Cape Cod Fishing Report - April 14, 2016

Just like that, the stripers are in. A little earlier than most folk expected, the first sea-lice-covered migratory stripers hit Massachusetts water this week.

On Thursday morning, Stavros Viglas and Joe Uva found a school of stripers feeding on spearing in the Martha’s Vineyard surf. The two reported birds working over the fish, schools of herring moving through, and hungry stripers covered in sea lice.

AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods also heard of fresh schoolies being caught in Buzzards Bay around Mattapoisett. Just a few days earlier, fresh fish were first reported in Rhode Island.

The stripers are small, most well below keeper size, but fishermen are excited to catch them nonetheless. Some soft plastics rigged on jigheads like the cocahoe minnow or Zoom Super Fluke are early-season staples.

Elsewhere on the Cape, holdovers seem to be getting more active. Lee at Riverview  Bait and Tackle said the upper reaches of the rivers and bays. Jeff at Forestdale Bait and Tackle heard the same.

No word of squid yet, at least not in Vineyard Sound. Lee at Riverview heard that the draggers  have been finding squid south of Martha’s Vineyard, so it shouldn’t be too long before they move in.

Maco’s Bait and Tackle hadn’t heard any news on fishing, good or bad, but the crew expects things to turn on any day now.

Besides the return of migratory stripers to Cape Cod and Massachusetts, trout are still the top target on Cape Cod. Jeff at Forestdale said the trout action was good over the weekend and early this week. Fishermen found success with brookies and browns in Spectacle Pond, and rainbows by the boat ramp at Mashpee-Wakeby. Jeff also heard of a pair of big 18- and 19-inch ‘bows taken in the Pickerel Cove area of Mashpee Wakeby.

Bill at Sports Ports said most anglers he’s been talking to have been targeting trout with shiners.

Largemouth bass fishing has been fair. Jeff at Forestdale said the smaller, mud-bottomed ponds have been producing best, but expects the bass fishing to turn at more venues when the water warms.

Eddy Stahowiak hit a small pond on the Upper Cape Wednesday night, and found the pickerel and perch active, both hitting an aggressively worked Rapala Shadow Rap Shad. Kevin Blinkoff was out as well, also working a jerkbait, but he didn’t start getting bites until he sped up his retrieve.  Just because the conditions were cold, doesn’t mean the fish want a super slow retrieve.  Sometimes a quick and snappy retrieve will trigger more reaction strikes from fish in cold water. Despite the big pickerel and perch, the catch of the night was a monster bluegill that also attacked the jerkbait.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

If you’ve been waiting for the first report of migratory stripers to begin your saltwater season, then it’s time. Though no fresh stripers have been reported on the Cape proper, with fish in Buzzards Bay and on Martha’s Vineyard, it’s only a matter of days before sea-lice-covered schoolies hit the South Side beaches. The mouths of herring runs are always a good place to check , and many of these fish will seek out the warmest water available, which at this time of year, means the upper reaches of bays and rivers, over shallow, muddy bottoms.

Trout fishing remains fantastic, and largemouth bass fishing is improving, so if you prefer to stick to the freshwater until bigger stripers arrive, you’ll have plenty of action.