Cape Cod freshwater fishing information. Freshwater
fishing, on the Cape, for bass, trout, panfish and more described by the
season and the fishing techniques most often used for success. Basic tackle
needs by species and for the flyfisher, spinfisher and bait fisherman are
included here. There are also articles published on freshwater fishing and
leads to tackle shops and other resources.
APRIL The perch are past
spawn but are still hanging around the shallows. (Look for my
articlein On The Water magazine, "Yellow Perch" from
the March Issue) Water temperature is as high as 50 degrees in the shallow
northern side of some ponds but mostly in the 44-48 range, perfect for Smallmouths
rising from the depths. The Trout are stocked and plentiful across the Cape.
Largemouths are becoming more active in warmer waters and can be caught
on small spinners and jigs. (Read my "Coldwater
Largemouths" article from the April issue of On The Water magazine.)
White Perch are active and bite to jigs best. The water is high, so bring
the chest waders or the boat. 4/6/98
May. The bass, both largemouths
and smallies have come and gone from their beds by the end of the month.
Panfish are very active and the trout are starting to go deeper as the water
warms. Pickeral are also very active as are the perch, both yellow and white,
if you can find them in their roamings or fish them deep enough to be near
bottom. The weeds are filling in and this is a good time to start using
the "rubber" worm in the pads or the weedless fly on top for bigger
fish. Big sunnies can be caught near the bottom off points and pads using
nightcrawlers. Bait is always supreme. We're all awaiting the herring fry
hatch of summer.
Perch (and
my article from March, '98 On The Water
magazine)
Icefishermen concentrate on jiggin' or trap fishing with minnows.
For jiggin' try a gold or silver spoon like a cleo, swedish pimple or fiord
but with a single hook replacing the treble to cut down on weeds. Lift slow,
drop fast right at the bottom and tip the hook with a bit of nightcrawler
or minnow to get them to hold it a touch longer. After ice out, the best
fishing is north and east side coves and shallows, 2' - 5' deep, warmed
by the sun. Fish below pencil bobbers with bits of nightcrawlers and explore
'til you find a hot spot. Once they are bitin' stay there! The scent and
activity attract more fish to that spot constantly. Five gallons an hour
of 3/4 pounders is possible (someplaces even easy). (and the article
from March, '98 On The Water magazine)
Flyfish with small white or yellow wet flies and maybe a #16 crayfish pattern
dropper.
When the water warms the fish go deeper, often 20' or more. Try worms and
minnows on very light bobbers or slow trolling streamers and spinners with
yellow on them. Once you find the fish, mark the spot to work the school.
If you can't strike fast enough with a fly but feel the tap, stop retrieving
and let it sink for a ten count, then lift your rod tip for a hookup, you'd
be surprised (thanks for the tip, Brewster!). White perch like it deeper
(bead head flies) and meatier (jigs, tiny "rap"s and minnows).
Panfish
Everyone's fun fish except when your perchin'. There are big 'Gills
on the Cape that fall to worms, spinners and flies (woolly buggers and poppers).
You can catch real slabsides in May and June while they're bedding in the
shallows. (Look for my article on Bluegills
coming out in the May issue of On The Water magazine.) Wade and cast
ahead with fly or floating mini-Rap' and work it slow: twitch, rest, twitch.
In the summer the biggun's go deep and can be found in 10' - 20' just outside
weeds and off points with their Largemouth brethren. Jig 'em with marabou
leadheads ( 1/16 oz. - 1/32 oz. ) or offer a big wriggler, and watch out
for the occasional Largemouth.
Good sized holdover fish are caught through the ice on the bigger
trout stocked waters: Gull in Truro, Herring, Big Cliff, John's, Long, Pilgrim,
etc. with minnows or nightcrawlers near the bottom. You can use a portable
depth sounder to spot fish suspended in deeper water. Up to eight pounders
are caught every winter.
Stocking begins March 3 this year and trout are easy to find and catch
in the fifty or so stocked ponds, rivers
and streams of the Cape and Islands. Popular AND successful lures and
spoons and spinners are usually small and silver to take the most fish.
Flies like muddlers and woolly buggers are the rule in black and brown and
green.
All baits work near bottom or below bobbers. As it warms, the trout go
deeper and the successful fishermen follows by trolling minnow imitations
or suspending bait. The big fish go to patient fishing of big shiners below
bobbers for pond Browns.
Some very big Brown trout in deep ponds eat small rainbows so try deep trolling
rainbow rapalas! Sea Run Browns in Scorton Creek, Mashpee river, Moonakiss,
and Childs rivers can run to 17 pounds (yes!) and are hunters of mummichogs
and herring fry. Big spoons, spinners and Lefty's "Decievers"
and Dahlberg's are the lures for these lunkers. Check the Regulations
for species and size.
Usually caught through the ice in shallower water near the edge of structure:
rocks, weeds and brush on minnows. Occasionally jigging big spoons, try
lying on the ice looking through the hole covered over with your coat while
jigging. You'll see more.
