We all knew Mother Nature would make up for the lack of rain this spring at some point and it looks like this is it. Not the best timing, because, like a light switch, striped bass fishing has turned on across the board. Areas like Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island’s salt ponds, the Connecticut River, and reefs in Long Island Sound are producing larger bass more regularly now and it won’t be long before ‘cows’ are grazing our pastures. Bluefish are starting to show in better numbers to the delight of some and disappointment of others. Tautog, fluke and squid are other options in Rhode Island waters, while winter flounder can still be found in harbors and river mouths of Long Island Sound.
In freshwater, the recent rain has been a gift for trout streams and the state of Connecticut is offering residents and non-residents alike a “free fishing day” this Saturday for anglers without licenses to test its waters. Bass reports have been positive too, with many largemouths still on their beds and smallmouths in post-spawn mode responding well to surface lures.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Striped bass chatter picked up dramatically across the Ocean State since last week’s forecast. Steve at Saltwater Edge reported that, starting on Friday, the striper fishing did a complete 180-degrees, with fish in the 30 to 36-inch range being taken more consistently now from Narragansett Bay, along the South Shore and inside various salt ponds. Peter at the Edge chimed in that certain river mouths around the Bay are giving up some 18 to 20-pound bass to anglers live-lining menhaden and throwing big top-water lures. Find the bait and you’ll find the bass close by.
Cinder worm activity hit a fever pitch on Sunday and Monday evenings in a few saltwater ponds. Dave at River and Riptide Anglers said that from about 3:30 PM to 9 PM worms were going strong with nice bass keyed-in on them. He passed along an observation that worms have been bigger and brighter in color on sunny days and darker and of more varying size during overcast outings. Steve at Breachway also spoke of strong worm hatches, yet stressed how finicky bass were with the incredible amount of naturals present. He also noted that, along with the worms in full force, local breachways have been fishing well during outgoing tides with bucktails and shad-bodied soft-plastics.
Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters had good things to say this week about a squid-induced striper bite in the vicinity between Stonington harbor, The Race and Watch Hill. He noted that if you are not fishing with squid imitations then you are missing out, with rumors of bass of 40-pounds already being taken this way from the area. Mike suggesting three-waying bucktails with pork rinds or trolling with Hydro Squirts. Steve at Breachway Bait and Tackle added that he’s seeing at least 6 boats dragging for squid along the South Shore every day and the Frances Fleet had decent outings for squid on Friday and Sunday nights with high-hooks around 30 squid apiece, but Saturday night was hampered due to the incredible strength of the full moon tide.
The beaches of Block Island have been producing decent bass according to Chris at Block Island Fish Works. The recent overcast days have been good, especially during incoming tides along the west side of the Island. Soft-plastic baits and mackerel-colored swimmers with teaser flies in front of them have been the ticket for school bass up to 32-inches. The predominant baitfish around has been large silversides and squid with some mackerel around too.
Fluke season is officially underway, yet early reports remain spotty. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters blames the slow start on the rain and cloud cover lately, but is optimistic it will improve greatly with a few sunny days. Mike at Quaker Lane mentioned that one of their customers had a good day on Sunday off the Matunuck and Green Hill area with 8 fluke over 21-inches on squid strips. As for blackfish, Mike said it has been sporadic, but the better reports have been coming from Narragansett Bay, including a 7-pounder being taken Saturday near Hop Island on a half of a green crab. Steve at Saltwater Edge said some customers spoke of 6 to 8-pound tog coming from the War College area down to Fort Adams. No scup reports were mentioned whatsoever this week.
In freshwater, the recent rains should help prolong the good trout fishing in Rhode Island’s stocked waterways. Dave at River and Riptide said the Wood River is still a good bet for trout action with all the main access points fishing well. For fly anglers, the usual early-season stuff is still working like pheasant tail nymphs or the old-standby, the black Woolly Bugger. As for bass fishing, Mike at Quaker Lane said plenty of customers are still coming in for live shiners and heading off to Barber’s Pond to fish them under a bobber.
