Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 4-12-2012

By this week’s reports, it looks like the freshwater fishing is reaching its zenith, just in time to give anglers a shot at some trophy sweetwater species before the saltwater fishing becomes too good to ignore. Some anglers have jumped the gun and found good schoolie striped bass action this week, and there was even word of a keeper taken.

The scale was busy at Red Top Sporting Goods this week, where they weighed two bug largemouths around the 7-pound mark, and one enormous largemouth of 9 pounds, 7 ounces taken by a young angler on a live “chub,” which could refer to a number of baitfish species including mummichog or fallfish.

Roy Leyva at Riverview Bait and Tackle caught a trophy of his own this week. Fishing a large trout-imitation swimbait, he caught an 8-plus-pound largemouth. While fishing striper-sized plugs for largemouths can yield some impressive catches, anglers looking for more action would fair best targeting fallen trees with skirted jigs (lead free of course) tipped with a pork rind or soft-plastic trailer.

It’s not just the trophy largemouths that have been feeding, however. A 5-plus-pound rainbow trout also hit the scale at Red Top this week. Anglers have been cashing in on the generous trout stocking the Cape ponds have been receiving this year, and coming away with some nice catches.

Though Mike at Goose Hummock didn’t have much to say about the fishing this week, his email report suggested Olive Wooly Buggers, fished either on a fly rod or with a bubble-and-fly, would be a top pick for trout. Chris at Bad Fish Outfitters said olive Wooly Buggers were actually out-producing PowerBait at Peter’s Pond this week. The tigers and brook trout that were making up the majority of the catch were also partial to gold or red spoons worked slowly near the bottom.

A good trout fishing report came on Monday from Cliff Pond, where Dan at the Hook Up in Orleans said one customer fought the wind and was rewarded with hits on almost every cast with spoons. The fish, some of which were nice-sized rainbows, were feeding heavily in the churned-up water.

There were a few reports of schoolie stripers this week. Mike at M and D’s in Wareham said anglers fishing in upper Buzzards Bay, way up the estuaries where the water is warmest, are finding  concentrations of small stripers. Greg at Red Top also mentioned the schoolies in the estuaries, saying that just about every river, harbor creek and salt pond is likely to hold at least a couple striped sentries, either the first of the new spring migration or the remnants of holdover populations. When you gently pry open the lower lip of the spring’s first striped bass and hold it up to admire, it doesn’t much matter whether it’s a holdover or a migrant. All that matters is that the season has begun.

Christian at Falmouth Bait and Tackle received word that a group of kayak anglers found big numbers of stripers, none of which broke the 18-inch mark. Small bucktails and jigs, ¼- to ½-ounce have been the best lure.

More reports of stripers came from Bass River, where Dan at the Hook Up said anglers have been parking at River Road and trying their luck. Stripers have been caught as far up as Brewster, reported Roy from Riverview.

While the occasional suspected holdover striper has been north of the 28-inch minimum size, most have been quite small. One angler did however report catching a keeper-sized bass out of the Cape Cod Canal. The fish was a loner, however, and the Canal is undoubtedly more than a week away from holding numbers of fish.

Other saltwater catches this week included blackfish from the west end of the Canal, reported by Mike at M and D’s Greg at Red Top and Roy at Riverview. Mackerel have been invading the East End of the Canal according to Greg.

Fishing Forecast for the Weekend
Well as long as the average size largemouth is out-weighing the average size striper, freshwater fishing is going to be my top pick for the weekend fishing. If you want to take the long shot at a monster, fish large lures that mimic the trout and herring that the biggest of the largemouths are feeding on. If having good action, still with a chance at a good-sized largemouth, fish spinnerbaits or jigs close to wood structure.

But the call of the salt may be too much to ignore for some anglers. Target the warmest water you can find for the best shot at a striper. This means the back of salt ponds, estuaries and the top of rivers, preferably during the outgoing tide. This weekend’s winds may help warm the water more, and keep the small stripers feeding. Most of these fish will be well under the legal limit, so consider crushing your barbs to make for an easy and safe release of these fish, so they can grow large enough to spawn.

Also, the Hook Up is having their open house this weekend, and they are also kicking off their children’s freshwater fishing tournament.