It may still be February, but it definitely feels like Spring. There unseasonable warmth will continue through the weekend, with highs in the mid 50s on Friday and Saturday.
The mild temperatures are waking up freshwater fish—and freshwater fisherman—and the tackle shops are reporting more traffic from anglers looking for live shiners for bass and pickerel or red worms and nightcrawlers for trout.
Reports from fishermen who got out last weekend and earlier this week indicate that the ice-out action is hot and heavy for bass and pickerel, and pretty good for holdover rainbow trout.
A group from the On The Water office took an extended lunch on Thursday, casting lures at an Upper Cape Pond where the bass and pickerel were feeding heavily. Productive lures included Senkos, Original Floating Rapalas, and shallow-diving crankbaits.
Lipless crankbaits are also producing. I had a 5.4-pound largemouth on a Rat-L-Trap on Monday, as well as a couple pickerel.
Suspending jerkbaits are a perennial favorite for ice-out largemouths. Fish a slow pause to tempt the fish in the still-frigid waters.
Shiners have been producing steady action at many small ponds, with anglers easily going through a dozen baits during a couple hours of fishing.
For trout, spoons have been less productive than slower-moving lures like stickbaits or small jigs. Tiny tube jigs have been a top producer for me this year, and they came through again on Sunday with four fat holdover rainbows at Peter’s Pond.
The stocking trucks aren’t hitting the road just yet, but it won’t be long. When they do start, you can get daily updates on the MassWildlife Website (http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw/hunting-fishing-wildlife-watching/fishing/trout-stocking-schedule.html), and, as always, we’ll keep you informed here every Thursday.
The nice weather last weekend also inspired several anglers to go holdover hunting. The fishing was slower than it had been earlier in the winter, which left some fishermen wondering if the blizzard and cold snap may have resulted in a fish kill—as happened in the winter of 2015. A few very small bass were caught, fish smaller than 14 inches, but a February striper of any size is something to smile about.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
Get some bait and hit the ponds this weekend. If you fish shiners under a bobber, that bobber won’t be floating for long. Pickerel and bass are waking up from their winter torpor and they are ravenous. Focus on the smaller, shallower ponds, as these will warm up the fastest, and therefore, will have the best fishing.
Hello to the on the water crew .Yes you hit it on the nose with your report this week. We fished last weekend and didn’t find the hold over stripers as we did find in January.But we didn’t fish all of our spots .As far as the trout fishing again you have hit a home run late evening before the sun sets the fish got more active.tight lines
heading to the cape tomorrow, any suggestions where to find some holdover stripers?
Jimmy, i will be in Orleans the first week of June. planning to bring my spey rod and fish for striped bass. could you put me in touch with a local knowledgeable and willing to advise me? thank you Don