Connecticut and Rhode Island Fishing Report 12-6-12

Blackfish Bite Moves Deep

Warm Weather Keeps Freshwater Hot

Unseasonably warm temperatures gave a number of anglers an excuse to wet a line this past week. Their reports reveal that plenty of worthy freshwater and saltwater angling opportunities remain, which is good because more mild temps are the way. Deep-water blackfish are still biting around Block Island, including a 14.4-pound behemoth landed on Monday. Winter cod action is starting to pick up steam as well. For shore-based anglers in Rhode Island, several ponds and rivers are loaded with freshly stocked trout, holdover striped bass are setting up shop in Providence, and infrequent migratory bass are left out front. In Connecticut waters, anglers are having luck with smallmouth bass, northern pike, broodstock salmon and trout, along with holdover stripers and Atlantic herring that are pouring into their usual winter hangouts.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Tautog fishing isn’t over just yet. Some impressive blackfish are still coming over the rails of local headboats and codfish catches are increasing by the day. Captain Chris of the Island Current said their trips out of Snug Harbor from Friday through Tuesday all experienced a good bite in deep water around Block Island. Structure in about 80 to 95 feet of water seems to be the ticket at this stage in the game, producing some quality blackfish on crabs and the occasional bycatch keeper cod. Monday was a very good day on the grounds with everyone onboard limiting out on blackfish, including four over the nine pound mark, and Captain Scott’s reeled up a 14.4-pound beast!

The Frances Fleet also had a good week of tautog trips this reporting period with all of their pool-winning fish between nine and 12 pounds. More and more codfish are beginning to show up on the grounds too, many of them in the mid-teen range. On Sunday, Captain Rich was out cod fishing close to home with a light load of anglers that scored an excellent eight-cod-per-angler average. Hi-hooks were long time regulars Ron Dohan and Frank Merlot, who combined for 25 nice cod into the teens. The fish were aggressively feeding on both fresh clams and jigs. Another local headboat option is the Seven Bs, which has also been reporting solid late-season tog success. Their big fish from Sunday’s trip was an 11-pound slob and another on Saturday went 10 pounds with several keeper cod catches in between.

Holdover striped bass are starting to show up in Providence in better numbers. Steve McKenna at Quaker Lane Outfitters said between now and Christmas is a good time to target these fish because it’s not super cold yet and they are still hungry. He suggested searching for them from the Hurricane Barrier to Hemingway’s Restaurant using Cocahoe Minnows or Zoom Super Flukes on jigheads ranging from 3/8-ounce to 1 ounce. As far as the oceanfront, Steve at Saltwater Edge said some straggler schoolie bass are being caught from the Newport rocks on Redfins and teasers and Mike at Watch Hill Outfitters relayed that a couple are being found in the Weekapaug area on Storm shads.

In freshwater, over 6,000 rainbow trout have been stocked in several Rhode Island waterways this fall. DEM’s Division of Fish and Wildlife said they stocked 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. Steve at Quaker Lake suggested casting spoons and soaking live shiners in one of the ponds and Dave at River and Riptide recommended drifting Prince nymphs under an indicator in the Wood River.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Except for the occasional transient schoolie striped bass, Long Island Sound is quiet at the moment, especially with tautog season now closed until April 1. Some of the Sounds’ tributaries, however, are providing many anglers with winter striper opportunities, with the Housatonic River your best bet for hooking one this weekend. Chris at Stratford Bait and Tackle said sections of the lower river from Derby to the mouth have been kind to shore and boat anglers using Daiwa SP Minnows and soft-plastics on lead heads, as well as trolling umbrella rigs. The highest concentration of fish right now seems to be around Sunnyside in Shelton. The other classic winter striper hotspot is the Thames River and Jack at The Fish Connection said a few anglers are having luck using white Super Flukes on ½-ounce bullet-style jig heads near where the Yantic River pours into Norwich Harbor.

Some of first reports of Atlantic herring came from Nick at Fisherman’s World this week. He said anglers on foot around Bridgeport and Norwalk Harbors are casting and slowly retrieving Sabiki rigs for the silvery herring. Clip on a small Dipsey sinker on the bottom of the rig for better casting distance.

There are several worthwhile freshwater options to choose from as well, with smallmouth bass fishing on Candlewood Lake being high on the list right now. Mitch Passero, publisher of CTFisherman.com, and friend Chris Partelow had a phenomenal day of smallies on Candlewood this past Tuesday. Fishing started slow from them around 10 AM, but it really picked up as the day went on. They ended up catching and releasing 33 smallmouths, all keeper size up to nearly 4 pounds, using Keitech swim baits and live shiners (Keitechs accounted for 22 smallies and shiners scored 11). Mitch reported that water temperatures were still 44 degrees in the southern end of the lake.

Broodstock salmon fishing along the Naugatuck and Shetucket rivers is another fine choice at the moment. OTW contributor Chris Elser got one more salmon in the 12-pound range from lower Naugatuck in Beacon Falls over the weekend. Instead of gaudy, bright colored streamers, he’s been having better luck on smaller, more natural patterns. Jack at The Fish Connection has customers reporting solid hook-ups in the Baltic section of the Shetucket River as well. To learn more about the stocking areas and salmon regulations, click here: http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?A=4173&Q=511870.

Fall trout fishing on the Farmington River remains good for fly anglers. Chris Elser brought three nice brown trout and a rainbow to his net on Tuesday while swinging streamers like White Marabous and Black Ghosts. Grady at UpCountry Sportfishing said the Farmington is currently just over 200 CFS through the catch and release area, which is low yet fishable. For bug activity, Winter/Summer Caddis (sizes 20-22) have been heavy on the surface in the mornings over the past week. Blue Wing Olives (sizes 18, 22-24), Isonychia (sizes 12-14), Tan Caddis (sizes 16-18) are hatching in the afternoon and late afternoon has been bringing action on Rusty Spinners (sizes 22-26) and adult Winter Caddis (sizes 18-22).

The Connecticut River and its coves are where to be if you’re looking for northern pike or panfish. Andrew at Fishin’ Factory III said while pike customers reported a little slower bite this past week, fishing large golden pond shiners under a slip or fixed bobber is still the way to go. He added that calico fishing in the coves is OK, with pinhead shiners or white curly tail grubs on small jig heads working the best.

To the fellow ice anglers out there, I feel your pain as this warm weather is eerily familiar to last winter. To keep us at bay for the time being, Blaine at Connecticut Outfitters is putting on a free seminar all about ice fishing for northern pike on Thursday, December 13 at 7 PM. If you want to learn how to tangle with fish over three feet long under the ice, this will be a good primer

Fishing Forecast for the Weekend

One of the best opportunities this coming weekend will be on a head boat bound for the waters around Block Island. Not only are there some big late-innings blackfish to be had, there’s an increasing amount of codfish showing up as well. Take advantage of temperatures flirting with the 50’s this weekend and stock your freezer with fillets for the winter. Island Current, Seven B’s and Frances Fleet are all due to sail this weekend, so there are plenty of boat options.