Apr 1, 2022
It might be hard for some people to imagine, with all the attention on social media, that going fishing in the waters of Medfield is still a fun adventure for the young and the young at heart. So, for a while, forget about the pandemic and let your mind float downstream!
Fishing allows us to relax outdoors, develop patience, and form special bonds with family and friends. Even a solitary fisherman is never alone, because he’s always in the mix with the fish. What’s not to love?
In the mid-20th century, one of the best and most scenic places to go fishing in Medfield was Jewel’s Pond on Foundry Street. Tommy Cebrowski and friends would get into his rowboat and row the hidden cove, where the water was just five feet deep, and cast their lines with the red and white bobbers and wait for the fish to start biting and jumping.
Seemingly clairvoyant, 10-year-old rookie fisherman Dennis Flaherty said he was going to catch a shiner as he cast his line. Suddenly Dennis felt a tug and pulled in a six-inch shiner, so named for its eye-catching golden scales. Was Dennis lucky or physic? They didn’t even consider eating that fish – they threw it back and felt it a harbinger of some good fishing to come.
Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong – Gone Fishin’ (1951)
One of the most plentiful good eating fishes at Jewel’s Pond were the hornpouts, more commonly referred to as catfishes. During the warm summer months, the bottom dweller catfish could be seen basking at the bottom of the water near the Foundry Street bridge. Tom and friends loved fried catfish, but when they caught one, they were careful removing the hook to avoid a nasty cut from the horns that were each located to the right and left of the catfish’s head.
It was best to have a pair of pliers handy, because the skin had to be stripped off before the cleaning process of removing their heads and insides. Easy to prepare and truly delicious when fried in olive oil, the catfish has a unique flavor, as appealing as southern fried chicken. In fact, over the years the sizable catfish has become so popular that it’s grown commercially and sold frozen at many supermarkets.
Jewel’s Pond had plenty of perch, sunfish, pickerel, and an occasional bass. A bass was very different, with a dark blue body and small traces of red and gold on the sides. The pond was also home to many snapping and sun turtles. According to legend, the snapping turtles grew big, roughly the size of a compact-car hubcap. The snappers fed on smaller fish as well as ducklings and other small animals that swam in the freshwater.
They also got caught up in any fish netting that Tommy Cebrowski might have had in the water. By the end of most summer afternoons of fishing, Tommy would have a full water bucket of freshly caught perch, catfish, and sunfish. Tommy would put all those freshly caught fish out on a big dish and fed them to all the barn cats alongside a big bowl of fresh cow’s milk. The cats were always hungry and more than happy to eat all the poisson du jour. From the tips of their heads to the ends of their tails, those fish were gobbled up, insides and all.
Vine Lake at the cemetery was a popular fishing hole for many kids in the neighborhood of Frairy Street. One unique facet of this pond were the crayfish that used to hang out near the shoreline; when they were frightened, the little crayfish would jettison themselves backwards. Another attraction at the pond was the large frog population. Where there were frogs, there were tadpoles that swam close to the shore – easy to catch and put in a bucket of water, take to school the next day to show in science class, and then return to Vine Lake to grow into frogs.
More recently, Vine Lake has become an oasis for many Canadian geese that call Vine Lake their home. The geese are approachable and docile, especially when offered popcorn and crackers.
Perhaps the most scenic of all the ponds in Medfield is Kingsbury’s Pond on Spring Street, opposite St. Edward’s Church. Just the mere sight of the pond from the street conjures up visions of Longfellow’s Evangeline. “The murmuring pines and hemlocks. Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight.”
The pond had exotic plants nearly everywhere under foot, making the habitat that provided a certain peace and tranquility. Some of the older, mysterious looking trees with vines were perhaps some of the rarest plants in all of Medfield. Remarkably one could see the way the creeping vegetation could do the twine-time around the trees, swallowing everything. From that backdrop one would frequently see young kids fishing in their row boats. On hot summer nights one could hear the curious, romantic harmonies of the frogs and the incessant chatter of crickets – a nocturnal aquatic symphony.
At this pond, most were content to see the dazzling golden rays of the sun, as the vibrancy made colors dance. People could watch the sky change with the sunrise, with a daytime glow that would augment the bright emerald-green lily pads growing in the shallow waters. The water was dark, but translucent and calm. The surrounding whispering white pine trees and the seasonal lush maple saplings closest to Curve Street helped to cheer up the underbrush. There was lush vegetation – green vines and scattered lady slippers along with all the other tall wildflowers. Those blossoms reflected peace and a certain timeless beauty that was clinging ever so thickly to the rich soil, nurturing in harmony with the pristine shoreline. Could heaven be any better?
The fall season with all the beautiful foliage on the shores of Kingsbury’s Pond has been the most beautiful in all the town. And the fishing hasn’t been bad either. One of the best locations to cast your rod would have to be on the opposite side of the pond with the railroad tracks located high above. From one of the sandy clearings it’s possible to notice the distinction from how the water flows from Kingsbury’s Pond to the nearly forgotten pond on the opposite side of the railroad tracks. But the good side of the pond casts the type of setting where a young teen can bring along his dog that can’t wait to jump into the water to cool itself off on a hot summer day.
The pond had mostly sunfish, carp, and catfish that would all keep anyone new to fishing very busy. For the beginner the fishing was a lot of fun. In addition, young kids liked to think and talk about how the barren, placid beach had at one time become a nighttime landing site for Unidentified Flying Objects. Even though that was a bit of a stretch of science fiction never actually confirmed, the idea showed a determined, youthful, and active imagination that was never discouraged or denied.
In the late 70s, Nancy and Cliff Sanders’ eight-year-old son Michael went fishing for the very first time with friends on the once-sandy-but-by-then-overgrown beach of Kingsbury’s Pond.
But there was still a bit of sand-like shoreline from where young Michael could cast his line, and he ended up catching one sunfish right after another. He couldn’t wait to tell his mom and dad all about the fish he caught. The next day, to celebrate, Michael’s mom and dad took him for lunch at the Colonial Restaurant. Michael settled for a cheeseburger and fries while mom and dad decided to have the roast duck. Young Michael wasn’t quite ready for proper restaurant decorum, so in his exuberance, he took a bread roll and flung it at his mom and dad just for fun.
Exploring and fishing at any of the ponds in Medfield can be an adventure diversion. Perhaps from the warm summer light and breeze comes the vision of an exotic utopia. The images of this mosaic have danced around in our minds without a sound and in silence, sprinkled in stardust by day’s end. These images have remained in our dreamscape, guided on our path by the glow of many floating, dancing fireflies.