One good thing about a late-March snowstorm is that the snow doesn’t stick around very long. By Thursday afternoon, the blizzard’s leavings were already about half-gone, and with a weekend warm-up forecasted, you can expect the snow to be little more than a memory by Sunday.

The stocking trucks hit the road on the Cape this week, hitting ponds both before and after the blizzard. The State released the following information about this year’s stocking schedule:

Close to 500,000 brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout will be stocked this spring from the Divisions 5 hatcheries located in Sandwich, Palmer, Belchertown, Sunderland and Montague. It has been a challenging year for the Division’s trout hatchery managers between the drought conditions that prevailed much of last summer and the extremely cold, icy and snow conditions that have prevailed this winter. Nevertheless, the close to 500,000 fish being stocked this spring, coupled with the more than 67,000 12-plus-inch trout stocked last fall should provide some excellent fishing in the coming months.

Fishermen working the trout ponds this week caught some good-sized freshly stocked rainbows, and according to Lee at Riverview Bait and Tackle in Yarmouth, a few lucky anglers tied into big holdover brown trout. Shiners were the bait of choice.

Largemouth bass fishing is heating up as well. Largemouths are starting to feed more aggressively, but lures with a slow presentation are still the best bet. AJ at Red Top Tackle in Buzzards Bay recommended lipless or square-bill crankbaits for fishermen interested in throwing lures. Fishing live shiners under a bobber is almost a sure thing. The snowmelt will cool the waters a bit, which could slow down the bass fishing, but fishing the afternoon hours of a sunny day should still provide some largemouth action. Last weekend, I found some big largemouths willing to bite in a few of the small ponds around Cape Cod. You can read that report HERE.

Pickerel are biting as well. In many ponds, they will be more active than the bass. Perch, too should be on the feed.

Mike at M and D’s in Wareham said he’s spotted a few herring so far—not in the runs, but in the talons of flying osprey. It seems the osprey returned to Cape Cod over the past week. I saw my first one of the year plucking trout out of the waters of Peter’s Pond.

It seems all types of animals are stirring around the Cape. Coyotes, turkeys, woodcocks, woodpeckers, redtail hawks and turkey vultures have all been spotted around the On The Water office this week. By the end of the weekend, I’ll be surprised if we don’t start hearing the spring peepers singing.

Best Bets for the Weekend

With the trout finally stocked, that is my top pick for the weekend. PowerBait can’t be beat for freshly stocked rainbow trout, but bring some shiners as well, in case there are some big brown trout cruising the shoreline.

Pickerel and bass are a good option as well. The afternoon hours might be best, as it will give the sun a chance to warm the ponds. Shiners are the best bet for action, but covering water with lipless crankbaits, Senkos, shallow-diving crankbaits and jerkbaits will catch fish as well.

Though the saltwater action is about a month away, fishermen can stock up for the season at the New England Saltwater Fishing Show taking place in Providence Rhode Island this weekend. Catch On The Water there and renew your subscription to the magazine and sign up for the 2014 Striper Cup.