On Cape Cod this week, freshwater fish have been active. Certain days saw the sun peek out from the wintery clouds to make for a slow, but productive start to the open water season. While our team at On The Water continued to hook a plethora of white perch, kettle ponds thawed out to make fair game of other worthy targets. Finally free of skim ice, anglers wasted no time surveying their local waters for signs of activity. Some explored in their waders, and others took full advantage of open water on their kayaks.
Although the warmth may not last, it’s amazing what a few days of sun can do; my feet didn’t numb instantly upon wading this week (but a couple hours did the trick). Largemouth bass made a showing amongst the white perch, and so did a couple of chain pickerel. As we near March, I am particularly excited for the chain pickerel post-spawn bite. They’ll spawn when the last of the ice thaws and the chaos that ensues in the following weeks is something I routinely, eagerly await.
Chain pickerel’s post-spawn feeding will typically align with the largemouth bass’ pre-spawn feeding patterns. Both fish frequent the same environments and feed on the same forage, so it comes as no surprise when a gator pickerel takes the bait intended for a trophy bass in late March. As ready as I am for that bite, it doesn’t seem like the warm weather will stick around. For now, I’ll welcome the tug of even a small chain pickerel on my line.
From the Shops
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reported some of her customers fishing the Mills and catching nice brown trout on gold spoons from shore. Rainbows will also hit gold spoons, but when the sun is up and the water warms a bit, browns will be more active. Without skim ice to ruin the fun, bait sales picked up a bit for Sport’s Port and will only improve as the bass and trout bite picks up.
Evan at Eastmans Sport and Tackle in Falmouth had a few guys come in for nightcrawler and shiners. He’s seen an uptick in bait sales, and has had customers fishing locally at Shiverick’s Pond for bass, and Hamblin’s Pond for holdover trout. He also has heard of white perch hitting small Rapalas; now is the time to target them!
Tom at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay reported selling more bait, specifically shiners, as waters opened up on kettle ponds. Some of his shop guys have been fly fishing for trout on Cape ponds with some fish to show for it. Stocking trucks will be coming around in the first week or two of March, but Red Top will be closed Monday-Friday for interior maintenance. They hope to open on Saturday morning for weekend anglers, assuming the looming snow storm is not excessive.
From the Shore
Largemouth bass are starting to act up and feed more aggressively. This weekend, OTW’s Anthony DeiCicchi happened to reel in a bass that needed a helping hand before its release.
Freshwater bass fishing should continue to pick up in the coming weeks, even with cooler air temperatures sticking around. Now, with open water, fishing from a kayak or boat when possible will likely produce more fish. Ned rigs, blade baits and other jigging lures will be the key to success until bass begin to move shallow in search of food; then, jerkbaits and swimbaits will be a great option.
White perch season is in full swing. They’re a cold water fish, and right around this time of year is when they’re most active- before the stripers return. One day this week prior to making a cast, I surveyed the waters for bait. Small, lonely grass shrimp and minnows dotted the sandy shallows, spooked by my shadow with any movement I made. But, it was great to see a sign of active bait returning to our waters; it was almost like witnessing the first bloom of the spring season.
After a few minutes of unproductive fishing I casted out a large, white grub on an 1/8 oz. jighead. I didn’t let it sink, and instead retrieved it immediately to get the tail action I wanted from the lure. Without a hookset needed, my rod keeled over and a nice perch began to pull drag, taking me for a quick run before changing course and darting towards me.
In last weeks report, OTW’s Andrew Burke caught a giant 14-inch white perch, and I was lucky enough to witness it. On this day, with some net assistance from OTW’s Jack Burke, I landed a 14-incher of my own.
The perch bite will continue until the water warms up a bit, and striped bass slowly but surely arrive along our shores.
A few days later I decided to mix things up and fish for largemouth bass. While there weren’t many substantial fish caught, I was able to land a handful around sunset. They were stacked in one spot, so I fished low and slow while trying to avoid snagging vegetation. After pulling 4 or 5 fish from one pocket, they seemed to wisen up- or perhaps the lack of sunlight shut off their appetite.
With a couple small pickerel to top things off, I considered the sunset outing a successful one until I lost my swimbait to a tree. This time of year, any fishing is good fishing. March is on the way and the best of 2022 is yet to come for Cape Cod anglers.
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
The end of the week calls for snow in the forecast. It’s unclear whether it will be cold enough for smaller ponds to freeze over again, but some of the bigger lakes should remain unfrozen for kayak anglers and small watercraft to locate a bite. In the coming weeks, smallmouth and largemouth bass fishing will continue to heat up as the weather does. Big chain pickerel will be on the prowl as their spawning period comes to a close, and the river herring will begin migrating into the creeks to reproduce and provide sustenance to hungry freshwater gamefish. With March around the corner, fishing low and slow is still the most productive method for any species- but that too will change, as the trout stocking trucks make their stops around the Cape beginning next month.