Cape Cod Trout Reports??

[h20]

Due to chores and lousy weather on Sunday, I never wet a line this weekend. Anyone have any luck on Cape Cod ponds yet? Today would have been nice with the sun out, but that was only seen throught the window from my office. Thanks-

[bdowning]

Yes, they are producing, although this cold weather has kept the bite sluggish for the lure and flyfishing crowd. Need a warmup to kick them into high gear, which this year will probably coincide with the schoolies arrival :rolleyes: .

-bd

[gerryg]

I have had pretty good luck down the cape the last couple of weekends. 3 Rainbows in Falmouth, a couple browns in Mashpee all on tiny metal. In fact last Saturday I saw a beautiful Osprey nail a nice Brown at Mashpee-Wakebyto the left of the boat ramp towards the beach.

[bdowning]

Thunder Rod and I were at Long Pond yesterday afternoon and the only thing we caught were colds. Was better there a week ago when the sun was out.

-bd

[h20]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm going to head out this weekend even if it is snowing! Thanks again-

[CSJ60]

I've been out 4 times and landed over 60 trout on the fly rod. A mix of Raindow, Brook, and Brown but no Tiger Trout. Except for the brook trout a slow retrieve or drift worked best with a sinking fly. Most of the brook trout hit a normal or quick retrieve. Bigest fish 18 brook trout but most in the 10"-14" range, rainbows 13"-16" with one at 17". The browns were all on the small side 8"-12".

[MKDeceiver]

CSJ-

Any holdovers? You mentioned "drift". In Stillwater fishing the only type of drift fishing I can relate is with a floating line casting across wind and letting the wet fly/woolly bugger drift towards shore. Is that what your doing? Damn, you've been lucky to find fish stacked up like that. Can get annoying, yet rewarding when you finally locate the fish in early season....

Take any water temps? My guess is low 40's...

MK

[CSJ60]

I think the 18" BT was a holdover...fat, a small football (my biggest BT). I'm sure there were a few holdovers, most of the rest were newly stocked fish.

"In Stillwater fishing the only type of drift fishing I can relate is with a floating line casting across wind and letting the wet fly/woolly bugger drift towards shore" Yes, I don't use an indicator so I will miss a fish or two. When the water is this cold I find slow is better... no water temp but agree still in the low 40's to 45.

I move until I find fish then slow down. This past Sunday walked half way around a pond until I found fish, landed over 15 trout in 150' section of shore line.

[aws]

[QUOTE=CSJ60]I think the 18" BT was a holdover...fat, a small football (my biggest BT).

Very nice fish. I'd love to see it if you have a picture?

[MKDeceiver]

I caught a brookie like that one day at Hopping Brook in Medway/Bellingham line...Used to fish there all the time. Now I don't really get excited to fish those little streams...It was late summer, great colors.

If the colors were gorgeous it could have been a holdover. That's almost worth a mounting....Just think that fish was pounding food on the bottom all winter long....

I know a guy that caught one like that at Goose pond 2 years ago....He felt it was worthy of a mounting...


Anyways, Cape ponds are amazing to fish. Especially in a couple weeks when the water warms and the pressure calms down due to Striper arrival...I should start posting reports after my annual outing at Peters Pond next weekend. I post pond names when I go to the well-known local ponds. There are some really good ponds though that nobody fishes that produce very well. I choose to keep those a secret. I see your doing the same and respect that. It just gets to annoying when you go to work a productive shoreline and there's powerbaiters on the shore...Although when the metal guys are there, they can tell you something about the action, like throw a big white flashy woolly bugger!!!

Shoot me a PM if you care to exchange more detailed info on the ponds....

[brutus]

When you guys are fishing the wooly buggers are you casting straight out
from shore or are you casting parrallel.Have you noticed anything hatching?
thanks for your help.

[MKDeceiver]

I can't speak for them but I fish primarily in a float tube, so I throw every which way. I catch fish at all depths in all parts of the pond.

In spring, locate the wind blown shore and throw across it to catch fish in close if your shore bound. Wind concentrates food into an area and can push recently stocked fish up close to shore. Use white with flash or black with flash on stockies...Works like a charm. Use more natural colors as the fish settle in to their environment...

[gerryg]

Sunday had a nice little midge hatch going on at the ponds.

[MKDeceiver]

Were there fish coming up?

