Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 10-11-12

Fall Run Fever In Rhode Island

Albies Show in Western Sound

If you haven’t been pounding the water lately, then you better have a good excuse! Rhode Island beaches are alive with striped bass, bluefish and false albacore. Jumbo black sea bass are holding their ground off Block Island. Monster blackfish are coming out of Rhode Island waters and Connecticut’s season opened up with a bang despite nasty weather. On the freshwater side of things, numerous stockings of trout and breeder salmon are keeping anglers busy across the region.

Rhode Island Fishing Report
“This is what every fall should be like,” said Steve McKenna from behind the counter at Quaker Lane Outfitters. I could sense the excitement in his voice as he told me the fishing along the Rhode Island shoreline remains very good. Steve is four-for-four in his October outings so far. His last successful night was Tuesday, when he landed two bass over 20 pounds in Narragansett using Super Strike darters reeled slowly through current. Steve said some customers are getting into a mix of smaller bass and blues during daylight hours using bucktail jigs and topwater lures. He also mentioned that he’s seeing a ton of bunker in all sizes, mullet and needlefish.

“There are fish all over the place,” said Steve Cook when I called Saltwater Edge on Wednesday afternoon. As much as it hurts to hear that when you’re stuck behind a desk, it’s reassuring to know the fall migration is still going strong across the Ocean State. He told me that many 15- to 20-pound bass are being taken during the day with small blues mixed in and added that the top producers along the South Shore have been Northbar bottle darters, Charlie Graves tins, and bucktail jigs tipped with pork.

“The fishing off the beach has been phenomenal,” said Ron at Breachway Bait and Tackle right before stating that he doesn’t throw around the word “phenomenal” all that often. Waves of 3- to 5-pound bluefish are passing through Matunuck, Charlestown and East Beach with some keeper-sized bass mixed in. Ron added that at least three anglers had small bluefish chopped in half by bigger counterparts this week, so gator blues are around too. White or green Rangers skipped across the surface are getting the job done for several surfcasters. Robin at Quonny Bait and Tackle said the shore bite turned on like a light switch on Tuesday afternoon at most beaches and all the breachways. She noted that a customer of hers named Gil landed eight keepers from a South County beach on Wednesday morning using a small bucktail fished under a wooden casting egg.

There are still plenty of false albacore swimming in Rhode Island waters, but they seemed to have gained quite the education over the last several weeks. Dave at River and Riptide said he found tough-to-crack albies at Watch Hill on Friday, then again on Sunday. They were coughing up tiny bay anchovies, yet it was the bigger presentations like 4-inch Deadly Dicks that worked best. Dave reported that the water temperature has dropped to about 65 degrees and will be falling fast with colder weather setting in.

More than a few big blackfish tipped tackle shop scales this week! Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters saw some “togzillas” come through the door recently, including Bill Proulx’s beast, caught Wednesday in the Watch Hill area, which weighed 15 pounds 14 ounces. Another monster was taken by Robert Deledda on Monday that went 12 pounds 14 ounces. Ron at Breachway Bait said the rocky breachways are as good of places as any for shore-bound anglers to find them. A customer named Sid landed a mess of keeper tautog up to 7 pounds in just a couple hours off a breachway on Wednesday. Ron said to use green grabs on high/low rigs and to focus around the high tide stages. Steve at Quaker Lane Outfitters added that tautog fishing is really picking up in lower Narragansett Bay and out in front of Newport. He said many blackfish anglers are not surprisingly tightlipped about their spots, but if you drop a crab down on most any shallow rock pile this time of year you can usually find some takers.

Block Island Fishing Report
There’s a nice smorgasbord of action happening around Block Island right now. Sol at Twin Maples reported that bass up to 36 pounds were taking eels drifted with egg sinkers at Southwest Ledge on Monday. From shore, he said some anglers were having luck with needlefish plugs and Slug-Gos after dark at Mansion Beach. Sol added that false albacore have been sparingly popping up in and around the Coast Guard Channel. In addition, he said big scup continue to be caught inside the Coast Guard Channel, as well as off the Old Harbor Jetty. Sol is very optimistic of the fishing improving around Block over the next couple weeks with the impressive amount of bait he’s seeing such as peanut bunker, needlefish, silversides, sand eels, and shad.

Block Island waters remain one of the bets around for consistent black sea bass action and size at the moment. Andrew of Fishin’ Factory III and some friends fished in 60 to 80 feet of water off of Southwest Ledge on Monday. Using fluke spinner rigs and Lucanus jigs tipped with mummichogs, they landed over 40 keeper-sized sea bass up to 5 pounds, as well as a bonus 9-pound fluke and 20-inch cod.

