We got our first real taste of winter this past week, but with some layers on, anglers should have no problem fishing in comfort.
The temperature gauge in my truck read 44 degrees at 6:30 this morning when I went out in hopes of snaring a before-work broodstock salmon. The salmon were stocked this week in Cliff, Sheeps and Peters ponds, though due to hatchery damage from Hurricane Irene, each pond received a paltry 12 fish. But for anglers who like a challenge and needle-in-a-haystack odds, the fish range from 3- to 8-pounds. Though I wasn’t surprised by a salmon, I was happy just to be able to cast comfortably without gloves. I did manage one very fat brown trout for my efforts.
At the weigh-in this morning for the Falmouth Bait and Tackle Trout Derby, the reading on the scale was lighter than I’d hoped – a stark contrast to the scale readings I’ve been seeing during my off-season reintroduction to the Falmouth Fitness Club. Christian had a fish to weigh in of his own sitting in the baitwell in the back of his truck. This one, a massive yellow perch, tipped the scale at 1.3 pounds. The fish hit a shiner while Christian was fishing for trout. He reported a decent trout bite in Peter’s Pond with many of the fish very fat for their length Trout fishing throughout the Cape has been excellent, and as Christian predicted last week, the colder waters have brought the larger trout close to shore where wading anglers are getting a crack at them. Chris Parisi from Bad Fish Outfitters in Falmouth reported lots of trout action at Ashumet lately, and Dan at the Hook Up said the trout ponds as his end of the Cape are on fire.
Browns in the neighborhood of 4 pounds have been caught in recent days, and bait – worms or shiners – seems to be the ticket.
If you want a shot at a salmon, your best bet will be to cover lots of water, which means casting lures. Spoons in gold or orange, and stickbaits in the same colors seem to do very well on the salmon, as well as big browns.
Big yellow perch like the one Christian weighed in this morning will be available at a number of Cape Ponds this weekend. Target ones with deeper water for the best odds of catching a giant perch. These fish are very aggressive, and will attack a wide variety of bait and lures. Dan at the Hook Up said he could barely get a nightcrawler to the bottom at Cliffs Pond this weekend before a hungry perch would snap it up.
No word on black bass this week, though I imagine largemouths, as well as pickerel, are still willing to take a shiner fished under a float in some of the shallower ponds.
Smallies should still be congregating over deepwater structure, making them vulnerable to well-placed vertical jigs or blade baits.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Get out for trout! This is the time to catch your biggest trout of the year on the Cape as big holdover browns and rainbows move into the shallows in a fruitless effort to spawn. Throwing some larger lures will cull out the smaller trout, but still increase the likelihood of attracting the attention of a cruising salmon. Top spots now would be Peters in Sandwich, Ashumet in Falmouth, Long Pond just over the bridge in Plymouth, and Nickerson State Park.
Little was also stocked. And, I was lucky enough to catch one on the bobber, and fly!! The fish was a little over 30″.