[CSJ60]

MK - Did have nice colors... mounting never crossed my mind but now that you mention it would have made a nice mount – fish released. Sorry no pics, I never think to bring my digital camera when to go trout fishing. Yes, the action will pick up as the water warms up a bit. When fishing a WB I always start with no flash. I only use olive or black; never tried a white WB… will have to try sometime.

Don’t mind telling the pond names… Here are the ponds I caught the fish at…all are well known Cape ponds.

Flax Pond Most of the brookies came out of this pond and a hand full of rainbows
Cliff Pond All the bigger rainbows mixed with a few brookies and browns
Little Cliff Mix of rainbows, brookies, and browns

Other ponds I fish:

Higgins, Hamblin, Shubal, Ashumet/good SM…don’t fish any more, Peters, Spectacle, Long Pond (Plymouth) Little Pond (Plymouth), Fearings (Plymouth), Marys (Rochester).

This is just my 3rd season fly/trout fishing. So many other ponds to try, if you have any I should try let me know.

[brutus]

When you guys are fishing the woolly buggers,are you using a floating line
or a sinking line or a sink tip?Thanks for the help.

[CSJ60]

I only have one fly line...floating. I use weighted WB with a leader up to 12'.

[MKDeceiver]

I fish a sinking line 90% of the time for trout....Most of the time I can throw a woolly bugger on a sinking line (type 3) and get the fish to eat. I probably average size 10 woolly buggers. But will throw 12's to rising fish...

The fish are usually 10-15 feet down on the dropoffs, if not deeper this time of year. It amazes me CSJ is doing so well with a floating line close to shore this time of year. I guess the fish could be pushed up on the wind blown shore. A twelve foot leader probably helps also...In reality if your fishing a steep drop shoreline, with a twelve foot leader you can probably get down 10-12 feet....With the sinking line I'm probably only throwing a 5-6 foot leader in most situations. I like to work the middle of the pond though and fish 20-30 feet down if the fish aren't really active...

CSJ, how do you like throwing a weighted wooly bugger with that long a leader? What size woolly buggers?


Nice ponds you mention. I heard big cliff is producing....Flax is one of my favorites...Just starting fishing Hamblin last year and there are some big Rainbows in there....

You ever trying a float tube. They come up big at those ponds...I'm getting fired up...>I may go Saturday...

[CSJ60]

MK - Funny thing about Cliff, I went to two of my can't miss spots and zero. Just to the left of where I fish is a shallow spot that I worked on my way back to the car... all of the 16" and one 17" rainbows came from that spot. In a few weeks there will be yellow perch in that spot and I would walk right past it. With the water temps fish can be anywhere.

I started trout fishing with a fly rod in 01... hooked for life. In Aug. 02 started salt water fly fishing for stripers… Now I'm one of the striper guys...you have to try it... Clouser, weighted WB. At first it was a problem, poor casting. It’s only a little better but I'm use to the weighted flies. I like size 8 WB most of the time.

I've fished other ponds but never gave them a chance to produce. I want to try other ponds that I know will produce, just have to get out there and give it a shot. Gull Pond is one I want to try. Some of the small ponds that don't get a lot of pressure look good.

Never tried a float tube, but I can see the advantage... you can get to so many spots on the pond that I wish I could get to.

When the water warms up a little I like to fish deep drops... with the long leader and weighted fly plus active fish and good transparent water the fish will come for the fly.

[MKDeceiver]

CSJ....

<<You have to try it>> Striper fishing? I do it all summer long on the flats...By far the most exciting fishing there is around these parts...

Gull pond....I would love to go there. A little bit of a drive but I heard the Browns are enormous there....

I'm telling you if you have some spare dollars get a float tube. You used to be able to walk all those Cape ponds and wade. These days though It is tough with all the rain those ponds are so high......Hamblin has very good shore access...

I wonder if all this rain has helped get the holdovers closer to shore with the higher water levels...

[casual dress]

Headed to Long Pond on Wens. (mental health day). I caught all 3 common species of stocked trout. The Rainbows were very large averaging 16-18". Brookies and browns were on the small side - 8-12". If you go to Longs stay to the right of the boat ramp and fish the beach. Ferrings producing big brookies (2-3 lbs.) along with smaller brooks, rainbows and browns.
Believe it or not---these ponds are much more crowded durring the week than on the weekends.

See you on the water----

Roland