Cape Cod and Buzzards Bay Fishing Report 1-31-2013

Winter Weather Roller Coaster

This winter’s fishing is getting increasingly difficult to predict. Just when it looks like the cold weather is going to settle in, the temperature spikes to 50 degrees and rain chews up the available ice.

After last week’s deep freeze, fishermen found good options for ice fishing over the weekend. The crew from the Hook Up in Orleans enjoyed some good fishing down Cape, while a small group from the On The Water office found ice-fishing glory at a few different ponds in Falmouth, Mashpee and Sandwich.

Most of the Cape’s ice action took place on smaller, shallow ponds, as these were more likely to have enough ice to support fishing activity. Perch, largemouths and pickerel were the main attraction.

Captain Rich from the Hook Up fished Sunday and Monday and found 4 inches of black ice at two small ponds, and caught perch on shiners and jigs, and caught largemouth bass on big shiners. To make the experience even more enjoyable, Rich and company pan fried the fresh perch for some good eats.

The On The Water group dealt with numerous small perch attacking shiner baits, but eventually weeded through them to take a good size bass.

Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle said some of the larger trout ponds supported some ice fishing over the weekend, but the anglers caught only a few smaller trout. No word of salmon or big browns coming through the ice.

Best Bets for the Weekend

As enticing as these good ice-fishing reports may sound, the mid-week “heat wave” coupled with rain likely jeopardized most of the ice around the Cape. I do not recommend ice fishing on Cape Cod this weekend.

Instead, fish the open water. Get a bucket of shiners, a forked stick and set out some baits in one of the larger trout ponds. Cruising trout will eagerly snap up a live shiner or nightcrawler. If you’re dead set on ice, then a road trip is in order. Look to Ron Powers’ forecast for the details on ice fishing in the rest of the state. If you are eager to hit the saltwater, then a cod trip may be up your alley. Take a look at Kierran Broatch’s forecast to learn the latest and greatest on the Block Island cod fishery.