Connecticut is starting to see fishable water without the need for an ice fishing setup. Larger lakes are opening up while smaller ponds and lakes are still thawing out for the most part. Freshwater fishing will continue to improve, as trout stocking trucks begin to make rounds in the coming weeks.
The weekend calls for shoddy weather across much of the Northeast, which will likely throw off any productive fishing until early next week. But, fishermen eagerly awaiting something more than ice fishing tried to produce a catch wherever they could this past week.
From the Shops
From Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook, Matt Stone heard reports of a couple stripers being caught in eastern Connecticut, so he took his kayak out in hopes of creating a striper report of his own. Water temperatures were in the high 30’s and he didn’t mark any fish, but the first voyage of the year isn’t always a successful one; in fact, most of the time its a recon mission and catching fish is an added bonus.
Evan from Black Hall Outfitters caught a beautiful Seeforellen Brown Trout recently; he has been on the trout bite all winter. If you want the scoop on trout fishing, stop by the shop in Westbrook. Shawn at Black Hall also reported trout stocking trucks have made their way down to the Hammonasset River, Cedar Lake, and the waters within Chatifeld Hollow.
Fisherman’s World in Norwalk is still getting flurried reports of stripers being caught on the upper Housatonic River. It’s provided a pretty reliable winter fishery when other spots were not fishable, or there just simply weren’t fish biting. Colder temperatures returning this weekend might cause a little striper lockjaw, in which case trout streams will be the next best option. Although there will be excessive sediment and the rivers will look like chocolate milk, water levels should rise a bit and make for some better trout fishing later in the week once the conditions settle.
As far as the headboats, it doesn’t look like anyone will be getting out this weekend based on the wintery mix in the forecast. With March around the corner, charters and headboats will be readying themselves for April fishing when tautog and bass will be on the chew in the western Long Island Sound. Freshwater fishing remains the best option for now, and even though it’s been slow, both trout and bass fishing are about to pick up.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The weekend doesn’t look good, and that is the common theme across the state. Melting snow and icy rain are going to muddy up the rivers and alter the surface temperatures in many recently thawed ponds; but the muddy conditions will lead to some better white perch fishing.
White perch can be found sitting in schools, hugging the muddy bottom in brackish portions of the tidal rivers. Although they may be finicky at times, small soft plastics and hair jigs that imitate grass shrimp and other minuscule forage, usually trick a few perch into biting.
Otherwise, hang on tight because trout stocking season will continue and the bite will only get better. If trout aren’t your favorite, pre-spawn largemouth bass fishing will begin in the second half of March, and pickerel will be in their post-spawn stages, making for a cocktail of freshwater fun before switching gears to saltwater a month later in April.