Cape Cod Fishing Report - April 27, 2017

Above: Foggy night squidding in Falmouth Harbor, April 26, 2017. Photo by Eddy Stahowiak

Just like that, the schoolies are everywhere. Big numbers of little stripers have descended on Cape Cod in the past week, and fishermen are enjoying some fast, light-tackle fishing. Freshwater fishing continues to rock, with more trout being stocked in Cape ponds this week, joining the thousands of trout that have already been stocked. Tog fishing is picking up, and there are good signs for an upcoming season opener.

Haddock fishing has been outstanding when the weather allows! Here’s a pic from Monday’s trip with the boys. #fishshimano #capecodfishing #capecod #haddock #jigging #jiggingworldcorp #limits #family #fishing #fish #fishandchips #onthewatermagazine

A post shared by Coastal Charters Sportfishing (@coastalcharterssportfishing) on Apr 26, 2017 at 4:27am PDT

Jeff at Maco’s said the schoolies are around and biting well, especially in the bays and narrows of Buzzards Bay. Tog fishing is also picking up, with keeper-sized fish being taken around Wareham and Onset. Jeff also reported tog anglers coming across schools of scup. Scup season opens on May 1, so anglers getting out early next week, can expect to add some porgies to their take.

Baitfish are filling in reported Jake at Red Top. Mackerel, herring, and squid are stacking up around the Cape, setting the table for the larger stripers to arrive. In the meantime, Jake has been enjoying catching the small stripers in huge numbers, catching as many as a few dozen in an evening’s effort. Small soft plastics have been the ticket. Jake has been finding the schoolies in Wareham, Buzzards Bay, and Falmouth. He says there have been a few in the Canal, but most of these fish are seeking the warmest available water, which you’ll find deep inside the bays and salt ponds on a dropping tide.

Jake hadn’t heard much on tog, but said fishermen heading to Stellwagen have been loading up on haddock.

John at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle had fresh news about schoolies in the harbors on the Buzzards Bay side of the Cape. He also said the squid are in. Most of the boats are catching in the waters between Hyannis and Cotuit, but a few squid are cruising around Falmouth.  Andy Nabreski say a good sized group of squid ghosting through the lights of Falmouth Harbor, but only managed to catch one before they took off.

Bill at Sports Port in Hyannis has been having luck with schoolies around Cotuit. He’s also been getting a lot of short strikes and missing them. He finally got the hook into one, and it turned out to be a hickory shad. Hickory shad made a decent showing on the South Side of the Cape last year. They are a lot of fun on light tackle, and while they are aggressive, they have smaller mouths, so if you’re hoping to catch a few hickories, scale down your lures.  Small flies fished as teasers work, or 1/8-ounce shad darts work as well. With so many small stripers around, you’ll probably catch plenty of them as well. You’ll know when you hook a hickory, however, as it will blast out of the water in a series of impressive leaps.

Fat larry pulled out of a Cape Cod pond by Bobby. Thing looks like it swallowed a softball. #fatty #largemouthbass #capecod #iamonthewater #springfishing @b0bby_digital

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Freshwater fishing is still great. This week, there were several large bass between 6 and 9 pounds taken. The smaller bass are also feeding heavily. Pickerel continue to bite well, and trout are still in shallow and hitting a number of lures and baits. With the recent rains, nightcrawlers fished on the bottom could be a good way to score a big brown trout or rainbow. Bill at Sports Port said a number of 16- and 17-inch trout were taken this week.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

The fishing is getting better every day. With schoolies around in numbers, Jeff at Maco’s predicts some larger, keeper-sized bass will show in the next week. Still, plan on dealing with mostly 10- to 16-inch stripers now, and adjust your gear accordingly. Scale down your lures and tackle, and crimp your barbs to do as little damage to these fish as possible.

My fishing efforts are still centered on the freshwater scene. The average largemouth and trout being caught is larger than the average striper right now, and with some legitimate lunkers feeding right now, I like my odds of beating my personal best largemouth bass.

Bottom fishermen have tog on the table this weekend, and can begin adding scup to the mix on Monday. Both species are around in the greatest numbers in Buzzards Bay, especially around Wareham and Onset.