Cape Cod Fishing Report for 1-8-2015

As of Thursday morning, single-digit temperatures were putting ice on Cape Cod’s freshwaters. By the weekend—with more below-freezing temperatures forecasted—fish-able ice could be a reality on small ponds. On The Water’s Andy Nabreski checked some ponds during his Thursday lunch break and found a fisherman on the ice at a small pond in Falmouth. The ice, Andy said, was about 3 inches thick.

The waters were mostly open on the Cape during the first week of 2015. Several fishermen got out fishing in the New Year, and reported catches of bass, perch, trout and pickerel.   My first fish of the year was a 16-inch tiger trout from Peter’s Pond on New Year’s Day. It hit a Yo-Zuri Pins Minnow on a slow retrieve during a pause.  I had two more rainbows and a few other follows and misses—all on the Pins Minnow.

During the weekend warmup, I switched gears to bass as did many other fishermen. The bass fishing was good over the weekend. I saw reports of fish to 6 pounds taken from Cape Cod ponds. Productive lures included jerkbaits, bladebaits and shallow-diving crankbaits. I hedged my bets, bringing along a dozen shiners when I hit the water Sunday.  I had to break some ice at the launch to get my kayak onto the small mid-Cape pond, but the fish were biting in the windy and wet conditions. All of my action was on shiners, with bass to 20 inches and perch to 12 inches taking the live baitfish.

Best Bets for the Weekend

The only local option this weekend may be to find a pond with fishable ice and setting some tip-ups. Use extreme caution when venturing onto the ice, and never go alone. If the ice conditions are at all suspect, don’t risk it. Four inches is the minimum we’ll fish on here at the On The Water Office. The winter is just getting started, and there are plenty of weekends ahead to get on the ice. Larger waters like Cliff Pond in Nickerson State Park may still have enough open water to fish.

If you are dead-set on ice-fishing this weekend, but the ice nearby is still borderline, just a short drive off-cape will give you more hardwater options.  Check out Ron Powers’ report for more info on the off-Cape ice scene.

Cod fishing has been good out of Rhode Island. Hopping on a headboat out of Point Judith is another excellent winter distraction.  Check out the Rhode Island Forecast for more information on that.