Number Five Reservoir Fishing near Southbridge, Massachusetts

• Overview

  Number Five Reservoir is one of the Worcester County waters in Massachusetts. Elevation runs to 745 feet. Roughly 31 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. 3.4 miles away sits Southbridge, the nearest town. Worcester is the closest city, 21 miles away. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Number Five Reservoir

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Reported across Worcester County: bluegill, chain pickerel, largemouth bass and pumpkinseed. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Read Number Five Reservoir before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The range across the year is 23°F to 70°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around late December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Number Five Reservoir runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Number Four Reservoir sits 0.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Treat access at Number Five Reservoir as something to verify.