Cape Cod is blessed with hundreds of gorgeous little ponds. Many of these kettle ponds were carved out thousands of years ago by glaciers during the last ice age.

As with  much of modern day America, many of the ponds are surrounded by heavy development. Algal blooms due to septic systems and fertilizer is a real issue right now.

Fortunately many of the ponds are still surrounded by wonderful scenery and nature. These special places are often located in conservation areas, and they probably haven't changed much over the years.

I like to think that these freshwater gems look similar to when native Wampanoag indigenous population which inhabited Cape Cod and the surrounding lands for more than 12,000 years before the Pilgrims arrived.

Many of the kettle ponds have recently been stocked with thousands of rainbow, brown, brook and tiger trout. The month of April is hands down one of the best months to target these trout, before water temperatures start to heat up.

In the rest of this article, I am going to recall a trout fishing trip from a couple of years ago, because it does a good job of highlighting my typical trout fishing experience.

The story begins in early April 2019, when I was having good luck fly fishing for trout on Cape Cod.

After successfully satisfying my fly fishing urge, I decided to try my luck with the spinning rod. 

For this trout fishing trip, I would be packing stickbaits and spoons, which Erik Wisniewski from the Goose Hummock Shops had recommended to me.

According to Erik, one of the hottest new trout lures had been the 58mm (2.28 inch) 3.2g Nomad Riptide stickbait. 

These lures were shipped in all the way from Australia! They have a nice slow-sinking action, and they glide through the water when retrieved at a medium speed. 

The other lure which Erik recommended was the old reliable Thomas Buoyant spoon. This lure has been around for a long while, and has fooled countless amounts of trout over the years.

The buoyant spoon, when retrieved slowly through the water, sets forth a wobbling action, which trout often cannot resist.

The spinning setup I used during this trip is the same setup I would use for largemouth bass. I have also caught schoolie stripers on this setup, and I plan on trying it out for albies. 

The rod is a Temple Fork Outfitters Professional, is 6'6" long and rated for 1/16 to 1/4 ounces (here's a link). The reel is a Shimano Nasci 2500.

I have the reel spooled up with 15 pound moss green Power Pro braid. For a leader, I am using a 10 pound three foot section of Seagur Blue Label fluorocarbon, tied direct to the lure.

My setup is definitely on the heavier side for trout fishing. A lot of more experienced trout anglers will use ultra-light rods and reels with 2-6 pound test. 

However for me personally, I prefer using slightly heavier gear, because I really despise breaking off fish, which can happen more often when using the lighter 2-6 pound test lines.

For this trip I decided to bring my GoPro cameras and create a video out of the experience. If you are new to trout fishing, then watching this video will definitely help get you started.

In the video I am wade fishing a kettle pond in this area of Cape Cod. I start by casting the stickbait but then end up switching to the spoon, which produced 3 nice rainbow trout and several missed hits.

Please click play below to watch video footage from this trip! 👇

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Equipment & Tackle:

Trout fishing on Cape Cod is a great way to get some fishing in during the saltwater off-season. Just being outside at one of Cape Cod's many beautiful, scenic and peaceful kettle ponds is enough - catching a trout is a bonus!

Over the next few weeks I hope you are able to give freshwater fishing on Cape Cod a try. Make sure to let us know in the forum how things are going for you, and if you need advice and tips, then just ask - myself and the members in our forum are always happy to help.

For my next trip I am thinking about targeting white perch. White perch are a close cousin to the striped bass, and they are also delicious table fare. I will let you know how things go.

Tight lines!