Cape Cod Fishing Report
What a week it’s been. From salt to fresh, spring fishing patterns are really starting to shape up with the arrival of some legitimate spring weather—meaning sunshine and temperatures above 55 degrees. It took a while, but we’re off and running.
Saltwater fishing is heating up. Late last week, Adam Eldridge and I went tog fishing from some local rocks during our lunch breaks, and we found some picky but certainly hungry fish. I managed to stick one keeper on my second drop, but we dealt with scratchy bites for the rest of the outing. However, over the weekend, I hit the jetties a couple more times with my friends Matt and Zack, and we put together a good catch. Most of the fish we landed were short, but we had another one or two keepers plus plenty of break-offs and swings and misses. Matt hooked all of his fish on a 1.5-ounce jig, while I opted for a single-hook rig. I made three observations that I believe were crucial to our success; small green crabs (with legs removed), small hooks (I use 4/0 Gamakatsu live bait hooks), and a dropper loop tied as close to the sinker as possible to keep the bait near bottom. Additionally, we found the outgoing tide to be more productive. The water temperature on a falling tide is a tad warmer, and if you’re fishing small inlet jetties, any crabs or bait being flushed out of the backwaters will be swept right into a tog’s wheelhouse. Our fish came from 8 to 15 feet of water, so if you’ve splashed the boat or you have a kayak, consider some nearshore togging over the next week. If you can’t get your hands on green crabs, clams and sea worms are also good choices.
Cape Codders are patiently waiting for migratory stripers to show up in force. There are liced-up fish in the salt ponds and bays on the south side, but much like when they arrived in Rhode Island, they are few and far between. That’s bound to change by the end of next week after more daytime temperatures in the 60s and overnight lows in the 50s. Aside from river herring, there’s not a ton of bait for the bass to feed on at the moment. I’ve been out every night checking local spots for activity, and there are hardly any silversides at this time—although, they tend to appear in large schools in the marshes and estuaries come the first week of May. There are plenty of grass shrimp stacked up in the rivers and bays, but the more likely place to find striper action, even if from resident fish, remains way back in the skinny water near herring runs. I missed my first bite of the season on Tuesday night in a quiet, slow-moving creek where I noticed V-shaped wakes from herring schools. A quick pitch of a Sporting Wood surface-swimming metal lip across the creek yielded one blowup from a bass that, somehow, didn’t get the hooks. That surface eruption created enough ruckus to alert the rest of the bass in the glass-calm creek to my presence, and I went hitless from then on as herring continued swimming by my feet.
Herring are going to continue moving into the salt ponds and estuaries across the Cape, and while there may be mostly resident fish active at this time, fresh schoolies are pushing their way in. Anglers stand to capitalize on those herring feeds by tossing glidebaits, shallow-diving or surface-swimming metal lips, large weightless soft plastics, and minnow plugs like Red Fins and Bombers. As those migratory bass move in—hopefully on the tails of more herring, spearing, and bunker—water temps will continue to climb, and we’ll see a shift in their feeding habits. Smaller models of popular plastic plugs like SP Minnows, Mag Darters, Hydro Minnows, Crystal Minnows, and Current Sniper jerkbaits are all great choices, but we’re likely a good week from that bite developing on the upper Cape as water temps are still brisk and the bass lethargic. Until the first week of May, the best lures to throw are herring imitations and small bucktail jigs or paddletails/flukes from deep sod banks, in salt ponds, and in rivers where there’s a bottleneck or choke point that acts like a baitfish funnel.
We can also hope to hear reports of good squidding in Nantucket Sound come May 1. Captain Cam Faria has his first squid trip of the season coming up on April 27, so let’s hope he finds some solid action after last year’s mediocre squid run.
On the freshwater side, largemouth bass seem to be coming out of their finicky back-and-forth feeding patterns, which is due to some consistent warm weather and—yup, more river herring. The whole wakebait/swimbait bite was very challenging to pattern this spring, at least in my experience; thankfully, big bass are still eating jigs in the deeper kettle ponds where the water remains a tad colder than shallow bog ponds. I got out for a couple hours on Easter Sunday and caught 2 bass on a Beast Coast Lil’ Magnum for a total weight of about 8 pounds—not bad at all.
Meanwhile, my friend Andrew Burke, a former coworker at OTW, was blessed enough to witness his father reel in an absolute unit of a largemouth that ate his chatterbait on Sunday afternoon. They didn’t get a weight or measurement, but the fish has to be all of 8 pounds. I’ll let you decide (see below).
With some rain and wind coming on Saturday, the barometric pressure will be dropping, making it prime time to sneak in a final trophy largemouth outing before stripers begin to envelop the Cape. Fishing around a falling barometer has been the one constant each time I’ve landed a decent bass this spring. Grab a couple swimbaits, hit a herring run pond, and get your trophy largemouth before stripers pose too much of a distraction.
