Nerdy Angler: Early Spring Multi-Species Freshwater-Fishing

Early Spring is that short period of time that falls between the ice fishing, with trips to the west and north, and the start of Cape Cod’s long and glorious saltwater fishing season. It’s also a great time of year to focus on local freshwater fishing.

White Perch

The numerous ponds on Cape Cod were wide open in the beginning of March. Although trout stocking began on March 6th, cold, wet, and windy weather during this month made fishing unpleasant. The fish also seemed sluggish. A string of warm days in mid April brought a huge improvement to the local freshwater fishing scene.

Besides bringing a few trout home for the table, my main goal during the month of April was to catch as many fresh water species as possible before the saltwater season kicks in. The result was a satisfying species count of twelve freshwater species all caught on Cape Cod. The list includes two species that were on the 2017 Species Wish List, Brown Bullhead & Tiger Trout.

A Brown Bullhead caught after sunset.

Tiger Trout

Live shiners and killifish were used to catch the Freshwater Bass, Yellow Perch, and Pickerel. Nightcrawlers and worms were used to catch the other species. Some trout were caught on a small silver & orange Fiord Spoon.

I did find some saltwater fishing action during the last few days of April. Caught my first Striped Bass of the year in Poponesset Bay, three schoolies that were just 12 inches long. On April 30th I went out on a Captain John Party Boat out of Plymouth, MA. The fishing was phenomenal. Caught my limit of tasty Haddock.