A Cape kettle pond that produces solid year-round action.
We say it in our reports all the time, Peters Pond is always a good bet for trout fishing, especially in the offseason when many other ponds seem to go quiet. Peters is one the ‘kettle hole’ ponds that the Cape is so famous for, despite not having the distinctive ‘moon crater’ shape that they are so famous for. These kettle ponds are known for being deep, Peters hits 53 feet, and they are spring-fed, so they stay colder through the summer making up the perfect habitat for growing big holdover trout.
“Peters always seems to have the biggest trout,” said Ian McPartland of the Goose Hummock Shop in Orleans, “I remember a few years ago a guy pulled a 14-pounder out of there through the ice!” My personal experiences don’t include any double-digit fish, but I’ve caught browns up to 5 pounds and many other solid browns, rainbows and tigers. I’ve heard rumors for years that the nearby Sandwich Hatchery uses Peters as a quick spot to release spent broodstock trout if their numbers get to high or if there are water problems in the hatchery. Perhaps this too contributes to the high instance of big trout?
Access is not a problem at Peters, with three boat ramps listed on the state-provided map, and the whole shoreline is wade-able. The two most popular places to fish are the Sandwich Recreation Center, at the north end, this area features a large swimming beach and plenty of walkable shoreline in either direction; I recommend bringing waders. You will see shore-casters flicking flies from the beach corners and spin-fishers throwing spoons, spinners and jerkbaits from the wooded shores as well. Bait-soakers float shiners under bobbers or anchor inflated worms or Powerbait to the bottom—all of these methods catch fish all over the pond. Boaters tend to kick it old school, slow-trolling spinners with nightcrawlers, or swimming lures. There’s a paved boat ramp here with a seasonal floating dock and plenty of parking in the rec center lot.
The second popular access point is the State Boat Ramp located in the eastern cove, which has enough parking for at least 15 vehicles and also features a paved ramp. There is plenty of wade-able shoreline here as well. This cove is the shallowest part of the pond and can be a good place to look for some of the other species that call Peters Pond home.
But it’s not just trout that draw angler interest, Peters is also known for its smallmouth bass fishing, although many smallie hunters lament their difficulty keeping trout off their baits. My friend and regular fishing companion, Dave Daluz told me that he went in there on an early spring day with his boat looking for smallies and, despite moving around all over the place, his Ned Rigs were only attracting attention from trout—same with jerkbaits. He said he was catching more trout than all of the guys on shore actually fishing for trout combined! It is also known for holding some very big and impossibly finicky largemouth bass. I can personally attest to the fact that there are also some monster yellow perch in the pond.
Peters Pond is a well-known spot but it has a great reputation for a reason: it gives up a lot of fish. It’s one of those places where you feel like, if you make 50 casts, your odds are good that you’ll hook a few fish. Next time you’re on the Cape and jonesing for some freshwater action, give Peters Pond a try, you’re probably going to hook up.