This week’s Rhode Island section wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the passing of one of the greats in the fishing community, Tim Coleman. His articles and books were so valuable to so many of us over the years. Tim will be greatly missed.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Striped bass fishing kicked it up a notch this past week in Connecticut waters. From Hartford down to Middletown, the Connecticut River is hosting good-sized bass that are cashing in on the scores of herring. Andrew at Fishin’ Factory III said water temperature in that stretch of river hit 55-degrees, or what he calls the magic number, and stripers are now looking up at top-water lures. Andrew and customers have been doing well using spook-style plugs, unweighted soft-plastics, and surface swimmers like wooden Dannies. A bonus when fishing that area is that big pike will occasionally take a swipe at your offerings too.
Pat at River’s End said things are still on the slower side for stripers at the Connecticut River mouth compared to upstream, but mentioned the reefs outside the river are red hot. Pat told me that anglers three-waying bucktail jigs or diamond jigging reefs like Six Mile, Southwest, Plum Gut, and The Race are scoring stripers up to 30-pounds.
In the western Sound, Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle said anglers continue to catch striped bass in the Housatonic River below the Derby Dam on artificial lures like yellow or black Northbar bottle darters and white bucktail jigs. Nick at Fisherman’s World said bunker are infiltrating western Sound harbors in better numbers now and many anglers are scoring good bass by means of chunking. Nick passed along the most impressive report of the week with Jason Vlicky’s 44-pound striper taken off Hempstead on a fresh bunker chunk.
As for winter flounder, keepers are still being taken by those dunking sandworms and using clam chum. In the eastern Sound, Niantic Bay seems to be your best shot. In the western Sound, Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle had a 3.34-pound flounder weighed-in this week from the Norwalk area taken on a sandworm. Nick at Fisherman’s World said the best spots for flounder have been around Can 9 or off the Calf Pasture Pier in Norwalk harbor.
American shad are still being caught in our tidal rivers. Cheyenne at The Fish Connection said using a light-action set up and a shad dart below the Greenville Dam on the Shetucket River is a good bet right now. A customer came in their shop this week with one from there that taped out to 25-inches long!
Fluke season opens next Tuesday in Connecticut waters. Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle is confident that the action will be good from the get-go; it’s just a question of how many shorts to keepers anglers will be catching this season. For a good starting spot, Cappy recommended trying the eastern and western ends of Long Sand Shoal on an incoming tide.
The state of Connecticut is offering a “free fishing day” this Saturday for any and all who want to test the waters, yet don’t have a license. This is perfect opportunity to introduce someone to the world of fishing and the weather looks great to boot. In freshwater, the trout bite still holding up well thanks to generous stockings by CT DEEP. I brought one of my brothers to the Farmington River last Saturday for a crash course in fly fishing. He did very well for his first time on the river and first time with a fly rod in his hands, landing 8 feisty rainbow trout and an 18-inch holdover brown. The trout are really gorging on caddis imitations, especially caddis pupas higher in the water column.
For freshwater bass, John at the Valley Angler said last weekend’s warm-up really helped turn on the fish at Candlewood Lake. He told me smallmouth bass are in post-spawn mode and are actively hitting top-water lures like Zara Spooks. John also mentioned that most largemouth there are still on their beds and the best method for catching them right now is pitching soft-plastic crayfish. He also noted that trout anglers are free-swimming live alewives there about 8-feet down over 35-feet of water and catching some 4 to 6-pound football-sized brown trout.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Rhode Island salt ponds are loaded with striped bass eating cinder worms coming out of the muddy flats. If you are a saltwater fly fisherman, these areas are where you want to be this weekend. The Connecticut River, specifically from Hartford to Middletown, is chock-full of stripers dining on herring, so if you like top-water action, that is not a bad option. Another great play is to three-way bucktails along the reefs of Long Island Sound. The strong currents of The Race and other reefs are a magnet for fresh bait and stripers entering the Sound. If you like that style of fishing now is a good time to get out there.
Was on the CT River yesterday and unless you like to hook drift wood its goin gto be a couple of days before the flow returns to a level suitable for catching. Enfireld Dam looked like class 5 rapids yesterday.
Good info Jon. Up over 10 feet at Hartford but starting to drop.
Good tautog fishing in the reefs in and around the entrance of the bay and around brenton reef…short to keeper ratio was around 2.5 to 1 on saturday..shorts were pretty much running around 15 to 15 1/2″..average keeper was around 18″