The Cape Cod freshwaters are warming up quickly, and the fish are becoming more active every day. Wednesday evening the largemouth I hooked had much more fight in them than the bass I was catching a week ago. Every fish jumped a few times and fought like crazy to shake the hook. Unfortunately, none of those fish were very big, but the guys at Falmouth Bait and Tackle braved the elements Wednesday for a few big largemouths up to 5 pounds.

Other big largemouth bass were checked in at The Hook Up in Orleans, which hosted its annual Kids Fishing Derby this week. Bass up to 8 pounds were weighed in at the Hook Up, along with pickerel, perch and trout. In all, 96 (junior) pin-sized fish were weighed at the Hook Up this week.

Much of those big fish were caught on bait, with live shiners being the top choice among fishermen after bass and pickerel. Square-bill crankbaits were working for the guys at Falmouth Bait and Tackle, and in Wednesday’s windy weather, I had most of my fish on spinnerbaits.

If you’re after a plus-size largemouth, the ponds with large forage—be it herring or stocked trout—offer your best bet. Recently, fishermen have been doing well casting large swimbaits to imitate the herring and trout. You won’t get many bites when fishing swimbaits, but when you do, it’s almost certain to be a big largemouth on the other end of the line.

Smallmouth bass woke up this week, and anglers reported catching them in some of the Cape’s deeper ponds. Smallies go on a huge pre-spawn feeding binge, and when you find them, catching them is often as simple as bouncing a tube jig along the bottom—with a lead-free jighead of course.

Trout fishing got a pick-me-up this week according to Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle. Brown and tiger trout were stocked in area ponds, and Jeff had already heard of some big tigers up to 16 inches being caught. With the tigers and browns going in, Jeff said spoons and baitfish imitations were more productive as these trout tend to feed on baitfish, as opposed to the rainbows which subsist  mainly on insects. Powerbait is still working for the rainbows according to AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods.

Still no migratory striped bass on Cape Cod. A few holdovers were taken in the Agawam and Bass rivers. Shops were happy to offer predictions on when the first big schools of migratory stripers would hit the Cape. AJ at Red Top believes the strong moon tides during the middle of next week will bring the first schools of stripers into the Canal. Jeff at Forestdale pegged May 10, give or take a day, for the arrival of keeper-sized fish to Cape Cod.

There was some positive saltwater news, however. Tog are being caught around the jetties and bridges of New Bedford and the south coast of Massachusetts according to Eric at CMS.

Jeff at Forestdale reported a few more winter flounder taken from the Cape Cod Canal, but no more word of stripers in the Big Ditch.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod & Buzzards Bay

Those of you chomping at the bit for stripers…relax, it’s gonna be a little while longer. In the meantime, enjoy the other great fishing happening around the Cape. The tiger trout have been stocked and these are a beautiful fish, and a definite trophy catch since few are stocked relative to the number of rainbows, brookies and browns.

At least two 8-pound largemouths were caught around Cape Cod this week—that alone should be motivation to hit the ponds. Soon, the bass will be on their spawning beds, but for now, they are feeding big time. Big swimbaits offer a good shot at trophy bass, but live bait is just as good, if not better.

Tog fishing should continue to improve, and once the wind lets up and allows boaters to get out, it might be worth dropping green crabs around some rocky structure.