Another bout of heavy rain has finally brought a less than stellar ice season to a final halt. Rod and reel anglers can take advantage of the lack of ice and target largemouth, trout and pike in most of our lakes and ponds. Holdover striped bass fishing should start to heat up again on the tidal rivers, and the first batch of river herring are only a few weeks away.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported that the gale force winds from the weekend and the early part of this week has made things difficult on the cod grounds. Fishing was strong prior to the blow and there is no reason to think that it won’t pick right back up as the days grow longer and warmer. The water has become quite churned up and as soon as it starts to clean up strong cod catches should follow. The wind will be shifting to a more westerly heading and starting to lessen as we enter the weekend, so be sure to check with the fleet to see if a chance to sail for cod is in the works over the next few days. Weather and interest permitting, the fleet will continue to sail for cod at 5 AM through March.
Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Narragansett, also reiterated that the water is quite dirty out on the cod grounds, and thus it hasn’t been worth sailing over the past few days. Fishing was red hot for them at the tail end of last week, and will likely remain that way as the water cleans. With no more bitter weather in the forecast it appears that we are in the final stretch to spring; which always equates to a few rock solid weeks of cod fishing. If the weather allows, the fleet will sail on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 5 AM.
Loads of rain and localized flooding has cleared ice from any and all of the bodies of water in Rhode Island, but it has also dirtied things up for open water anglers. Lakes and ponds that are less affected by the rain should fish well for largemouth bass and trout, as surface temperatures are abnormally high for the last week of February. Most of the small trout streams and rivers have swelled quite a bit, but larger rivers such as the Wood and Blackstone should settle to fishable levels rather quickly. The year round TMA’s at those respective rivers will likely fish well at the tail end of the weekend.
If the weather keeps you from getting on the water this weekend the annual New England Saltwater Fishing Show will be going on from the 26th to the 28th at the Convention Center in Providence. The show’s timing could not be better, with an early start to spring being right around the corner. Be sure to get to Providence to check out the latest and greatest in saltwater fishing gear, along with loads of informative seminars and presentations.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, says that things have been pretty quiet around the shop for the past few weeks, but the latest warm spell and bout of rain has got anglers out thinking about spring run fishing. Ice fishermen were finding some decent ice in the northwest portion of the state through the early portion of this week, but this last rain event has most packing the gear away for the year. Traveling to the extreme northern elevations of the state, or out of state may provide one more weekend of safe ice, but most anglers will be better served by dusting off the open water gear. Snow melt is minimal so the Connecticut River should clean up quicker than usual; which should equate to some good ice out pike fishing. Fishing large, bright spinnerbaits and plugs with a slow presentation is usually a go to tactic for ice out, as is fishing large dead baits; which always seems to work. The Housatonic striped bass fishing should improve with the higher flows, and Andrew expects to hear some reports from the river over the weekend. The first of the river herring should be showing up soon as well, which coupled with the bunker that is still in the lower Connecticut, could have the makings of a great spring run.
Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that anglers are still scoring good catches of Atlantic Herring in the harbor. These fish have hung around much later than usual after making a late appearance, and skim ice is no longer an issue in the harbor or the Saugatuck. This fishery is likely approaching its end in local waters, so those trying to stock up should get after them this weekend. Most western Connecticut lakes and ponds are now free of skim ice and anglers have been scoring some decent largemouth on slow-fished jigs and crankbaits. The Housatonic River striped bass have taken a pounding this season, with the constant weather changes and increased pressure, but higher flows should help the bite and a good deal of anglers should be out on the river this weekend.
Torrey, at Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, provided a report earlier in the week that was full of quality catches from the weekend. Warm surface temperatures from Friday into Saturday resulted in longtime customers “Big Dave” and “Big Mike” scoring beautiful 20 and 19 inch browns, respectively. Both fish came on smaller nymphs, which have been a top producer since the recent arrival of #18-20 tiny winter black stones and #12-16 early winter black stones. The heavy rain will no doubt have an impact on the river fishing this week, but Torrey believes that many quality spots will settle enough to produce well towards the later part of the weekend. The majority of the larger browns have come from reasonably deep and slower runs, but with a steady increase in temperature the faster runs should start producing soon as well.
Best Bets For The Weekend
The constantly changing weather patterns of this winter showed up once again this week, with a nasty round of heavy rain, wind and even thunder. Unlike the last few winter rain storms, there isn’t much cold weather to follow and we look to be on a quick path to spring. Ice anglers may look to head north for one last shot on the hardwater, but the majority of anglers will be dusting off the open water gear and getting ready for spring. Cod fishing should pick right up as the water cleans, while freshwater anglers shouldn’t have trouble finding lakes and ponds that are devoid of skim ice. Trout anglers may have to be patient as the rivers will be high and dirty for a few days, but there is a good deal of great trout fishing ahead before we even get to opening day. For striped bass anglers who are patiently waiting for the arrival of fresh bass, we are not too far away now, and a trip to the fishing show in Providence is a great way to get ready for their arrival.