Big schools of bluefish of all sizes are anglers’ best bet throughout the Connecticut region this week. Fluke and sea bass are also good options, although if you want bigger fish, you’ll have to find structure in deeper water.
Connecticut Fishing Report
As always, the best time for stripers is sunrise and sunset. Hillyer’s Tackle in Waterford suggests 3-waying eels & bucktails at Bartletts, the Race or the Gut, or topwater casting at the outflow at the powerplant. If you’re looking for blues, try chunking bait anywhere along the coast from the Connecticut River over to the Thames. Fluke are still thin, but try Black Point to Connecticut River and Hatchett’s. Sea Bass is “out of control”, covering “every square inch from here to Montauk”.
Joe at River’s End in Old Saybrook reports daytime blitzes of bluefish right off local beaches feeding on small bait. He also reports excellent snapper fishing, with some as big as 9 inches. He says it’s been one of the best years he can remember for snapper blues. Striper fishing in the area has been slow the last few weeks.
As far as bottom fishing goes, black sea bass and porgies are “dynamite”, but if you want big fluke, you’ll have better luck heading out deep to 100-plus feet of water, or all the way to Montauk or Block Island.
Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 reports that stripers are being caught, but the anglers catching them are working hard. He also reports a fantastic topwater bite on poppers and spooks just off the beaches. The sea bass bite is hot throughout Long Island Sound, but if you want 3 to 4 pounders, you’ll have to fish deep structure in 80-plus feet of water.
False albacore have been spotted off Misquamicut and on the backside of Fisher’s Island for those in eastern Connecticut. Small pods of a dozen fish will pop up — it’s up to you to land one in front of their face.
For the offshore crowd, Fishtails Canyon is having an epic yellowfin run right now. A Fishin’ Factory 3 employee headed out Wednesday and reported limiting out on yellowfin by midnight. It’s so good that multiple Connecticut area tackle shops have reported they are completely sold out of offshore bait like squid and butterfish.
Capt. Ian Devlin at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports slow striper fishing in the west end of Long Island Sound, as is the case along the entire Connecticut shoreline. Seven- to ten-pound bluefish are gorging on big bait and have provided substitute action for local anglers. Peanut bunker are starting to show in Wilson’s Cove, Greenwich and Stamford Harbor, so those are good places to go looking for blues.
For fluke, try squid strips or snapper blues in 40 to 60 feet of water.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Bluefish seem to be the recommendation among most local tackle shop owners. If you’re looking to squeeze in another fluke trip before the season ends in a few weeks, try deeper water.