Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that we’ve been in a bit of a holding pattern for the last couple of weeks. Fall run fishing is on everyone’s mind and hardtails are continuing to creep west. There were more reports of bonito around the Thames River and Fishers this week, while Spanish mackerel can be found throughout the sound, from Niantic to Norwalk. There hasn’t been much in the way of false albacore being reported locally, but there are rumors of more fish to the east. Fingers crossed! Stripers are mostly the same as the last few weeks with some more blitzes happening, along with big bass on the local reefs taking live baits and jigs. We are starting to see some peanut bunker near the mouths of feeder creeks and tidal rivers. Bluefish are scattered but numbers are good enough where you’re likely to see a big pod on most trips. Sea bass are hanging deeper, while the remaining fluke seem to be both shallow and deep, anywhere from 30 to 60 feet.
Captain Matt at Stonington Stripers told me that things were relatively quiet around his area this week, but there have been enough striped bass blitzes around to keep the light-tackle bite going, while waiting for the hardtail bite to improve. Bay anchovies haven’t invaded the area as they usually do in September, but peanuts and juvenile butterfish have been keeping the bass interested. He’s still finding some huge, local bluefish, which have helped to keep the rod bent. These fish will almost always take live eels, but Matt has been finding plenty of action on large topwaters and 9-inch sluggos during the morning hours. Once the sun comes up, you can still find fish on the surface, but you often have to downsize your offering to Jumpin Minnows or Albie Snax.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “The holiday weekend had some beautiful weather, and our awesome anglers had a great time reeling in the porgies, sea bass and blues all weekend long. We had a few keeper bass in the mix as well. During the week, our bottom fishing trips showed limits of porgies around the boat, with some sea bass in the mix too. Our fluke trip had to contend with some strong winds and tides, so it wasn’t what we were hoping for, although we did manage to get a handful of nice keepers. Our bass and blue trips are on repeat: once again an excellent showing of blues, and a few nice keeper bass as well. What a way to end our After Work Special trips for the season! As a reminder, in September all bottom fishing trips leave at 6 a.m. now, with only one trip on the weekends instead of two. We will still have bass and blue trips once a week leaving at 7 a.m., the day varies based on our charter schedule each week. New tickets for each week will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m. throughout the season.”
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Joe at Diorio Guide Service told me that fishing has been incredible this past week. They focused half the week on bass and half the week on tuna. Striper fishing has been outstanding. Numerous trips this past week resulted in 30 to 40 bass with a few real jumbos mixed in. Joe has been mainly fishing Joe Baggs Block Island Series eels and live eels this past week. He has been targeting water between 8 to 30 feet deep. First and last light conditions have proved to be best. When they weren’t striper fishing, they were on the tuna grounds. The bluefin bite continues to be strong! There has been a good mix of unders and overs in the mix. Can’t go wrong with either the UVT or Joe Baggs Resin jigs, and when they aren’t hitting metal, dead stick the RonZ which is always good for a big one. Find the life and you will find the tuna. Joe only has a few striper days left for September, and October is booking quickly as well. So be sure to reach out before it’s too late!
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Anthony from Game On Lures told me that the Central Sound has remained pretty consistent for most anglers. They are starting to notice more peanut bunker in the area, which portends well for the fall run, but things have remained steady as we make the summer/fall transition. Striper fishing has continued to be great on all the reefs, and with all the peanuts around some awesome topwater activity has been happening on most days. Large plastic eels and the EXO jig have been producing the best recently. Snapper and cocktail blues have moved in heavy this past week and are feeding on the peanut bunker getting washed out of the estuaries. Black Seabass fishing remains steady, but the larger fish seem to have moved back out into deeper water. Fluke fishing also remains steady with some very nice fish being caught up shallow in 20-40ft, which is probably their last shallow run before the water cools down. Porgy fishing continues to be lights out. Hardtail reports have been flooding in from MA and RI and some rumors of them being very close to home have been circulating. There’s certainly enough bait around, so Anthony is thinking we’ll see the false albacore fishing blow up in the sound in the next 10-days or so.
When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service he told me that massive amounts of peanut bunker and bay anchovies continue to move in, and fish are beginning to hone in on them in the western sound. This week he had bluefish almost everywhere he went, and the bass that were mixed in were near impossible to catch with the aggressive blues. Spanish mackerel are in their usual spots but difficult at times and bonito are mixed in as well. We have spotted either very large bonito or albies on the last 2 trips including Wednesday, but they were not blitzing and just taking leisurely leaps at times. For those still interested in the trolling game, it is lock and load for bluefish and the occasional striper almost any time of day. Slow and low is the rule when trolling the tube and worm if you want to pick up bass with blues in the mix. The western sound is really stacked with bait already, things are set up for a great fall season!
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that striper fishing remains steady with the big bass taking live baits almost exclusively. There was another push of big bluefish on the deep reefs, which was fun to see. The first few are trickling in, but we’re waiting for the big fall push. Things are pointing to that happening over the next week or so. There are plenty of bottom fish, porgies and sea bass on all the reefs. Mike has seen bass, bluefish, and bottom fish spit up juvenile squid, butterfish and silversides this week, so there’s certainly no shortage of bait. Captain Mike and his team have openings over the next two weeks, which should be primetime. Give him a call today to book your spot.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Increased numbers of bonito and Spanish mackerel have joined the topwater party across most of Connecticut, as things start to feel more fall-like. The small bait numbers are down a bit to the east, but from the Connecticut River west, anglers saw a big influx of bay anchovies and peanuts this week. This influx of bait is working its way east and has fired up topwater blitzes of mixed species across the Sound. False albacore reports have been quiet across the state, but we’re starting to hear about some sightings in the Western Sound. Bonito reports, while not always consistent, have been coming from just about everywhere in the state. There also seems to be increased numbers of Spanish mackerel as far east as Niantic this week. For those looking for bigger fish, the popular late-summer reefs and rips are holding bigger bass and monster bluefish. Live eels and large soft plastics have been getting the job done, along with the tube and worm on the troll. Scup are coming from just about every piece of structure, regardless of depth, while the sea bass season has fired up nicely as the water starts to cool.