Cape Cod Fishing Report for 4-9-2015

“We can finally call it spring,” said Chris at the Goose Hummock. The trout fishing is fantastic around the Cape as the stocking trucks continue to make their rounds, hitting some ponds for the second time.

Chris said the Nickerson ponds have all been stocked. Rainbows are still the primary catch, suggesting the hatchery hasn’t yet dumped any brookies or browns.  Spoons and spinners are working well, Chris said, and gold has been the top color.

The Upper Cape and Plymouth has also been seeing some good trout action. AJ at Red Top said Long Pond has been popular with fishermen looking for trout. Though Peter’s Pond didn’t get hit last week, it’s likely to get trout before this weekend, although I was unable to reach Jeff at Forestdale for a report on the ice situation at Peters. In all likelihood, the ice is out and the trout are in at Peters.

Ashumet Pond was the hotspot last week, and though the trout have had a chance to spread out some, Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle reported that fishermen continue to do well there.

There have been less reports from fishermen targeting largemouth bass, pickerel and panfish. The water is still cold, which has undoubtedly put a damper on the bass fishing. But the bass are biting, and a few of us from the OTW office have been doing well fishing shallow-diving crankbaits in shallow ponds. Todd at Falmouth Bait and Tackle caught wind of a 7-pounder taken recently on an artificial lure.

Pickerel don’t mind the cold, and without question, are biting well in the ponds that have them. Shiners are an automatic for the pickerel, but wide-bodied spoons, spinnerbaits and jerkbaits will all work as well.

The perch should be finishing up their spawn in most waters, and they will be hungry for small jigs and spinners. Bluegills are getting active as well, though they haven’t moved into the shallows just yet. No word on crappies, but they should be schooling up in the deeper parts of the ponds, getting ready to move shallow. There aren’t many ponds on the Cape that have crappies, but a short drive over the bridge will give you a number of options for where to catch these calico-spotted panfish.

There’s been some life around the herring runs, and multiple reports of herring making their way into freshwater to spawn. Middleboro is always one of the first herring runs to fill up, and fishermen have been dropping by to watch the annual migration. No word of stripers yet, but the arrival of the herring usually means we’re only a month or so away from the first migrating stripers.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Hit your favorite trout pond with some spinners and spoons and take advantage of the great fishing. Powerbait and worms will also get the job done. Soaking a big nightcrawler after or during one of the April Showers in the forecast could even tempt a big holdover brown trout.

After you’ve done some fishing Saturday morning, you can swing by Red Top Sporting Goods and take advantage of their big spring sale for some great deals on tackle for the fast-approaching striper season.