Mother Nature did a bit of a 180 on us this week, following up Tuesday’s 60-degree weather with a 30-degree temperature drop on Wednesday. While this have had a negative impact on angler effort, it seems like the fish kept right on biting.

Trout, trout and more trout has been the word from all of the shops this week. Tom at Red Top Sporting Goods reported good action on spoons and other trout lures. Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle said the stocking has been mostly rainbows at Peters and Spectacle ponds, and that PowerBait has been the top producer. Eric at CMS Tackle in New Bedford reported good trout fishing for the freshly stocked rainbows, but as far as he knew, there have not been any big holdover trout taken.

Crappie are biting well according to Mike at M and D’s in Wareham. There aren’t many ponds on Cape that have these speckled panfish, but once you cross the bridge, there are a few ponds that have them. Glen Charlie Pond in Wareham is one of the best local crappie lakes, especially for big crappie. The best bet for the crappies right now have been small- or medium-sized shiners fished under a float. Small jigs will work as well. A great tactic is to suspend the jig under a float and to twitch the float back to shore, causing the jig to dance and fall and call in the crappies.

Some big largemouths are being caught according to Christian at Falmouth Bait and Tackle. He’s heard of several fish in the 5- to 6-pound range taken recently. Jigs cast into fallen trees and shoreline brushhave been a good bet, but topwaters were also working, which is surprising given the time of year.

Christian also said some smallmouth bass have been moving, hitting jigs fished along the bottom. The smallies lag behind the largemouths a little in the springtime, but over the next couple weeks, expect them to hit the shallows as they prepare to spawn.

There’s not much to report on the saltwater scene. Migratory stripers have yet to reach Southeastern MA, but there have been some reported in Southern Rhode Island. Anglers have found success with holdovers way up the rivers over mud bottoms according to Eric at CMS. At least one schoolie was pulled from the Canal this week according to Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. The fish fell for a piece of clam. The angler also caught a pair of winter flounder. No word on whether or not they were keeper-sized.

There’s been some rumblings about tog, but no hard evidence that the fish are actually here to be caught. As Jeff at Forestdale put it, the dandelions have yet to bloom, so it may be a little bit before the blackfish arrive.

Cod fishing opened this week in the Gulf of Maine, though it’s unlikely anyone got out after them given the wind.

Herring are running strong in many of the runs, and according to Eric at CMS, the numbers of returning herring have been the best in recent years. Hopefully that trend continues.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Trout and bass are picks one and two. Target the trout with spoons, spinners or PowerBait, and fish the bass with jigs or jerkbaits. You could also take your trout rod and target panfish with small jigs or minnows. The crappie are schooled up big time right now, so if you can find them, the action should be hot and heavy. Again, you’ll have to head off Cape to find the best crappie fishing.

The saltwater fishing will be picking up soon enough, in the meantime, the freshwater action doesn’t get much better than this.