This time of year can be a transitional period for anglers in southern New England, yet there’s always some kind of fishing to do if you need to scratch that itch. Whether it’s catching Atlantic herring on a Sabiki rig, jigging up codfish off Block Island, chasing holdover stripers in rivers, or taunting pike with pond shiners, there are still worthy options in the last weeks of 2011. Enough of the online shopping and holiday work parties; keep reading to find out where you should be wetting a line this weekend.
Rhode Island
Currently, the best saltwater fishing in Rhode Island waters can be found aboard headboats combing the bottom for codfish, black sea bass and scup. The blackfish season officially ended today, but it was a great finale with several full limits this week, including a few tautog around 9-pounds. That being said, there will be worthwhile opportunities for codfish all winter long, as well as scup and black sea bass through the end of the December. At the moment, the Frances Fleet is sailing daily except Tuesday and Thursday and Seven B’s is sailing seven days a week starting Friday, December 17. The Seven B’s will leave the dock at 6:00 AM and return around 3:30 PM. Cost for the trip thru the end of this year is $85 per person.
Captain Rich of the Frances Fleet gave some positive feedback from their trips this week. On Monday, anglers enjoyed more of the recent mild weather and slammed their fair share of codfish to about 15 pounds on a mix of bait and jigs. Most quality cod fell between 8 and 12 pounds; there were also nice sea bass to 5 pounds and big porgy coming over the rails. Rich noted that the shallow water cod really put up nice fights and many others were dropped, making for quite the body of fish underneath them. Just about everyone onboard left with a nice bag of fillets for some winter meals. All trips are weather permitting, so call either office ahead of time to ensure they are still sailing.
There are other salty options that don’t require paying to get on a boat, however. Steve at Saltwater Edge told me several anglers are plying the commercial pier in Newport for Atlantic herring and mackerel with Sabiki rigs. He added to not be surprised if a harbor seal robs your catch, as one did to some customers on Wednesday. That should be a good incentive to reel your prize in as quickly as possible. Steve also said the Narrow River has a body of striped bass, most likely holdover fish, which have been occasionally blitzing on silver sides. A few customers are slinging white flies or soft-plastics at them, as well as surface poppers when they are showing on top. In addition, a few late-season diehards are soaking herring chunks on the south shore for the sporadic striper, but nothing consistent or very big.
In freshwater, Dave at River & Riptide said that the Wood River remains high, yet a few trout are cooperating for fly fishermen dredging the bottom with weighted nymph patterns. If you go, try tungsten bead pheasant tails or fuzzy hare’s ears nymphs. He said to use caution along the swollen river, as even more rain was on the way. Dave threw in that several of his friends and customers were making or planning road trips to New York’s Salmon River. The river is fishing fairly well with steelhead responding to various egg imitations and stone fly patterns. Give Dave a ring at the shop if you need the full Salmon River scoop.
Connecticut
All is quiet in Long Island Sound, but that could because anyone who’s still fishing for stripers has moved into the rivers. A few of the Sound’s tributaries are setting up for solid holdover striped bass action, with the Housatonic River outshining the Thames and Connecticut Rivers so far. Captain Ian Devlin of Fisherman’s World and a friend clobbered schoolie bass there last Saturday using a variety of soft-plastic baits, as well as flies like Clousers or Half & Halfs on sinking lines. Most of their 60 or so fish averaged between 18 and 22 inches, with several in the 25- to 32-inch range. Ian noted that the early afternoon has been the ticket. He also said the fish upstream towards the Derby Dam are bigger on average and more cooperative than those closer to the mouth at the moment, yet the whole stretch has bass.
Atlantic herring are stacked up pretty thick in some western Sound harbors and rivers, according to Ian. He told me that he cut a few open at home and saw sand eels in their stomachs, so Ian’s been custom making Sabiki rigs with 3-inch Slug-Gos and the herring are going nuts for them. One area that Fisherman’s World suggested trying for the herring is in front of the Maritime Center in Norwalk.
In freshwater, the Saugatuck Reservoir is fishing well for those willing to dish out for the daily or seasonal pass needed there. Chris at Stratford Bait & Tackle reported some nice 2- to 3-pound trout, as well as a 4-pound largemouth bass, are being caught on shiners set about 15 feet under slip bobbers. Anglers are also picking off the occasional fish on spoons while waiting for their bobbers to go under. In the Connecticut River, Andrew of Fishin’ Factory III spent all of Wednesday in his skiff on various coves and marinas. The golden pond shiner bite has shut off, but panfish are keeping anglers busy. He was trying for crappie using small jigs tipped with pinhead shiners and it was one yellow perch after another. One of the handfuls of golden pond shiners that he caught was taken down by a monster pike on the way back to the boat. Since it wasn’t hooked, the fish eventually came off, but not before getting his blood pressure up.
Unfortunately for ice anglers, Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on us. No one can argue that it was a rather warm November and now December so far. With a proper cold snap, it shouldn’t take long for some small ponds to have “safe” ice in the northwest hills. In the meantime, you can go to a free seminar at Connecticut Outfitters on Saturday and learn from one of the best in the business, Brian “Bro” Brosdahl. Things kick off with a breakfast at 9 and some good sales to do a little holiday shopping for yourself.
Best Bets for the Weekend
In Rhode Island, the best bet for this weekend will be hopping aboard a headboat and stocking up on codfish fillets for the freezer. Take advantage of the good fishing while it’s still relatively comfortable outside. Cod up to 15 pounds have been hitting a mix of clams and jigs and there’s a good chance for nice sea bass and scup to keep things interesting. Call the offices of the Frances Fleet or Seven B’s to see when they ship off each day.
In Connecticut, the Housatonic River striper bite has really picked up momentum in the last week and a half. Decent numbers of fish are being found with some respectable sizes mixed in. The go-to offerings have been of soft-plastic variety, such as 4- to 6-inch Super Flukes, Bass Assassins, Albie Snax, and Hogys.
When does the atlantic herring run in norwalk begin and end in norwalk?