Connecticut Fishing Report
While maybe not on the same level as Rhode Island, fall-run-like fishing is being reported in many parts of Long Island Sound. Matt at Hillyer’s said false albacore are still kicking around in the eastern Sound at places like Plum Gut, the Sluiceway, Race Rock, behind Fisher’s Island, and along the Waterford shoreline. To the delight of many western Sound anglers, albies continued to pop up from Fairfield to Norwalk this week according to Nick at Fisherman’s World. He said that customers Jason Saunders and John Poly found a pile of them off Cockenoe Island over the weekend.

Whether you love them or despise them, bluefish ranging in all sizes are still abundant throughout the Sound. However, Matt at Hillyer’s said customers are reporting that bluefish action is slowly starting to cool off while striped bass action continues to ramp up. Matt recommends three-waying bucktail jigs with pork rinds or drifting eels at places like the Race and Bartlett Reef for a crack at a nice striper right now. Q at River’s End said this is a good time of year to fish eels at Long Sand Shoal. Andrew at Fishin’ Factory III has customers coming in with big striped bass from the docks around the mouth of the Connecticut River. Bass and blues continue to feast on bunker schools in that area, so chunking and live-lining are the way to go.

The western Sound is also hosting some big fish. Derrick Kirkpatrick of CT Fish Guides has been hitting the surf hard lately, landing a 35-pound striper over the weekend and another around 30 pounds on Tuesday night. He is spending lots of time tossing eels after dark at spots with structure and current. The Housatonic River is heating up according to Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle. He said anglers at the Derby Dam have caught some hefty stripers this week using white pencil poppers and live bunker, as well as those pitching eels around the mouth of the river after dark.

Blackfish season finally opened in Connecticut waters on Wednesday. The weather was pretty gnarly, but that didn’t stop a number of diehard anglers from hitting their favorite rock piles. Matt at Hillyer’s reported that Bob Silva weighed-in the biggest Connecticut tautog that he’s heard of yet at 8.25 pounds. Matt expects it to be a great weekend of tog fishing at places like Race Rock, Bartletts, Hatchetts, Two Tree Island, Seaflower Reef, and Vixen’s Ledge. He also told me about a four-store-wide blackfish tournament between Hillyer’s, The Fish Connection, River’s End, and Fishin’ Factory III. The entry fee is $10 and, along with weekly prizes, you can win cash by weighing-in one of the top three biggest tog of the season.

For freshwater fans, DEEP has stocked around 1,000 broodstock Atlantic salmon so far, ranging in size from 2 to 6 pounds, into the Naugatuck River, Shetucket River, Mount Tom Pond and Crystal Lake. Later this month and through November, they expect several hundred more breeders up to 15 pounds to be available for stocking. In the Naugatuck, Housatonic and Shetucket Rivers, angling for Atlantic salmon is restricted to catch-and-release only from October 1 through November 30. During that time, the legal method for catching Atlantic salmon is limited to angling using a single fly, or an artificial lure with a single free swinging hook and no additional weight added to the line. The specific regulations for salmon fishing Mount Tom Pond and Crystal Lake can be found in the 2012 Connecticut Angler’s Guide.

In addition to salmon, DEEP’s fall trout stocking is well underway. Throughout October, they are releasing over 29,000 trophy and adult sized trout into selected waters throughout the state. Among the areas to be stocked this fall are twenty-four lakes and ponds, fourteen rivers and streams including twelve of the Trout Management Areas (TMA) and eight Trout Parks. For any Facebook users out there, check out DEEP’s Connecticut Fish and Wildlife Page for the latest stocking maps and updates.

Fishing Forecast
If you want to experience what a fall run feels like, head to South County Rhode Island this weekend. The salt ponds are spilling out a conveyor belt of baitfish and striped bass, bluefish and false albacore are taking full advantage. Pack your plug bag with tins, teasers, plastic swimmers, darters, needlefish, and topwater lures. Run the beaches from Matunuck to Watch Hill and don’t overlook the breachways. Keep an eye out for birds working and bent rods.

If the weather cooperates, another great option for the weekend is tautog fishing. It’s still early in the season and that means focusing on the rock piles in shallow water. Keep it simple by dropping down high/low rigs or blackfish jigs tipped with half green or whole Asian crabs and hang on tight!