Happy 2012! It’s turning into a rather late start for ice fishermen in southern New England. Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind this winter. It was downright frigid this week, but high winds kept many bodies of water from locking up with ice. In an about face, there will be a warm up this weekend that could delay us even more. At least there are some solid open-water opportunities to keep anglers busy.
In the saltwater scene, sea herring and mackerel hanging in rivers and harbors are falling for Sabiki rigs. The codfish bite is picking up steam in deeper water. In a handful of tidal rivers, there are numbers of holdover striped bass hitting weighted flies and soft-plastic baits. In freshwater, the biggest news over the holiday break was the incredible smallmouth bass fishing on Candlewood Lake. Trout fishing remains a worthy option, as does chasing Atlantic salmon in a handful of waterways across Connecticut and Rhode Island. And lastly, some diehards are hitting the road to distant mountain lakes for any ice fishing they can get.
Rhode Island
With black sea bass and scup seasons officially closed, the sole focus of local headboats from Frances Fleet and Seven B’s has turned to codfish. Capt. Frank Blount from the Frances Fleet reports that local cod fishing is starting to shape up nicely for the highly anticipated winter run. Things seem to be right on track with good numbers of market cod where they expect to find them this time of the year, along with a tremendous amount of mackerel and herring on the grounds, which the cod have been recently chasing. On Wednesday, there were limit catches of nice green market cod to ten pounds on both bait and jigs. There were also plenty of throwbacks to keep anglers busy in between keepers as well. Some anglers have jigged a couple dozen mackerel to go along with their cod fillets on recent outings to boot. Be sure to call Frances Fleet or Seven B’s office the night before you plan to fish to ensure the trip is still on.
On shore, a few late-season holdouts are catching mackerel and sea herring using Sabiki Rigs. Peter from Saltwater Edge suggested trying under the Newport Bridges or at Fort Adams. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters said a couple customers are still catching herring in the South County surf and are slicing them up for chunk baits with a very slow pick of striped bass. He reported a few schoolies still being caught and a 35-incher in Charlestown last week.
In freshwater, though ice fishing may still be a ways off, there are open water options for trout and salmon. RI DEM’s Division of Fish & Wildlife has stocked 100 Atlantic salmon and 500 rainbow trout in six ponds across the state. The salmon average between 2- and 4-pounds and were released into ponds in Coventry and Lincoln. The trout, weighing an average of 3- to 5-pounds, were stocked into ponds in Coventry, Lincoln, North Kingstown, South Kingstown, and Tiverton. If there isn’t skim ice covering these ponds, you can try fishing meal worms, Power Bait, or live shiners under a float or on bottom with some split shot. Casting and retrieving lures like small spoons, Rooster Tails or Rapalas can be the ticket too.
The Wood River is another option for trout anglers. Dave at River and Riptide said fly fishermen nymphing the bottom with fuzzy hare’s ear and pheasant tail patterns are picking up some native brookies and stocked rainbow trout at the Wood’s main access points. As a friendly reminder, don’t forget to pick up your 2012 fishing license. Also, RI DEM has banned the use of felt soles in both fresh and saltwater in Rhode Island, as the porous material can harbor and spread invasive algae known as Didymo or “rock snot.”
Connecticut
The only saltwater species in Connecticut that anglers are braving the cold for are holdover striped bass and sea herring. Jack at The Fish Connection said the Norwich Harbor striper bite has been hit or miss lately and when it turns on, it’s not for very long. Boat anglers have had the edge recently over shore fishermen, scoring schoolies on 7-inch Super Flukes in Arkansas shiner pattern on ½-ounce jigheads. Things have also been hit or miss in the Housatonic River, but at least the bite lasts longer when it’s on. Captain Ian Devlin fished three days in a row last Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Saturday, he and his client could do no wrong landing dozens of bass up to 28-inches using soft-plastic baits and weighted flies on sinking fly lines. Then the next two days the bite completely shut down. When possible, Ian suggested focusing on the low outgoing or low incoming tides. He also thinks the warm up coming this weekend could really turn things around. Any anglers looking for their fill of sea herring should take a light tackle combo with some Sabiki rigs to western Sound harbors and inlets.
In freshwater, to the delight of some and dismay of others, ice fishing season is not quite here yet, in Connecticut at least. Some instate anglers, like Connecticut Outfitters’ Blaine Anderson, have been driving far from home to high elevation bodies of water in the Adirondacks or Berkshires to get their fix. Several lakes and ponds have started to ice-over here, so it shouldn’t be long now. In the meantime, there are ample open water options in the Nutmeg State. Teresa at Candlewood Bait & Tackle reported some excellent smallmouth bass catches in state’s largest lake recently. Bass in the 4 and even 5-pound range have been found suspended 20-feet deep in 30 or so feet of water. Artificial lures that have been working well include 4-inch Super Flukes in white, jigging Rapalas, and Keitech swim baits.
The Connecticut River coves remain productive for panfish like crappie and yellow perch, all the while giving anglers a good shot at northern pike. Andrew from Fishin’ Factory 3 has customers fishing large golden pond shiners under bobbers for pike and jigging for crappie and perch with a small jig tipped with a pinhead shiner. The upper Farmington River Trout Management Area is and will continue to be a great option throughout the winter. Derrick Kirkpatrick of CTFishGuides landed 6 trout on Monday while nymphing with golden stone flies and egg patterns. Stop by UpCountry SportFishing in New Hartford and ask Grady where some of the more productive winter pools are.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The temperature spike this weekend could really turn on the fishing across the board. In Rhode Island, get some friends together and hop on a headboat for some codfish action. Or, take a kid fishing for some feisty rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon at one of the six freshly stocked ponds. In Connecticut, the holdover striper bite in the lower Housatonic River is a worthy option. Or, cash in on some epic smallmouth action in Candlewood Lake.
We have been catching brown trout on spoons in the Farmington River. Gonna try tomorrow for some big bluegill at Burr Pond.