35 degrees has never felt so good as it will this weekend; temperatures are finally starting to rise and along with it will be a rise in fishing options and results. Cod fishing is starting to pick up after a prolonged hiatus, trout fishing is getting easier in the TMA’s with the slush moving out and ice fishing options remain plenty across both states.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
For one of the first times in February, The Frances Fleet in Narragansett was able to get out on the water for a full weekend of cod fishing. The bite was a slow one, with Captain Mike reporting a handful of keepers and some short fish mixed in both days. It is now common knowledge that this has been one of the coldest Februarys on record, and this was confirmed with 32 degree surface temperatures in Block Island Sound over the weekend. This is highly uncommon, and is likely the major contributor to the slow cod action. Friday looks to be another cold one, but luckily it looks like we will be getting some relief from the winter weather this weekend, and going forward into next week. The warmer temperatures combined with longer, sunnier days should bring more bait back to the cod grounds and get the bite going again. The fleet will continue to sail at 5 A.M. each day if the weather permits, and will report cancellations on their website.
The Island Current Fleet in Point Judith took advantage of the pleasant weekend weather and was able to sail on both Saturday and Sunday. Some very nice keeper cod fish came up on Saturday, along with a few shorts, but overall the numbers were down. Captain James covered some new ground on Sunday and once again found some fish willing to bite, but in lower numbers than usual for March 1st. Things will undoubtedly pick up this week as we get into a nice warming trend, and much more “normal” temperatures. The Island Current will continue to sail each day that the weather allows at 5 A.M., and private charters are available by contacting Captain Chris.
By early March, ice fishing has usually started to fade out and holdover striper fishing starts to pick up across Rhode Island. The extreme February has changed that trend this year, as there remains plenty of fishable ice across Rhode Island, and many of the tidal holdover hotspots are actually still frozen over.
Trout fishing is now closed in Rhode Island, but bass fishing is reported as good at Ponganset Reservoir, Wilson’s Lake and most of the smaller, less pressured ponds.
Stump Pond and Wordens Pond are still seeing their fair share of pike anglers, but reports of toothy critters were quiet this week. Rumors of some heavy largemouth bass that were caught as pike by-catch were reported from Wordens, and that is always a distinct and exciting possibility when fishing big baits.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, reports that we have now entered one of the slower times of the year for Connecticut anglers, but the cold February has kept more ice fishing options available than normal. Most of the CT trout waters are now closed until opening day, but Candlewood Lake and Squantz Pond remain open, and continue to fish very good through the ice. Squantz is a tricky place to find success but those who know the lake well are still icing some great trout. Candlewood has remained hot all season, and just about everyone is reporting great perch and smallmouth action, along with the quality trout. The catch and release trout management areas are also still open, and with a warming trend showing up this weekend the Farmington and Salmon Rivers should be seeing a lot of attention from fly-fishermen. The ice on the Connecticut River coves is in better shape than usual for early March, and the panfish bite has been solid on just about all of them. With a week of warmer weather ahead of us the pike should be starting to wake up, and Andrew expects to see more pike reports coming in the upcoming week. The holdover striper bite remains hampered by snow and ice at most locations but it won’t take long for those fisheries to literally open up, if we string together a week of warmer weather.
At Rivers End in Old Saybrook Joe reported that most area anglers are still heading out to the hardwater, and reports were pretty good this week for perch, bass and panfish in local waters. Once again, a few anglers reported some holdover stripers through the ice this week, but with temperatures on the rise it won’t be long until they are coming from open water again. Along with multiple informative and entertaining seminars in the upcoming weeks, the shop will be hosting its annual Striper Surf Day event on March 21st. Rivers end website provides a full list of all their upcoming seminars, with times and information provided, so be sure to check that out.
The Valley Angler in Danbury reports that just about every report coming in from Candlewood has been a good one this week. Large perch and smallmouth continue to hit both jigs and bait, and there have been enough trout mixed in to keep things interesting. The guys also reported that some customers have been heading just over the border to Gleneida Lake in New York, where you have a chance to tangle with trophy brown trout and lake trout at the same locale.
Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, reported no slush and very little shelf ice on the Farmington this week. Aside from late Thursday and Friday, a prolonged warming trend should mean no slush issues and much more bug and trout activity on the river. A few beautiful browns to 20 inches were caught last weekend, and this weekend should be even better with more sun and warmer temperatures. There hasn’t been much bug activity other than a few midges, but it shouldn’t be long before we start to see various winter stoneflies. Torrey recommends imitating these stones with black and brown nymphs, in whichever size is showing that day. Other than that, flashy attractor nymphs (sz. 12-20), subsurface egg flies (10-18) and gold, black and brown medium to large stones (8-12) have fooled winter trout recently.
Best bets for the weekend
After one of the harshest winters we have faced in the last thirty years, there might be a sign of relief in sight. After Friday, the 10-day forecast is full of temperatures hovering around the 40-degree mark; which will feel tropical after the winter we just endured. That warm sun should have a positive effect on the Rhode Island cod fishing; which should be much better this weekend than last. The TMA’s should have some great trout fishing this weekend, as surface temps warm up but flows remain reasonable. And for ice fishermen, one of the greatest times of year is upon us; as we have warm enough temperatures to ditch most of the heavy clothing, but still plenty of ice to fish safely on many bodies of water.