With 2015 coming to a close Thursday night, fishermen will be looking for their first fish of the season this weekend. Fortunately there are plenty of options for getting on the board for the 2016 Fishing Season.
If you’d like that first fish to be a bass, shiners in a small pond will be a slam dunk this weekend. The recent cold snap has dropped the water temperatures in freshwater ponds, but bass are still biting well. Lures are working—especially shallow-diving crankbaits, paddle-tail soft plastics, and lipless crankbaits—but live shiners will provide a little extra insurance when it comes to getting on the bass board for 2016. Rig the shiners under a float and fish them in shallow ponds where the weeds are dying back and leaving big bass exposed.
For pickerel, the gameplan is the same, just be sure to beef up your leader so it holds up to a pickerel’s needle-sharp teeth.
Trout are also biting well. Stan at Red Top suggested Hamlins and Peter’s for ringing in the New Year with trout. I’ll add Cliff and Sheep to the list as well, as these lakes fish well right through the winter as long as they don’t freeze up. Trout are taking small spoons, spinners, and stickbaits. Nightcrawlers and shiners are working as well reported the crew at Sports Port in Hyannis.
If you’d prefer your first fish of the year come from saltwater, Stan at Red Top said mackerel are still being caught in the East End of the Canal. Stan had also heard rumors of stripers running around in Cape Cod Bay. Hitting some of those beaches with small plugs and teasers could produce a schoolie striper to start off your new year.
No matter what you do this weekend, make sure you buy your 2016 fishing licenses before hitting the water. 2015 was a fantastic fishing season, and here’s to hoping that 2016 is even better.