Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that the spring fishing is kicking in, despite the freeze of earlier this week. Freshwater fishing continues to be solid, with some bigger bass being caught on jigs and jerkbaits. Panfish are active around the lay downs and in creek mouths, with some nice yellow perch hitting jigs under bobbers or small spinnerbaits. Holdover striped bass fishing has been strong for both shore and boat anglers in the tidal rivers, and both winter flounder and spring tautog season will be opening on April 1st. Anglers should be able to find winter flounder in the shallower mud flats that warm up quicker, and the tautog should be posting up on their usual spring haunts as soon as the water warms a bit more.
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown told me that the river has started to clean up and the early spring fishing is picking up. The pre-spawn pike bite has been improving in a few areas, with fish taking brightly colored jerkbaits and large dead baits. Some nice pre-spawn largemouth are also being caught in the river and will also hit large jerkbaits. The local rivers and ponds continue to get stocked with trout, and some strong reports have come from the Salmon River, Black Pond, and Higganum Reservoir. Holdover striped bass fishing continues to steadily improve in all the early spring tidal spots, while the white perch fishing is starting to hit its stride around Hamburg.
Jason at Bobby Js in Milford is gearing up for the holdover striped bass fishing to really take off, as the water continues to warm, and the river herring start to show up. Soft plastics and jig heads tend to be the top producer, but as the larger bait enters the river the bass will start to take larger swimming plugs and darters. The local trout management areas are still producing some good fish, including a 7-pound rainbow that was weighed in last week.
Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that most of the local fishing remains focused on either trout or striped bass. The local trout rivers have been well-stocked and are producing on bait, rooster tails, and small jigs. Most of the local hotspots have been producing, with solid reports from the Saugatuck, Mill, Aspetuck and the Rippowam River. The holdover striped bass fishing continues to improve in the Housatonic despite some cooler temperatures, with the first push of river herring starting to trickle into the rivers and creeks. Fish in the mid-teens to 20-pounds are becoming more common, and the numbers should increase exponentially as we move through April.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
With the calendar turning over to April, let’s hope that we get some more April-like temperatures. Despite the recent cooler temperatures, the spring fishing across the northeast is steadily improving. Connecticut trout fishing has been excellent, with the lakes and ponds continuing to get hearty stockings. Other freshwater options include panfish, largemouth, pre-spawn pike and carp, all of which should just continue to improve in the coming days/weeks. Holdover striped bass also took a step forward in tidal rivers across Rhode Island and Connecticut this week, with multiple reports of steady action and a few pods of river herring undoubtedly starting to show up.