After a long wait, New England ice fishermen are getting a late Christmas present, in the form of (hopefully long-lasting) frigid temperatures. Smaller, high elevation bodies of water should be hard in the next 5-7 days, and if the forecast holds, the larger lakes shouldn’t be far behind. Trout, pike and holdover striped bass are keeping open water fishermen busy in our rivers, while monster seeforellen bass are garnering all sorts of attention from CT anglers. For saltwater enthusiasts, the Block Island cod season is shaping up to be a strong one, and herring have inundated the western half of the Connecticut shoreline.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, had a couple of excellent cod trips leading up to the Christmas holiday. Sunday and Monday saw just about everyone on the boat go home with 3-5 quality fish for the table. A handful of keepers were hovering around the 20-pound mark, and the majority of keeper fish were in the mid-teens. Mackerel, herring and whiting have moved into the cod grounds and are causing the cod to move well off of the bottom and aggressively feed throughout the water column. Jigs and bait are producing very well, but the aggressiveness of these fish has them favoring jigs. The last few trips have also seen a good mess of keeper sea bass, and it seems that their stronghold on the area continues. Starting on January 2nd the fleet will be running cod and sea bass trips every morning at 5 A.M., as long as the weather permits, and with the vast amount of bait in the region, January should be a strong month.
Captain Chris of the Island Current is also sailing every morning out of Point Judith, and he was pleased to report similar strong results. Cod, black sea bass and ling are abundant around Block Island, and most customers are leaving with plenty of keepers for the table. Along with keepers up to nearly 30-pounds, the crew is seeing plenty of short and just legal cod, and it seems the fishery is at a strong level.
Sub-freezing temperatures are finally starting to settle in across the state, and many freshwater anglers are starting to think about the possibility of ice in the northern part of the state this weekend. In the meantime, anglers continue to have success with trout in the locations that were re-stocked during the fall months. Barber Pond, Carbuncle Pond and the full stretches of the Wood River are said to have the best bites.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Across inland Connecticut, specifically in the northwest and northeast corners, the possibility of safe ice for the weekend is growing. Most of the buzz across Connecticut bait and tackle shops is from anglers gearing up for the ice, but that isn’t the only show in town.
At Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, Andrew reported that the state has finished the seeforellen brown trout stocking, and anglers on every side of the state are catching these bruisers on large crankbaits and live shiners. Black Pond (Meriden), Squantz Pond (New Fairfield), Highland Lake (Winchester) and Mashapaug Pond (Union) are four common hotspots, but strong reports are coming in from all the stocked lakes and ponds. Take a look at the CT DEEP website for the stocking location nearest to you. If quality fly-fishing in a local river is more appealing, trout are biting well in the Farmington River TMA’s, Salmon River and the Naugatuck River. Aside from trout, pike are still biting well in the Connecticut River on live and dead baits. The main river remains high and will likely take a few weeks to freeze good, so open water options for pike will remain open.
At River’s End in Old Saybrook, Q also reported that giant trout are catching the attention of shoreline anglers, with Cedar Lake in Chester also being recently stocked. In the salt, the sea herring bite that has been pretty spotty has picked up some serious momentum, and anglers are finding huge numbers of fish from New Haven west to Stamford. The holdover striped bass bite has been spotty in the lower Connecticut and slower in the smaller tidal rivers, but a strong bite in the Housatonic is attracting anglers from all over.
Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, has seen a drop in surface temperature bring about a change in the trout patterns, but the winter bite is going strong throughout the permanent TMA. Flows have dropped to about 375 cfs, and are cold, clear and very fishable. The dry-fly guys are having some success with winter caddis (sz. 20-24) in the early morning hours and midges (22-28) in the afternoon. While the caddis bite has been decent in the morning, overall the fishing has been better in the warmer parts of the day. Nymphs and slowly presented streamers are also producing pretty steadily, and Torrey recommends finding smaller, less-pressured pools, as the popular spots are getting hit hard this time of year.
At Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, sea herring have been dominating the saltwater attention, and anglers are filling buckets in short time at most marinas and creeks. Striped bass fishing in the Housatonic was as strong as ever throughout the warm spell, and should continue despite to cold. As temperatures drop, schools of bass should tighten up and become easier to locate if you can tolerate some ice on your guides. Large bodies of water in the southwestern part of the state will take longer to lock up with ice, and freshwater anglers continue to find some good walleye and trout at the Saugatuck Reservoir. The reservoir will be closing at the end of the month however, and anglers looking for good trout and walleye should focus their attention on Squantz Pond for both species, and Candlewood for trout.
Fishing Forecast for Rhode Island and Connecticut
For many die-hard ice fishermen, a trip to the northern elevations of Connecticut, and to a lesser extent in Rhode Island, may satisfy the urge for hardwater by the weekend. Smaller, shallower bodies of water may be the only ones that are safe, but I imagine they will have enough ice to safely scratch the itch. For those waiting for larger bodies of water, or larger amounts of ice, open water stripers, trout and pike will all be available, and temperatures shouldn’t be unbearably cold. In the salt, herring are readily available and won’t be around for long; it will be a good weekend to stock up on bait and/or table fare. If the weather cooperates following the holiday, the Rhode Island cod boats will be sailing and likely catching well.