Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 2-9-2012

Anglers are still buzzing about the keeper bass caught out of Chatham a couple weeks ago, though I haven’t heard any fresh reports of holdover stripers. Freshwater fishing is trudging along with both bass and trout biting, and there was even a rumor of some flatfish taken in the canal.

Starting with the freshwater, trout fishing in Ashumet has been great. Christian at Falmouth Bait and Tackle said the rainbows have been feeding in good numbers throughout the pond. Peters Pond reportedly gave up a couple salmon over the weekend, though overall the fishing there has been slow. Any pond with trout has the potential to produce decent fishing, however. The word at Red Top Sporting Goods is that the trout bite is still  decent all over the Cape. Good lures are the small gold spoons, Yo-Zuri PINS minnows and live bait. Small shiners or killifish will work best for the trout.

Shallow ponds that have the chance to warm up on sunny days are producing largemouths and pickerel. Shiners are the absolute best choice, but if you must throw artificials, jerkbaits are likely the best choice. Perch are also still biting, and in deeper water, smallies can be coaxed into eating a slow-moving lure.

Christian at Falmouth Bait and Tackle had a customer in his shop this week claiming to have caught winter flounder in the east end of the Cape Cod Canal. The angler said the dolphins and the Sandwich Boat Basin were the hotspots. I relayed the story to Greg at Red Top who said that catching winter flounder in those locations isn’t unheard of. The baits that were supposedly working on the flatfish were clams and nightcrawlers.

Holdover stripers, though I haven’t heard any more about them since two keepers were weighed at Goose Hummock, are certainly an option as well. Look way up in bays and harbors and rivers for the best odds of finding one of these fish. Small baits fished slowly will be the best bet.

Though cod fishing around Cape Cod is not really an option (seems ironic doesn’t it), the Block Island bite is looking pretty good. Headboats are returning to port with limits of groundfish according to the boys at Red Top.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you’re still smarting from the Super Bowl, a little time on the water will cure what ails ya. Pickerel and trout will be the most active of the freshwater species. Fish the trout in the larger ponds with small live baitfish or stickbaits and spoons. Look for pickerel in shallow waters with weed growth. Fish big shiners or stickbaits for the picks.

If you like chasing wild geese (and I think all fishermen have a little of that in them) take a crack at the canal winter flounder. I recommend going around the slower parts of the tide. Chumming is a widely used tactic for winter flounder elsewhere, so doing some chumming might be a good idea as well.