Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that things are going very well in the Central Sound, but we’re still probably a week or so away from the bite really popping off. Bluefish have entered the area in force, with the lower Connecticut River being full of them, and guys on the local reefs reporting some of the best bluefishing they’ve seen in years. Water temperatures are still low in the Sound, so we’re probably still a few days from striper fishing improving after the new moon, but there is a massive number of bass at the Gut that should work their way inshore over the next few days. Similar to the Rhode Island reports, the early CT reports have been very good for fluke. If you’re a bottom fisherman, you should be taking advantage of the fluke bite while it lasts, along with a strong sea bass bite in 60-plus feet of water.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “It was a busy week, with some ups and downs but good action overall. Our porgy trips were on the slower side – while there were some piles of fish here and there, it took some work to fill the coolers this week. As of this report, the porgy fishing seems to be trending in the right direction, compared to last week. Hopefully this continues as the week progresses. Our fluke trips were similar- we started off with some nice keepers, and then there was some tough fishing after that. We switched over and did some bass fishing and had a full boat limit of slot fish on our “After Work” trips and private charters this week. We’re done with the squid trips for the season. We’re already looking forward to these for next year! We’re still booking charters, but several dates are sold out, so be sure to get your date on the calendar soon! New tickets for each week will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m., just like in past years. Be sure to check out our calendar so you see what’s coming up!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that things continued to improve over the past week. Many of the reefs in Long Island Sound are chock full of bait and the bass are feeding heavily. If you come across those massive feeds, soft plastics are generally the number one producer, but you can occasionally get them to hit a small topwater offering or small swimming plug. The results from The Race and The Gut have also been very strong over the past few days, with big numbers of fish from 25 to 35 inches getting fooled by small bucktails and diamond jigs. There are reports of good sea bass fishing with a few weakfish around too. He expects things to really blow wide-open once the bunker show up. Captain Mike and his team have openings over the next two weeks, which should be primetime after the new moon. Give him a call today to book your spot.
Captain Matt at Stonington Stripers reports: “The fishing is still great! Scott from Madison had the big fish of the week at 43 inches. Larger soft plastics fished at first light around structure have produced the best fish, I haven’t had great luck with plugs yet. Sand eels and squid remain the predominant baits, though there are bay anchovies on the beaches as well. We’ve had luck at all tides and times of day; yesterday I got my grandfather out to commission his new boat and we had 3 fish from 30 to 35 inches in 15 minutes at 3 in the afternoon. Get out when you can, poke around and you’ll be able to find fish—there are plenty around.”
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When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service, he told me that over the past week, a mass of sand eels has provided some of the best light-tackle and fly action that he has seen in 20 years. This bite is generally better at dawn and dusk, but somedays it is lasting all day long. On a recent trip with his grandson, they managed 30 plus stripers from 20 to 36 inches on sand eel-pattern flies and Game On Exo jigs. There are some much bigger fish in the area as well and they are generally found in deeper water where they’re taking flutter spoons and tubes, but the light-tackle action has been much more fun.
Captain Andy of Carolyn Ann Sportfishing has continued a strong start to his season. He told me that the Watch Hill reefs are producing, but the local fishing has remained even better. He’s found plenty of striped bass from 25 to 40 inches, with a good number of slot keepers in the mix, and he hasn’t had to run too far from home. There are some fish around Fishers Island, along with a mess of bass taking jigs at The Race and Plum Gut. A couple of nice bluefish have been showing up as well. Another week of fishing should result in larger bass across a wider range, so it shouldn’t be too hard to keep the quality early summer fishing going.
Max, at Fishermen’s World in Norwalk reports that striper fishing has been excellent and shows no signs of slowing as bunker continue to flood into the region. Bass can be found anywhere from inshore to deep water structure and everywhere in between. Customers coming into the shop this week reported that the best bite for big fish is still happening around deep-water structure. Anglers found 30-pound-class fish on flutter spoons, bunker spoons, trolled mojo rigs, and increasingly on topwater plugs like The Doc. Fishing around bunker schools has been key to connecting with the larger bass. Fishing closer to the shop is hot as well. Customers reported catching stripers and the occasional bluefish around the islands mostly on lures. Swimming plugs like SP Minnows and Rapala X-Raps have been working well, as have topwater lures like The Doc, Shimano Coltsnipers, Game On X-Walks, and Rebel Jumping Minnows. Shore anglers are still reporting good action with lures and bait. The shore porgy bite also picked up in earnest this week as a few anglers were able to score some keeper scup. The boat bite has been better for porgies, but that will shift soon as more fish make their way into the area. Fluke fishing ticked up locally this week with a few more keepers taken from the Connecticut side of the Sound. Better flatfish action can be found on the north shore of Long Island where anglers fishing with jigs and Gulp or squid strips are catching in 15 to 30 feet of water around places like Port Jeff, Northport, and Smithtown Bay.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Fishing throughout Connecticut continued to follow a positive trend, although the usual bite of striped bass in the Connecticut River is a few weeks behind. Water temperatures are a touch behind too, and you can see it, as there are loads of bass staged up around Fishers and the Race, but they haven’t quite moved their way inside yet. The big bass bite to the west has followed its usual trend, with some excellent reports of cow bass and gator bluefish from Norwalk to Fairfield. The trend of big bluefish showing up early has continued in Connecticut as well, with reports from points in the Sound from the far east to the far west. Fluke fishing has reportedly been as strong as ever, and once again, it’s a stellar gameplan to get after these early season doormats before the true summer patterns set in. As opposed to every other summer fishery, the fluke fishing will likely get worse from here, so now is a great time to target some flatties. The first attempts at big sea bass are generally fruitful too. Striped bass can be found throughout Long Island Sound and are continuing to make their way into CT waters, so the common June reefs should be chock full of big bass by the time this is published.