Ice anglers breathed a sigh of relief as last weekend’s rain did little to hurt the strong ice we now have across Connecticut and Rhode Island. While the bite through the ice has been hit or miss at times, most of the reports have been good ones, with plenty of fish hitting the ice. The cod bite off of Block Island, which has been stellar all year, continues to produce just about every time the weather allows.
Connecticut Fishing Report
At The Fish Connection in Preston, ice anglers that have been hitting the local lakes and ponds are being rewarded with good catches of perch, panfish and largemouth bass. Pike fishing has hit its mid-winter stage, with action really starting to slow down, but a few patient anglers had some success with large northerns at Pachaug Pond. Holdover striped bass remain fairly prevalent in the Thames estuary, but the cold temps have slowed action and angling effort. If we can string a few warmer days together the holdover bite should pick right back up. Supposedly a few of the eastern CT harbors have had some schools of herring, however they are reported as widespread and tough to locate.
Joe, at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, reports that ice fishing is still the number one interest for most of his customers. Many of which have been hitting the Connecticut River coves for good multi-species days, although success rates have been highly variable from day to day. The best northern pike reports seem to be from Wrights Cove in Portland, while Wethersfield Cove has been a steady spot for pike, crappie, yellow perch and even the occasional striper. Walleye fishing has also been quite popular across the state, with many eastern CT anglers heading out to Gardners Lake or Mashapaug after dark.
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, was fresh off a great trip to Candlewood Lake, where him, Josh and a couple of buddies put a hurting on large smallmouth bass and trout. Candlewood has been fishing very good since first ice and remains a good bet for big smallmouth, trout and yellow perch, both under a tipup or on the jig stick. The Connecticut River coves held up fine despite the rain and have been hot and cold, but the good days have produced great numbers of crappie, pike, perch and largemouth. Walleye reports have been decent from Coventry Lake and Gardners, while Squantz Pond has been slower but has produced a few big girls. Andrew also reported that the seeforellen brown trout craze carried right over to ice fishing, and all the stocked lakes are receiving good pressure. The best catches this week were reported from Black Pond and West Hill.
Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, reported that conditions are pretty good for mid-winter trout fishing on the Farmington River. Flows are clear, dropping and plenty fishable, with flows in the permanent TMA around 600 cfs. Last weekend’s rain cleared out most of the shelf ice and slush, so neither should be an issue over the weekend. If ice becomes an issue downstream on any of the colder days, look to head up river towards Hitchcock/Riverton, where things should remain pretty clear. Right now the river is at a good level for nymphs and streamers, as opposed to dry flies, but dry winter caddis (sz 20-24) in the mornings and midges (22-28) in the afternoons are producing some fish. Subsurface eggs (10-18) and medium to large stones (8-12) are also producing, but gaudy nymphs and streamers remain the top producers. As usual this time of year, the late afternoon is a safer bet than the mornings, with only a slight jump in water temperatures greatly affecting trout and bug activity.
At Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, things were pretty quiet this week, with the cold weather putting a damper on the local herring fishery and the striped bass bite in the Housatonic. The guys reported that ice anglers out west have had great success at Candlewood and Squantz, while many local saltwater anglers have headed up to Rhode Island to cash in on the strong cod bite around Block Island.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The cod bit off of Block Island has most definitely been a better one than in the past couple of years and that trend continued this week. According to Captain Mike of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, there was enough of a break in the weather Sunday to get out before the heavy rains, and light boat of anglers scored good cod catches. Short fish have dominated the catch recently, but that was not the case on Sunday, when an equal mix of short and keeper fish came over the rails. The pool fish for the day was pushing 18-pounds, and with a few Pollock in the mix it was a good day for everyone on board. The Wednesday trip produced another day full of solid drifts, with boat regular Lou P. taking home high hook with 8 keepers. The weather is iffy for Thursday, but Friday looks like a good one, and the boat should be sailing at 6 am.
The Island Current in Point Judith also reported a successful trip on Wednesday, with lots of short fish to keep action steady but plenty of fish to take home for most anglers. High hook landed 8 keepers, along with 15-20 short fish, with both jigs and fresh-shucked clams fooling some fish. The cod grounds remain loaded with herring and mackerel, and with promising weather in the upcoming days it should be another good weekend.
Ice anglers across the ocean state dodged a bullet last weekend, as Sunday’s heavy rain was followed by cold enough temperatures to keep most of the ice in good shape. Smaller, quieter ponds are producing the best in terms of action, but good perch, bass and pickeral action is reported from Wordens Pond. At Stump Pond, the elusive northern pike remains just that, but pickeral and healthy largemouth bass are providing anglers with plenty of action.
Fishing Forecast
Ice fishing should continue to go strong across southern New England as we enter the weekend. Temperatures have come up a bit from the frigid levels they were at last week, and that is making chasing flags much more enjoyable. With temperatures being somewhat enjoyable, it would be a great time to cash in on the strong cod bite in Rhode Island, or wet a line for trout in some of our larger rivers and streams.