Just as we start to think that the warm weather has finally arrived, this brutal winter gives us a reminder that it is not quite over yet. Frigid temperatures and extreme winds hit the region once again on Thursday. This time, however, it appears that it will be short-lived and warmer temperatures will prevail through the weekend. This little blast of cold will clean up the ice that is still very thick across most of Connecticut and parts of Rhode Island, and another good ice-fishing weekend is ahead of us. The warmer temperatures of the weekend will also provide an opportunity to go wet a line in some of the open water in our tidal rivers.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The warmer temperatures of the past week coupled with a bit of wet precipitation has started the melting process across the lakes of Rhode Island. Luckily for Rhode Island ice fishermen, most lakes had a strong base of ice and remain plenty thick—other than some questionable edges.

Northern pike continued to bite very well across Rhode Island this past week, with some of the bigger specimens of the season being reported from Johnson’s Pond, Worden’s Pond and Chapman Pond. Johnson’s and Worden’s continue to also fish well for largemouth bass and yellow perch as some great multi-species reports came in this week.

Ponagansett Pond was also reported to have solid ice and was a hot spot for largemouth bass this week. Bass in the 2- to 3-pound range were taken with consistency this week with most coming on medium or large shiners fished under tip-ups.

Second-hand reports from all of the aforementioned bodies of water had ice thicknesses of 6-8 inches this week, but this time of year the ice could deteriorate fast and proper safety precautions are a must. Be sure to spud your way out to wherever you may be fishing as ice thicknesses often vary greatly on the same body of water this month.

The longer days and warmer nights this week have woken up some of the local striper fishermen, as Steve Mckenna at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown reported. The Providence River is now ice-free and anglers are once again taking schoolies on light jigs tipped with Zoom Super-Flukes. That bite will continue to improve as the activity level of these holdovers rises with the temperature. Some smaller schools of bass continue to hold in upper Narragansett Bay, although in much lesser numbers than in the Providence River.

Connecticut Fishing Report

With ice totals topping out at over 2 feet on some lakes this season, it will still be some time before ice fishing is dead and gone in Connecticut. Anglers have continued to pound the hardwater and some more impressive catches hit the ice across the state this week.

Andrew, at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown, tells me that most of his customers have had enough of the winter and are ready for the spring but the large amounts of ice that still remain has kept them on the hardwater. While the edges have been a little wet, the ice on the larger, more secluded Connecticut River coves remains plenty safe and continues to provide the best jigging for calicoes and late season northern pike opportunities. When the coves start to go they tend to deteriorate fast so this weekend may be one of the final opportunities to give them a shot. Many of the Connecticut bodies of water that hold trout are closed for the season, but Crystal Lake remains open and anglers have reported excellent trout action at Crystal over the past few days.

The Valley Angler in Danbury, reports that ice fishermen have still been taking advantage of the abundance of ice across western CT and fishing remains very good at Lake Lillinonah and Candlewood. The calico bite has really taken off at Lillinonah over the past week and anglers are reporting 20-30 fish days, with the vast majority of fish coming on small to medium Lindy jigs tipped with spikes or pinheads. Candlewood Lake has been equally as hot for multiple species, with jumbo perch and smallmouth bass dominating the catch. The number of trout hitting the ice at Candlewood has been sub-par this season, but over the past week reports of quality browns from the lake have increased greatly. Medium shiners fished under tipups have produced all three species with consistency.

The ice jams across the lower Housatonic River that have put a damper on winter striped bass fishing are finally gone for the season and large schools of bass remain in their winter holdover haunts. Local Housatonic angler Rich Zaleski hit the river a few times this week and reported that the schools of bass remain very thick, however they have not been very eager to bite due to the below average water temperatures. That being said, Rich was still able to manage 20-30 fish per trip on small jigs and soft plastics fished close to the bottom and very slowly. With weekend temperatures once again over the 50 degree mark, it will not be long before these fish start to wake up and the bite really takes off.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you’re like me, the recent warmer temperatures have you thinking about spring. While I believe that spring is right around the corner, finally, a few more ice-fishing trips may be in order as there is plenty of ice and as the ice starts to melt it almost certainly will start getting the fish to move around under there. If you are itching to wet a line in the open water, a trip for schoolie stripers in one of our tidal rivers is a safe bet this weekend as all of the ice jams are finally gone for the year.