Cape Cod Fishing Report - April 12, 2018

We’re rounding a corner. I can feel it. There are 50-degree days in the forecast, haddock season opens Sunday, and the reports from down south suggest the spring striper run is gaining momentum.

The best bite continues to be trout. Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said PowerBait and spoons are working great at all of the trout-stocked ponds. Other anglers have reported catching well on nightcrawlers, shiners, spinners, and jointed stickbaits. There were several reports of large trout taken this week, including a 3-pound rainbow from Mashpee-Wakeby and browns nearing 4 pounds, suggesting that either the large holdovers are getting active or Sandwich Hatchery stocked some trophy-sized specimens this week.

It’s clear from the stocking report that brown trout were planted this week. The browns tend to be a little warier than the rainbows and brookies, and they are much less receptive to PowerBait, making nightcrawlers, shiners, or artificials the better bets.

The ponds are colder than usual for this time of year, said Hayden at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay, but he said the largemouths are still putting on their pre-spawn feedbag. With some water-warming weather in the forecast, looking for that bite to be picking up even more.

As always, shiners are a can’t-miss option, but as the bass become more active, you shouldn’t need them. Shallow-diving crankbaits like the Mann’s Baby 1-minus and Strike King KVD 1.5 will attract plenty of bites in shallow ponds, while Rat-L-Traps and spinnerbaits will work well in the middle depths. There have been some sizeable bass caught this week, including a 4-pounder caught by Scott from Sports Port.

In saltwater, besides herring moving toward the runs, there hasn’t been much to report according to Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle in Sagamore. The herring are thick in many runs, Jeff reported, but they haven’t showed up in the Canal just yet.

Amy said fishermen have been buying squid jigs, but that she hasn’t heard any confirmed reports of squid in the sound just yet. It should be happening soon, with boat anglers getting out for the squid first, and then the shore fishermen getting into the game.

Hayden at Red Top said that holdover action around the Cape is picking up, as fishermen are catching the small winter-over stripers on small soft plastics.

Charter boats will be headed for Stellwagen soon with the haddock season opening to the for-hire fleet on Sunday. High winds and seas may keep efforts low until later next week, but when the weather abates, the haddock will be there.

Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod

It’s going to be a wet and windy weekend, but at least it will be a little warmer. That warmth will help the freshwater fishing continue to improve as we approach peak season for the Cape Cod ponds.

Once the winds and seas calm down, we’ll see what the saltwater has in store for us. Squid on the South Side should be just a week or so away, and schoolie stripers not long after that. In fact, if the last two years were any indication, we may be reporting fresh fish on Martha’s Vineyard in next week’s forecast.