After ice out, try small spinners along the shores and big livebait on the
dropoffs. Water wolves like it fast and can still be caught on the old daredevil
besides big black Mepps and perch or herring 'Raps. Tiger Muskies are stocked
in a few ponds of the Cape. Check with MDFW for an up-to-date list!
Probably one of the best kept secrets of the Cape are the Largemouth
Bass. Sure, you say, I knew that the Cape had some good Bass fishin'. GOOD?
I've caught 8 lb. largemouths in western Mass. that were 17 years old. On
the Cape, they are half that age! In the rest of the state, the forage is
bluegills. On the Cape it is Herring fry; gazillions of oily schooled up
herring fry. The Cape is the only place in the North I've ever seen Bass
round up and drive the herring to the surface like they do in the south
with gizzard shad. Yes, we have "good" Bass fishin'. (Look
for my article on Coldwater Largemouths from
the April issue of On The Water magazine.)
The Cape also has a very long growing season for New England, eight months
- april through november, versus five or six months for the rest of the
mainland. This is because of our maritime location; the tempering influence
of the ocean, twenty degrees warmer in the winter. If we had southern strain
Bass, we'd have twenty pounders! No doubt about it. Our weather is the same
as North Georgia and Tennessee; ever hear of lunkers in these states?
As it is, we have lots of Bass in the teens. Probably every Bass water on
the Cape has some and some waters have many. That also means that a coupla
guys with a bucket of shiners can take fifty or a hundred pounds of Bass
home in a day. Possible but certainly game hoggery. Lets keep the resource
reusable.
Where to look for this kind of fishing? The best known place is Mashpee-Wakeby
Pond but it may not be the best pond. Big enough to be a lake, M-W has all
the freshwater varieties of fish and a few just its own like White Catfish.
Like almost all of the ponds on Cape it is a kettle pond and deep. Like
the best Bass ponds on Cape it is on a herring run. The key here is the herring run. To find the best Bass (or any fish)
ponds on Cape Cod, look on maps for herring runs from saltwater or from
tidal rivers. The herring (alewife really) is the food boost that makes
good ponds spectacular. They migrate upstream to spawn and fill the ponds
with millions of shiny herring fry all summer before these migrate back
to the ocean in the fall.
With over 300 ponds on the Cape and most with Largemouths, there are too
many to be specific. But don't be disappointed in my lack of specifics.
Look close to where you are staying first. Even the tiny ten acre ponds
can have great fishing because they are usually underfished. The other hotspots are reservoir ponds for cranberry bogs. These
are often shallow marshes flooded to hold water to flood the bogs in the
winter and are super fertile. If you find one of these on the map with a
stream connecting it to the ocean for a herring run, you have found a goldmine!
Since Cape Cod is the leading producer of Cranberries, there are many of
these ponds to find spread out across the Cape.
Bass Tactics
Catch Largemouths just off the bottom with minnows in winter. Sometimes
deep (25'), and very slow, big fish are common through the ice.
In March, find the warmest water after a few days of sun and fish low and
slow with spinners for lethargic bigmouths. The Nor'east sides of ponds
are often the best.
As the water warms in April, fish become more active and will hit a greater
variety of lures. Consider fishing near herring runs (migration time) with
big silver plugs for BIG Bass.
Check the Regulations for the limits.
By summer the fishing is active all day long. Fishing deep during the
day or working structure regularly produces nice fish and numbers of fish.
If the pads are getting the fishing pressure then jig the dropoffs or drift
for suspended bass schooled up on the herring! Remember, don't overlook
unfished ponds, Bass are everywhere on the Cape and the harder it is to
access the water the better the fishing is likely to be. Remember also,
once off private land and in the water wading, you can often circumnavigate
most ponds on firm bottom. If the night is windless (rarely) get on the
water with topwater lures for the action of a lifetime.
The ponds "roll over" in late October or early November when water
temperatures drop, feel it, you'll know. The fishing usually remains summerlike
until this event and then begins to slow down as water temp.s drop into
the lower fifties.
The flies of choice are: Muddlers, Decievers, Woolly Buggers and Poppers
(#6 - #1). Personally, I like a big weedless Dahlberg Diver in the pads.
Worked very slowly ( a twitch a minute ), this fly catches good fish on
even heavily fished waters where you can see the pads are torn up from spinnerbaits.
Spinning: Roostertails, Rapalas, Jig'n Pig and Worms (nothing seems to beat
a Jitterbug on a calm night).
Bait: shiners, crawlers and crawfish. You can trap your own if you want
to.
Our Smallmouth fishing is underrated on the Cape as only VERY
good. These ponds, most of them. are deep and have cool depths with lots
of minnow, insect and crawfish forage on sandy/rocky bottoms. Good structure
for Smallies. In fact, they are almost a "nuisance fish" in many
ponds, being the primary forager.
Bronzebacks become active when the water reaches 45 degrees or about May.
They start coming up out of the deeps up to 5 - 20 feet of flats above dropoffs.
