Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that the local fishing remains in full summer mode. Bass can almost always be caught, but morning and evening, along with after dark, is your best bet. The usual suspects, such as GT eels and other big soft plastics, live eels/bunker, large topwaters, and trolling tubes have been the top producers. There are some nice gator bluefish around as well, but they are scattered quite a bit. Keeper sea bass are becoming more prevalent in 80 feet of water or more on Daiwa SK Jigs. The fluke have been shallower, in roughly 30 to 40 feet of water, but you have to weed through tons of shorts; however, there’s no shortage of big scup on all the rock piles.
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Captain Matt at Stonington Stripers told me that he had to work a bit harder this week, but was able to find nice fish on light tackle and on the fly. Striped bass from school-size to 40-inches have been keeping rods bent. He’s also still seeing a healthy number of big bluefish this week, which are keeping things interesting. No surprise, but the 9-inch Slug-go remains the top producer of bass, with the 13.5-inch GT eel being a close second. Soft plastics have been killer, but Matt also saw some nice fish fall to Danny plugs and big spooks this week. Fly anglers are still cashing in on Beast Fleyes, big hollows, and snake flies. However you fish, or regardless of your presentation of choice, make sure you’re rigging is up to par! There’s no shortage of big fish, so your tackle stands to be tested. Matt hasn’t spotted any bonito yet, but anglers seem to be finding them to the east, so they should be right around the corner.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “The porgy action has been excellent, with a nice bunch of sea bass in the mix as well. Our fluke trip wasn’t as good—we had to pick through many shorts to get some keepers, but we were able to pick up some nice sea bass to help fill the coolers. We’re hoping this improves in the coming weeks. Again, it’s like we’re on repeat, but the bluefishing remains excellent. Huge blues are coming over the rails on our bass/blue trips, and our After Work Special trip on Friday. We had a wonderful sunset cruise on Saturday and raised money for some great local organizations. Join us for our next sunset cruise on August 17! These trips are all part of our Black Hawk and the Community program, so thanks for joining us and helping to support our local community! New tickets for each week will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m., just like in years past. Be sure to check out our calendar so you see what’s coming up. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!”
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Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that fishing has remained strong this week, even as the stripers have started to transition into their summer pattern. The majority reefs in central and eastern Long Island Sound have bait on them and are holding big bass. There is a good deal of juvenile herring in the area, and the bass can often be found feeding on them near the surface. The bunker schools are thicker in the river as well, and there’s generally some big bass hanging around them, although during the high heat hours you may be better off looking on the reefs. The bluefish haven’t shown up in big numbers yet, but there are some gators around, and Mike anticipates a nice push in the coming weeks. Sea bass and porgy fishing has been as consistent as ever in the Sound, so there’s no shortage of fish for the cooler either. Captain Mike and his team have some openings over the next few weeks, which is peak big bass season, so be sure to book ASAP!
Joe at Diorio Guide Service provided the following report after another strong week on the water: “Fishing has been pretty damn good lately, especially first and last light conditions. We have been getting them best before sun-up, with most of the fish falling for large soft plastics on jigheads. In fact, the large soft plastics are often outfishing live eels! Once the sun comes up, the Skipper and Doc come out. Topwater spooks and live eels have been working best. We have been fishing mostly 15 to 30 feet of water and a few spots from 30 to 50 feet. Bluefish have been very prevalent in these areas as well, producing fish up to 15 pounds! We also were able to make it out to the tuna grounds these past few weeks and have been very successful using streaker style jigs like the Sleek jig and RonZ. As always, find the life and you will find the bait! We still have dates available. Give us a shout to get in on the action!”
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When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service he reported that he had some moderately good action this past week. The daytime story is still all about live-lining bunker or trolling tube and worm, but in a side-by-side comparison, the tube trolling is outfishing live bait during the day. The fish are in the 20-pound range on average, with a few larger in the mix, and the action has been decent but not what it was several weeks ago. The good news is, Chris confirmed Spanish mackerel are here locally, but not in truly targetable numbers just yet. They’ve spotted a few big ones do the infamous vertical leap! They should certainly be filling in over the next week or so. Ready those epoxy jigs!
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The summer beat continues in Connecticut, despite increasing water temperatures throughout the Sound. The relatively cooler water in the Eastern Long Island Sound is once again a haven for summer striped bass. Striped bass are being caught throughout the Sound and its major tributaries, with the Eastern Sound reefs picking up the slack this week. The Western Sound fishing has slowed a bit, but there are still a fair amount of bass and bluefish to be had. This is especially true for anglers fishing after dark. The scup bite is as consistent as ever, with no shortage of hubcaps throughout the Sound. Scup are coming from just about every piece of structure, regardless of depth, while the sea bass season has kicked into gear over deeper structure. Those targeting summer blackfish are also finding some success, and you just may find some keeper tog as bycatch while targeting the aforementioned species. Dedicated fluke fishermen continue to pick away at legal-sized flatfish, with better reports coming from some shallower water this week. Spanish mackerel may be trickling in, but bonito reports haven’t popped up just yet; they’re being spotted to the east, so they may be around in full force by next week. Time will tell!