Cape Cod & Buzzards Bay Fishing Report | December 18-30, 2014

It’s not a bad time of year to browse around the other regional Fishing Forecasts and think about heading off-Cape for your fishing adventures. Regular report writer Jimmy Fee, after a tough weekend of bass fishing on the upper Cape, took the week to head up to the Salmon River in Pulaski, New York. As of noon on Thursday the 18th, he was 3-for-6 on steelhead. Other anglers are checking out the first ice in northern New England, or venturing to Rhode Island and Connecticut where there are still some saltwater options.

However, there are still plenty of reasons to fish on the Cape, where we are lucky to have open-water opportunities in our ponds and lakes when other parts of New England are dealing with unfishable skim ice.

Unfortunately, the bass fishing has gotten tougher with colder weather and colder water. The jerkbait bite has slowed, but live shiners are still producing and should be the best bet for the rest of December on the Cape. If you can locate a school of smallmouths congregating in deep water, you might be able to tempt them with a bladebait or a drop-shot rig.

Pickerel have been more active than the bass. They’ll hit jerkbaits, crankbaits, jigs and soft-plastic baits, and no pickerel has ever turned down a live shiner. They often bite best late in the day this time of year, and usually congregate on the sunniest side of the pond.

Trout are the best bet on the Cape right now. Bait will outfish lures as the cold waters make the trout a little too lethargic to chase down an artificial. PowerBait is working very well, as are shiners and nightcrawlers. If you choose to throw lures, spoons and small stickbaits are your best bet.

The folks at Red Top in Buzzards Bay reported excellent fishing in the stocked ponds (full list here). Stop by the shop between now and Christmas for their 20% off lures sale, and visit between 11 & 2 on Christmas Eve for the shop’s annual party.

Lee at Riverview in South Yarmouth said that he has been regularly selling shiners to fishermen heading to Sheeps Pond for trout.

“Dan from The Hook-Up” answered the phone at Goose Hummock in Orleans—that’s right, if you haven’t heard the news, Eric Stewart, Dan Jones, and all the offshore expertise and inventory of The Hook-Up can now be found in the Goose. Dan has been enjoying open-water fishing with shiners for largemouth bass (at Crystal Pond in Orleans) and brown trout (at Herring Pond in Eastham). He is currently working on unpacking all the tuna gear, but any day now he’ll be opening the new shipments of ice-fishing gear arriving just in time for Christmas.

Fishing Forecast for December 18-30

As we head toward 2015, we’ll see if Mother Nature has an ice-fishing season in store for Cape Cod Anglers. Until then, take advantage of the open-water fishery while it lasts. Live bait, particularly shiners, is your best bet for stocked trout, largemouth bass and pickerel. Typically this time of year, you might have some skim ice to deal with in the mornings, but things should be clear by afternoon. Finally, if you’re looking for any last-minute gifts, swing by and support your local tackle shop. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.