Some new pods of sizeable striped bass have taken up residency in Long Island Sound and are keeping Connecticut anglers busy. Black sea bass, jumbo scup and a few doormat fluke are still abundant across New England, as just about all our saltwater options remain open and are going strong.
Connecticut Fishing Report
The Mijoy 747 of Waterford has entered its final week of groundfishing trips for scup, black sea bass and fluke, and will be strictly running striped bass and bluefish trips come August. While the bottom fishing has remained very consistent, the timing is pretty good as Long Island Sound has come alive with bass and bluefish over the past ten days. Bluefish have finally hit the point where they are so thick that most everyone aboard the boat goes home with tired arms and a few nice stripers continue to be in the mix on most trips.
At Rivers End in Old Saybrook, the striped bass report has been one of the better ones this season, as the bite has begun to improve across a wide range. The red hot Montauk bite has cooled just a bit but is reported as very good from the surf and the boat. Locally, Long Sand Shoal has not only seen some heavy bass this week, but has finally seen some consistency. Fresh bunker chunks and 3-wayed eels have taken bass to 40-pounds this week at the shoal and the adjacent reefs to the east and west. Shore anglers soaking fresh chunks in the mouth of the river have also reported multiple large bass this week for the first time this season. Bluefish have been thick in The Race and at Plum Gut but have thinned out inshore, although a few gators are still hanging around the bunker schools in the mouth of the river. Black sea bass fishing has been best at 6-Mile Reef locally, and even better around Block Island. Keeper fluke have been harder to come by but the deep end of Black Point, the Waterford beaches and Sara’s Ledge still have keepers if you are willing to work for them. As far as scup go, all the usual reefs are holding very big fish but numbers are a bit down. Blue crabbing in the river is about as good as it could be for mid-July, and reports of a dozen or more keepers have come in from the DEP docks and the state launch.
Captain Bruce, on The Otter Sportfishing, reported a full week of successful charters, with more hefty bass falling for his “Otter Spoon.” Dan Marcer took high hook on their Sunday trip with a bass of 45 inches, while Tom Kabel and crew took a 47-inch fish on Wednesday. Saturday, with the Weise Company on board, 13-year old Jahfy Whyte took home the largest fish with a 45.5-inch bass.
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, had another successful week of shallow-water bass fishing in the eastern sound. While the quality of fish wasn’t quite equal to the cows he found two weeks ago, Mike reported multiple trips with steady fish into the low 30-pound class. According to Mike, plenty of large bass have settled in on the eastern sound reefs and are cruising the shallows after dark, where his live eels become easy targets.
In the western sound, Bobby J’s Bait and Tackle in Milford reported that the fishing continues to improve in his neck of the woods and anglers are cashing in on all the bottom fish species that are now open and available in Connecticut. Camron Hammond had an excellent mixed-bag trip with week, coming home with a 7-pound fluke, 4.5-pound blackfish and a 2.3-pound scup. Dinner plate scup are readily available on all the western sound reefs; while black sea bass and fluke anglers are focusing their attention on the deeper reefs of Branford and Clinton. Striped bass fishing has been consistent at Welch’s Point and around the Charles Island, and good mixed bags of bass and blues are showing up in New Haven where bunker is plentiful.
Fishing Forecast
For those staying inshore, there remains plenty of big bait across Connecticut. Locating some fresh live bait and dropping it at your local hotspots should not be overlooked as it appears big bass have filtered into most of their usual haunts.