Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 5-17-2012

Saltwater fishing is steadily improving across the region as we enter the latter part of May. With foul weather in our rearview mirror and stellar conditions and a new moon in the cards, we could be in for a wild weekend on the water.

In Rhode Island, striped bass are sticking close to schools of menhaden throughout Narragansett Bay, slurping down cinder worms in salt ponds, and wolfing down squid along the south shore. In Connecticut, stripers are eating baby scup on eastern Sound reefs, herring in tidal rivers, and bunker in the western Sound. Fluke reports in the Ocean State picked up dramatically over the past week with flatfish over the double-digit mark now being weighed in. With the season just underway in Connecticut, fluke reports have been few and far between, but expect that to change this weekend. In addition, bluefish are ruining soft-plastic baits with more frequency and scup are starting to garner more attention from anglers.

As for freshwater, spring trout fishing remains strong in several stocked waterways. The recent rains stained and raised water levels to an extent, but most are already back to favorable conditions. Many nice largemouth bass are still hunkering on shallows beds, as smallies are spread out in post-spawn mode slashing topwater baits. Last but not least, giant pre-spawn carp are on the feed and a pending Connecticut state record was caught and released Wednesday night.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Rhode Island waters are in no shortage of striped bass at the moment. Peter Jenkins of Saltwater Edge said, despite recent rains slowing things down a bit, stripers are closely following large schools of pogies throughout Narragansett Bay. He noted that these fish are constantly on the move, but if he had to pick an area it would be near river mouths in the upper Bay.

Numerous salt ponds throughout the state are serving nightly cinder worm dinners for striped bass up to 35-inches. Dave admitted some nights are better than others due to a number of factors, but every outing they have had their chances. For fly anglers, Dave suggested tying on Bobby Hine’s “Waking Cinder Worm,” which is an orange and red foam pattern. Spin fishermen can get in on this bite too; Ron at Breachway Bait recommending 3-inch pink or root beer-colored Slug-Gos on fluorocarbon behind a casting bubble.

The waters in the vicinity of Watch Hill are rich with squid and hungry striped bass. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters had a terrific outing Tuesday along Watch Hill Reef, Sugar Reef, Valiant Rock, and The Race, landing several bass that were puking up squid and baby scup. To imitate the squid, Mike said the Yo-Zuri Hydro Squirt is getting the job done from the boat, though pink reverse Atoms or spook-style lures may work better from surf spots.

Captain Bill of Billfish Sportfishing echoed the red hot Watch Hill and eastern Long Island Sound action as the month of May wanes. He said that outings over the weekend were ridiculous in regards to the numbers caught versus time expended. While the largest fish was 38-inches long, the number of linesiders coming over the gunnel made up in quantity what lacked in quality. Light-tackle rods were all that was needed with subsurface and surface lures both producing equally well.  A strong outgoing tide was part of the equation that aided in the great results. Captain Bill also said scup are around in good numbers for those that enjoy ultra-light tackle fishing, which appeals to both anglers who want to capture super live baits for striped bass and those that like some great table fare. They have have invaded their normal rocky haunts and can easily be caught using the standard ‘high-low’ rigs.

In the surf scene, Will Sirotnak, a good friend and ardent wetsuiter, reported that catches of striped bass in the 32- to 38-inch class have become more routine over the past few nights along Rhode Island’s south shore and its backwaters. With the abundance of big squid and needlefish pouring into the area, it won’t be long before much larger bass come out to play. He stressed to focus on the outgoing tide because the flood has been bringing a mess of weeds in with it, making it very difficult to work artificial lures effectively.

Fluke fishing along Rhode Island’s south shore is also improving. Captain Ron at Breachway Bait and Tackle said 40 feet of water off the Green Hill area is a solid bet right now. I was happy to hear my good buddy Rob Treat was on Ron’s boat Monday morning and landed a 9.05-pound fluke that ate a fresh squid that they jigged up just before. Rob’s rig consisted of a 3-ounce bucktail on bottom and a 3/8-ounce bucktail above it; most of their 9 keeper fluke fell for the lighter top offering.

In freshwater, the method of live shiners fished under a float is producing bass at a number of ponds. Trout populations remain strong, especially in the Wood River. The latest bout of rain has stained and raised the water, but things should clear up and come down by the weekend. Dave at River and Riptide recommended swinging black Woolly Buggers in the higher, dirty water, or dredging bottom with beaded pheasant tail nymphs. This weekend trout should be looking up again. For bug activity, keep an eye out for mahogany duns in the afternoons, as well as light cahills and sulphers in the evenings.

