Connecticut Fishing Report - July 6, 2017

The cow striped bass bite has kicked off at Southwest Ledge, while bottom fishing for fluke, scup and sea bass took another turn for the better.

Connecticut Fishing Report

Andrew at Fishin Factory III in Middletown told me that the fluking has remained relatively consistent, as we approach the heart of the season. Strong reports have been coming in from Westbrook to Clinton, and also around Black Point. Misquamicut has remained strong for yet another week, while things have slowed at Isabella and Block. Your best shot at a keeper striped bass seems to still be at The Race, unless you want to make the run to Block Island. There are some heavy fish hanging around the mouth of the Connecticut, but they remain very spotty. An influx of bluefish has started feeding on the bunker in the lower river, and is providing good action for those missing out on bass. The sea bass bite has been best around Clinton in CT and at Block for the RI anglers; as the eastern sound continues to fish rather poorly.

Jon, at Hillyers in Waterford, told me that fluking remains the best bet locally. The bite in and around Niantic Bay has improved once again, and a good number of 6- to 8-pound fish have hit the scales. If you’re willing to make the ride, Montauk has been fishing great, with a good deal of double digit fish. Big scup have gotten much more common in the local hotspots, including; Black Point, Barts, Pleasure Beach and Sarah’s Ledge. Local striped bass fishing has been spotty, but the action remains good at The Race, where several 30-plus-pound fish were caught last weekend.

Captain Tj of Rock and Roll Charters, reports that the striped bass fishing remains solid as we approach the full moon. He wasn’t able to find any true giants this week, but there is great action and plenty of solid keeper fish. Sea bassing continues to be lights out in his local waters, and they’re starting to get very big! 20-inch sea bass were actually on the smaller end of the spectrum this week, and there is now a decent slug of scup in the mix. Bluefish have also showed up with great regularity this week, and are providing great action on every trip.

At Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, word is that the Norwalk Islands got hot for striped bass action a few weeks ago, and have not cooled off yet. The shop has seen several 40-pound fish recently, with the largest going 46 pounds. The majority of these fish are being caught on fresh chunked or livelined bunker. That same area also continues to produce some nice fluke, with quite a few to 25 inches this week. Scup action has picked up on the backside of the islands and also at Greens Ledge. The bluefish remain scattered in the area, but if you can locate the bunker the bluefish shouldn’t be far behind.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

The Frances Fleet in Narragansett reported a strong week, both with the bottom fishing and striped bass activity! The fluke and sea bass action has been steady all week, with plenty of keeper fluke in the 3- to 4-pound range for most anglers on board, and limits of fat sea bass for most. Wednesday’s trip was a great success with limits of both species for most, and mate Danny Beck scored an 8.6-pound beauty that took home the pool. Word from the Thursday morning trip was similar, with plenty of keeper fluke and sea bass on most drifts. The nighttime striped bass action took a tremendous turn for the better this week. On Wednesday night the fleet scored a ton of large stripers, with every one breaking the 20-pound mark. A good majority of the striped bass fell in the 40- to 45-pound range, so this week looks like primetime for some night bassing. The nighttime bass trips will continue to sail every night this week, at 7 PM.

Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that there is still a lot going on in his neck of the woods. The lower Providence River is still holding some very large striped bass. Action may not be as hot and heavy as earlier this year, but it is still putting up plenty of good fish. You may have heard already, but the big striped bass bite has kicked off big time at Block Island as well, and most fish are coming on live eels after dark. Most anglers are reporting steady catches of keeper sea bass and fluke in local waters, and the scup action really seems to be heating up. Most of the usual scup hotspots are producing, including Tiverton, Beavertail, the East Wall and Colt State Park in Bristol. The best fluke action has come on hi-lo twin bucktail rigs, tipped with squid or Gulp. There was a pretty strong squid bite in Newport earlier this week, and the freshwater guys are still scoring nice carp catches and some big largemouth on live shiners.

Peter, at The Saltwater Edge in Middletown, told me that the bass action is good close to home, as the area has been inundated with sand eels. The best catches have actually been coming from the surf guys, who are tossing small teasers ahead of larger needlefish plugs. The boat crew is heading out to the island, where things have really gotten moving at the ledge. Sight fishing the shallows across South County has also been producing some nice bass catches on the fly rod over the past two weeks.

Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that the local fluke fishing remained consistent once again. The bite is still strong close to home, right off the South County beaches in about 40 feet of water. Large waves of squid and sand eels are still in the area, and helping to keep the fluke in the area as well. The black sea bass numbers seem to be steadily improving as well; keepers are getting easier to come by and 4- to 5-pound fish are becoming more common. Striped bass fishing has been good around the island, but a bit slower close to home. A few decent fish have popped up on the local reefs, and word is, there have been some bigger fishing cruising the backside of Fishers. Scup anglers are scoring good catches from the boat and shore at most of the local haunts.

Connecticut Fishing Forecast

You know summer is here when the glut of cow striped bass start showing up off Block Island. It is probably old news by now, but that bite is on schedule; just in time for the July full moon. If you don’t want to make that run, it appears that there are plenty of bass locally, you may just have to spend more time looking for them. Fluke action remains steady throughout our region, and if you combine that with the sea bass and scup, you can score a nice pile of fillets for the fryer.