Blackfish action has continued to heat up as the temperatures have dropped, while freshwater anglers are starting to dust the gear off ahead of some good fall carp, trout and pike fishing.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me that the water temperatures finally dropped quite a bit, and it seemed to send the false albacore packing. The drop in temperature seemed to help the blackfish bite though, with several fish over 10 pounds weighed in this week. 20-27 feet of water seems to be the ticket right now, and it will continue to transition deeper if the temps keep dropping. Striped bass reports have started to dwindle out front, but the fall river fishing should be starting up any day now. There have already been some murmurs of some decent numbers of fish being caught inside the Housatonic. The Connecticut River is at a pretty good level right now, and seems to have cleaned up, so it is about time to start looking to the Middletown to Haddam area for some quality pre-ice pike fishing. The fall trout stocking has now been completed, and there has been some strong trout fishing reported from the TMA’s in the Salmon and Farmington Rivers.
Gene, at Black Hall Outfitters in Old Lyme, told me that while the striped bass bite may have started to slow out front, there has been a very consistent bite around the mouth of the CT River. Anglers have been getting fish of all different sizes on topwater plugs and soft baits, with The Doc and Plum Island Mondos being top producers. The local albie bite has slowed, but guys have been heading out to the Sluiceway and finding them with some regularity. The blackfish bite has been strong all over the sound, and there have been many reports of double digit fish. A friend of the shop had a great day this week with fish of 10.5 and 12.5 pounds on the same trip.
At Hillyers in Waterford, Jon reports that the blackfishing is still holding strong. The weather has been very up and down, so you need to look for a weather window, but those who have got out generally did pretty well. The keeper to short ratio seems to have swayed more towards the keepers this week, ever since the temperatures dropped a bit. 20-25 feet of water seems to be the best depth to work with, in areas such as Goshen Reef and Bartletts. Sea bass and scup can still be found, but they are starting to thin out a bit, and it appears the false albacore have finally left the area.
Captain TJ, of Rock n Roll Charters, told me that he lost some trips due to the weather this week, but noted that the blackfish action has been very strong when he has gotten out there. The bass and bluefish action has died down, but there should definitely be another week or so of strong blackfishing. TJ plans to run charters until the 19th, so be sure to check in with him and see if there is any availability to get back out there one more time!
James, at Norwalk Islands Fishing, told me that while last weekend was a frigid one, the fishing was certainly exciting. There were stripers blitzing on peanut bunker quite literally everywhere on the Fairfield County coastline. Action could be had from those on shore too. Sub surface plastics and swimmers seemed to work best, but the biggest fish came on topwater lures if you can be patient enough. The new moon this weekend has the potential to get some bigger fish biting, fingers crossed that the weather holds off. Blackfishing remains good to great, and fish are still on both shallow and deep rockpiles. The end is near for sound fishing, but this is one of the best times of the year to be out.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The blackfish action was tremendous this week, according to The Frances Fleet in Narragansett. Captain Mike reported that excellent weekend weather resulted in some rock-solid fishing. On Sunday, limits were taken by most aboard the boat, and nearly 200 keepers were landed! The biggest blackfish of the day came in at around 11 pounds, and there were a few nice cod in the mix as well. Monday’s trip was more of the same, with nearly a full boat limit of tog to around 12 pounds and some nice cod and sea bass as well. The trend continued through the week, with quality fishing each day and pool fish hitting double digits. Captain Rich reported a strong day on the cod trip last weekend as well, with nearly a full boat limit of big sea bass to 6 pounds, and a decent number of cod in the mix. The fleet plans to sail for cod again on Friday, but will be weather dependent, and tautog trips should continue to sail daily. Be sure to check with the office for specifics on the sailing schedule.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that the tautog are still biting pretty well, but it is starting to take a bit more effort. There is a pretty good bite around the Providence area and off Little Compton, and a strong bite on the Newport and Jamestown rockpiles. Scup are still biting at most of the same locations, but are starting to thin out a bit. There have been some pretty good blitzes of small striped bass along the beaches around Narragansett and Charlestown. Squid anglers are reporting some good catches in Newport, specifically at sunset or early morning. Freshwater anglers are finding a good carp bite in the Providence area, and that bite should keep going strong right up to winter.
At Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, Mike reported that the water temperatures have dropped down to around 57 degrees this past week, and it helped intensify the tautog bite. There weren’t many monsters hitting the scales, but quite a few quality fish and relatively easy limits. Striped bass continue to run the beaches, and there are still plenty of peanut bunker for them to feed on, along with some adults and hickories. The majority of fish are schoolies, but the nighttime surfcasters are finding some mid-30-inch fish on eels. Black sea bass fishing is excellent and as steady as ever, and the scup haven’t moved out just yet, with 2- to 3-pound fish still being common.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The recent drops in temperature have worked wonders for the blackfish bite, as it really seems that the larger fish have come to life after the drop. Out front, the next few weeks are the last hoorah for blackfish action, but if you can find a weather window, the fishing should be very good. There are still a few nice schools of striped bass out front, and the next few weeks should really see an uptick of action in our tidal rivers and estuaries. In the freshwater, the fall carp bite is heating up and the pike bite should be doing the same as well. Fall trout stocking has been completed and flows are pretty conducive to some strong fall action in our TMA’s.