Cape Cod Fishing Report
It may not be winter yet, according to the calendar, but winter conditions have finally caught up to us this week. It’s cold out there—cold enough that some of the small, shallow ponds around the Upper Cape saw skim ice forming on the edges before this rain came through. Hard to believe, considering the last of the stripers were still chewing out east last week and albie feeds were spotted in Vineyard Sound only 2 weeks ago.
Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time to scrape the windshield of that early-morning frost and start the car 5 minutes early. Time to start the long, grueling process of organizing the mess of entangled lures and plugs in the back of your truck, before swapping out the worn or rusted hooks and split rings later this winter. I’ll be beginning that process this weekend.
These exceptionally-chilly morning air temperatures will inevitably lead to frozen guides for anglers targeting largemouth and smallmouth bass, trout, pickerel, and panfish this weekend. The good news is, next week we’ll start to see daytime temperatures in the 50s again. In the meantime, if you plan to go fishing, try to time your outings in the early afternoon while the sun is still shining. If the kettle ponds aren’t giving up trout at sunrise, keep a bass rod and waders in your car and sneak off to go bass fishing during lunch break (assuming there’s open water). The sun is rising late and setting early, so finding a productive window to fish, especially during the week, is not always easy. That’s why we often forego lunch during the winter months over here.
With the last migratory stripers gone and tautog moving into even deeper water as temperatures continue to drop, saltwater fishing options are slim these days. If you can find a boat that’s still in the water, jump at any chance to go tog fishing before the season ends on December 31. Otherwise, you can hop on a headboat like the Frances Fleet out of Point Judith, RI, or the American Classic up in Lynn, to jig some cod, pollock, or Acadian redfish (depending on your location). There should also be some mackerel in the east end of the Canal, winter holdover stripers in some of the rivers and salt ponds, or white perch in brackish creeks and ponds. On Sunday, I went white perch fishing after swinging by the GW Customs Fishing Show Before Christmas. It was a great event, and there were a few extra vendors than I remember there being last year.
Unfortunately, the white perch fishing was not as fruitful as the fishing show, which I left with a few new lures from Striper Maine-iac, RB Plug Works, and others. There were perch rising on the surface, but because they school so densely and tend to move quite a bit, staying with them was a struggle. I landed just one fish before dusk—a chunky specimen, but nothing to write home about. The fish ate a green, 1/8-ounce BPS Marabou hair jig, which are intended to be used for crappie, but they work like a charm when the perch are schooled up and chewing. Another productive hair jig color combo for white perch is white and pink.
Other than that, the kettle ponds are the place to be. They take longer to freeze than the smaller, weedier ponds, and trout should be relatively easy to find if you’re looking to bend a rod this weekend.
Here’s what our local shops have to report this week:
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me mackerel are still stacked up pretty good in the east end of the Canal, otherwise, most people have turned their attention to freshwater fishing. The shop weighed in a 3.5-pound brown trout this week that was caught on a nightcrawler floated off the bottom, and a couple of guys are also catching some quality largemouth on the Upper Cape by tucking into corners on Jon boats and Bass Raiders. If you plan to go fishing for largemouth, bring some sort of net or lip gripper in case your bass lures are intercepted by chain pickerel, which should also be chewing well this time of year.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said most of his customers have been coming in for shellfishing gear or to have their reels serviced, with the exception of one gentleman who picked up a bunch of nightcrawlers for trout in the local kettle ponds. If you’re in the area and you need to have your reel fixed up before next season, get ahead of the game and bring it into the shop before the masses do the same, and pick up a few freshwater lures for bass and trout while you’re at it.
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis told me that the shellfishing crowd has been keeping them busy. However, they have a handful of shop regulars that have been going for trout on the fly and they’re doing well casting Wooly Buggers from shore and while wading; the key to catching rainbows and browns has been to use a slightly modified Wooly Bugger that is a little trimmed down. One of their local fly tiers had actually just dropped a bunch of flies off before we spoke. The shop’s fly section is fully stocked with a selection of both saltwater and freshwater flies, so it’s a good time to load up while they have them. Amy added that there are mackerel to be caught in the east end of the Canal, and that scalloping has been good locally for those interested.
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Cape Cod and the Islands!
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
There’s plenty of rain in the forecast next week. If it weren’t for the mild stretch of weather coming up, it’d be a whole lot of snow. For those who don’t mind getting a little wet, fishing for largemouth bass, pickerel and trout will be the best bets for a bent rod.
Spoons, inline spinners and small jerkbaits are good choices for spin fishermen targeting trout and pickerel, and slightly larger suspending jerkbaits like the Megabass Ito Vision 110 and Shimano World Minnow are great when it comes to enticing lethargic largemouth to chew.
White perch are a bit more elusive, but like stripers, they tend to feed more aggressively in foul weather. Hair jigs bounced along the bottom, or suspended beneath a bobber are top producers, but they will also swipe at small spoons, spinners, jerkbaits, and curly-tail grubs like a white Mister Twister. Find some slow-moving water and try to fish during the end of the incoming or top of the outgoing tide.
Thanks for reading! Good luck and stay warm out there.