The window of opportunity for saltwater angling across Connecticut and Rhode Island isn’t ready to shut just yet. Hefty tautog and hoards of migrating striped bass are still plentiful, while autumn freshwater fishing across the region has hit its stride.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Over the past few weeks, the probability of a 20 knot wind is just about as reliable as the sun rising and setting each day. As you can probably imagine, the number of reliable reports goes down as those wind speeds rise, but the reports that have come in are on the positive side. At The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, large tautog continue to be the talk of the week. Big whitechins have been falling to green and Asian crabs in 20 to 30 feet of water on the rockpiles off Newport and Narragansett. Angler Rob Taylor cashed in on a banner day of togging earlier this week with numerous keeper fish, including a slammer that weighed in at nearly 14 pounds.

Steve Mckenna of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown echoed a similar sentiment, telling me that he has been selling green crabs like wild fire whenever the wind has taken a bit of a break. Anglers that have braved the conditions have been rewarded with bag limits of tautog from Watch Hill to Narragansett. The one good thing to come from the brutal winds has been a reduction in fishing pressure at some of the more common reefs, and areas that are usually fished out by now are still holding fish. Steve was also pleased to report that the stellar striped bass bite for the local surf crowd is still going strong despite the cooling temperatures. Large schools of bass in the 25- to 35-inch range have been showing up with good consistency all along South County. Local surfcasters have been scoring bass on soft plastics and small swimming plugs both by day and night, with the larger bass showing up after the lights go out. The plethora of bait in Rhode Island coupled with the warm upcoming forecast should equate to a great weekend for the surfcasters who aren’t ready to hang up the gear just yet.

According to Breachway Bait and Tackle in Charlestown plenty of keeper tautog are still available for the taking for anglers fishing the deeper reefs around Watch Hill. Some of the more consistent hot spots for the week have been in 20 to 30 feet of water on Sugar Reef and in 30 to 35 feet of water around Wicopesset Passage. The breachways are still holding bait, both large and small, and small keeper bass are still providing some light-tackle action for shore and kayak anglers.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Blackfishing remains as good as ever in eastern Long Island Sound, especially for anglers who have traveled off the beaten path and found some smaller and less-fished rockpiles. Andrew at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown has been getting great reports from his customers across most of eastern LIS, with the best reports coming in from just west of the Connecticut River. Southwest Reef, Cranes Reef and the rockpiles around Cornfield Point have been producing quality fish from roughly 20 feet of water. It appears that what was left of the bunker in the Connecticut River has vacated the area but schoolie to medium-sized bass are still showing up in the lower river and at Long Sand Shoal. It’s a safe bet that the shoal will fish well for the next week or so as the remaining bait vacates the river and pre-migration bass will be waiting for an easy meal.

Mike Roy of Reel Cast Charters continued to experience great light-tackle striped bass action across central Long Island Sound this week. Over the past weekend, acres of blitzing bass were prevalent from Milford to Branford and Mike was able to manage bass on nearly every cast for the better part of each morning. In the afternoons, Mike switched gears and targeted blackfish in the waters off Milford. Blackfish have started to move to slightly deeper water (around 20 feet) but the bite remained very good and limits were easily attainable for Mike and his clients.

The abnormally low flows of the Housatonic River have not stopped the stripers from staging up in the lower stretches of the river, according to TC Marine Bait and Tackle in Shelton. Shore and boat anglers have been having good success this week with small keeper bass around the Devon area in Milford and at Sandy Point. Schoolie bass are beginning to fill in around Fire Island and the quarry pond in Shelton; these bass are likely setting up to holdover for the winter with late November and early December usually providing the best action until the end of February. Good blackfish reports are still coming in from the Stratford and New Haven breakwalls but the tough weather has kept these reports to a minimum. The low flow levels have prevented many of the broodstock Atlantic salmon from dropping down into the lower Housatonic, but anglers fishing the upper stretches of the Naugatuck are having some success floating flies in traditional salmon patterns.

Action across western Connecticut has remained steady over the past few days, according to Fisherman’s World in Norwalk. Schools of Atlantic herring continue to show themselves in Norwalk Harbor along with most of the western sound tributaries. These herring aren’t around in full force just yet, but there are enough of them to keep some decent keeper stripers and the remaining bluefish in the local shallows. While the weather kept most of the blackfish hunters close to shore this week, it didn’t seem to affect the bite. Rockpiles in 12 to 15 feet of water from Norwalk to Fairfield held fish with consistency, although the last few cool nights will almost definitely get them moving to slightly deeper water.

In freshwater news, Blaine Anderson of Anderson Guide Services took shelter from the wind in the upper stretches of the Connecticut River this week. Blaine reported a red hot northern pike and crappie bite from Rocky Hill to Haddam. Large spinnerbaits and swimbaits with a slow retrieve and occasional pauses have accounted for most pike, while small jigs with pinhead shiners have been fooling the crappie. The trout fishing across CT remains good despite unusually low water levels. The Farmington River continues to produce trout with the most consistency with red Wooly Buggers being the pattern of choice. As mentioned earlier, Atlantic salmon continue to take flies and inline spinnerbaits in the upper stretches of the Naugatuck River, as well as in the usual pools along the Baltic stretch of the Shetucket River.

Best Bets for the Weekend

For nearly the first time this fall, the weekend weather looks promising. Temperatures should be touching nearly 60 degrees and winds are forecasted to be around 5 to 10 knots for the first time this month. If you were waiting for a good weather window to chase your last stripers for the season, it is approaching, and there are plenty of bass along the South County shoreline to keep you busy. Tautog fishing from Rhode Island to Connecticut will remain excellent this weekend, and a break in the wind should make anchoring easier. Water temperatures have dropped and fish are starting to stage up in deeper water. Rhode Island anglers should focus their efforts in 30 to 35 feet of water, while anglers across Long Island Sound should be looking for small rockpiles in 20 to 25 feet of water. If your boat and/or your surf-rod is already in storage, take a look at some of the larger rivers across CT. Whether you’re looking for pike, trout, salmon, crappie or even schoolie stripers, chances are they can be found across the inland stretches of CT this weekend.