The Cape could be in store for some snow this weekend. Between the snow and frigid temperatures, ice could begin to take hold around area ponds. For now, the waters remain open, save for some skim ice and the larger ponds should be entirely ice free.

The trout fishing has been good during this week’s cold snap. Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle said one angler came in Thursday to reload on Power Bait, reported he’d been averaging 3 or 4 trout an hour. Falmouth Bait and Tackle also weighed in a 1.6-pound trout this week. Todd said John’s Pond, Peter’s Pond and Grews Pond have all been producing trout.

Andy Nabreski and I snuck out in Tuesday’s snow storm to hit an Upper Cape trout pond. We only managed one fish, a pretty brown that swiped at Andy’s X-Rap. I fished again Thursday morning and struck out.

There’s some very good trout fishing happening in the mid-Cape ponds according to Eric at The Hook Up in Orleans. A crew of fishermen from the Hook Up hit Cliff over the weekend and hooked rainbow trout to 22 inches and tiger trout to 3 pounds. Shiners and worms did the trick.

Best Bets for the Weekend

This can be a slow time of year on the Cape. Many anglers are simply waiting (hoping) for safe ice to form. As the last two winters have taught us safe ice isn’t a guarantee on Cape Cod, so I wouldn’t waste this prime freshwater fishing time hoping for the ponds to freeze. Frankly, catching a fish from shore on rod and reel is a heck of a lot more fun than hand-lining one up or jigging up a bunch of tiny perch. Get a group of buddies, some forked sticks, live shiners and a few light freshwater outfits and bundle up for a day of bank fishing. The trout are cruising the shallows right now, and don’t require a very long cast to reach. I learned this the hard way on Tuesday when I waded out to my waste only to spook a big brown trout that was lurking in a foot of water.

Normally, I’d recommend hitting the bigger ponds this time of year, but smaller ponds like Grews have been fishing surprisingly well, so even the smaller trout ponds may be a good call this weekend—provided they aren’t skimmed over. If that’s the case, larger ponds like Peter’s, Sheep or Cliff will have enough open water to fish. Shiners, worms or PowerBait are the top baits. If you’d rather throw lures and cover water, save the spoons for spring. Cold water this time of year will make the trout lethargic and unwilling to chase down a small, fast moving lure. Instead, a larger stickbait, that can be paused throughout the retrieve is a better bet.  Jigs, either soft-plastic or hair, are another excellent option. A lift and drop retrieve can trigger a coldwater trout to bite. Expect the hits to come on the fall with the jig, or during the pause with a stickbait.