Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that the local fishing has remained pretty similar to last week, with the exception of some big numbers of small bait moving in and instigating some big schoolie bass blitzes. Bigger bass can be caught as well, 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, with the better reports coming from the west and from Plum Gut. Snapper bluefish have invaded the Sound and can be found chewing on those concentrations of small bait. Keeper sea bass have been more prevalent in 80 feet of water or more, where they’re being caught on Daiwa SK Jigs. Fluke are starting to transition to deeper water, and with that, some nice fish are hitting the scales. Scup fishing has been as steady as ever, while summer tautog anglers are starting to report better results.
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Captain Matt at Stonington Stripers told me that things have been trending in a positive direction for him, including one of his best trips since the spring last week. He had blitzing striped bass into the upper 40-inch range for the first two hours of daylight. These bass wanted smaller offerings, so the big rods were put away in favor of lighter gear, which made things even more exciting. The fishing was strong this week as well, with recent trips seeing school-size fish blitzing on small bait in the backwaters, along with some bigger bass taking eels out front. Matt also finally got offshore on Saturday and was rewarded with a 62-inch bluefin on the jig.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “Summer is moving quickly, it will be fall and back to school before we know it! We had some great summer fishing this week with jumbo porgies and some nice sea bass coming over the rails on our weekday bottom fishing trips. Our After Work Special trip once again showed some great bluefishing, with big blues all night long. Our fluke trip on Thursday wasn’t what we’d hoped for; a handful of nice fluke, but overall slower than we’d expected. Our September trips are being posted now, so be sure to check out our calendar to see what’s coming up.”
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Anthony from Game On Lures provided the following report this week: “The central Sound has remained pretty consistent for the most part, however the recent colder nights have really started to give the feeling that fall is right around the corner. Since the massive influx of smaller bait a few weeks ago, the fishing has definitely picked up. Schoolie blitzes are starting to happen regularly, with some larger slot/over-slot fish mixed in hanging below the pack. Your best bet is early mornings or nighttime, but with the abundance of small bait inshore, the larger 40-inch class fish haven’t been shy and are staying shallow throughout the day. The bite on the deeper reefs also remains great. Bluefish has been pretty good, but they haven’t been as present as years past. Live eels, live bunker, 13-inch Duratech eels, 8-inch X-Walks, and large, weightless plastics have been getting the job done for striped bass and big bluefish. When the fish are on smaller bait, reeling an EXO jig slow and steady has been absolutely killer. The hardtail reports have started to trickle in, and I’ve heard some rumors of Spanish mackerel and bonito in Eastern CT but have not seen them personally. When they do show up, they will be met with plenty of food. Fluke fishing remains consistent with more keeper-sized fish being caught recently. Black sea bass fishing is really starting to pick up and some larger fish are being caught closer to shore, however, your best bet for keeper-sized fish is in 50 to 90 feet of water using a 1.5- to 2-ounce jigs. Scup fishing has remained great. The biggest issue recently has been the brown sharks; they seem more prevalent than ever this year and have been starting to affect the fishing.
When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service he was recovering from the flood that ripped apart Western Connecticut over the weekend. The entire area around the mouth of the Housatonic River will be unfishable and dangerous to navigate for at least a week, due to the water quality and debris. This will displace a lot of the fish in the area and send many local anglers to the far east or west, or to the Long Island side for a bit. Before the storm, Chris was seeing excellent local fishing for bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Striped bass fishing has slowed down, but some the bluefish, mackerel, and a few bonito in the mix made up for it. The big bluefish showed up just in time for the bluefish tournament this weekend, and Chris has high hopes once again! Blues are taking the Game On Lures X-Walk at times, and he’s also getting them by trolling tube and worm when they are not up on top. Spanish mackerel were hammering the 3/4-ounce white Exo jigs, providing incredible fun in 5 feet of water much of the time.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that he’s still catching a lot of bass, with the best action for big fish right now still coming on live bait. The biggest fish are responding to live baits fished in deeper, cooler water and action has been good. They are starting to see schoolie and slot-size fish blitzing on top and they’ve been coughing up juvenile butterfish—an early sign of the fall run. There are more brown sharks around than people realize and they can be a problem at times, especially when targeting striped bass. Sea bass fishing continues to pick up and there are some nice-sized fish in deeper water. Captain Mike and his team have openings over the next two weeks, which should be prime time as we transition toward early fall patterns. Give him a call today to book your spot.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
It is starting to feel more like autumn across Connecticut. The relatively cooler water in Eastern Long Island Sound is providing some excellent striped bass fishing. They’re chewing best over Eastern Sound reefs this week. Areas from the Central to Eastern Sound also saw many more surface-feeding striped bass on juvenile butterfish and peanut bunker. The Western Sound has slowed a bit and will likely be dirtied up from all the rain but is still putting up some big bluefish just in time for the bluefish tournament this weekend.
The scup bite remains consistent with no shortage of hubcaps throughout the Sound, meanwhile, sea bass fishing has kicked into gear on deeper structure. Those targeting summer blackfish are reporting better results, and you have one more week to target them until the fall season. Spanish mackerel reports intensified throughout the Sound this week, and we’re starting to hear of a few pods of bonito mixed in with them.