There is some saltwater news in the form of scout herring making their way up some of the runs in Southeast Massachusetts and the Cape.
Above: Trout and going in (and coming out) of Cape Cod ponds in big numbers this week. This limit was secured at lunchtime on Thursday and will become a smoked trout treat for Easter Sunday.
Largemouth fishing is steadily improving as the water temperatures slowly but surely creep up. Look for that bite to break wide open in the next week or so. In the meantime, suspending jerkbaits and lipless cranks seem to be the best bet on deeper ponds, while shallow-diving crankbaits slow-rolled over weeds are working in shallow ponds. The waters are still frigid, so the bass don’t seem to want to move very far for a meal just yet.
Pickerel are plenty aggressive, hitting jerkbaits, spinners, and soft plastics. I caught a few on the fly rod this week by slowly stripping a double-bunny fly over the weed tops.
White perch are active once again, with some palm-sized panfish biting in ponds, both brackish and fresh, around the Cape.
The best action again this week is happening at the trout ponds reported AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods. Rainbows and brookies are in, and fishermen are catching them on spoons, spinners, jigs, and stickbaits. Gold spoons are always a popular choice this time of year, as they help fishermen cover water to local the schools of freshly stocked trout that roam the shorelines in sizeable groups. Baiting and waiting with shiners, worms, or PowerBait is a fine choice too, but generally, anglers throwing lures catch more than those using bait at this time of year.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
Trout will be easier to find than Easter Eggs this weekend. Check the Massachusetts Trout Stocking Report for the most up-to-date list of what ponds have been stocked, and don’t forget the gold spoons. Ask five trout fishermen their favorite spoon and you’ll get five answers – especially in the OTW Office. I like the Thomas Rough Rider, while Andy Nabreski is never without his Thomas Buoyant. Eddy Stahowiak always has an Al’s Goldfish tied on, and Chris Megan keeps it classic with an 1/8-ounce Kastmaster.
I’m with Chris – Kastmasters cover a lot of water and trout love’m!
And the reports on small mouth
I caught several on shiners in Long Pond in Plymouth. They weren’t very aggressive but definitely were hitting
I have had some luck with wooley buggers on a fly rod; I don’t see any hatches yet, but now and then in the early am and evening I do see trout rising to feed on something….they just make a ring, so I assume they’re after a subsurface emerger. does anyone out there with a fly rod this time of year use any other flies (? nymphs, etc; what kind?) thanks