Planning For Post-Storm Fishing
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days, you probably heard media outlets talking up a major winter storm that’s heading our way. It looks like this one could live up to the hype and southern New England is right in its crosshairs. If most models are correct and the northern branch of the jet stream phases with the southern branch, we could experience a long, at times intense, snowfall accompanied by high winds and coastal flooding. You can pretty much scratch fishing for the first half of the weekend, but, if you’re dug out by then, Sunday’s weather looks nice and there are some great opportunities to take advantage of from ice fishing to cod fishing.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Too bad about the storm bearing down on us because the local cod fishing has been on fire this week! Captain Chris of the Island Current bumped up their daily sailing time to 4 AM out of Snug Harbor to capitalize on an early morning bite and it’s been paying off. He reported an amazing morning on the cod grounds Wednesday with a one stop full boat limit. “Fish Counter” Bob landed 20 keeper cod (released 10) and took home the pool prize with a 20-pounder. Dawn and Tom from of CT caught 18 codfish on their first winter codfish outing ever. Joe M., from the FDNY in the Bronx, limited out early and was throwing fish back most of the day. Andy and Jeff from NY had a combined 22 cod up to 18-pounds and Jeff from CT landed 17 cod total. Captain Chris also reported a full boat limit of codfish caught on Tuesday’s trip with a 24-pound pollock taking home the pool and high-hook landing 17 keeper cod. Most fish on both trips were landed using fresh skimmer clams.
Frances Fleet’s Captain Mike also reported some solid action from the cod grounds this week. The fish haven’t been as big as the monsters of last week, but still impressive. Tuesday’s trip featured steady action all day long with lots of shorts in the mix. Quite a few anglers managed to box a limit with everyone having a nice bag to go home with. The pool-winning fish on Tuesday was a 22-pound cod and there was about a dozen pollock to 15-pounds that rounded out the catch. The Frances Fleet noted that Monday’s trip was bagged due to gale warnings, but Sunday’s big fish was a 30-pound cod and Saturday’s trip saw a dozen fish cod over 20 pounds with the pool winner tipping the scales at 35 pounds! You can probably guess that no one will be sailing Friday or Saturday, but keep an eye on the weather for Sunday and early next week and call the office of the head boat you plan to go with to see if the trip is on or not.
There are some ice anglers still getting out on ponds in the northern portion of the state, but it will be hard to get anywhere this weekend if the snowfall is anywhere close to what’s being predicted. The ‘Between the Cracks’ ice fishing tournament at the Crystal Lake Golf Course that was postponed last Saturday then rescheduled for this Saturday has already been canceled due to the pending weather. Larry at East Providence Bait Co. said a few people have been venturing on Onley Pond in Lincoln Woods in hopes for trout, but he wasn’t exactly sure about ice thickness. It’s going to be a lot harder to check ice conditions moving forward once we receive a good snow cover, so please use your heads and proper safety equipment if ice fishing Sunday or into next week.
Holdover striper reports from the Providence River were quiet this week, but Larry at East Providence Bait Co. did hear of anglers heading out with Sabiki rigs to the Jamestown area and catching mackerel and sea herring.
As for trout fishing, Dave at River & Riptide saw some nice rainbow and brown trout hanging in the Wood River on Sunday above the check-in station. He said they are extremely spooky and suggested treading very lightly if you want a shot at them. One of Dave’s customers caught and released three nice rainbows there on Tuesday using a ninja-like approach and an olive Woolly Bugger.
Anyone that doesn’t feel like being snowed in this weekend can take a slow drive to the New England Fishing & Outdoor Expo in Worcester, MA. According to their website, the show will go on regardless of how much snow comes down. There will a large number of exhibitors, including your friends at On The Water, as well as an impressive lineup of seminars throughout the expo. Click here for a full schedule of this weekend’s seminars: http://www.newenglandfishingexpo.com/seminar-schedule/
Connecticut Fishing Report
Just when lakes and ponds up north were firming back up for ice anglers, Mother Nature had to go and throw a wrench in our plans. Trudging through feet of snow across a frozen lake brings back bad memories from two winters ago–it’s not easy or fun. Blaine at Connecticut Outfitters said things were just getting back to normal with some nice ice fishing reports coming in, such as customer Dave Russo’s 44-inch northern pike that ate a big sucker under a tip-up this week at Bantam Lake. Dave at Valley Angler postponed last weekend’s Jig & Pig at Candlewood Lake to this Saturday, but now has to push it back yet another week due to the mega storm. Candlewood had been fishing very well too, including Bobby Penall’s 5.5-pound smallmouth bass and Don Luftus, Jr.’s 2.25-pound jumbo yellow perch! If you do happen to get out this weekend, remember to play it safe regardless of where you are, especially since it will be tough to see any trouble spots with the snow cover.
Surfcasters and boat anglers are still plugging away for holdover striped bass in the Housatonic River. Rick at Fisherman’s World said one of his customers named Luke has been consistently finding bass during the day using soft-plastic baits on jig heads. Rick also noted that shore-bound anglers continue to find sea herring in western Sound rivers and harbors using Sabiki rigs.
Trout fishing in rivers and streams can also be great option for a February day. Break out the snow shoes and hit the upper Farmington River that fishes well year-round. Right now you can find your favorite pools void of other anglers as well. Grady at UpCountry Sport fishing reported that winter/summer caddis have been on the surface in the morning and adult winter caddis and midges have been on the water in the afternoon. In between, nymphs and egg patterns have been productive, fishing slow and deep near the heads of most pools.
Fishing Forecast for the Weekend
Fishing won’t be on the docket for many people this weekend as shoveling, plowing and keeping the fire stoked will take priority. However, if you get your cleanup duties out of the way, perhaps Sunday can be salvaged on the ice, on a stream or on the cod grounds. If we get totally snowed in, then take that time to catch up on fishing-related tasks like tying flies or leaders for the upcoming season, change out those rusty hooks on your plugs, do some reel maintenance, or rig up some soft-plastic baits. Try to enjoy “snowpocalypse” and have a safe weekend!