Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 4-5-2012

Despite the dusting of snow on the ground as I was trout fishing last weekend, the progression of spring remains ahead of schedule.  In saltwater, a big push of small striped bass has arrived along the Rhode Island oceanfront, with reports of larger ones on their way here from New Jersey and Long Island.  Early season stripers are showing up in Connecticut too, mixing with holdovers that are dropping out of tidal rivers and harbors.  New saltwater opportunities include fishing for winter flounder and blackfish in Connecticut waters, and the first reports of each are trickling in. Cod fishing off Block Island improved greatly from last weekend’s slow reports, but it still hasn’t been easy out there.

In freshwater, an anticipated insect hatch is getting underway on many trout streams across the region.  Rhode Island’s trout fishing season officially starts next weekend, but Connecticut has several catch-and-release areas where you can catch pre-Opening Day trout.  Other species getting attention from anglers include bass, pike, carp and catfish, rounding out a nice list of angling opportunities to capitalize on right now.

Rhode Island Fishing Report
A large wave of migratory stripers showed up in Rhode Island waters over the past week.  Even though most catches have been trout-sized, it’s an encouraging sign of things to come.  OTW contributor Dave Pickering landed 7 schoolie bass this past Tuesday and his son Ben caught 25 last Friday, all while fishing an early-season hotspot along the oceanfront.  Their rigs consisted of two shrimp teaser flies in front of a pearl Cocahoe Minnow threaded on a small jighead.  Peter at Saltwater Edge added that striper fishing is filling in at the usual April haunts in Newport and Narragansett Bay, where anglers are experiencing consistent action on top water lures like the Jumpin’ Minnow, as well as curly tails on lead heads.  Captain Thom at Quaker Lane Outfitters had more of the same to report about the recent push of fresh schoolies.  He suggested trying the Point Judith area, preferably during late afternoon with a southwest breeze.  Other news is surfacing about larger striped bass being found along New Jersey and Long Island beaches, so it shouldn’t be too long before Rhode Island anglers see some size to go along with the numbers.

Cod reports improved off Block Island since the last forecast, though headboats had to travel farther and fish deeper to find them.  Captain Chris of the Island Current said their boats only sailed Friday, Saturday and Sunday out of the several days, but each trip produced several keeper cod in 140 to 180 feet of water on fresh skimmer clams.  He pointed out that a group of 16 braved evil conditions on Saturday to be rewarded with 48-keepers up to 21-pounds from a patch of water farther east than usual lately.  Sunday’s conditions were remarkably better and a smaller group took home 30-keepers to about 18-pounds.  Chris mentioned that the weather for Friday and Saturday’s trips look great, but a holiday outing on Easter Sunday was still up in the air so call if interested.

There is just over a week left until trout fishing resumes in Rhode Island waters.  Plenty of freshly stocked ones will be greeting anxious anglers on April 14th, though there are non-trout-designated waters where you can wet a line in the meantime.  Captain Thom of Quaker Lane Outfitters said that freshwater bass fishing is picking up as the water temperatures rise in Rhode Island ponds.  He suggested using live shiners under a float because largemouth won’t really chase anything too far this time of year.

Connecticut Fishing Report
Winter flounder fishing opened up this past Sunday with several reports of shallow-water limits being taken.  Joe at The Fish Connection said soaking sandworms on bottom in areas in no more than 12-feet of water is a good tactic at the moment.  He added that a handful of anglers reached their 2-fish limits (12-inch minimum) right from the parking lot of Bluff Point State Park this week.  Cappy at Captain Morgan’s Bait and Tackle said coves, tidal river mouths, and harbor channels are all fine areas to target winter flounder with sandworms on bottom.  Rich at Fisherman’s World told me that anglers in the western Sound are also finding some cooperative flatfish.  He recommended the main channel in the Norwalk Harbor as a nice place to start and added that chumming with clams will help.

Blackfish season also kicked off last Sunday in Connecticut waters, but reports have been few and far between.  Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle said a couple of boat anglers battled the wind and caught their first togs of the year this week using both Asian and green crabs in 90-feet of water near the southern end of Southwest Reef.

Reports of striped bass being caught outside of rivers and in Long Island Sound are on the rise.  However, tidal rivers still offer the best shot at earning your stripes this weekend.  Joe at The Fish Connection said some bass feeding on herring remain below the Greenville Dam in the Shetucket River, as well as spread sporadically throughout the Thames River from Norwich Harbor to the Montville Power Plant.  In the Connecticut River, Pat of River’s End reported bottom fishermen catching schoolie bass near the river mouth using sandworms, and Andrew of  Fishin’ Factory III told me very similar news about the Middletown stretch.  Farther upstream, Gary of Connecticut Outfitters said that along with keeper striped bass, customer Ethan Kloehn and friends have recently boated carp to 26-pounds, channel catfish to 15-pounds, and some respectable pike to boot.  The variety of the Connecticut River continues to impress!  Staying with the river/striper theme, Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle reported that the lower reaches of the Housatonic River are heating up as holdovers continue to drop downstream.  He threw in that customer Will Nuzzo landed a 15-pound striper there recently using black Keitech soft plastics on an Alabama rig.

In other freshwater news, there are still two weeks and change until the traditional start of trout fishing season, although we’re lucky to have many areas where we can catch and release them right now.  The famed Hendrickson hatch is early this year and well underway on the upper Housatonic River, yet it’s just getting started on the colder Farmington River.  Look for big dark mayflies hatching on the water sometime after 1:30 PM.  Fly anglers should keep their eyes peeled as these bugs can make some of the biggest trout in the river let their guard down.   We need some rain, badly.  Our rivers are very low, so using a stealthier approach and downsizing line diameter can help your cause.

Fishing Forecast for the Weekend
Although the size of Rhode Island’s first migrating striped bass leave much to be desired, it’s a good way to get back in the swing of things and is fun with ultra-light tackle.  Try the breakwalls in the Point Judith area with early-season standbys like Cocahoe Minnows on jig heads.  Sticking to single hooks with crushed barbs is a great idea when targeting these April schoolies.

In freshwater, one of the best things going is fishing Connecticut’s Trout Management Areas, especially with the amount of bugs coming off the water in the afternoon.  The two big rivers in the northwest corner of the state, the Housatonic and the Farmington, offer the best chance at a trophy trout and the Hendrickson hatch is just the menu item to peak their interest.