All’s quiet on the Cape saltwater front—for the most part. School-sized striped bass never fully leave Cape Cod. In fact, this past Monday a few schoolies were caught in Sesuit Harbor according to Lee at Riverview Bait and Tackle. Canal devotees can pick away at small bass all winter long, though Stan at Red Top hadn’t heard much from the past week.

In truth, if you want a striper, your best hope lies in Rhode Island. It’s an easy Rhode Trip for the weekend, and though the striper action there is waning too, there are still schoolies roaming the beaches along with the occasional shad, bluefish and keeper striped bass. Check out Will Sirotnak’s Rhode Island Report for more details on that bite.

On the Cape, freshwater has taken over as the best bet to put a bend in the rod. Trout are the big talk this time of year. All the big ponds that received fall stockings will have the very best fishing, as these fresh fall stockers will be joined by big holdovers that were stocked in the pond this past spring or before. Below is a list of the Cape Cod Ponds that received a Fall Stocking.

• Shubael Pond, Barnstable
• Hamblin Pond, Barnstable
• Cliff Pond, Brewster
• Sheep Pond, Brewster
• Flax Pond, Brewster
• Little Cliff Pond, Brewster
• Goose Pond, Chatham
• Scargo Lake, Dennis
• Ashumet Pond, Falmouth
• Grews Pond, Falmouth
• Johns Pond, Mashpee
• Mashpee-Wakeby Pond, Mashpee
• Crystal Lake, Orleans
• Baker Pond, Orleans
• Spectacle Pond, Sandwich
• Peters Pond, Sandwich
• Hoxie Pond, Sandwich

Stan at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay reported that Al’s Goldfish has been the hot bait for trout right now. Shiners, PowerBait, nightcrawlers and stickbaits will also work.

Falmouth Bait and Tackle had no new weigh-ins for their trout derby this week. The current leader is a 2.2-pounder, but that’s not likely to stand. Big brown trout are cruising the shoreline, and it’s only a matter of time before someone hangs a 4- or 5-pounder from their scale.

Smallmouth bass are still chewing, and Dan from The Hook Up tied into a few Sheeps Pond smallies over the weekend. Trout, however, have been a bit harder to come by.

There are still some tog around according to Stan at Red Top. Fishermen are working deeper structures around Martha’s Vineyard and in Vineyard Sound.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Get out and fish on Saturday. Most of the shops I called said they hadn’t heard from too many fishermen that are still fishing. Though the striper fishing is ending, the trout fishing is just getting started.

Freshwater bass fishing is very good also. Try jerkbaits, jigs and shiners for largemouths and jigs, blades and shiners for smallmouths.