Yesterday I took a break from saltwater, and went snorkeling at a local freshwater pond. The abundant sunshine and crystal clear water made it feel almost tropical! 
Cape Cod is famous for its saltwater beaches and saltwater fishing, but it's also home to more than 300 beautiful ponds-most of which were formed thousands of years ago by receding glaciers.
The first fish I saw during yesterday's snorkeling adventure were baby largemouth bass. This school of tiny fish were congregated near the shoreline, in less than three feet of water.
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The next species I encountered were yellow perch. It appeared that the schools of yellow perch were attracted to a big sandy spot which had been cleared of leaves, algae and other fallen debris.
Throughout the course of my 45 minute long snorkeling session, I probably saw about a half dozen largemouth bass. The majority of the bass were on the small side, measuring an estimated 8-14 inches in length.
However, I did encounter one lunker of a largemouth. This bass was "sitting" on the bottom in the weeds. When it caught sight of me, the fish slowly rose and began to calmly swim away.
I'm not sure how big the bass was, but it was by far the most substantial fish I saw all day. You can get a quick glimpse of the lunker by playing the video below. 
The big fish appears at the 1 minute 9 second mark.
I really enjoyed my time yesterday snorkeling freshwater. During the summer I get so caught up in saltwater fishing, that I often forget about the great freshwater fishing opportunities that exist throughout the Cape!
For more information about freshwater, My Fishing Cape Cod members can click the links below to open our freshwater fishing database, our freshwater fishing forum, and more:
The activity inside the freshwater fishing forum is a little slow right now, because most of our members are focused on saltwater fishing.
However, if you make a post inside the freshwater forum, then I'm sure either myself or another one of our members will be happy to provide you with a reply.
Best of luck if you head out fishing this week! There are plenty of great options right now on Cape Cod, but on the freshwater side of things and the salt.
Tight lines 
Ryan you’re amazing! Whats next, snorkeling using a spear gun for some of our salt water friends?
Maybe Ron! I am actually quite excited about attempting to film a school of tuna underwater later this summer. I’m hoping I can make that happen during August/September.
Ryan, incredibly clear video – are you taking these with your GoPro?
Yes Mike, these clips were filmed using a Go Pro Hero 7 Black.
Hi Ryan, I’ve fished freshwater all my life,as my husband also has. We really want to give saltwater onshore/pier fishing a go. vacationing in S.Yarmouth last week of Sept.2020. We know of Smugglers which is on same road as our lodging, but what about the other 3 beaches, can you fish from shore on those? Please list any others you can fish from. Thanks a bunch,Nancy
Sounds like a fun trip you have planned Nancy! I will send you a message now with some ideas. ?
Hi Ryan. Hey,I’ll be staying at “the cottages” in North truro starting on September 12, coming back to central N.Y. In time for the Salmon run on the Salmon river, only 45minutes from my house. Ever fish for salmon? Or even better, after the salmon run is pretty much over, for river run steelhead in the winter? A steelhead is like hooking into an albie, but in fast (rapids) water. Screaming runs, your best drag on your best spinning reel, 12-15 lbs. of solid muscle. 10-15 or more minute battles. Both you and the fish are exhausted! Then 3-4 minutes of reviving the fish, releasing it, then do it all over again. If you’d ever be interested in trying it out, let me know and I’ll be happy to take you out for a few days. PM me and we can figure out the logistics. Back to my up and coming N Truro trip. I will be hoping to fish every day for the entire 2 weeks, ( thank God my wife used to be a fisherman, so she understands my need to fish) but I haven’t been to the cape since last September, as covid cancelled our usual May stay at the cottages. I’m out of touch with what’s working, and where, in the N. Truro area. I last fished Head of the Meadow with small trout poppers, and caught a ton of schoolies. Nothing bigger than 22 inches, but it was a blast! Also tried Herring Cove, got a huge slam but couldn’t hook up. Tons of seals pretty much ruined it at Herring Cove. I’m 76 1/2 yrs old, with a bad back that is aggravated by a lot of walking. (The walk up to the car at Head of the Meadow is a killer for me and I have to stop half way up and give my back a break) so a long walk takes the fun out of it for me. Any suggestions where I can go to get a few blues or schoolies from the beach? What to throw at them would be helpful, too. Thanx.
And i ‘m serious about taking you out for steelhead if you’re interested.
Keith
Very nice! I hope you have a great stay in Truro this September. What a great time of the year to be down Cape! Less people and cool crisp air.
Thank you for the steelhead invitation. I really appreciate that. I have never gone for steelhead before, but now I know who to contact if I ever want to give it a go!
The Outer Cape beaches from Eastham to Truro have fished well this year. I would try fishing at night with blurple colored Joe Baggs Swarters and SP Minnows. If that fails, then the bayside beaches from Truro south usually produce 3hrs before until 3 hours after high tide. Nighttime will be best.
In the Truro area I always seem to do a lot of walking in order to get on the fish. However, a couple places which might include less of a walk would be the Chequesset damn in Wellfleet at the Herring River. You can park right there and cast into the outflow. An outgoing tide at this spot would be ideal, preferably at night or false dawn/sunset. Coast Guard Beach in Eastham doesn’t involve as much of a decline to the get to the beach, so that might also be an option. Leutenant’s Isladnd might also be worth checking out, although I have not personally fished there. Feel free to PM or email me for more spots/ideas.
I would also keep tabs on our Surfcasters Thread in the forum. The members in that thread have been posting some really helpful updates so far this season.
Gluck and keep me posted. I’m happy to help!