Get Ready for Springtime Trout Fishing from Shore, Boat & Kayak!

Sure it may still be March, but the first official day of spring is now less than one month away. This means that many anglers here on My Fishing Cape Cod will soon be out fishing for trout (if they aren't already).

Trout are not native to Cape Cod's ponds. They are stocked by the state of Massachusetts once in the spring and again in the fall. In this video and post you'll learn about simple ways you can catch these trout and enjoy this excellent springtime Cape Cod fishing opportunity.

The footage in the video above was filmed on April 14th 2021. It originally aired in season 5 of My Fishing Cape Cod TV. With springtime right around the corner I wanted to re-publish this information for anyone who is interested in taking advantage of this fun spring fishery!

To get the most out of this post you can watch the video above, and also skip to certain sections by utilizing this table of contents. 👇

My Favorite Places to Go Trout Fishing on Cape

In my opinion, freshwater fishing on Cape Cod for trout, bass, perch and other species during the early spring is an absolute blast. It's great spending time fishing outside in the fresh salty air, especially after spending a lot of time indoors during the winter. 

During early spring the Cape is far less crowded, especially compared to the summer. If you're looking for plenty of elbow room, little traffic, and a lot of peace and solitude, then the months of March and April are for you.

Much of Outer Cape Cod in particular is conservation land, which presents locals and tourists with a wonderful opportunity to unplug from our technological world and reconnect with nature.

In the rest of this post we are going to highlight two memorable trout fishing trips I made with the guys from the Goose Hummock Shop in Orleans. I hope this post makes you feel as if you are there with us fishing, even if you are reading this from miles away!

Trout Fishing From Shore

On April 14th 2021 I met up with Ian McPartland of the Goose Hummock Shop for an evening of casting lures from shore for trout. 

During this trip Ian and I cast a variety of productive trout lures, including...

We walked and fished the shoreline of the pond, but the trout were surfacing out of casting range. The state of Massachusetts pumps thousands of trout into many of the kettle ponds on Cape Cod, but that doesn't mean they are always easy to catch. 

Ian and I believe the trout on this evening were feeding on midge flies, because we could see the flies landing on the smooth surface of the pond. They were not touching my Thomas Buoyant Spoon or Joe's Fly. Nevertheless we stayed hopeful for a sunset bite.

Finally just after sunset Ian got a bite from a brook trout that bit a Baker's JLD Series Jerk bait (pictured above). This specific lure has since proven to be very productive on Cape. The brookie proved to be the only fish of the day, but it was a great way to cap off the trip.

Trolling for Trout from Jon Boats

Five days later on April 19th I headed back to the same pond, this time with Goose Hummock store manager Dan Jones and his friend Rich. Our plan was to use the same Baker lures, and troll them for trout in the area just offshore where Ian and I were fishing.

Dan and Rich trolled the circumference of the pond, focusing their efforts where the bottom dropped off. Many of the Cape's kettle ponds are like this, with a steep drop off located not far offshore-evidence of the glacial activity which created them.

Trolling for trout is not only effective, but it's a great way to explore new areas and just enjoy being on the water. For freshwater trolling on Cape Cod, jerk baits and swimming lures like small Rapalas or Baker Suspending Shads can work well.

I'm not sure why, but the action was much better during this trip. Over the course of the afternoon we caught rainbow trout, brook trout, tiger trout, brown trout and hooked (but lost) a big smallmouth bass.

Kayak Fishing for Trout

By 4pm Dan and Rich had caught their fill of trout, so they packed up their Jon boat and headed home. However the weather conditions were so terrific that I decided to stick around and do some kayak trout fishing on my own.

Right off the bat I caught a small white perch, which had probably originated in the open ocean and then swam up an estuary and stream to reach this pond.

The highlight of the trip for me occurred just before sunset. As I was releasing a brook trout, there was a sudden swirl off the port side of my kayak.

I cast my Baker jerk bait towards the swirl and a second later it got crushed by an aggressive and hard fighting brown!

Catching that brown trout right before sunset in such shallow water was a trout fishing experience I will not soon forget! It had been another great day of fishing on Cape Cod and my season was off to a great start.

In Conclusion

Trout fishing on Cape Cod will heat up this spring after many of the ponds have been stocked with rainbows, brookies, browns and tigers. The weather on Cape this time of year is often rainy and windy, but there will be enough bright and sunny days for getting outside and doing some freshwater fishing.

I say it often, but right now is an exciting time of the year. Freshwater fishing is getting good and the start of the saltwater fishing season is just over the horizon.

I hope you have a great rest of your day and please LMK what you think by leaving a comment below.

Tight lines!