Until the ice forms on the Cape’s freshwaters, the fishing will be pretty steady for trout and bass, as long as fishermen adapt their presentations to the cold temperatures.
Trout again, have been the main event at most Cape ponds. Stan at Red Top said PowerBait is working very well, and Lee at Riverview Bait and Tackle added shiners and nightcrawlers to the list of effective baits. Both agreed that bait is outfishing lures right now, as the cold waters have made the trout a little too lethargic to chase down an artificial.
I experienced this first hand on Thursday morning. I stopped by Peter’s Pond before work, and despite seeing plenty of rises, had no hits on stickbaits, spoons or spinners. A bait fisherman nearby had three strikes while I was there, two perch and one nice rainbow trout. The fishing, he told me, has been improving later in the morning, when the sun rises above the treeline and warms the water a bit. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the sun could work its magic.
In addition to Peters, Sheeps and Cliff have been producing good trout fishing as well, reported Lee at Riverview.
Largemouth bass fishing has been good as well. The key is using slow tactics to account for the sluggish, coldwater bass. Suspending jerkbaits are a coldwater favorite, but lipless crankbaits can also be effective. On sunny afternoons, shallow-diving crankbaits can be effective as well.
Pickerel, though regularly dismissed as a nuisance by serious bass fishermen, can be a savior this time of year, as they feed aggressively, even through the coldest temperatures. Pickerel will attack all of the aforementioned bass lures, but in cold water, I do very well with white tube jigs. And no matter what time of year, when fishing for pickerel, nothing beats a live shiner.
Fishermen can probably still count on finding smallies in deep water with drop shots and bladebaits.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It’s going to be rainy this weekend, which could be good for the fishing. If you are looking for trout, be sure to bring along some bait, at the very least as a backup plan. For bass, remember to keep the retrieve speeds nice and slow.