are finding largemouths on slow presentations—think finesse plastics like Senkos, Ned rigs, and small jigs bounced along the bottom. Crankbaits are landing the occasional feisty smallmouth, especially in rocky sections just west of Watertown Square. If you get into the shallows near fallen timber, try a 4-inch green pumpkin worm or a black and blue jig for best results. This is still early season for largemouths, but they’re getting more active by the day.
Herring have started appearing farther downstream in tidal stretches, and though stripers aren’t thick in the Charles yet, a few holdovers have been caught on soft plastics and swimbaits at the locks and near the Museum of Science. Keep an eye on those areas as the run builds in the weeks ahead.
For hot spots today, hit the stretch between the Weeks Footbridge and the Western Avenue bridge, especially in the morning for trout. If it’s bass you’re after, check out the coves near Herter Park or the riprap edges below the Arsenal Street bridge.
Best bets for bait: live nightcrawlers, PowerBait in rainbow or chartreuse, and small shiners for trout. For lures, go with Kastmasters, Little Cleos, Thomas Buoyants, and 3- to 5-inch finesse soft plastics for bass.
Tight lines, and enjoy a classic spring day on the Charles. This is Artificial Lure, signing off—see you on the water.