April 15 2020

Trolling For Trout On Cape Cod

6  comments

ryan collins my fishing cape cod breakfast

This week I launched my kayak for the first time this year. My plan was to troll the shoreline of Cape Cod's kettle ponds in search of trout.

Not only was I able to catch some nice fish, but I was also able to film trout underwater as they approached my lures!

In this post I'm excited to share with you new "breathtaking" underwater trout footage, as well as some tips and lessons I learned about trolling for trout here on Cape Cod.

More...

On Easter I launched the kayak at a kettle pond in the town of Sandwich. It was very exciting to be back on the water for the first time this season.

On Easter Sunday I fished from 9am-1pm and I trolled around the entire circumference of the kettle pond. This particular pond (like most on Cape Cod) was carved out of the earth thousands of years ago by glaciers.

*You can l​earn more about Cape Cod's kettle ponds by watching episode #3 of My Fishing Cape Cod TV.

The ponds attract amazing amounts of wildlife, including geese, swans, otters and much more. On top of that, the experience of just paddling around these ponds is relaxing and therapeutic. 

What worked best for me this past Sunday was trolling the Baker's Suspending Shad about 15-30 yards off the shoreline. I don't have a fish finder on my kayak, but I'd guess I was trolling in 10-25 feet of water.

The Baker's Suspending Shad dives down to around 6-8 feet deep when trolled at around 2mph. The lure imparts some great action, as you'll see in the video below. ?

The first fish to fall victim to the Baker's was a gorgeous little brook trout. The sea run brook trout is native to Cape Cod, however this brook trout was stocked by the state of Massachusetts.

About 45 minutes after catching the brookie, I received another hard strike while trolling just off the coastline in about 15 feet of water. This time it was a colorful rainbow trout which fought pretty hard for his size.

However, the highlight of this fishing trip was the trout I did not catch

Curious what I'm talking about?

Then please click play below to see what I mean! ?

Unfortunately, the chartreuse Thomas Buoyant Spoon shown in the video above did not produce any bites. Perhaps the trout were weary of the camera which I had attached to my leader. ??‍♂️


In Conclusion

Yesterday I splashed the kayak again at another pond in the town of Sandwich. The fishing was slow, but I did manage another nice rainbow caught on the trolled Baker Suspending Shad. 

Even though the fishing yesterday was on the slow side, I was still able to enjoy lots of bright sunshine and tranquility on one of Cape Cod's many kettle ponds. 

Have you been out trout fishing recently? What lures have been working best for you? Please LMK by commenting below.

Tight lines ?

  • Hi Ryan,
    Thanks for the report! Curious to know if you have any advice on where to go and what to use for rookies. I’m interested in taking both my kids out fishing this Spring. We live in Harwich and would love to check out some the areas near us. Thanks in advance and hope you’re well!

    • Hey Catherine ?

      I’m glad you enjoyed the report. I had a lot of fun putting it together!

      Some places near Harwich worth trying include:
      – all the ponds in Nickerson State Park (Flax Pond, Cliff Pond, Little Cliff and Higgins)
      – Sheep Pond
      – Goose Pond
      – Schoolhouse Pond

      If you need gear and equipment, then the easiest thing to do would be to call the Goose Hummock and tell them you are rookies looking to get setup for trout. They are doing curbside pickup and can deliver gear to your car. (508) 255-0455

      I personally enjoy casting lures for trout more than fishing with worms, powerbait or shiners. Some of my favorite lures are the Joe’s Fly and the Thomas Buoyant Spoon, as well as 2-3inch long rapalas. The guys at the Goose can hook you up with all of this.

      Please LMK if I can help with anything else. ?

  • Hey Ryan, Glad to see you’re adding kayak trout fishing to your fishing adventures. Been doing it for years and here are my go to lures for kayak trolling For brown trout– 2″ countdown rapala in brown trout color, for rainbows– 2″ countdown rapala in rainbow trout color, brook trout– #1 panther martin spinner in gold & black (add a small red worm to the treble and double your catch rate) Snowed here overnight but hope your weather is better. Let me know if you have any luck with these lures. —- Tom

    • Awesome tips. Thank you Tom! I will order some of those lures for sure. Trolling from the kayak for trout has been a lot of fun.

      It actually snowed here yesterday too!

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