by My Fishing Cape Cod member Tim Donnelly

I hope everyone had a great holiday and enjoyed ringing in the New Year. Until this cold snap, the weather has been surprisingly comfortable for fishing during this time of year. Unfortunately, I don't know this first hand because I haven’t made it out on the water in a while. I am starting to get the “itch” quite badly.

Thankfully I’ve been able to live vicariously through the members and their great pictures and stories of trout, pickerel, largemouth and other fish posted over the last month. The results from the off-Cape fishing trips have been jaw dropping (like the above photo), particularly from the great lakes region of New York.

With the salt water "off season" in full swing, there are lots of fishing related topics being discussed that don't involve catches. Equipment purchases, proposed regulatory changes, fly tying and of course requested advice regarding fishing trips to warmer climates make up active threads.

Another favorite of mine has been the threads featuring stunning handmade plugs and unique vintage gear members have been picking up this winter.

Please scroll down to continue reading, and to see some of our members' most impressive recent catches. You can also jump to a specific section by clicking on the table of contents below. 👇 

Trout Fishing: December & January

The trout fishing has been excellent over the last month and there are plenty of posts confirming it. In particular, the day bite has been solid, which is more hospitable in this colder weather.

Fishing old school with worms got results for Graham Stephens back in early December, yielding yellow perch and rainbow trout. As a bonus, Graham shows us in his forum post how a simple preparation of whole trout stuffed with lemon is an easy and delicious recipe.

Fishing on a cold but sunny mid-December day, Anthony Besaw didn’t see a hatch on the water, so he “slow rolled” a jerkbait, landing some beautiful trout. Anthony provided some great tips and and  adetailed explanation on some of his other techniques in his recent MFCC article. 

Mike Marcus and John Figmic got on Mashpee Pond for some daytime fishing on an overcast day later in the month. The mild temps and light winds mixed with occasional showers might not be optimum conditions, but fishing in December is always a treat on Cape Cod!

A couple weeks later, Mike rang in the New Year with a great day of fishing in 50F temps and light winds. Tossing his gold spoon netted 7 rainbows and a fat 20" brown trout.

Fly fishing a wooly bugger got Tim Wadman on the board in 2022, landing this beautifully colored trout in early January.

With water temperatures dropping on the kettle ponds, trout fishing should be good for a while until the ice forms. Even then, I've had luck fishing the areas not iced over, which are often the sunny coves where the trout often prowl in the daytime.

Largemouth Bass

First year My Fishing Cape Cod member Mike Dixon has been getting out on the water quite a bit this past month, and he has the results to show for it. He’s been taking fish from shore, kayak and boat, catching largemouth bass, pickerel, perch and a big golden shiner.

Below Mike is tossing some big plugs, a Def Con and Shell Cracker,  with great results from December.

A productive series of outings rang in the new year with Mike landing some great fish, including some on topwater.

December Bluefin Tuna

Back during mid-December, 6 year MFCC member Aaron Perlmutter ventured out to Stellwagen Bank and landed this 81” Bluefin tuna. Now that’s a great way to commemorate the end of the season!

Off Cape Fishing Adventures

The base of Windsor Dam forms the Quabbin Reservoir, whose discharge marks the start of the Swift River in Belchertown, MA. The river’s source is from the bottom of the deep reservoir, providing cold water year round - an ideal habitat for trout.

With slow moving and very clear water, Johan Frenje sight fished, drifting a stimulator dry fly with a pink dropper scud, #16 on 7x tippet. He had success landing native trout and a nice brookie.

Outside of Massachusetts, Mike Dixon was on his annual trip to Western New York and the Niagara River. Chinook Salmon, steelheads, monster lake trout and some solid walleye were pulled from a mix of locations.

His trout was a personal best of 15.8 pounds and measured out at 36". These are just a few of the fish he posted from his trip. For those that enjoy big fish and trophy hunting, the pictures posted by Mike and others who were fishing this area are impressive.

Mike Osbourne and his son recently embarked on an off-Cape adventure to Northern Vermont. During this trip they not only did some skiing, but they managed to pull a quality pike through the ice.

I would imagine pulling a fish of this size through a hole in the ice must of been quite a challenge in and of itself!

Vintage Lures "Eye Candy"

Throughout this winter, members have been busy buying new hand made wooden plugs as well as some vintage lures. I want to highlight a few of them to show how the sport has developed, and admire the craftsmanship evident over the many years.

Tyler Martin picked up his first Norcalkat custom wood metal lip, which is a highly sought after custom plug made on the West Coast. To the right is a Snook Bait Co. "Big Snook" plug that dates from 1949-52 according to Tim Mugherini.  Charlie Russo, one of the early plug builders and a silent partner in Snook Bait, was known for his attention to airbrush work. 

Another plug in Tim Mugherini's collection, is a very rare Donny Musso jointed darter, which is pictured below adjacent to Val Pinkhosov's new Reaper darters. The name Donny Musso may not ring a bell, but certainly the company he founded, Superstrike, will.  It's hard to imagine a surfcaster without a Superstrike in their bag at some time or another.

Two of the most popular and mimicked lures in the history of striper fishing are the Chubb Creek Pikie and the Atom 40. Atom Manufacturing was founded by Bob Pond, who created wood and plastic lures in Attleboro MA starting in 1945. He also founded Stripers Unlimited in 1965 and helped lead the conservation efforts that helped to preserve striped bass for future generations.

In the photo below on the left, MFCC member Teddy Nesius displays his Pikie, while in the photo on the right MFCC member Chase Freeman shows his Atom 40, which has been modified with wire around the tail, perhaps to help increase casting distance.

While the Norcalkat is said to be influenced by the Pikie, it strikes me to be also very similar to the Atom 40.  When I look at these old lures, Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr's words from 150 years ago echo in my head: "the more things change, the more they stay the same".

In Conclusion

Last season I was fortunate to catch my first striper in early April and I enjoyed consistent holdover fishing later in the month. April seems like a long ways off given the weather that just moved through, but it's not. In reality the month of April is only 3 months and counting!

That means it’s time to actually start doing all those off season tasks which some of us might of been putting off. For example, I have organized all my tackle and restocked my inventory. Now it’s time to do  reel maintenance.

While not for everyone, performing my own reel maintenance is a great way to save a little coin. It can also help you solve problems in the field or at home when the service backup in your local shop is weeks, or more.

As always I hope your 2022 is off to a good start, and I hope it continues that way.

Tight lines!

Tim