Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 3-15-2012

Ospreys and river herring are returning, peepers are peeping, and flowers are beginning to bloom.  There’s officially another week of winter, but, for all intents and purposes, spring is already here.  RISAA’s successful show last weekend helped thousands of anglers scratch ‘the itch’, but many more are craving the real thing.

Luckily there are some fine mid-March fishing options to choose from and the extra hour of light now is added bonus.  Trout fishing in Connecticut’s catch-and-release areas remains red hot.  Cod fishing off Block Island is another option, especially with the shirt-sleeves weather lately.  Stirring holdover stripers continue to make their presence known as water temperatures climb.  The spike in temps is also heating up action for sweetwater favorites like bass, perch and pike.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Everyone I talked to in the Ocean State this week was still buzzing about the New England Saltwater Fishing Show over the weekend. Many of them were also excited about another celebrated event, the return of river herring. Steve at Saltwater Edge was happy to see his local herring runs already packed when he visited them this week.  He also spoke with a fisheries biologist who said there’s a massive amount of herring so far compared to the last two years.  Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters stopped on a bridge near one of the breachways the other night and saw herring under the lights.  In addition, he mentioned that a few holdover schoolies are being caught in front of at least two breachways on large Bombers in olive or blue patterns.   Mike pointed out that a lot of bait never the left the area and these bass probably stayed in the salt ponds over the winter.

Capt. Frank of the Frances Fleet reported that this past week of cod fishing was a distinct era of peaks and valleys.  Saturday and Tuesday were the bell ringers featuring a few limit catches each day and generally good numbers throughout, with an angler average of about six cod apiece.  Tuesday’s trip featured much better size on average and a pool fish just a shade under 20 pounds.  Sunday and Monday sandwiched in between were slower to varying degrees.  Frank said that mixed in with the cod on most outings have been some ling and on a few days more than just some.  In addition, a few handfuls of good sized ocean perch and ocean pout have been brought over the rail, as well as some mackerel.

Capt. Chris of the Island Current also reported hit or miss trips this week so far.  For example, Tuesday’s outing featured a slow pick of cod most of the day until the last drop where there was a flurry of great fishing.  As for size, Chris said that most of the pool–winning cod have been just under the 20-pound mark lately.  He’s been focusing in 110 to 150 of water a little farther east than usual and noted that the last three weeks have seen a lot less dogfish.

In freshwater, trout designated waters are off limits until April 14, but everything else is fishable in the meantime. Capt. Thom at Quaker Lane Outfitters has had plenty of customers buying live shiners and trying their luck for pike, pickerel, perch and bass.  He recommended Worden Pond and Johnson’s Pond as two popular fishing destinations when trout spots are closed.  Fishing the live shiners under a float or on bottom with lead are easy and effective techniques for the species listed above.

Connecticut Fishing Report

The most consistent fishing option in Connecticut waters at the moment has to be for trout.  With heavy stockings completed so far in several catch-and-release Trout Management Areas (TMA), the fish are fat and willing to eat what’s being dangled in front of them.  The freshly stocked fish are getting educated by the day, but they’re not overly picky yet.  With the mild winter we had this year, there appears to be more holdover trout than usual in many rivers and streams as well.  Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle rattled off a few offerings that are working well, including meal worms or shiners for bait, Rooster Tails or small spoons for lures, and Woolly Buggers or pheasant tails for flies.

Fishing remains pretty good for smallmouth bass and yellow perch on Candlewood Lake.  Pat of Candlewood Bait and Tackle reported that smallies are being caught near the bottom in 14 to 35 feet of water with hair jigs, drop shot rigs with Gulp minnows, and Keitech swim baits in the silver flash pattern threaded on a 3/8-ounce jig head.  The yellow perch are also hanging near bottom in about 25-feet of water.  Pat said that live shiners and the Gulp minnows have worked best for the bigger yellows.

The recent warm weather has been a shot in the arm to the holdover striped bass fishing across the state.  Chris at Harborview Bait and Tackle has fished from a boat in the lower Housatonic River for the last 7 nights and has landed keeper bass each trip, though the average fish is around 21 inches.  He said the hot lure has been black Keitech swim baits on a 3/8- or 1/2-ounce jig head slowly retrieved just above bottom.  Here is a short video of Housatonic River rat Leon Sylvester demonstrating his technique of catching winter stripers: http://tinyurl.com/HowToCatchHoldovers.

The Thames River is another classic holdover bass location, although reports have been few and far between this winter.  This was a better week, however, as Joe at The Fish Connection told me fish are being caught below the Greenville Dam and along with the west side of Norwich Harbor.

Connecticut River’s resident striper population is also becoming more active with the water temp spike.  Gary at Connecticut Outfitters reported that holdovers are being found at the warm water discharge in Hartford, White Oaks Cove, and Wethersfield Cove.  Pat at River’s End said there are some schoolies to be had at the mouth of the Connecticut River, as well as in several of the tributaries that pour into the main stem.  He said simple soft-plastic and lead head combos will do the trick.  Pat thinks the increased reports of holdover activity is mostly because there are many more people fishing due to the awesome weather.  In addition, he reminded about the annual “Striper Surf Day” being held at his shop on March 24.  There will be seminars and demonstrations by John Skinner, Tony Stetzko and Steve McKenna, not to mention a pig roast for food.

Along with stripers, there are plenty of other fish cooperating in the Connecticut River.  All the coves are offering great panfish opportunities at the moment.  Andrew of Fishin’ Factory III said Hamburg Cove remains loaded with white perch, but you have to weed through small fish to get the nicer ones.  Andrew is also selling a ton of large shiners to anglers who are fishing them on bottom for pike in the Haddam stretch of the river.

Finally, it’s worth noting the CT released new saltwater regulations this week. Sea bass bag limit has dropped from 25 fish to 15, but the season extended from June 15 to Dec 31. Fluke minimum length is dropped to 18 inches and bag limit increased to 5 fish with a longer season (May 15 to October 31). Scup limit increases to 20 fish with a May 1 – to October 31 season. Tautog regulations have tightened. The limit drops to 2 fish at 16-inch minimum for April, July and August, and a 4-fish limit for Oct. 1 to Dec. 6.

Best Bets for the Weekend

With more stellar weather lining up for this weekend and next week, I think you can’t go wrong spending time in one or more of Connecticut’s freshly stocked TMA’s.  The trout fishing has been very good and showing no signs of slowing down with strictly catch and release regulations at the moment.  The Farmington River or the Salmon River TMA’s would be at the top of my list because of the sheer number and size of fish that can be caught at those locations.