A quality bass taken on Monday evening on a small Cape Cod pond.
From the talk at the shops, it sounds like you can’t miss with trout. Consult the stocking report to see which ponds have had a recent stocking, and head there. Small gold spoons are still the best lure says Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle. Spinners are working well also, but they don’t cast as far, so you can’t cover quite as much water with them. Covering water is key when finding the roving schools of freshly stocked trout. Often, they’ll congregate on windblown shorelines, so you can sometimes shorten your search by putting the wind in your face when casting for trout.
While fresh-stocked fish are making up most of the catch right now, there are larger holdovers cruising within casting range and looking to eat right now as well. Bait is the best bet for these, with nightcrawlers getting the nod over shiners for me. Some surprisingly large browns will scarf down a nightcrawler at this time of year.
Bass fishing is heating up reported to the Red Top Crew. Bass are moving shallow and are biting a variety of lures. The largest fish they’ve heard of weighed an impressive 7 pounds. Pickerel, too, are biting well. Jerkbaits are the top lure for pickerel right now; for bass, jigs, shallow crankbaits, and spinnerbaits are all working
Herring are loading up in the runs, but there’s been no news of fresh stripers yet. The only saltwater news this week came from Sheila at Canal Bait and Tackle. She’d heard of fishermen successfully targeting tautog in the Canal. Shops should begin stocking green crabs soon (call ahead to check), but if you want to try for tog this weekend, you’ll probably have to catch your own bait. Flipping rocks at low tide is a reliable way to catch enough green or Asian shore crabs for a couple hours of fishing.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
No stripers yet, but last week I bet in next week’s forecast we’ll be talking about the first fresh fish caught on the Vineyard. If you want to be the first to catch a migratory bass, head there. But, if you’re content waiting for more and bigger stripers to arrive in May, then I suggest you hit the ponds hard this weekend. Bass fishing is great in the smaller ponds and picking up in the larger ones as they warm up. There have even been reports of good smallmouth fishing, as they move shallower for their pre-spawn feast.