Hathaway Pond, Barnstable, MA Fishing Report

Stormy Bass - Hathaway Pond

I went down to the Cape with the wife for a nice weekend on the beach. I brought a few "essentials" with me, just in case the opportunity arose for a bit of fishing. With the hurricane remnants rolling through, the beach part of the trip was ruined. Mid Saturday afternoon, there was a small lull in the rain, and I grabbed my gear and braved the storm. Of course, the short lull was just a trick to get me out and utterly soaked, but I was expecting as much.

I started at a small pond across from the hotel, Mill Pond in West Yarmouth. So-so looking, not a lot of access. Got a dink on the first cast, and another 10 minutes later. Switched spots, got two more dinks. Biggest one came in at 10ish inches, so I decided that it was time for a change in scenery.

One of the Mass Wildlife Pond maps proclaimed that Hathaway Pond was a decent smallie spot, so I drove the 3 miles there hoping for some decent shore access. The pond is reachable by a town beach, and there are some paths around at least part of the pond. The water is exceedingly clear, with some limited vegetation that I saw. The water around the beach was shallow and yielded no results, so I set off around the pond. After some ankle deep puddle wading, I found another open spot heading left from the beach. The water got deeper a little quicker, and I was probably fishing in 5-6 feet of water on the longer casts. I got a couple of nibbles on a GY Fat baby Craw before landing another short fish, a largemouth. Interestingly, the pond map did not mention there being any in this pond.

After fan-casting the area with the T-rigged craw, I switched to a watermelon senko and landed another short largie. The tally was now a half dozen fish, altogether hardly breaking a pound and a half. The rain was still hammering away, and it was an oddly serene experience to be fishing in the storm. No lightning, no thunder, just wind and rain.

I lobbed out the senko again, and reeled up the slack from the cast. I felt an ever so slight tick, and set the hook expecting another dink. However, this one felt anything but dinky. It stayed deep, and peeled off 20-30 feet of line in a quick run. There wasn't much to get stuck on, so I could play the fish without too much worry. About halfway to shore the line took off to the left and headed towards a laydown by the shore, but I managed to get it turned, and finally saw a glimpse of the fish. Looked like a good-sized fish, but alas another largemouth. A bit more tussling, and I had her lipped. A nice broadsided lady clocking in at 3lb 10oz, an ample reward for braving the weather.

I ended up getting another keeper at just over a pound, and a few more dinks. However, the smallies eluded me. I'm guessing they're holding deeper than what I could reach from shore. It was a nice little pond, though. Maybe next time!

• Added By: michaelk on 08/30/09 01:09 PM
• Location: Hathaway Pond, Barnstable, MA
• Report Date: 8/29/2009
• # of Hotspots: 1
• # of Photos: 3
• # of Fish Caught: 4
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