Though the trout were stocked, reports were still a little sparse this week. Andy Nabreski, OTW Design manager, educated 20 newly stocked trout on Monday, but when Chris Megan and I returned the following Tuesday, it seemed the trout were either too “well taught” or simply weren’t eating. We picked a few, and that was a few more than we caught on Wednesday, when a whole crew from OTW hit an Upper Cape pond and completely struck out with the trout.
Fluctuating water temperatures and weather patterns may have put the pond trout into a holding pattern, where they are sulking and not eating. Roy Leyva at Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth suggested that the recently stocked trout may be overcoming the shock of being introduced to their new environment and will take a day or two to acclimate and go on the feed. Roy got out this week and caught some nice holdover rainbows.
Dan from the Hook Up in Orleans noted the same tough fishing we’d been experiencing. He fished Cliff Pond on Sunday, and despite a number of trout on the surface, failed to hook up. Dan tried spoons and bait, cast right into the rising trout, but neither elicited a strike. Finicky trout can often be caught with a casting bubble and fly presentation. Consult your March 2012 issue of On The Water Magazine for the details on this extremely productive trout tactic.
Despite the tough conditions at Cliff, Dan heard of decent trout action at Herring and Flax ponds. Stan at Red Top in Buzzards Bay suggested trout hopefuls try their luck at Peters or Spectacle ponds.
The warmwater fisheries are still doing very well on the Cape. Perch are getting ready to spawn, as evidenced by their ballooning bellies, noted Mike from M and D’s Bait and Tackle in Wareham. As the perch group up to spawn, they will move into increasingly shallow water.
Pickerel too have been bitten by the love bug according to Roy Leyva, who said these miniature pike are moving into shallow coves in order to do the deed. With the pickerel bunched up, anglers have an excellent opportunity to catch good numbers of these fish.
Largemouth bass are also biting well. While a variety of lures are working, including suspending jerkbaits, shallow-diving crankbaits and jigs, the absolute most-productive tactic has been live shiners. Dan at the Hook Up had a night this week where 2- to 3-pound bucketmouths simply wouldn’t leave alone his live shiners.
There were some stirrings in saltwater this week as well. Roy Leyva heard of concentrations of mackerel in Cape Cod Bay, with a few coming within casting range of the East End jetties. Apparently some anglers have been out trying, and catching, the macks. Speaking of canal fishing, Stan at Red Top had heard of anglers trying their luck fishing clam baits on the bottom in the East End. He had not heard any word of how they were doing, however.
Holdover striper fishing has gone quiet, with no new reports this week. Mike at M and D’s suspects there’s fish in the Weweantic and Agawam rivers. Also the backwaters in Chatham are still likely holding fish as well.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Despite the lack of reports, trout are probably still your best bet. The list of stocked waters is up on the Mass DFW site, so you can choose your target destination based on that. Ponds that harbor good populations of holdover trout will offer the added bonus of a shot at big trout, along with the stockies. Ponds likely to harbor holdovers are the deeper, larger ones, including, but certainly not limited to, Peters, Cliff and Sheep.
However, some shiners and bobbers and a very good shot at a big largemouth or pickerel seems almost as good of an option. Seeing a red/white or neon orange bobber disappear from sights is sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.