Above: Gold spoons, like the Acme Kastmaster, have been working well on brown, brook, and rainbow trout at the Cape’s Kettle Ponds.
At the moment, fishing is a great option for anyone looking to get some fresh air while avoiding crowds. Of course, if you have any symptoms, or have been exposed to anyone who has displayed symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19, please stay home, and definitely don’t visit your local tackle shop.
I saw my first osprey of the year on Monday. We were walking back from the Herring Run at John’s Pond in Mashpee when it soared overhead. Of all the signs of spring on Cape Cod—the evening chorus of spring peepers in our woods, the return of redwing blackbirds to our trees, the emergence of painted turtles on our ponds—the osprey is the one that lifts my winter-weary spirit the most. They too, are anglers. Like us, they’re more than happy to spend March days catching fresh stocked trout before warmer days of April bring back the fish they’ve waited all winter for.
Seeing that osprey was especially significant this past week. As all of us cope with school and office closures, “social distancing,” and the coronavirus itself, it reminded me that, like every winter, this too will pass, and better times will be just around the corner. And, no matter what, the fishing will still be there.
The MVP’s of the Cape Cod fishing world over the past week have been the crew at the Sandwich State Fish Hatchery. They’ve been hard at work delivering trout to ponds around the Cape, with browns and brook trout joining the rainbows stocked in the previous weeks.
I hit Peter’s Pond on Tuesday evening, where a half-dozen or so anglers were spread out. One of them was John Malloy, who I’d last fished with while filming an episode of On The Water TV last summer. The trout were finicky that night, but better conditions (meaning worse weather) and an additional round of stocking made for some furiously fast action on Thursday morning. With fresh stocked trout, it’s tough to beat a spoon, like a 1/8-ounce Kastmaster or 1/5-ounce Rough Rider. As the fish settle in, having been plunked on the head by a few too many spoons, switching up to a stickbait or small jig is a good bet. The 1/64-ounce Trout Magnet is just that, a magnet for trout. It was designed for small streams, but if you have a light-enough rod to cast the tiny jig a reasonable distance, you’ll have no trouble catching trout, stocked, holdover, or even wild.
For fly-fishing, there’s no need to get too fancy with fly selection. A black, olive, or brown Woolly Bugger is all you need.
I haven’t brought my fly rod to the trout ponds yet, but I did take it out for pickerel on Wednesday evening. I had a few followers, but none committed. It was not the slime dart free-for-all I was hoping for. I did se a few very large pickerel finning on the surface and swirling, but they refused my flies. Whether that was spawning behavior, or a way of taunting me, I’m not sure. The water temperatures should be right for pickerel spawning in some of the smaller ponds and shallower coves right now. Unlike largemouths, which build nests and protect their eggs and fry, pickerel lay a string of eggs over vegetation and go about their business of eating any fish, amphibian, or duckling that lingers in their vicinity for too long.
The largemouth bass prespawn feed is on, and a variety of lures are working. The biggest one I laid eyes on this week was a pot-bellied bass caught by Kevin Blinkoff on a lipless crankbait on Saturday while he was taking the new Old Town Sportsman Autopilot for a spin. My Instagram feed is starting to fill up with 4-, 5-, and 6-pound largemouths being taken on the Cape and throughout the Northeast. AJ at Red Top Sporting Goods reported that a fishermen brought a nearly 7 ½-pound bass into the shop this week. The fish was caught on a live shiner. The time is now (“now” meaning the next month or so) to notch a new personal best bass.
Red Top is open for business, as is Sports Port. Though I couldn’t reach Amy and the crew over the phone, I saw on their website, that Sports Port is open for business, and is a trying a “drive-through” type approach. Here’s the message from their site:
Fishing is truly the perfect activity while maintaining social distance. We are going to try a “drive-thru” type of service to keep our employees at work, keep our customers fishing and keeping everyone safe. Here’s how it works:
– Call us with your order and we can process your credit card over the phone.
– We will pack up your order and have it ready to be picked up with out you having to actually enter the shop.Check back here for updates. Email or call us with any questions. Thank you for your understanding.
Jeff at Canal Bait and Tackle said he’s seen quite a few fishermen heading out looking for holdover striped bass. With the saltwater beginning to warm, all the stripers that spent the winter on Cape Cod will be increasing their activity. Fishing far up the bays and tidal rivers will give you the best bet at finding a holdover bass. Canal Bait and Tackle is also open for business, and Jeff plans to have a fresh batch of live shiners by the weekend.
Fishing Forecast for Cape Cod
Trout fishing is hot and heavy thanks to the efforts of the Sandwich Hatchery crew. You can check the trout stocking report, to see if your local pond has been stocked, and head there with a mix of lures and baits. Rain days, like Thursday and Friday are a great time to fish worms, not just for the fresh-stocked fish, but for the big holdover brown trout that have wised up to many of the artificial offerings.
Great information!! Thank you.