Connecticut Fishing Report- August 29, 2019

Striped bass are still biting at Block Island and feeding on top across the eastern sound, while bottom fishing continues to go strong. All that is starting to be overshadowed by the hardtails, get your light tackle ready for albies and bonito!

Fishing Report For Connecticut

Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown told me that he was out late last week and the Misquamicut area was full of bonito feeding on peanut bunker. The feeds were voracious and covered some serious ground! The Groton/New London area is also full of peanuts and is producing bass, blues and bones on topwater! The New London to Waterford shoreline, along with most of Fisher’s is producing a nice dawn and dusk topwater bass bite. Most of the fish are in the low 30-inch class, but there are also some cow class fish in the mix at all locations. Scup action is as strong as ever, while sea bass limits remain pretty easy to come by in the eastern sound and across Rhode Island. Fluke fishing has become a bit tougher, but there are still some local doormats showing up; while Montauk and Block are starting to really heat up once again. The snapper action is about as good as it’ll get in the backwaters right now, and the same can be said for blue crabs, although it appears to be a down year for crabbing in general.

Black Hall Outfitters reports that the local bass fishing is seeing an uptick with a good topwater bite happening most mornings. The cool nights are paying off and fish have been coming into the shallows giving shore and boat anglers equal opportunity. Albies are filtering in and as they outcompete the bones for the available bait, look to see a transition from bones to false albacore soon. In the meantime, bonito are being caught best from Niantic-East, with the lion’s share hanging out in Stonington and around Fishers Island. Fluke has started to trend in a positive direction once again, and we may even see these fish get shallow as this water cools down. This weekend is the last one for summer blackfish, and it may be worth a shot. The fishing has been hot, especially for those that are finding their own Asian crabs before they head out.

Josh, at Three Belles Outfitters in Niantic, says the striped bass bite has been excellent over the past couple weeks, with fish of all sizes in the mix. Larger fish are being caught live lining scup, on big topwater plugs, and on big soft plastics after dark. Schoolies are all over the rain bait and can be finicky at times but can provide some light tackle fun. Bonito are still going strong in the far eastern sound and on the Rhode Island beaches. There are whispers of albies being mixed in locally, but not yet confirmed. Albies have shown up already in good numbers on the Cape. The big bluefish are around in decent numbers and busting up everyone’s gear. The fall run is here, and TBO will be ringing it in with a seminar by none other than John Skinner on September 7th, 2:30pm, at Three Belles Outfitters.

Captain Greg, from Black Hawk Sportfishing reports that fishing was excellent late last week and into the early portion of this week. Monster sea bass and scup have been showing up on all trips, along with a few nice fluke, cod and small stripers. The action has been best around Block and Montauk, but the local trips are seeing limits of nice scup and plenty of sea bass in the mix. The bluefishing in the race has finally improved quite a bit, especially on the 4 PM after work trips! There is still plenty of bait around, with mackerel being caught regularly on most trips. They will continue to sail daily at 7 AM, with two trips on the weekend. The schedule will change slightly after Labor Day, so be sure to check their website for updates!

Captain TJ, of Rock and Roll Charters, reports that the amount of bait in local waters continues to amaze him, with all sorts of small rainbait, squid and larger silversides. The small striped bass and bluefish has found this bait and can be caught all throughout the water column. There are still plenty of quality bass in the mix as well, along with bluefish from snapper-size to legit gators. Bottom fishing has been extraordinary, especially for big scup. On one trip last week they were able to put 30 slab scup on the boat in six minutes! With all the bait, the fall run is shaping up to be a great one, so be sure to schedule a trip soon, before it’s too late!

Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that bonito are also showing up more consistently and there are plenty of schoolies in the mix on topwater plugs. Bigger bass are starting to take topwater plugs at dusk, as well as eels and bunker after the lights go down. A huge pile of smaller bluefish has moved into the area over the past few days and is providing some excellent light tackle action. Murmurs of false albacore are starting and Mike is anticipating an early albie run; combine that with the amount of small bait, and it should be a good one!

Joe, from Diorio Guide Service, told me he chartered a few bonito trips last week and had some pretty good results along the South County beaches. He also mentioned that there are quite a few bass and bluefish mixed in, and they are willing to hit topwater offerings. The sea bass action continues to be great as well, and you don’t have to travel too far! The amount of small bait is incredible, and things are setting up nicely for the fall run.

Captain Mike, at Light Bite Charters in Norwalk, told me that snapper and cocktail blues continue to feed by the acre on small bait out west. School bass are also prevalent and there are still some decent keepers in the mix. Most of the fish are coming on topwater, which is always a plus! Game On Big Occhi’s and Anvil 5 paddle tails continue to be the top producers.

Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Connecticut.

Rhode Island Fishing Report

Captain Matt, of the Frances Fleet in Narragansett, reported some decent action after the strong northeast blow that we had over the weekend. Monday’s marathon trip was cancelled, but the half day trips saw some decent fishing. It was still a bit rough out there, but the fish didn’t seem to mind, as they were eating well. There was a very good showing of sea bass and a few nice fluke, while the Tuesday trips had an even better showing. There were still some swells, but the water was clean and high hooks left with limits of fluke to 8 pounds. A full boat limit of sea bass to 5 pounds also showed up, and once again bucktails with Gulp have been the top producer.

Captain Wade, of Booked Off Charters, told me that they decided to switch things up a bit this week and pounded the bottom. The fishing has been great for jumbo sea bass, and the cod fishing has remained very consistent. The monster cod haven’t moved in just yet, but fish from 10 to 12 pounds have been common. There continues to be some nice fluke in the mix, including another 8-pound beauty this week. Fluke and stripers are still around, but the sea bass and cod has been much more consistent, so that is likely what they will be targeting for the next few days.

Captain Brian, of Big Game Sportfishing, reported a good week of fishing inshore and offshore for the fleet. As has been the case for most of the season, the striped bass bite at Block Island has remained consistent. Night, day, ebb or flood doesn’t seem to matter, with all tides producing plenty of fish in the 35-45-pound range. Once they’ve had enough of the stripers, they’ve been able to transition to black sea bass and fluke. Black sea bass limits remain common, and they have been able to pick away at some nice fluke to 6-pounds or so on each trip. The offshore boats are still finding a good bluefin jig bite, and they were able to manage a 279-pound thresher on spinning gear over the weekend.

Captain Kelly, of C-Devil II Sportfishing in Narragansett, told me that the striped bass fishing has been hot and cold this week. Last Friday’s flood tide brought a bunch of nice fish, up to and over the 40-pound mark. The weaker tides over the past few days has caused a bit of a striped bass hiatus. The bottom fishing remains excellent and consistent, with easy limits of big sea bass and scup. They are starting to book tautog trips for the fall, so be sure to check the website for open dates!

Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Rhode Island.

Connecticut Fishing Forecast

Striped bass continue to feed at Block Island and are showing up more consistently in local waters. Bottom fishing also remains very strong, with plenty of big sea bass and scup, along with an uptick in fluke and cod action. The talk of the week is on the hardtails though. Small bait is absolutely everywhere, and this bonito season may be the best we’ve had in years. On top of that, false albacore are already showing up in the usual eastern haunts, but they are about 10-14 days early. All indications are pointing to a strong and early false albacore season, and the early bird tends to get the tight lines! Get out there and get after it!