Connor Swartz at Red Top Sporting Goods in Buzzards Bay told me there have been some keeper tog caught in the west end of the Canal. The boat guys are starting to head out more frequently and they’re catching mostly shorts, but water temperatures in Buzzards Bay are just reaching 50 degrees, so we can expect the tog fishing to improve over the next week, especially after some strong southwest winds forecasted for this Saturday. The shop has green crabs in stock for anyone interested in togging. Freshwater, he said, has been very good in the way of trout, especially; they weighed in 3 trout from 6 to 8 pounds over the past week or so, all of which were caught in Peters Pond and Long Pond in Plymouth. They’ve got a solid freshwater tackle selection for trout and bass, in addition to all things tog and stripers, so swing by this weekend to gear up for next week—the saltwater season is underway.
Evan at Eastman’s Sport and Tackle in Falmouth said there are plenty of people buying crabs and going out for tog, but he hasn’t had many reports back so he’s unsure of how they’re making out. The main draw this week is still freshwater fishing; the shop is selling through lots of live shiners and nightcrawlers with the kids off from school. Largemouth bass fishing has really fired up, and stocked trout have had some time to settle in so they’re chewing better in the local ponds. Evan said he has more shiners, nightcrawlers, and crabs coming in on Friday; the forecast for Saturday looks very windy, so it might be hard to get out for tog or stripers, but if you can tuck into a calm pond the freshwater fishing should be good.
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Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain around Cape Cod and the Islands!
Captain Cam Faria of Cambo Charters said he was back on the haddock grounds on Monday and the results were excellent once again. They’ve been fishing clams to avoid a bycatch of cod that tends to come when fishing jigs. Cam has his first squid charter of the season planned for this weekend, however, he doesn’t anticipate the squidding to really pick up until early next week after more south winds and warm weather. Give him a call to inquire about availability for squid, tog, stripers and more.
Amy at Sports Port Bait and Tackle in Hyannis said slow reports on tog so far. Freshwater fishing has been the focus with all the kids off from school, and bass fishing has definitely improved with the warmer weather and more people willing to go out fishing. They’ve had a few customers catching on Senkos while the young kids and families are fishing shiners and nightcrawlers with good results. One customer mentioned that the bass were showing no interest in live shiners, but they were gobbling up nightcrawlers, which even yielded him a few catfish. Amy said Sports Port has green crabs in stock now, and they’re hoping to see migratory stripers in the area by the end of next week!
Captain Elena Rice of Reel Deal Fishing Charters in Truro reported: “The past couple days have offered some seriously epic pond fishing on outer Cape Cod. Trout fishing with spoons has brought in some nice-sized brown and brook trout. Shiners for pickerel and largemouth bass have produced guaranteed strikes including a ~7-pound largemouth bass brought in by Beckett Rice during school vacation week.”
From Nantucket, Rick Ramos shared the following report: “On Nantucket, the arrival of the first migratory striper marks more than a seasonal shift—it’s a celebration of community and our connection to the water. The Spring Sea Run Opener is the island’s first charitable fishing tournament of 2025, welcoming the striped bass migration with friendly, catch-and-release competition. “This tournament is about reconnecting with the water, kicking off the season in style, and doing some good along the way,” says founder Raf Osona. “It’s for everyone—from seasoned anglers to kids holding a rod for the first time.” With prizes for first bass, longest and shortest catches—plus weekly, team, and individual awards—there’s something for all. Kids fish free, and adults can join for just $25 at springsearunopener.com/register.”
Cape Cod Fishing Forecast
Tautog fishing has been steadily improving in shallow water. Some of the jetties on the south side will hold fish, as will certain locations in Buzzards Bay. If you have a boat in the water, scout some rock piles in 10 to 25 feet of water. Whether you fish from shore or boat/kayak, bring a mix of jigs and rigs, and if you can get your hands on smaller green crabs, you’ll be set up for success. The tog bite should really ramp up next week with more spring weather in the forecast.
Stripers are moving into salt ponds and estuaries on the upper Cape and while those first schoolies of the year are small, it feels especially refreshing to see them again after the long, cold winter and tough spring we had. For the fresh arrivals, 3- to 5-inch soft plastics on light jigheads, or 1/2- to 3/4-ounce bucktail jigs will be the best approach. For those larger resident fish that are more focused on chasing herring, surface swimming plugs, glidebaits, and deep-bodied soft plastics will get the job done. Focus on skinny, warm backwaters and brackish water areas to increase your chances. In a week or two, we’ll be throwing topwater plugs like Jumpin’ Minnows and Lil Docs with more and bigger migratory fish in the mix.
With some heavy wind in the forecast on Saturday, boats may need to stay tied to the dock. To quell the fishing itch, look to the ponds for largemouth bass and stocked trout.