bobbers

One of the things I loved the most as a kid growing up on the sea coast was fishing. We had the best of both worlds, fresh water ponds, the Ipswich river. Tidal rivers and the harbor.
Shoe pond on McKay street in the section of the city known as Shingleville, was where I got my start. I had a cheap fiberglass rod with a Zebco push button reel. This was strictly worm and bobber fishing. I caught my share of Bluegill and yellow Perch but I never caught a Bass or Pickerel there, but I loved every minute of the time I spent there.
Putnamville reservoir had just been created, when it came to our attention. We kids thought that it was huge. But as reservoirs go, it really is on the small side. Some say that the land was at one time a golf course. But according to Jim Connors (I think) it was farm land and swamp.This body of water is on what I believe is Locust st. or route 35 between Danvers center and route 97. The reservoir is feed by draining water from the Ipswich river. This reservoir belongs to the Beverly and Salem water supply. They acquired the land in the late 40's and had it ready to go in 1951. They also own Folly Hill reservoir, which is one big under ground holding tank. It is Located on the Danvers and Beverly line off of Elliot st. on rte. 62. (We use to have great fun playing in the Folly hill area, but that's a story for another day.) They then drain water from these two spots, into Wenham lake, which is on 1A bordering Wenham and Beverly, via what must be under ground conduits.
I caught my first big bass in Putnamville resevoir and plenty of pickerel. It was really a hard place to fish back then because the newness of it made it rather sterile. You know no blow downs, cat-o'- nine tails or lily pads. Today it looks a lot more natural. Also at that time there was no boats allowed, which was under-standable because it was after all, drinking water.
Wenham lake was a much stricter operation. No trespassing signs were posted every-where The fishing tales were of course Bunyanesque in proportions. So as there was no fishing or swimming allowed , every kid in the area had to try it at least once. Every summer you would see articles about groups of teens getting hauled into the police station. Mostly for skinny dipping. I'm sure a closer look, would turn up some of Curt Gowdy's touted Narragansett GIQ bottles. Kids caught fishing would just get the bums rush. Take my word for it, the fishing was over rated!
Right up the street in Hamilton,there is a place called Pleasant pond. When I was a kid it was called Idlewood lake. This is a reclaimed trout pond. What that means is that somebody with clout, got the fish and game department to kill off all the vegetation and fish in the pond. Every spring, just prior to opening day the state stocked it with nursery grown trout. So the only time we would go there was on opening day. As you know there is a law that states that anyone who goes fishing on opening day must freeze his ass off. By the way the same rule applies for opening day at Fenway park.
Idlewood lake was a fancy name for a little pond with a bunch of summer cottages spread around it's shoreline. As it was a reclaimed trout pond, you could only use artificial lures or flies to fish it. You know yuppie style. So it was not much liked by us kids.
We fished the Ipswich river some. It was really a decent place to fish in the fall. By then the springs high levels would have dropped, plus the syphoning, both legal and furtive, created pools where the fish would be forced to congregate.
Now getting to the salt water fishing. I remember fishing for tinker mackerel from the Hall-Whitaker bridge that spanned the Bass river. I also remember jigging for pollock off of the B&M railroad bridge and catching silver hake one right after another,off the old Glover wharf. A McDonald's stands there today, it's right before you get to the Beverly-Salem bridge. The Glover wharf was a very busy pier.It had fishing boats,barges and tankers tied up to it constantly. It also had a large well weathered warehouse of some sort. This building was a favorite roosting spot for gulls and pigeons. The off white speckled roof with it's own particular odor mixed in with the pungent coal tar creosote pilings and salt water smells, had a very familiar ambiance.
I remember renting rowboats either at Glover wharf or Salem Willows, and catching more flounder with drop lines than you would believe. I remember what seemed like millions of alewife's bouncing all over the shore at the end of the bass river. A nor'easter or some thing must have confused them as there was no stream into Shoe pond. I remember digging my own bait, both earthen and salt. Setting minnow traps in the marshes. Searching for night crawlers with a flashlight. Being cold,wet and smelly! After writing this I can't help but wonder why I don't go fishing anymore. I really should correct this oversight.