Bronzebacks have a liking for gold and brown everything so choose lures
with this in mind. Troll with spoons, small plugs or Streamer flies or fish
from shore with minnows below bobbers. Big fish will surprise you with their
strength and the size of their belly.
As the water warms into the fifties, Smallmouths nest on clean bottom near
rocks if they can find any. Water is still clear this time of year and you
can sight fish by finding cobblestone bottom.
In the summer months, topwater buzzbaiting can be exciting in the halflight
but usually smallies go deeper and hit on baits like crawdads and nightcrawlers
or shiners. Slow trolling, near bottom in 12' - 24' of water, can be a very
effective search method to find fish nearer shore or suspended over greater
depths. Best baits are undoubtably minnows and crayfish, both trapable in
the brush overnight with mussels or fish bits. But also consider nightcrawlers
(unweighted) and small Perch (5" or less). Perch are "baitfish"
in Mass. and easily caught in the shallows on worms.
Smallmouths don't feed much at night but start hard at very first light,
so come in the dark.
Fishing is good right up to November.
Flyfishing is best at dawn in the shallows on top or with sinking lines
and weighted flies. Flies: yellow/red Decievers, a Dahlberg collection (divers,
crawfish, leeches), Bead head Dace.
Spinning: yellow/orange Rapalas; Roostertail spinners and Vibrax; yellow/orange
leadhead with Marabou or hair(1/16 - 1/4). Bait: golden shiners, crawfish,
perch, leeches (YOU catch 'em!), and nymphs. Regulations
Catfish
White cats found in Mashpy-Wakeby pond and Bullheads
(Horned Pout) everywhere else fall for the classic "nightcrawler just
off the bottom" rig. Clean bottom near weeds or structure is best,
explore a shoreline (no bite in ten minutes? then move). Better yet, chum
first with ground up fish, sugar and grain (leave out the salt) and then
haul 'em in 'til your arms ache. The best fishing at night 'til dawn but
you can often coax Bullheads to bite all day long with enough chum.
Best setup? There is nothing simpler or more satisfying than canepoleing
catfish. Look around on the Cape as you travel and you'll see patches of
20' cane. Most land owners have discovered it's a weed and will let you
cut some. Then all you need is 20' of line, a #1 hook, bobber, worm and
a kid and you've got the makings of a great experience for them and you
(this is the easiest for them, no reel/no casting). Good eatin' too (skinned,
salted, floured and fried in bacon fat, like eels but not as rich).
The livebait to match early for panfish is chironomids, tiny
3-8 mm. nymphs. But worms and minnows do fine. Some ponds have escaped populations
of golden shiners, watch for them in the shallows on a warm day and match
with golden lures for bigger fish. You can catch these shiners in traps
or with small #16 hooks or casting nets (6' max).
Herring run ponds have large wild populations of herring fry in the summer
months, so silver is the lure color of choice. You can cast net these too
or sometimes dip them if you're quiet enough.
Keep an eye out for June bugs from June1 to mid-July and the infamous Mayfly
hatch on Big Cliff in July. Bait is in no short supply but you can always
find freshwater mussels by feeling around in the bottom shallows. If you
are trapping for minnows or craws with mussels or fish and catch some american
eels, don't throw 'em out, put them on ice in a cooler, you now have the
best Striper bait going! (If you don't eat 'em yourself!) What Tackle You Oughta Have To Catch What Ya Wanna Catch
A Minnow trap, a cast net ( 6' max ), a grinder for chum, and
a cooler for bait. Striped Bass
Have I got this in the wrong place? Not likely. Check your sonar
and you may see BIG fish near the bottom. I've seen 4' sonar echoes 70'
down at night in ponds that can only be landlocked Stripers in the 50 lb.
class! (They still gotta be 28" minimum.) Haven't caught one yet,
but. . . . .
Everyone's fun fish except when your perchin'. There are big 'Gills
on the Cape that fall to worms, spinners and flies (woolly buggers and poppers).
You can catch real slabsides in May and June while they're bedding in the
shallows. (Look for my article on Bluegills
coming out in the May issue of On The Water magazine.) Wade and cast
ahead with fly or floating mini-Rap' and work it slow: twitch, rest, twitch.
Good sized holdover fish are caught through the ice on the bigger
trout stocked waters: Gull in Truro, Herring, Big Cliff, John's, Long, Pilgrim,
etc. with minnows or nightcrawlers near the bottom. You can use a portable
depth sounder to spot fish suspended in deeper water. Up to eight pounders
are caught every winter.
White cats found in Mashpy-Wakeby pond and Bullheads
(Horned Pout) everywhere else fall for the classic "nightcrawler just
off the bottom" rig. Clean bottom near weeds or structure is best,
explore a shoreline (no bite in ten minutes? then move). Better yet, chum
first with ground up fish, sugar and grain (leave out the salt) and then
haul 'em in 'til your arms ache. The best fishing at night 'til dawn but
you can often coax Bullheads to bite all day long with enough chum.
Return to Cape Cod Outdoors.