With fresh striped bass at the West Wall in Rhode Island and fluke season right around the corner, summer fishing has nearly arrived in the Northeast. In the meantime, holdover striped bass activity levels are on the rise in our rivers, and trout fishing is about as good as it gets for the spring.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Frank of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett reported that they made a few more cod trips this week, but the results remained on the slow side. The fleet is now transitioning into their summer sailing schedule, and with opening day of fluke season slated for May 1st, they will start making fluke and squid trips next week. Fluke trips will commence during the day, while squid trips will set sail at dusk. For more information and specific sailing times, be sure to check out the Frances Fleet website. While we have had a cool April, temperatures are forecasted to steadily climb after Sunday, which should equal some good fluke fishing more sooner than later.
Summer fishing is right around the corner, according to the guys at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown. While numbers haven’t been great, the fishing for schoolie striped bass at the wall is getting steadier each day. Similarly, squid fishing has yet to blow open but the first few local reports are starting to trickle into the shop just in time for opening day of fluke season. Even with a few fresh striped bass starting to show up, the better fishing remains in the rivers and salt ponds, where some larger holdovers hot on the tail of the river herring.
Captain Howard, at Galilee Bait and Tackle in Narragansett, reported that holdover striped bass are still plentiful in the salt ponds and the local tidal rivers. Fishing pressure was at a minimum last week due to the spotty weather, but early indications this week were that the fishing picked right back up. Along with solid numbers of holdover bass, reports of a few fresh schoolies at the west wall have started to trickle in since Sunday. Tautog and winter flounder reports have been scarce all spring, although a few decent tog were reported in the upper bay this week. Fluke season opens tomorrow, and while cool water may equal a slow start, commercial fisherman are reporting fish just south of Block Island. A week of steadily warming water should have those fish in local waters in short time.
Captain Thom, at Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle in North Kingstown, also mentioned the arrival of fresh fish, which has at least started to get people amped up for the summer season. In the meantime, most striped bass anglers have been turning to the Pawcatuck River and Charlestown Breachway to find some hungry bass in South County. With saltwater fishing off to a slow start, many anglers throughout the ocean state are turning to their local freshwater hot spots. Reports for bass and pike remain very solid in most lakes and ponds, while trout fishing continues to produce in all the RIDEM stocked areas.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that holdover striped bass have been in hot pursuit of river herring in the Housatonic, but results have been varied. Fishing pressure has been considerably higher than previous seasons and may be causing the fish to become a bit spooky. In the Connecticut River, schoolie bass fishing has taken off and good catches are reported throughout the state. River herring are starting to show up in better numbers throughout the Connecticut and should result in much larger bass being caught in the river through May. With the river flows’ settling down pike fishing has started to pick up in the river, while excellent trout results are still coming in from the Salmon and Farmington rivers. The fluke opener is still a few weeks away in Connecticut, but with Rhode Island opening this weekend Andrew believes that it won’t be long before fish start showing up around the South County beaches and at Fisher’s.
Early in the season Andrew recommends to try and locate large schools of squid, which will almost always result in great early season fluking.
Joe, at Rivers End in Old Saybrook, reported that schoolie fever has continued around the mouth of the Connecticut River, and larger fish should be right around the corner. All signs point to good bass fishing in May, with an extended forecast full of warmer days, good numbers of river herring and some confirmed reports of large schools of bunker entering the sound and Thames River. In the meantime, many anglers have been hitting the Housatonic hard, where the quality of bass has been slightly on the higher side. Locally, the white perch bite in Hamburg Cove continues to go strong and is a great second option if you are around the mouth of the river.
Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, said that the Housatonic continues to dominate the fishing attention in western CT. The overwhelming majority of fish being reported are holdover schoolie fish in the 18-24 inch range, but a few anglers have found some bigger fish after dark. Rich has heard of a few fish eclipsing 40-inches and a handful over 20-pounds taking 9-inch sluggos and larger swimming plugs. Ospreys are all over the area, so it appears at least some herring are arriving. Some large sheets of ice may cause issues at the Saugatuck Reservoir on opening day, but the local rivers flowing well and should fish even better.
At TC Marine Bait and Tackle in Shelton, the talk of the town remains the Housatonic striped bass bite, where the average size of bass has continued to grow this week. One regular customer, Richard Tenore, saw this first hand this week as he upped his trolling gear to large finger mullet rigs and was rewarded with mostly keeper-class fish. Aside from trolling, Rich was also able to find some 30-inch bass casting 9-inch soft plastics. Flounder fishing has been slow locally due to the colder than normal sound temps, which may also adversely affect the scup opener this weekend. In freshwater, trout fishing has been strong in the Naugatuck and upper Housatonic Rivers, while some large seeforellen browns are still being caught in the locally stocked lakes and ponds.
Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, reported that flow rates have been reduced in the Farmington this week; which has resulted in 456 cfs through the permanent TMA, and excellent trout fishing throughout the river. Torrey made it out on the river with a friend on Monday night and they were rewarded with ten trout, and similar positive results are being reported by most of his customers. The lower current flows means that just about all of the river is accessible, and wets, dries and streamers are now viable options. Another positive consequence of the dropping flows is that coupled with steady day time highs around 70 should equal an excellent Hendrickson hatch by the weekend. On top of that, the state has stocked another 5,000 fish through the upper catch and release area, with 1,000 of them being much larger 2-year-old fish. Fresh fish and excellent conditions make this weekend a perfect one to spend on the Farmington.
Fishing Forecast
With plenty of 70’s and a few 80’s showing up in the ten-day forecast, it appears that the summer season is finally right around the corner. A great sign of summer is the opening of fluke season, which kicks off in Rhode Island this weekend. The water is cool, but I’d be willing to bet that some reports will come in this weekend for those willing to travel a bit. Reports will improve and show up closer to home next week, as it looks like the water will finally have a chance to warm up. Spring trout season is hitting its stride, and with flows back under control and bugs starting to hatch this weekend should pique the interest of any trout angler. Holdover bass remains a steady option throughout our region and will also benefit from the warming trend, with more bait showing up each day.