Note from Ryan: This ice fishing report is from January 3rd of 2018. I figured now would be a good time to re-publish this post because winter is upon us, and maybe if it gets cold enough we'll be able to ice fish on Cape!
We drilled through 6 inches of ice and set our traps rigged with live shiners. Minutes later we started catching jumbo pickerel, perch and largemouth bass.
That was last Wednesday January 3rd, under bright blue clear skies, before today's slightly milder temperatures settled into the region.
For this trip I joined my good friend Jeff and three of his good buddies, Billy, Greg and Dan. Billy, Greg and Dan are brothers, and they have been fishing with my friend Jeff for years, so I knew it would be a fun trip. The moon was still hovering above the frozen surface of the pond when we arrived on the ice.
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Ice Fishing On Cape Cod
It was a cold winter landscape, and a complete 180 degree polar opposite from the week before when I was catching roosterfish in Costa Rica. In this day and age it is just incredible how you can be fishing in the tropics one day, and then be fishing in what looked like the frozen tundra, just a few days later.
The guys had chosen to fish this pond primarily because it had a thick sheet of safe ice. In fact we had to drill through 5-7 inches of ice, whereas some other ponds in the Cape region only had 3 inches of ice. While it's possible to ice fish on just 3 inches, these guys don't recommend it, and they prefer at least 5-7.
When ice fishing on Cape Cod, a common strategy is to setup "traps". These devices have been around for many years. Essentially the trap does most of the work for you, and when the flag pops up, you hustle over and reel in the fish by hand - similar to the hand lines we sometimes use in Costa Rica.
If you would like to learn more about our ice fishing strategy, including water depth, where we set our traps, bait and other ice fishing equipment and advice, then please watch our new ice fishing tutorial video for a complete overview.
Before we could even get situated and set all our traps, I heard Jeff yelling my name and saw him pointing to one of the first traps we had set. The flag was standing straight up, fish on!
Jeff and I hustled over to the trap. I knelt down onto the ice and hit record on my camera, as Jeff removed the trap from the hole and started to bring in the fish. Little did we know it would be the first of more than two dozen fish which we would pull through the ice over the next few hours.
What You Can Catch Ice Fishing
The fish gave Jeff some good tugs as he continued to bring the fish closer and closer to the hole in the ice. Jeff kept steady pressure on the line, and soon what turned out to be a rather large pickerel emerged.
What ensued for the next hour was a steady diet of the largest pickerel I have ever seen in my entire life! The action on pickerel was so good, that we barely had time to enjoy a cup of coffee.
It appeared we may of set our traps ontop of a weed bed, which is one of the pickerel's favorite winter habitats. All our traps were set in 9-16 feet of water which is prime depth for pickerel, and our target species, the yellow perch.
Best Bait
The bait of choice were shiners. You can learn more about the specifics of how we baited our lines by viewing our new ice fishing video tutorial. Both live and dead shiners worked well.
Eventually the pickerel bite slowed down, and the perch bite picked up. Yellow perch in particular are fantastic eating fish, and I hoped to catch enough for dinner. About an hour after sunrise we caught our first yellow perch.
Perch often strike the shiner, hold the shiner in their mouth, and then make a mad dash. Small perch in particular are known to do this. Sometimes when you go to set the hook, you end up jerking the hook right out of their mouth.
Hooks
I missed quite a few fish during this trip, but more often than not the fish would get hooked. We used Gamakatsu shiner hooks in size 1/0 and 2/0, however next time I would like to experiment with circle hooks.
In addition to pickerel and yellow perch, we also caught a beautiful largemouth bass and a little smallmouth bass. You just never know what you might pull up through the ice next!
I was also surprised when white perch began hitting the ice. All my life I had heard about white perch, but I had never before caught or even seen one. Apparently white perch are also good eating, but not quite as good as yellows.
By the end of the morning we had caught at least one dozen big pickerel, seven or eight yellow perch, two white perch, plus a largemouth and smallmouth bass.
The guys let me take all the perch home, and Lauren and I plan on having a freshwater fish fry this coming weekend!
Places To Ice Fish
Originally the guys wanted to ice fish one of the ponds located in the Mid-Cape region, but as I mentioned earlier the ice was only 3 inches thick on that particular pond.
So we ditched the Cape idea all together and headed to Plymouth. There are hundreds of ponds in Plymouth and Cape Cod and many of them will have good fishing, just be sure to target humps, weedbeds and shallow spots in 9-16 feet of water.
