Cod Bite Excellent
More Ice Fishing in the Forecast
Unseasonably warm temps last weekend and most of this week did a number on ice-fishing options, but it also brought out open-water anglers in droves. Cod fishing has been by far the best bite lately with both quality and quantity in no short supply. Holdover striped bass has been another great bet in tidal waters. Trout, salmon and pike fishing are other ways to scratch the itch, as well as attending fishing and boating shows now getting underway. For frustrated ice anglers like me, don’t lose hope just yet as much colder weather is coming soon.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Cod fishing is the big newsmaker right now. Captain Chris of the Island Current has noticed a major upswing in the winter cod fishery off Block Island and Coxes Ledge recently. The size of the cod has been excellent and there are good concentrations of baitfish to keep them around. On Tuesday’s trip, Captain Scott reported a very good bite on fresh skimmer clams and diamond jigs. Some highlights included Mr. Koo’s big fish of the day at 37-pounds, Mr. Kilsong’s 32-pounder, and limits for many anglers. Monday was another stellar outing with a full boat limit and the biggest cod of the day tipping 35 pounds. Mr. Lee had high-hook with an impressive 17 cod landed. Once again, fresh clams and plenty of chum paid big dividends.
Steve at Saltwater Edge talked about an uptick in holdover striper activity in the Providence River this week, and believes the warmer weather was an incentive for more anglers to give this type of fishing a chance. He added that it’s pretty much a night game for small bass hitting soft-plastic baits on jig heads. Steve said most anglers going prefer a high-falling tide upstream of the hurricane barrier.
Another option is stream fishing for trout. Dave at River and Riptide thinks colder water temperatures from recent snow melt attributed to his skunking on the Wood River Sunday. His buddy Ron went back to the same stretch on Monday and did better, catching two nice brown trout and a rainbow using an olive Woolly Bugger near Rte. 165.
As for hardwater fishing, Steve at Quaker Lane Outfitters said most customers have stopped venturing out due to iffy ice conditions, but he’s optimistic that things will harden back up again soon with the frigid temperatures forecasted for next week. So we’re back in ‘wait and see’ mode unfortunately.
The annual fishing and boat show season is finally underway. The Providence Boat Show kicks off this Friday and runs right through Sunday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. Seminar topics include “Trolling Strategies for N.E. Tuna,” “Intro to SCUBA in New England,” “Fluke Fishing Strategies,” “Advanced Techniques for Bonito and False Albacore,” “Bluefin Tuna on Spinning Gear,” “Cooking Your Catch,” “Finding More and Bigger Fish using Modern Sounder and Radar Technology,” “Light Tackle and Fly Albies and Bonito,” “Advanced Techniques for Handling and Filleting Tuna and other Gamefish,” and “Worm Hatch: Skinny Water Stripers.” For tickets or more info, please visit: http://www.providenceboatshow.com/.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Holdover striper fishing in the Housatonic River is still going strong. Rich at Fisherman’s World said boat anglers are catching more numbers during the day, but the shore crowd is finding better size at night. Housy river rat Rich Z and his friend boated nearly 200 schoolies between the two of them in about five hours on Tuesday morning, far more than the 36 they caught and released the morning before. Rich thinks the main difference was that generators were running at the Derby Dam on Tuesday, which produced a slight outgoing current even on the incoming tide. Jason Jadach of Bobby J’s Bait and Tackle got into some bigger bass on Sunday night, including four keepers up to 37 inches and 23 pounds. He said to focus in deeper water right now, like 20-feet-plus, and use soft-plastics from 5 to 8 inches long on 3/8- or ½-ounce jig heads. Jason suggested casting out and counting to three before starting a very, very slow retrieve.
As for holdovers on the eastern side of the state, Jack at The Fish Connection said the Thames River remains slower than it has been in years past. He did note that there are some stripers being caught in both the Yantic and Shetucket rivers and thinks that the main body of fish from Norwich Harbor could have pushed up into those tributaries.
Most ice anglers made other plans last weekend thanks to the ridiculously warm weather and questionable conditions. Blaine at Connecticut Outfitters took a scouting trip to the northwest corner of the state on Monday and was surprised how well a couple bodies of water were holding up. He found up to eight inches of ice on Dog Pond and Tyler Lake and jigged up some small crappie and perch. Of course he still advised taking extreme caution if planning to ice fish this weekend, yet was confident that many places will be back in business next week with the predicted cold snap on tap. For some great information about staying safe on the ice, please visit the website of Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/index.html.
Andrew from Fishin’ Factory III said pike fishing on the Connecticut River was pretty solid over the weekend for those who took advantage of the mild temperatures. He knew of at least one impressive toothy critter of about 15 pounds that was caught and released while using swim baits in the Hartford stretch of the river. Fishing big baits, live or dead, like golden pond shiners on bottom or under a float is also a productive way to fish for pike.
Fishing in Trout Management Areas (TMA) is another way to get a tight line this time of year. Cappy at Captain Morgan Bait and Tackle said some of his customers are having luck by drifting pheasant tail nymphs or stripping Woolly Buggers in the Hammonasset TMA. Other great TMAs worth spending time in right now are on the upper Farmington and Housatonic rivers, both of which could produce wild and holdover trout that will make your season.
The broodstock Atlantic salmon in the Shetucket and Naugatuck rivers are an additional option. Jack at The Fish Connection said salmon catches aren’t as numerous as they were a few weeks ago because fish are dropping downstream and anglers have been taking them home for dinner. There are still some to be caught in areas like downtown Baltic or the Salt Rock Campground stretch of the Shetucket and Jack believes swinging streamer flies is a good way to go.
Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the coming week is cod fishing. The past week has been the most impressive yet this winter in terms of size and number of codfish coming over the rails. Both bait and jig fishermen are doing well so everybody’s happy. Local head boat options include Island Current, Frances Fleet and Seven B’s, all of which will be sailing so long as weather permits. Give their offices a call the night before just to be sure. Good luck and stay safe out there!