Old man winter may finally be starting to loosen up his reigns of New England. With slightly warmer temperatures forecast for the weekend, and even warmer days next week, cod fishing and stream trout fishing are once again becoming viable options. Ice fishing will of course be in play this weekend, and will likely remain that way through most of March.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
For yet another week old man winter kept The Frances Fleet in Narragansett tied to the docks. Storm after storm have been followed by frigid temps, and the boats have been iced in at the docks for most of the week. Captain Mike does not remember a winter this brutal in recent memory, but fortunately things are starting to look up. The weekend forecast shows signs of a warming trend, and as of today Captain Mike is anticipating sailing both Saturday and Sunday. The weekend forecast coupled with an even more promising warming trend for next week, has things looking up on the cod front.
The Island Current Fleet in Point Judith was also sidelined for most of last week due to the winter weather, but was able to sneak out last Saturday. The results were promising, and it appears that the cod fish have hung around despite the extreme weather. A small boatload of anglers had good numbers of short and keeper cod come over the rails on Saturday, with the high hook angler getting his limit and bringing a total of 17 fish onboard. The fish were active and eager to hit both jigs and skimmers, which gives hope that this weekend will be a good one on the cod grounds. The Island Current anticipates getting a full weekend (Friday-Sunday) on the water, and will be sailing at 5 A.M. each day if they get ten or more anglers to make the ride.
The extreme and prolonged winter have Rhode Island ice anglers excited for what should be one of the longest hardwater seasons in recent years. Saturday will be the last day to fish any of Rhode Island’s trout stocked waters until opening day; so places such as Carbuncle, Silver Spring and Lincoln Woods are worth a look before they close up.
Bass fishing is reported as good at Bellville and Wilson’s Lake, the latter seeing multiple largemouth over 4-pounds caught last weekend during the Gridiron Club Derby.
Stump Pond and Wordens Pond continue to get attention from pike anglers, and while reports haven’t been hot and heavy, most of the fish being caught have been well worth the patience.
The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association will be holding its annual Saltwater Fishing Show at the Rhode Island Convention Center from Friday through Sunday. This show is considered by many as the mecca of New England fishing events, and is the largest fishing show in the northeast. This event is always a great place to catch some deals on the latest and greatest fishing gear, and to speak with and hear seminars from some of the most knowledgeable anglers in the northeast.
The Saltwater Edge in Middletown will be hosting its Surf Night event on Thursday (2/26). Starting at 6 P.M. the crew will be grilling up food while you listen to a seminar on “Stripers and Structure”, provided by Dave Anderson and DJ Mueller. This event will be a great chance to shake off the winter blues and start to get the gears spinning for spring fishing.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reported that ice fishing is still going strong, and with only a slight warm-up in the works we should be in for a long season. The extreme cold has slowed things down under the ice, but as we approach what is hopefully a warmer March, things should really start to pick up. The panfish bite on the Connecticut River has been one of the more consistent producers and remains pretty good. The pike bite has been slower on the river, but that is one that will no doubt start to improve as we get some melt and warmer water flow. It took Candlewood Lake some time to freeze, but it has remained red hot ever since. This week was no different with anglers reporting great smallmouth, trout and perch action at the lake. This Saturday marks the last day to fish many of the state’s trout lakes until opening day, but plenty of places will remain open. Be sure to check out the CT DEEP anglers guide if you have any questions on what lakes remain open. While most of the trout fishing will be done after Saturday, the state has a number of TMAs that stay open all season and will provide some good action as the snow and ice melt.
At Rivers End in Old Saybrook the ice on the tidal rivers has kept holdover striper activity to a minimum, but that should start to change quick as we get into the longer (and hopefully warmer) days of March. Some anglers are still finding some striped bass under the ice on the Connecticut and Housatonic River systems, and ice reports have also been promising from the upper CT River coves, Gardner Lake and Moodus. The shop will be hosting its annual Striper Surf Day event on March 21st so mark the calendar, as this event is always a great way to usher in the spring season.
The Valley Angler in Danbury reports that the great season at Candlewood continues. Reports of smallmouth close to 7-pounds and crappie close to 3-pounds came into the shop this week, along with the usual quality yellow perch and brown trout. Overall Squantz Pond has been a bit stingy, but it remains the place to be if you’re looking for a giant brown. Lake Zoar and Lillinonah were quiet this week, but the bite should pick up exponentially at both locations as it warms up.
Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, reports that the balmy temperatures we had last Sunday brought a good deal of anglers to the Farmington, and one in particular, Michael Andrews, was rewarded with a beautiful 20 inch wild brown trout. The colder temperatures for the rest of the week has caused shelf ice and slush continue to be a problem on the slower moving pools, limiting anglers to the upper 2-3 miles above the Still River. The permanent catch and release area is at a good fishable flow of about 250 cfs, and with 6 of the next 10 days forecasted to be above freezing Torrey anticipates some great trout fishing right around the corner.
Best bets for the weekend
This winter has been one for the ages, and he have been hard pressed to get above 0 (let alone above freezing), for most of February. With March in the crosshairs, a glimmer of hope has arrived as daytime temperatures above 30-degrees are forecasted for most of next week. These milder days will bring about some great opportunities to find cod along the Rhode Island coast, trout in the TMA’s, and to get in a few more weeks of ice fishing without worrying about frostbite. If seeing March on the calendar has you thinking about spring fishing, there is no better place to spend your weekend than at the RISAA show in Providence, which is always a sign of the start to the winter thaw for CT and RI residents.