River Stripers, Good Trout, & Keeper Codfish
Rough seas threw a wrench in the cod fishing this week and much needed rains kept many shore-bound anglers indoors for a few days, yet there are still fish being caught out there. Holdover striped bass in Connecticut was the hottest bite with trout, salmon, bass, perch, and herring holding up the rear. The cold temperatures ice fishermen have been waiting for are finally arriving this weekend, but there are plenty of ways to get a tight line before things freeze up!
Rhode Island
Saturday was the last day that any local head boat hit the cod grounds thanks to some nasty weather. That’s too bad because the fishing was pretty good! Captain Rich of the Frances Fleet said Saturday’s high-hook landed 11 keeper codfish with the biggest in the low teens and most other anglers had about five or six cod apiece. Captain Chris of the Island Current reported that the high-hook on their boat landed nine keepers that same day and the pool-winning fish was in the upper teens. He also noted that clams out-produced jigs and they were fishing closer to home than usual in about 90-feet of water.
There were no Providence holdover striped bass reports again this week, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters said a few people are getting some holdovers up to 24-inches in the Pawcatuck River by the boat launch on small swimmers and soft-plastics.
In freshwater, Steve at Quaker Lane Outfitters said the only fishing he’s hearing about is for trout. Over 6,000 rainbows were stocked this fall into Rhode Island waterways, including Meadowbrook Pond, Carbuncle Pond, Spring Grove Pond, Onley Pond, Silver Spring Pond, Beaver River, Wyoming Pond, Wood River, Upper Pawtuxet River, Blackstone River, Round Top Ponds, and Stafford Pond. In the ponds, try casting spoons or soaking shiners under a float. In rivers like the Wood, Dave at River and Riptide said drifting prince nymphs has been the ticket.
Connecticut
There is no fishable ice in the northwest hills just yet, but starting this weekend the forecast looks a heck a lot colder than it has been. For the meantime, the most talked about fishing is the Housatonic holdover bite. Jason at Bobby J’s said the stripers are chowing on dead and dying landlocked alewives that are coming downstream from Lake Housatonic. Don’t expect to be alone though. He joked that surfcasters are flocking to the Derby/Shelton area dressed for Montauk and catching mostly schoolies on everything from Daiwa SP Minnows to stubby needlefish. Jason also noted that there are some bigger bass mixed in, like the 38-incher he took on a soft-plastic Sunday night.
Another option is fishing for Atlantic salmon, some of which are up to 21-pounds. CT DEEP completed its fall stockings two weeks ago bringing the total number of salmon released this fall to over 2,000 fishwith Beach Pond (106 salmon), Crystal Lake (200 salmon), Mount Tom Pond (200 salmon), the upper Naugatuck River (403 salmon), lower Naugatuck River (403 salmon), and Shetucket River (713 salmon) all stocked. OTW Chris Elser and a buddy nailed four salmon up to 12-pounds while swinging small streamer flies in the Beacon Falls stretch of the Naugatuck River last Thursday. To learn more about salmon regulations, click here: http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=4173&Q=511870.
For the third Tuesday in a row, Mitch Passero of CTFisherman.com and Chris Partelow experienced solid fishing on Candlewood Lake. Using live shiners and Keitech swim baits, they landed 16 keeper smallmouth bass and 25 yellow perch, mostly fishing submerged road beds. The biggest bass went 3-pounds 10-ounces and water temperatures were about 41-degrees.
Jigging for fresh sea herring is red hot right now. Rich at Fisherman’s World said you can nearly fill a five-gallon pail in any harbor from Greenwich to Norwalk most days. He likes fishing with a Sabiki rig in front of the Maritime Aquarium during the high-outgoing tide.
Fishing Forecast for Connecticut and Rhode Island
The Housatonic River holdover striper bite is probably your most consistent bet for this weekend. Chances are you won’t be alone, but at least everybody will be catching fish. Start at the Derby Dam and work downstream until you find bent rods. Most of the bass are gorging on dead alewives, so try matching the hatch by slowly retrieving plastic swimmers or soft-plastic baits. Have a safe and happy Holiday!