Blackfishing and striped bass fishing remain very good, despite the weather generally being very bad.
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me he is having no trouble selling crabs whenever anglers are able to get out. Unfortunately, the wind has kept the good days to a bit of a minimum. Results have been good for most, with most of the shallow rockpiles in the eastern sound and around Fishers producing keepers. We should still have a few good weeks of big blackfish hunting, so let’s hope the weather gives us a reprieve. Albies were still around in pretty good numbers before the noreaster, but reports have been quiet since. School bass have been plentiful all over the place, and the reefs and rips outside the river are still producing pretty good numbers of 25- to 35-pound fish at times.
At Hillyers in Waterford the vibe around the shop is the same that we are all sharing, in that the weather for the whole month of October has been one of the worst in memory, and all we can do is hope November is better. Those who have gotten out are finding good blackfish catches and most are reporting that there are still plenty of sea bass around. Albies are popping up here and there in the bay, and school stripers are all over the place. Larger bass have been harder to find, but those pitching eels after dark are finding some.
Captain Greg, of Blackhawk Sportfishing in Niantic, told me that the bluefishing has remained steady on the last few trips, with both sides of the tide producing well. At slack they have been running east and are still finding some scup and jumbo sea bass. The Block Island trips have been strong as well, with a nice mix of scup, sea bass and some bigger cod. During November the boat will stay local and go blackfishing on days that they cannot run to block. Because these trips are all weather dependent, they are by reservation only, so be sure to check their website or call the office.
Rivers End in Old Saybrook reports that Long Sand Shoal remains a local hotspot for striped bass fishing, with eels and jigs producing steady numbers of 15- to 25-pound bass. There have been some epic topwater blitzes on the Long Island side and Plum Gut is also starting to produce good numbers bass. Bluefishing seems to have come to an end, outside of some small fish at Millstone. Blackfish reports have been great whenever anglers have been able to get out. Solid keepers are coming from as shallow as 8 feet and as deep as 35. Limits have been pretty easy and a lot of 7- to 9-pound fish are popping up. Sea bass fishing has been pretty steady locally, but some excellent fishing is taking place out past Montauk.
Captain TJ, at Rock and Roll Charters, reports that the fishing has remained good despite the weather being awful. Striper fishing has been hot all week with a mix of bass from 20 to 40 inches. Blackfishing started to ramp up this week, and the drop in water temperature seems to have gotten us back on schedule. Give TJ a call today, he still has some openings right up to mid-November!
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that the bigger bait has thinned out and the fish are starting to move, but the fishing has been very consistent. New schools of quality bass and a few bluefish are popping up every day, and some big albies are still popping up. His blackfish trips have been successful as well, with plenty of limits despite a lot of shorts.
Rhode Island Fishing Report
Captain Matt, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported that last weekend was a wash due to the weather, but the fishing was strong when they were able to get out this week. They had an easy full-boat limit of blackfish on Wednesday and the water has cleaned up quite a bit. The biggest fish of the day was 8 pounds and smaller fish kept the rods bent all day. Captain Mike reported a decent day on the sea bass boat on Wednesday as well, with the boat almost nearly reaching a full boat limit. The sea bass bite has slowed a bit, but the quality is up; while the cod fishing has taken an uptick, with quite a few fish to 12 pounds coming over the rails. The forecast for Friday and Saturday look awful once again, but things look to be clearing on Sunday and early next week. Be sure to check with the office for sailing and weather updates.
Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Snug Harbor, switched over to tautog fishing this past week and reported pretty good results. On most trips they managed limits for most of the anglers aboard the boat and the pool fish have been around the 8- to 9-pound mark. All of their private charters from the past week saw full boat limits. Tautog trips will sail Wednesday through Sunday at 6 am and private charters up to 6 people are still available on the Jeannie B for the upcoming weeks.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, told me that there are still some quality bass in the Providence and Seekonk rivers, and added that South County anglers are catching pretty well at the breachways and the Narrow River. Captain Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters also chimed in and noted that he saw miles of bass feeding on topwater around the Sakonnet River. Tautog fishing is also very strong in the area. Green crabs on light jigs are fooling tog in Tiverton, Narragansett, Jamestown, Newport and the rockpiles in the Providence River. Dave also mentioned that he will be extending his year-end sale through the weekend, and after Sunday he will only be open on weekends.
Mike, at Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly, reports that the tautog fishing continues to improve, whenever the weather has allowed anglers to get out. Limits have been pretty easy to come by and even the shore anglers have been getting in on some good action. Shallow water has been producing pretty well, but keepers can be had in water up to 30 feet of so. School class stripers are pretty abundant around the local beaches and reefs, but bigger fish are starting to get harder to come by. False albacore are also still around the region, both on the reefs and tight to shore.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
It looks like the first weekend of November is going to pick up right where the October weekend’s left off, with some nasty rain and wind Friday and Saturday. Fortunately, Sunday looks like a step in the right direction, and we can only hope that we get a better trend for November. Whenever the weather allows get out there, as the blackfishing is great and only getting better, while striped bass numbers still seem