In fact, this was the first time any of us had ever ice fished on this particular Plymouth pond. It was a shot in the dark for us, but everything turned out quite nicely. It just goes to show that you can head out there "blind" and catch fish, as long as you have the proper gear and target the right depths.
Just be sure to only fish ponds with safe ice. When in doubt, do not go out. Be safe and only fish ponds that have 6 inches or more of ice. Also be sure to wear ice picks around your neck, just in case you were to fall in.
All in all I had a great trip this past Wednesday ice fishing, and I am pumped to be eating locally sourced fresh fish right now in the dead of winter.
For more information on ice fishing, be sure to watch our new ice fishing tutorial video which contains a lot more details about gear and equipment, plus more helpful tips and advice for fishing on the ice.
Tight lines!
wow!!!Ice Fishing on Cape Cod is favorite every parson who catch fish
Wow I just saw this! That is EPIC! Real tasty looking perch and a nice pickerel there! I’ve definitely run into some bruiser pickerel around these parts, but I have very little experience with the ice. This year could be the year!
I’m glad you enjoyed the post Susan! That was definitely an epic day, and the perch were delicious. Unfortunately I doubt if we’ll get any more safe ice this year. Ice fishing on Cape Cod is a rare opportunity because our winters are relatively mild. However, the freshwater fishing has been on fire recently, and many of the ponds have been stocked with trout. Gluck if you head out! ?
Wow I just saw this! That is EPIC! Real tasty looking perch and a nice pickerel there! I’ve definitely run into some bruiser pickerel around these parts, but I have very little experience with the ice. This year could be the year!
The perch were delicious! It was a real bonus being able to catch a meal like that during the middle of the winter. Hopefully we’ll get at least one deep freeze this winter so anglers can get out onto the ice. We will see! ??
I used to ice fish in Meredith Bay on Lake Winnipessaukee. Best part was never knowing what would come through the ice. Lake Trout, Rainbows, Bass, Cusk, Perch and Land Locked Salmon. Just remember that New Hampshire doesn’t allow the taking of Salmon when ice fishing. My friend and I once had a group of game wardens covertly watching us all day from a bluff over looking where we were fishing. They stopped us on our way off the ice and checked our sleds. They thought they had found some poachers as unbeknownst to us we were fishing in an area that was known for having Salmon. They were very upset when they realized that we had been releasing all the fish we caught!
Of course you released everything! LOL We kept the yellow and white perch, and they were delicious!
Betsy and Lauren will continue to be baffled by “catch and release” 😉
We also didn’t know what to expect when the flag went up. It was really fun seeing what species would come through the ice next.
Great story about the poachers/wardens!
I believe the white perch is a member of the bass family, similar to the crappie. I know there are others such as white bass as well. All look similar and I have always had problems telling one from the other (mostly color and pattern).
And there are some good size pickerel around PLY ponds – I’ve pulled 5-6 lb’rs which are a lot of fun to catch especially on lighter tackle. They hit hard and agressive.
I ate the white and yellow perch yesterday and they were delicious!
I agree with regards to the pickerels. There are some MONSTER pickerel on Cape Cod and throughout SE Massachusetts for that matter.
Tight lines Tim!
Great read ??
Glad you enjoyed it.
How’s that canal bag treating you so far?
Love my new canal bag! Will definitely be showing it off in my videos!
Terrific! That is great to hear.
Hi Ryan,
I’m surprised to hear that you have never caught a white perch before this trip. They get larger and taste even better when caught in brackish water where many people use grass shrimp or worms for bait in tidal rivers and inlets. They are actually related to the Striped bass:
A white perch is actually a member of the true bass family. It’s related to white bass, striped bass, and step-cousin to the hybrid bass. Like striped bass, white perch are anadromous, meaning they can live in both fresh and salt water.
For some reason Todd, I just never came across white perch while growing up, probably because I didn’t usually start fishing until the stripers arrived in the spring. However, I know late winter is a great time for white perch, and I plan on giving it a good effort this year! Thank you for the information in your comment and I will probably try to get a hold of some grass shrimp or sea worms for bait. If I strike out with live bait, then I plan on trying the small jigs I used last year to catch black crappies. I’m all ears if you have any more tips, including some good areas on Cape I should check out. Thanks for the comment and I hope all is well!