Cape Cod Fishing Report
Update: February 27, 2025
Breaking news: there is open water on Cape Cod.
We’re almost through the “dog days” of winter, and after weeks of mostly safe, fishable ice covering all of our favorite bass and trout spots, it’s time to strap up the waders once again.
Despite most of the lakes and ponds having just thawed, we’re already seeing some promising signs of life. Baitfish are moseying around the shallows and bass and pickerel are taking notice. Yesterday, during a lunch break scouting mission, I was joined by OTW’s Robbie Tartaglia and Liam O’Neill as we broke out chatterbaits and suspending jerkbaits in hopes of connecting with, well, anything. On our way in, we spooked a handful of bluegills sunning themselves on a shallow, gravel flat. Only 15 minutes later, Robbie got bit on a Z-Man Chatterbait Elite EVO and lost one claw of his crawfish trailer. On the next cast, a 4-pound largemouth ate his jig within 10 feet from the bank and gave a decisive headshake after feeling the hook. Unfortunately, that fish got away. However, minutes later he connected again with a big, mean chain pickerel—a fitting conclusion to our lunch break session. Pickerel begin to spawn in March, so for the next several weeks, they’ll be an especially common bycatch for bass anglers as they fatten up before a temporary, short-lived fast.
Panfish enthusiasts also have something to be excited about. We can’t jig them up with ice rods anymore, but yellow perch, which tend to spawn beginning in late March or April, will also be putting on the feed bag in the coming weeks. They’re fun to catch on micro plastics, or the classic worm and bobber. Plus, they school up which, in addition to being one of the prettiest freshwater fish available, makes for a great opportunity to take a kid fishing.
In addition to perch and pickerel, count on good largemouth bass fishing in the near future. There is still some brisk weather ahead, but it’s unlikely that those sub-freezing overnight temperatures will remain consistent enough to put ice back on our local waters. Daytime bass anglers across the Cape should reach for finesse paddletails (3 inches or smaller), suspending jerkbaits, chatterbaits, Ned rigs, and jigs until we get a multi-day string of warm weather, at which point “swimbait season” officially begins. When it starts to feel mild and slightly humid after dark, pack up your favorite wakebaits, glidebaits, and swimbaits, and head to your local largemouth honey hole. Baitfish are stirring, from bluegills and perch to schools of last year’s herring fry. By the second week of March, peeper frogs should be breaking the silence of the night with their distinct chirping. If sprouting dandelions signal the start of spring tautog season in April, peeper frogs are the dandelions of the spring swimbait season for largemouth bass anglers.
And of course, we can’t overlook the annual spring trout stocking by Massachusetts DFW, which is set to begin in early March. Cape Cod’s ponds usually are the first to be stocked because they are the first to thaw. Keep an eye on the state’s trout stocking map to see what’s being stocked and when.
As we head into March, check on your local herring runs. Typically, scout herring will begin to arrive in small waves throughout the month. In some areas of the Cape, the herring runs are stronger due to improved fish passage in our rivers and creeks. River restoration projects, which focus on the removal of culverts and dams, are an ongoing battle. Thankfully, groups like Cape Cod Trout Unlimited and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod are spearheading the removal of such barriers to river herring and native brook trout in places like Fresh Brook in Wellfleet, and in the Mashpee River.
Better (fishing) days are ahead, so if you need to have your saltwater reels serviced, or restock trout and bass lures, support our local tackle shops whenever possible instead of relying on large suppliers like Amazon.
Here’s what our local tackle shops had to share this week:
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay reported that there was some sketchy ice north of the Canal at the beginning of the week, but since then, they’ve had a handful of customers in the shop who are fishing open water for trout and bass. Most people are coming in for bait and trout lures before the stocking trucks make their rounds. Red Top has a good selection of micro plastics, jerkbaits, spoons etc. which are available both online and in store. Connor also said they should have more shiners in stock in the near future—their current shiner inventory has been depleted over the past week. Clearly, it’s time to get out and fish!
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said there was still scant skim ice in the corners of a couple local ponds, but that should be cleared up in time for the weekend. Over the past week he’s been mostly spooling and servicing reels while working through his new saltwater tackle inventory. March is just about here, so he has PowerBait nuggets, eggs, etc. for trout enthusiasts who are either looking to catch fall holdovers or hit the ponds once the state begins stocking ponds. In fact, Evan will be going to Falmouth Academy tomorrow (Friday) to do a presentation on trout fishing for the kids. He had a couple of young anglers in the store on Wednesday who were going trout fishing in Falmouth’s kettle ponds like Grews and Mares, but received no word of how they did. In addition to trout gear, he has large shiners available for anglers who want to target big, ice-out largemouth bass and pickerel.
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis reported that things have been quiet since the ice started melting, but her son went fishing yesterday and while there were no results to report, it’s good to know people are eager to get back out and wet a line in open water. Sports Port has plenty of trout lures, like jerkbaits, spinners and spoons, in addition to live shiners and nightcrawlers for those who prefer to fish bait. With trout stocking around the corner, now is the time to restock your collection of freshwater gear before the rush.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth shared that fishing has been slow in the lower and outer Cape as ponds have been thawing over the past few days. They had a few customers coming in for bait before ice fishing at the beginning of the week, but it would appear that the ice fishing season is over now. Looking ahead, they’re stocked up on trout gear in preparation for the spring stocking with a healthy selection of spoons, spinners, and live bait.