Block Island Fishing Report

The most impressive report from Block Island waters this week were fluke catches along west side beaches. Elisa from Snug Harbor Marina said that Fred Bowman weighed-in 21-pounds of fluke on Tuesday with 11.1 and 9.9-pounders – that’s one heck of a day! She also noted that anglers diamond jigging the North Rip have been scoring their share of bass and blues, as well as those trolling wire along Southwest Ledge. Chris at Block Island Fishworks said shore-bound anglers were still catching mostly smaller bass from the south and west sides of the Island using needlefish, as well as Bombers in chrome over black and mackerel patterns.

Connecticut Fishing Report

The reefs of eastern Long Island Sound didn’t skip a beat in striper action since last week. Cheyenne at The Fish Connection reported boat anglers doing well with bass to the mid-30-inch range three-waying bucktails and Storm shads on The Race, as well as casting Hogys and Yozuri Hydro Squirts on Watch Hill and Sugar Reefs. Cheyenne has been taking the kayak around the mouth of the Mystic River and picking up schoolie bass to the mid-30-inch range on Crystal Minnows and Super Flukes. He also said there are spotty bunker schools near the mouth of the Thames and anglers are catching stripers there via chunked bunker or dunked sandworms.

Even with all the rain, the Connecticut River isn’t as dirty or as flooded as many had worried. Gary at Connecticut Outfitters said the river will crest early on Friday morning and this weekend should feature great striper fishing. Andrew at Fishin’ Factory III said there was a bass and herring blitz in the Haddam stretch on Wednesday morning, with stripers up to 36-inches being taken on pencil poppers. He noted that the Haddam to Essex stretch as been hottest lately, with sandworms on bottom working best when the water is dirty and top-water action taking over when it’s clear.

In the western Sound, finding bunker remains the name of the game. Captain Chris of Elser Guide Services located a big school of them mid-Sound in the fog on Wednesday during the outgoing tide. He live-lined the juicy baitfish along the north shore of Long Island in the Port Jefferson area for several stripers up to 27-pounds. Rick at Fisherman’s World stumbled upon the mother lode of bunker on Sunday in 50-feet of water between Rye and Hempstead Harbor. He and a friend chunked up 30 stripers up to 35-pounds on the fresh cut baitfish. Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle said anglers plying the Housatonic River below the Derby Dam are still landing stripers feeding on herring. He suggested Northbar bottle darters as a good representation for the blueback herring in heavy current.

Fluke fishing got underway in Connecticut waters this past Tuesday. With the weather being what it was this week, not many reports came in. Pat at River’s End had their first fluke weigh-in on Wednesday at 5.5-pounds, but he expects effort to increase heavily with the nice weather in store. Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle said fluke ranging from 18 to 20-inches were biting in 50 to 60-feet of water in the Madison/Guilford area and around Long Sand Shoal. He likes to keep it simple with squid rigs and prefers a couple hours before and after high tide, which should be late in the afternoon this weekend.
In freshwater, the trout fishing along many of the state’s waterways continues to please anglers thanks to the copious stocking by CT DEEP. The recent rains didn’t stain or raise water levels on the Farmington River all that much.  Derrick of CTFishGuides fly fished there on Wednesday and landed several nice trout using brown stoneflies and green caddis pupa. He said the upper Trout Management Area is chock full of fish and this weekend’s conditions look prime for some great trout fishing.

Freshwater bass fishing remains good across the state, especially at Candlewood Lake. John at Valley Angler is excited to see an increase in the numbers of 4 to 6-pound largemouth bass in Connecticut’s largest lake. They have mostly been hanging on in shallows, many on beds, and have been responding well to anglers pitching senko worms. The smallies in Candlewood are more active in post-spawn mode and are hitting top-water lures like Zara Spooks. In addition, some 4 to 5-pound football brown trout have been caught by those trolling “5 colors” of lead core, which John said is deeper than normal for this time of year.

Finally, right now is one of the best times of the year to catch big carp. They are in their pre-spawn, heavy feeding period. Mike Hudak capitalized on this opportunity by catching and releasing a pending state record common carp on Wednesday evening in the Connecticut River near Hartford. The monster weighed 43-pounds 12-ounces!

Fishing Forecast for Connecticut and Rhode Island

With ample bait around, pleasant weather and moon tides ushering in, one would expect a productive weekend of striped bass fishing on tap. Shore-bound anglers should concentrate on evenings in Rhode Island salt ponds with cinder worm imitations. Boat anglers may want to live-line bunker in upper Narragansett Bay or western Long Island Sound. For a more consistent bite, head to the Watch Hill area and eastern Sound reefs. Mimic squid with Yozuri Hydro Squirts and baby scup by drifting bucktails or Storm shads.