Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that the fishing has entered summer patterns as the water keeps warming up. You can find some big bass in the shallows if you’re fishing early or late enough, but otherwise your best bet is to find them by 3-waying in deeper water, or on the troll. Live bunker is plentiful, although it may be hard to find in the flood conditions. You can look to 3-way eels, troll tubes, and/or cast GT eels for hungry striped bass. There are still big bluefish around, but the larger masses seem to be around Plum Gut and The Race. The fluke fishing has been inconsistent, but solid fish are being taken on both deep and shallow structure for the anglers grinding through the tides. It seems that bright colored offerings are doing the most damage this week. The sea bass fishing has improved quite a bit, with the best action coming on structure of at least 70 feet.
Heather from Black Hawk Sportfishing reported another solid week of fishing aboard the Black Hawk! Even though July 4th had on and off showers all day, their anglers stuck to the rails and filled their coolers with jumbo porgies and beautiful sea bass. The rest of the bottom fishing trips for the week were more of the same, with excellent fishing and happy anglers all around the boat. Their night bass trip was plagued by bluefish all night which made for a tough trip. The blues were chewing up the eels, but they managed to put some keepers in the coolers. The after-work trips were loaded with big blues and some nice bass in the mix as well. They have had many requests for bass/bluefish trips, so they will be running these on Sunday afternoons in July. All of their trips book very quickly, so be sure to contact Heather to get your group on the calendar asap!
Captain Mike Roy, at Reel Cast Charters told me fishing is good as most species are beginning to transition into their summer patterns. Live bait has been king when it comes to striper fishing and live bunker and eels are the baits of choice. They are still getting a few fish on Nichols Flutter Spoons, but bait is outfishing artificials. There are still lots of big bluefish in the area to add a little variety to the bass fishing. They are still seeing blues north of 15 pounds. Sea bass fishing is decent but should improve as the fish start to migrate out to deeper water. There are still some open dates for the month of July so give Captain Mike and his team a call to book your spot today.
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Dan, at Daniel’s Bait, Tackle and Charters in New London reports that the bite just keeps on getting better. Summer striper fishing continues to be strong for anglers drifting small bucktails on the bottom or pencil poppers across the top, the action has been a ton a fun. Shore fishermen are catching their share of big fish with clams and squid on 5/0 to 8/0 circles. Eeling has been a strong strategy for anglers fishing for bass after dark and trolling has been a top producer during the day. Scup are plentiful and dinner sized this time of year, so the piers have been full around incoming tides with anglers looking to catch a bucket full. Blue crab is being found more consistently around Old Saybrook and the mouth of the Thames. The Tuna bite exploded about 40 miles offshore, and most anglers are reporting that it’s worth the run. We’d know more about the tautog bite if anyone had crabs, but it’s been tough to get a hold of any, they are hoping to land a shipment this weekend!!
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Joe, at Diorio Guide Service, reports that fishing is about as good as it gets right now. There is no shortage of big bass locally, and the bait schools have gotten much thicker this week. They have been getting bass on live bunker, eels and topwater lures. The bigger bass have been on the reefs and hugging structure, while blitzing bluefish can be found spread out through the area. Joe has started making some tuna trips this week and has found some bluefin and yellowin on the jig and pop, as well as on the troll. Joe still has some dates available in September and October, so contact him soon to book a trip.
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Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk said that the inshore fishing has remained hot throughout his area this week. Massive schools of bunker are inshore and especially in Norwalk Harbor and the gamefish are glued to them. Striper fishing is fantastic locally with fish taking up residence in shallow water boulder fields and reefs. There are also bass with the bait in the harbor. Anglers are live lining, chunking, and throwing big plugs like The Doc to tangle with fish from slot size up to 35 pounds. There are also similar bluefish reports, as they have found the bunker schools and continue to harass them. The fluke fishing has been a bit more consistent, with the best results coming from 20-30 feet of water on the usual bucktail/gulp or squid combos. Sea bass fishing has picked up nicely since the season reopened and the scup bite remains strong from both shore and boat. Freshwater anglers are still finding trout in most of the local TMAs, while both largemouth and smallmouth are chewing in the reservoir.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The big striped bass action is still going strong in Connecticut, although it has started to transition a bit. Bunker numbers have improved once again in the rivers and tributaries, but some of the bass have transitioned out, in search of some cooler water. Regardless, there is no shortage of big striped bass on most trips; whether it’s the lower river, the shallow reefs, or the deeper rips throughout the sound. Fluke fishing has been challenging, as consistency has been lacking from day to day. That being said, some big flat fish are being taken most days. You just need to work different depths and areas instead of chasing reports, and you will likely be rewarded with a few keepers at least. Sea bass fishing has opened back up and results have been strong on structure in about 60-80 feet of water. Scup action is red hot, and don’t forget about summer tautog, which provides another strong bottom fishing option this month. A few blue crab reports have started to trickle in from the estuaries, and those numbers should improve greatly through July. Flows are moderate and clean for trout anglers on the TMAs, while the lakes and ponds continue to produce a nice mix of bass and panfish.