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
As previously mentioned, there’s still cold weather on the way. Temperatures may dip below freezing overnight in some cases, but judging by the 10-day forecast, we’re looking at daily highs in the 40s and 50s into the second week of March, so it would appear it’s time to stow away tip-ups and augers until next season. This Saturday looks like a prime day to go fishing for trout and bass.
The ponds are still very chilly, and while bass might be lethargic, they’ll certainly be willing to eat. Slow-moving presentations fished lower in the water column—like Ned rigs, and deep-diving suspending jerkbaits—will be the most likely to get bit. Minor tweaks can make all the difference. For example, if a jerkbait that dives between 3 and 4 feet isn’t producing results, reach for one that dives from 7 to 8 feet. If a 5-second pause isn’t cutting it between twitches or hops of a jig, count to 10 instead.
More important than anything else, whether you are fishing from the bank or from a boat/kayak, is covering water. If you cycle through a few presentations in one area without a bite, don’t pack it in—move to a different spot and repeat the process. It can be slow, grueling work for one or two bites as water and air temps continue to warm up, so keep a cool head and fish hard.
For a chance to have your catch featured in an upcoming Cape Cod Fishing Report, send your fish pictures and a sentence or two summarizing the outing to mhaeffner@onthewater.com.
Thanks for reading. Now get out and fish!
February 13, 2025
Not much has changed since our previous winter Cape Cod fishing update. Anglers were still getting out on the ice when the conditions were cold enough, however, after some recent snow and now mild, wet weather, safe ice is scarce. At the time of this writing, the wise choice would be to stay away from the ice (for now). Low temperatures in the teens and 20s next week should help to reform some of what’s melted off. That said, anyone interested in ice fishing is encouraged to use extreme caution when testing the thickness of the ice, whether it be on a small pond or the coves of our kettle lakes. There was a recent report of someone falling through the ice on a Mid Cape pond. Make sure you review ice fishing safety tips and bring all the necessary safety gear to minimize the chance of such an incident.
Before the recent snow, we had weather that was cold enough to keep 4 to 6 inches of ice on most of our local bodies of fresh water. Anthony DeiCicchi and I used our lunch breaks to get out on some Upper Cape hardwater to jig up yellow perch and largemouth bass.
Anthony, with the help of Robbie Tartaglia, used a Garmin Panoptix Ice Fishing Bundle to seek out structure and mark fish that were hugging sunken trees, rock piles, and grass. Upon locating some good-looking structure, he fished an Acme Hyperglide to dupe a few largemouth bass. Meanwhile, I hopped from hole to hole with Berkley PowerBait Pre-Rigged Atomic Tubes, happy to be catching whatever was willing to bite.
We fished in 25- to 40-foot depths and found the fish to be almost glued to the bottom. The bass were a bit more active—they were willing to move around and chase his jigs, while the yellow perch, surprisingly, took some figuring out.
Despite fishing blind (without electronics), the PowerBait-scented tubes worked well for perch. After some trial and error, I was able to put together a reliable bite by letting my jig sink to the bottom, taking one or two cranks, and holding the tube steady, which allowed it to hover just barely off the bottom. Most of the perch were small, but it felt good to put even a tiny bend in a rod.
There’s more cold weather on the way, but the recent wave of mild temperatures in the low 40s has most anglers (myself included) eager for ice-out. Stocked trout from the fall will be chewing well alongside largemouth bass and pickerel, both of which tend to put on the feed bags once there’s some open water and a bit of sunshine. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves—it would appear the ice, skim or safe, is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me that until this week, ice fishing was still good just north of the shop if you were willing to cross the bridge. The fishing has been best the further west you go, where anglers are catching a mix of bass, pike, panfish, and pickerel. Today’s weather will likely put the kibosh on ice fishing even on ponds just off Cape until things freeze up again next week, so use the weekend to re-up on gear and tackle for the spring season. The shop is carrying plenty of largemouth bass lures for ice out, including some swimbaits and wakebaits. Check out Red Top on IG or visit their online store for new product arrivals and deals.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth said it has been quiet around the shop with the lack of fishable ice. They’re hopeful that next week’s temperatures will lock up the ponds so people can get back to fishing for bass, pickerel, trout, and panfish on local hardwater.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said that he just got a shipment of live shiners earlier this week, so he should have live bait available if the ponds refreeze next week. He added that the shop is getting a big shipment of trout gear on Monday, including a bunch of new items like Trout Magnet, worm blowers, Kastmasters, and more. Eastman’s is open from Wednesday to Saturday from 9-3 for the rest of February, and will be back to regular hours once the spring trout stocking begins in early March.
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Welp, we’re back to a temporary state of fishing limbo, which has been a common theme this winter even though it’s been one of the better ice fishing seasons in recent years. Here’s hoping that next week’s overnight sub-freezing temperatures will make conditions safe for Cape Cod anglers to get back out there.
Swing by your local shop to peruse their ice fishing selection, to pick up bait, or to have your saltwater gear serviced before the mad rush that occurs in late February/March.
You can also use this down time to attend winter fishing shows like the Springfield Sportsman’s Show next weekend.
Should next week bring fishable ice, be sure to use good judgment, fish with a friend, and have all the proper safety gear to make your day on the ice memorable for the right reasons.