Connecticut Fishing Report - May 18, 2017

Pictured above: Sophia Parker caught this 40-pound striper in upper Narragansett Bay with her father Matt.

Some big striped bass showed themselves this week in eastern Rhode Island and are knocking at the doorstep at all points west. Some murmurs of quality fluke around Block Island have anglers in both states gearing up for flatfish this weekend.

Connecticut Fishing Report

According to Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, the Connecticut River is still producing some nice stripers, despite being high and dirty. In central CT, the majority of the catches have been on sandworms or bloodworms. Around the norther herring runs, some local sharpies are catching some nice fish, but things have been tricky due to the water conditions. Reports from around the mouth are starting to get better, with fish of different sizes spread out from Saybrook to Essex. Out front, reports of fish from schoolie class to 15-pounds or so are starting to pop up on a number of the reefs, and the numbers of fish seem very good. Fluke reports from the Block Island windmills have been very good, and the Rhode Island beaches should be producing well soon after this warm up.

Over at Hillyers in Waterford, the schoolie bite in the river seems to have improved once again. There hasn’t been any word of keepers, but the number of large schoolies is very good. The Millstone Outflow is also producing strong numbers of small bass, and small blues. The bigger bass should be on the reefs any day now, as water temperatures climbed rapidly. The fluke opener was Wednesday, and there is a thought that this weekend will be strong, as reports have been good to our south.

Gene, at Blackhall Outfitters in Old Lyme, provided a few reports from some local customers. Bigger striped bass seem to have moved into the river, and there is a decent slug of fresh bunker. Topwater plugs at dawn and dusk are producing well, along with the go-to livelined bunker. Pods of bunker have also been spotted up and down the CT coast, and it appears the first push of bluefish is right behind them. Weakfish has been hit or miss, but if you hit it on the right night, it has been very rewarding. Squid fishing has been red hot in Rhode Island and only should improve this weekend.

Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, told me that the striper bite has been strong throughout the west, from Norwalk to the Housatonic. 25- to 35-inch class fish have been common, while more and more 40-inch class fish are starting to make an appearance. There hasn’t been much word of cow bass to our west just yet, but we shouldn’t be far away. Porgy reports have been quiet in local waters, but seem to be picking up well just to the south. A few keeper fluke were already reported around the islands, and there will likely be a good number of solid reports this weekend.

Flows, conditions and weather all continue to rapidly improve- total flow in the permanent Catch & Release (C&R/TMA) is down to medium-high & clear 514cfs and steadily dropping (normal/medium flow for today would be 745cfs), with 177cfs at the Riverton USGS gauge (by Rt 20 bridge), and the Still River adding in 337cfs and dropping. Warm weather this week (60s to 80s!) is warming up the cold water and getting the hatch cycle started up- a good Baetis (Blue Wing Olives) hatch was reported in the permanent C&R yesterday, and there were even a few rising. Expect bug activity and fishing to both pick up noticeably this week. Once water temps hit 50 degrees plus for a few days, expect to see the Hendrickson hatch start (I’d guess somewhere in late April for the permanent C&R/TMA).

The river has been stocked everywhere outside of the permanent C&R/TMA areas, and it’s pretty much loaded with brown, rainbow & brook trout, even a few tiger & golden rainbow trout……

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Narragansett started to get out after squid last week, and while the results weren’t great, a good deal of squid was marked. According to reports, more and more squid have been moving into the area, and things should really start to improve with the warm weather. Wednesday marked the first fluke trip of the season, and saw the first keepers of the year come over the rail. Action was up and down, and more shorts than keepers were caught, but it’s an encouraging sign to see a decent number of fish right off the bat. Like the squid, the fluke should greatly improve with the recent warm-up. The fleet anticipates sailing again for fluke on Friday, and full day weekend trips should kick off on Memorial Day weekend.

At The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, Pete has quite a weekend lined up, which accentuates the number of different fishing options in the area at this point. Tonight he will be putting the wetsuit on and hitting Buzzards Bay for fresh striped bass. On Friday he will be going out with some customers and playing with some big stripers in the upper bay; and on Saturday he will be putting on the saltwater fly-fishing seminar at the shop, and following it up by looking for bass on the fly in the salt ponds. All three areas are seeing good bass fishing right now, with big bass on pogies in the upper bay and some great worm hatches going on in the ponds.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, also reported that good bass are being caught in the upper bay, the Providence River and the Seekonk River. There are some large schools of menhaden, and the majority of fish are being taken on livelined fish or fresh chunks. The squid fishing is getting much more consistent throughout the area, with Point Judith and most of Newport being red hot. The first reports of some keeper fluke in the bay have started to trickle in, and this weekend should be decent for local flatfish. Black sea bass opens in Massachusetts this weekend, and a number of Dave’s customers are heading that way in search. The freshwater guys continue to report good carp catches, including Tom Perron who landed another 30-pounder this week.

Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that the bass fishing in the Pawcatuck is really starting to get going. There are a few large schools of adult bunker in the area, and bass to 25 pounds or so have taken notice. Fly-fishing and light tackle guys are having some very good success in the ponds, as the worm hatches are really starting to kick into gear. Mike made a few trips to Block Island this week, and was able to manage a few nice keeper fluke. With the quick warm up and the large amount of squid in the area, inshore fluke fishing should kick off shortly.

Connecticut Fishing Forecast

A couple 90-degree days seems to have pushed us right through the spring run and into summer fishing. Striped bass are all over the place in both states, and once again the bunker seems to be showing up in good numbers. The Newport area seems to be holding the biggest slug of 30- to 40-pound bass, but those fish move quick and I wouldn’t be surprised to see quite a few being taken in South County and even eastern CT. An influx of squid in Rhode Island seems to be bringing some quality fluke from the Block Island area into inshore waters, and early indications from CT are that there are some keepers to be had locally. A multi-species bass/fluke trips could pay off nicely around Newport, Fishers Island or the Norwalk area to the west.