Cape Cod Fishing Report
Striper season is around the corner…literally.
Late last week, multiple reports trickled in of migratory schoolies, riddled with sea lice, being caught in the surf on the south side of Martha’s Vineyard. Based on years past, they’re right on schedule.
Ocean water temperatures are still hovering around 46 degrees, and while it’s been a slower start to the spring striper migration, we’ve got fish showing up right on time. Now we just need it to warm up a bit. The weekend forecast calls for daytime temps from the high 50s to 60 degrees, which bodes well for striper activity in the estuaries and salt ponds, many of which are currently loaded with river herring. On Tuesday, I took a stroll on the south side beaches in Cotuit and Mashpee where gulls and cormorants were stationed on the sand with eyes glued to the sea. Four or five ospreys circled overhead before diving on herring in Nantucket Sound, signaling to the shorebirds that they had located dinner. Had there been stripers beneath the herring, it would have been the earliest I’ve witnessed a blitz in Cape waters. I snapped some photos, and as the action petered out, a short drive inland found more of the same scene in a back bay—four ospreys dive-bombing schools of river herring. Our resident stripers have certainly been active since the herring numbers have grown, but until I catch a 5-pound largemouth, I’m trying to steer clear of the salt.
Those herring are swimming upstream in the feeder creeks of our salt ponds and marshes, and anglers across the Cape have been catching big largemouth bass as a result. The incessant and harsh wind poses a bit of a challenge, especially when you reserve your bass fishing to the hours after dark, but now is the time to bring out the big swimbaits, glidebaits and wakebaits if you haven’t already done so. To increase your odds of hooking up with a big bucketmouth, fish in herring-run ponds on afternoons and evenings after a sunny day, and especially prior to a low-pressure system moving in. If there are no herring-run ponds in your immediate vicinity, shallow bog ponds are the next best bet as they warm quickly, which means vegetation grows faster and provides cover for bass to ambush big baits like bluegills and yellow perch.
Smallmouth bass fishing has also been good in the kettle ponds from Upper Cape to the Outer Cape. Small soft plastics, like Ned rigs, and hair jigs fished low and slow for recently stocked trout have been duping some bronzebacks for shore and wading anglers. But smallies will also readily hit jigs, jerkbaits, crankbaits, and paddletail swimbaits. My buddy Ryan caught a nice one on a white Keitech while wading a Lower Cape pond earlier this week.
And while we’re on the subject of fish that favor rocky environments, it’s worth thinking about doing a little spring tautog fishing. Our local waters in Buzzards Bay and Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds are approaching 50 degrees, which is when togging starts to ramp up. The Rhode Island tog season is off to a good start, so anglers on the South Coast and in Buzzards Bay, where there’s abundant rock structure, stand to find the best action. I prefer a standard slider rig, or even a high/low rig with a bank sinker early on in the tog season, especially around sticky structure like jetties. However, tog jigs will work in gravely areas and on the edges of rock piles where they have less chance of tumbling and snagging. If you can’t get your hands on green crabs, clam and sea worms are two reliable early spring baits. They’re soft, so they tear off the hook with ease, but with water temps still in the high 40s, soft baits can withstand those lethargic blackfish bites. Expect a fair amount of short fish with a few keepers mixed in. Once water temps hit 50 and up, larger keepers of 18 inches or longer should become more common.
If you’re on the hunt for stripers, look to the estuaries during a dropping tide for the most reliable action. Soft-plastic paddletails in the 4- to 6-inch range on jigheads are good silverside imitations, while deep-bodied minnow plugs, swim shads, glidebaits, and surface-swimming metal lips like a Gibbs Danny Jr. are productive in backwater areas where stripers are feeding on herring.
AJ Coots at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me Connor, the shop’s floor manager, was catching schoolies-size holdovers while jigging paddletails in the rivers near home on the upper Cape last week, although the fishing is very hit or miss. On the saltwater front, most guys are trying for tog; the shop has green crabs in stock so stop in if you plan to poke around the jetties and shallow rock piles, or in the Canal this weekend. Otherwise, AJ said, trout fishing still the main draw right now. Largemouth bass fishing has been decent, but the fish are still not in full pre-spawn feed mode, so results are spotty. More trout were stocked in upper Cape ponds this week though, so there should be plenty to go around. The shop has spoons, spinners, nightcrawlers and more for anyone interested in trout fishing over the weekend.
Alex MacMillian at FishLinked Charters in Wareham said they are wrapping up a few projects on the boat and will have her in the water next Tuesday. They plan to do a few scouting trips before their first chartered trips of the year on the 27th. Give them a shout to inquire about available spring tog and striper dates before the calendar fills up.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said one of his buddies has been catching tons of rainbow trout in the Falmouth ponds by using a worm blower for nightcrawlers. He’s had several customers say there’s a good trout bite at Grews Pond on both flies and bait, including shiners and nightcrawlers. Another friend of his has been focused on bass fishing and is catching largemouth in the ponds peppering downtown Falmouth’s landscape, but most of the fish are maxing out at around 2 pounds. Chartreuse paddletails, he said, are working very well since the water has been stained after recent wind and rain. Evan also mentioned that he’s started selling lots of tog tackle, and he has green crabs in stock.
Christian at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said the shop has been super busy with people gearing up for largemouth, trout, and stripers this week. While things have been quiet on the striper front in their neck of the woods, largemouth bass fishing has been good as more herring continue to flood the area ponds. Trout fishing is still garnering the most interest though, as the stocking trucks continue to make their second and third rounds in some ponds. The shop has a solid selection of freshwater and saltwater tackle, and hopefully, we’re just a week or two out from some striper action on the south side. Stop by for live bait, lures, and anything else you need this week.
Riverview Bait and Tackle in South Yarmouth said that trout fishing is getting the most attention out east as largemouth and smallmouth are just starting to move around and feed. They’re eager for the first migratory stripers of the year to show up, which is likely still a week or so away. Until then, stop by for your trout and bass fishing needs, or to re-up on saltwater tackle for the striper season.
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters reported that he’s been crushing it on the haddock ground north of Cape; the fishing has been lights out and they’ve managed easy limits almost every trip. They’re fishing clams exclusively on recreational trips because once you start fishing jigs, you’ll be catching cod, which are out of season. If the haddock bite continues and conditions allow, Cam says he’ll keep offering trips. He has a couple of squid charters starting on the weekend of the 27th off Cape Cod. He’s also offering spring tautog trips sailing out of the Westport area, so give him a ring if you’re looking to do some togging off the south coast in Buzzards Bay.
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
With migratory stripers inching their way closer to Cape Cod, and herring stacked up from the south side beaches to the rivers, it’s time to start thinking about where you’ll target your first striped bass of the year. Grab your glidebaits, surface swimming plugs like metal lips, Red Fins and Bombers, and big soft plastics, because with the amount of bait in our area, it’s worth poking around the estuaries and salt ponds that are home to small holdover populations.
Just about all the upper Cape shops are now carrying green crabs, and I hope to do a little tog scouting mission this weekend now that bait is readily available. As mentioned in previous reports, you don’t need a boat or even a kayak to enjoy spring togging. Pitch jigs and rigs from your local jetties and as long as you have some moving water with depths of around 6 feet or more, you may run into a few shorts or even luck into a keeper.
Trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and pickerel are still the safest bet for a bent rod this weekend. The forecast looks warm and only slightly windy for a change, so get out and enjoy the spring weather—hopefully, it is here to stay!
Tempest Knob loaded with herring-striper candy! Tight lines.