Connecticut Fishing Report | October 2, 2014

With temperatures starting to drop, fall fishing is on everyone’s radar. Tautog fishing should garner some serious attention this weekend. Finding these fish proves harder as the season goes on and well-known rockpiles get fished out. Surfcasters who have been waiting patiently for a striped bass bite this season may have finally gotten their wishes granted as the surf has come alive with some keeper bass, and of course, plenty of big bluefish. If you’re on the water this weekend be sure to have your light-action tackle ready as false albacore are bound to pop up no matter where you may be fishing.

Connecticut Fishing Report

At Hillyers Bait and Tackle in Waterford, a lot of local anglers are gearing up for the tautog opener next Friday. The bite has really started to accelerate in Rhode Island and things should be just as good in eastern Long Island Sound when the season kicks off on the tenth. The false albacore have thinned out and fish can be found at all their usual haunts in the eastern sound. The western Rhode Island shore from Weekapaug to Watch Hill remains the top producer for falsies despite the boat traffic. Sea bass fishing remains as solid as it has been all season, and it continues to be a great season for giant scup if you can get past all the sea bass.

Over at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, Joe informed me that some reliable sources have reported a good striped bass bite in the South County surf, with many fish going over 25 pounds. Locally, striped bass reports remain on the quiet side, but plenty of big bluefish have been keeping anglers busy. The greatest concentrations of large bluefish remain in the Connecticut River, where schools of bunker are plentiful. Shore anglers fishing fresh chunks are scoring gators at the Dock N Dine and around the Causeway, while boat anglers are finding blitzing bluefish from the breakwalls to the 95 bridge; specifically around daybreak. Snapper bluefishing continues to produce in the Connecticut River tributaries, and out front black sea bass fishing remains as strong as ever.

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reported that false albacore are getting harder to land as pods have thinned out and the fish have become spooky, but locating a pod has gotten easier as they have moved as far west as the Norwalk Islands. Watch Hill, Fishers Island, Black Point and Plum Gut are all holding fish, and if you can find a pod off the beaten path your chances of hooking up are greatly increased. Striped bass fishing has picked up for surfcasters in Rhode Island and for boat anglers drifting live eels around Fishers Island, and all signs point at a decent fall run. In freshwater news, fall trout stocking will be commencing soon and pike fishing is really heating up in the river as temps drop a bit and we got some much-needed rain.

Ian at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, was happy to report that he got into his first western sound false albacore last weekend. The funny fish have moved in and are being caught in decent numbers across the western sound and locally around the Norwalk Islands. Large schools of bunker are holding in the mouth of the Norwalk and Westport harbors and bluefish close to 15 pounds haven’t been far behind. Scup and black sea bass fishing remains steady in the western sound, and a few promising striped bass reports from the Milford/Stratford area has things looking up for the fall. Local freshwater anglers report that the bite is getting going at the Saugatuck Reservoir, with good smallmouth, walleye and a few trout catches coming in this week.

Fishing Forecast

Leaves are starting to change, fall weather is starting to settle in and signs of a good fall run abound. Pods of false albacore can be found chasing bay anchovies at each end of Long Island Sound. Some good striped bass reports have anglers thinking positive for the first time in a while, and big blitzing bluefish remain commonplace across the Northeast.