Connecticut Fishing Report
Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that the solid fall fishing has continued this week. There have been daily blitzes fueled by peanut bunker and silversides, and most of these blitzes end up being tremendous in size and action. Blitzes can be found just about anywhere throughout the sound, but the river and creek mouths on the ebb tide tends to set up the best action. The blitzes consist of mainly schoolie to slot-sized bass, but there are still some plenty of larger fish in the mix. There are also still a few albies showing up in the area, but they haven’t been getting too much angler attention this week. Tautog reports have still been very good for most anglers that are still getting out there. You generally need to weed through loads of short fish, but anglers are still reporting plenty of keeper fish.
Heather from Black Hawk Sportfishing reported another steady week of mixed bag fall fishing. Their combo trips are in full swing, with most trips spending part of the day blackfishing and the rest of the trip on the sea bass/cod grounds. The blackfishing has been up and down, with some days producing impressive results of fish to 13-pounds, while other days have been slower and dominated by short fish. The rest of the bottom fishing has been fantastic, with loads of porgies, huge sea bass, and a nice mix of cod. They will continue to have combo trips Monday through Friday and will have their bottom fishing trips on the weekends, as long as the weather cooperates. They post new trips on their website on Monday nights, so be sure to reserve your tickets as soon as possible if you’re looking for a particular date.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters is still seeing great fishing across the region, including a variety of striped bass from schoolies to 30-pound class fish. There has been a recent big push of 20-30-inch fish all over the area, which are providing great light-tackle action. There a still a few big bluefish in the mix, which are keeping anglers busy and ripping up their soft plastics. Blackfishing has been good, although you have to weed through shorts to find a limit, and there is still an abundance of sea bass in the area for the coolers. There’s still some time to get a trip in before the season ends, so be sure to contact Mike asap!
Captain Chris, at Elser Guide Service continues to find some great fall run fishing in the Western Sound whenever he has been able to get out there. The false albacore seem to have thinned out, but he was able to get some big bluefish and school to slot striped bass this week. The blitzes have been fueled by peanut bunker and silversides, so the 1-ounce EXO jig has been getting the job done. The Game On Lures X-Walk has also been crushing in the topwater game, especially in white!
Fisherman’s World in Norwalk continues to see most local anglers focusing their attention on blackfish, and results have generally been strong, including an uptick in larger fish this week. The action has been steady across multiple depths, but most of the anglers that are finding bigger fish have been targeting the deeper water wrecks. There are good fish to be had in shallower water as well, but you will probably need to weed through more shorts. Sea bass fishing has been lights out, especially on the lesser fished pieces of structure. The scup bite has still been decent, but the fish are starting to move out into deeper water. The other strong fall fishing option has been for giant bluefish, which can usually be found harassing the massive schools of peanut bunker in the area. Most of these fish have been over 10-pounds and up to 15 or so, and it hasn’t been hard to find them. The striped bass action has also been fantastic, with daytime blitzes popping up nearly every day from Compo to Fairfield. The deep-water diamond jig striper bite has been slowly improving as well, and we should have a few good weeks of that bite ahead of us. Freshwater anglers are starting to spend more time at the Saugatuck Reservoir and are reporting some solid bass and walleye catches on shiners and spoons, while the trout bite has been better in the recently stocked water, such as the Mill River TMA.
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in Connecticut!
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The fall run action remains steady across Southern New England, and despite a late-season tropical storm heading our way this weekend, we should have a few more weeks of strong saltwater fishing ahead of us. If the storm messes up your saltwater fishing plans this weekend, look to the sweetwater for good bass action, and plenty of trout action following the recent stockings.
Connecticut anglers also have no shortage of topwater action, with a huge abundance of peanut bunker firing up acre long topwater blitzes throughout the sound. If you find the bunker (adult or peanuts) you will undoubtedly find some hungry bass and a few large bluefish close behind. The late push of false albacore has slowed a bit, but there are still enough reports to make it worth keeping the light tackle handy. The tautog fishing has been steady for most anglers, and while shorts seem to be dominating the catch, the deeper/lesser-fished areas continue to put up more quality fish, so it may be time to start transitioning a bit. Sea bass and scup are helping to fill the coolers, with the former showing up on the deeper structure, and the latter being abundant everywhere. The DEEP has recently stocked Atlantic Salmon in the Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers, which provide a great fall fishing opportunity for freshwater anglers.