Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that he’s finding holdover striper action improving daily, and actually scored some of his first topwater stripers of the season this week. The herring runs are becoming more of a factor and the topwater bite should really intensity if we get a prolonged warmer/settled weather trend. In the meantime, soft plastics like the Gravity Tackle paddletails and Lunker City Fin-S Fish have gotten the job done, along with SP Minnows retrieved slowly. Matt also managed his keeper tautog from the Central Sound and reports from the Western Sound, where the water is a touch warmer, have been a little better. A warm-up of a few degrees will really help the tautog bite, hopefully that can happen before the short CT season wraps up. The freshwater action has also been steady, with sunny days giving up the best fish, but a steady pick on most days. Slow pitched jigs, jerkbaits and Keitech paddletails have been the top producers for largemouth bass. The trout fishing has been excellent for fly and spin anglers, with blue-winged olive flies being a notable top producer for the fly fishermen.
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Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic reports that they are just about ready to go for the season! Their season starts on Friday, May 3rd and tickets will be posted on Monday nights at 8 PM, just like in seasons past. They also continue to book private charters, so be sure to check out their calendar to see what’s coming up and what’s available. Heather also mentioned that they are once again in the running for the best charter boat in the “Best of the Best” contest, and they would be honored if you send them a vote!
Daniels Bait, Tackle, and Charters reports that it’s starting to feel more like spring the last few days and it appears that we may get more spring-like weather next week. The warmer temperatures have been key to a strong calico bass (crappie) bite in shallow, inland pools where the bluegill and perch are also spawning. While they certainly hoped a tanker would dump yearling trout in our own river by accident like a few weeks ago, you can still cash in on the early-season action at a couple hot spots that are receiving some attention as of late. Black Rock State Park in Watertown, CT, and the Natchaug River in Eastford have been producing some nice catches on light line, under 8-pound-test, on meal worms and PowerBait with and without bobbers. The sunny weather has made searching for holdover striped bass a bit more tolerable when compared to the rain earlier today, and Norwich Harbor has seen just a few 20 inchers pulled out, but not the monsters we’re accustomed to. The tautog bite is moving, just make sure to mark your piles and structure, as the storms have moved some submerged structure, which is getting caught up in props and line. But as they say – if you aren’t getting snagged – then you’re not in the right place for tautog. Tautog fishing should only improve from here, even with the short season, we’re not too far away from some optimal temperatures on the structure in the lower Thames.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reports that fishing has been improving, as the weather slowly warms up. The stripers are becoming more active, and they’ve actually had a few bigger fish in the mix, up to 20 pounds or so. A few fish have been falling for topwater offerings, and Mike expects a big increase in topwater activity over the next week or two. He still has some openings over the next two weeks, which should be primetime for early-spring bass. Give him a call today to book a spot before it’s too late!
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Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service is gearing up for another strong saltwater season, but in the meantime, he’s still cashing in on some strong trout fishing. The larger rivers are still at very high levels, so he’s been sticking with the smaller tributaries, but he’s found plenty of action using stone fly nymphs. The dry fly action is just starting to get going as well and should kick into gear over the next week or two. The coastal estuaries are producing some nice striped bass action, especially around the herring runs, but there seems to be some large masses of school bass starting to transition closer to Long Island Sound.
Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that the local striped bass fishing is still the main draw for most customers. Fish are still mainly coming from inside the rivers and harbors, but more reports are starting to trickle in from the beaches daily. School-class fish dominate the catch, but some larger fish to 35-inches or so are in the mix, especially around the herring runs. Outside of the herring runs, the fish are keyed in on small rain bait like silversides, so small soft plastics and swimming plugs continue to be the best bet. Blackfish reports were better over the last few nicer days, with keeper fish coming from the shallows on sandworms and clams, along with the usual green crabs. Some tautog anglers have dunked leftover sandworms on the flats after tog fishing and have been rewarded with some decent winter flounder catches. Freshwater anglers have been frequenting the shop as well and have been reporting good trout action. The Mianuse, Mill, Norwalk and Saugatuck Rivers have all been fishing well despite being high water, and early reports from the Saugatuck Reservoir have been encouraging for trout and bass.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
A few more warm days this week equaled some more encouraging tautog reports from the Western Sound and some of the first reports from the Central Sound. Holdover striped bass action has been excellent across the state all season, and another good push of river herring has brought some of the bigger fish out and kicked up activity levels. Bass can be found throughout the river runs and are also being caught in good numbers on the beaches along the mouth of the tidal rivers, so basically anywhere a bass could intercept a river herring, you’re likely to find one. We’re still a few weeks away from the true peak “spring run”, but there are certainly fish to be had at the moment. The shad diehards are predicting an early year and word is starting to trickle in of a few being caught here and there, so we aren’t too far off from that spring run blowing open as well. The trout streams were running high for the “put-and-take” opener last week, but things finally seem to be settling down in terms of rainfall amounts, so flows should be clearing nicely.
Why no blue crab reports on here alot of people go blue crabbing in Connecticut also
Is it safe to crab in th