Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that sea bass fishing in 70-100-feet of water has been pretty darn good. Rigs with squid and clams along with Daiwa SK Jigs are doing very well. Fluke anglers are still finding some fish across varying depths, with the top producer being a fluke rig tipped with a bunker striped, or spearing/silversides. Snapper blues are in well and guys are catching ‘eaters’ with Shimano Current Snipers and snapper popper rigs. Many anglers are reporting doing quite well with stripers locally over the past few days. The fish can be found mostly in their summer homes still for the time being. Matt has had success in the shallows recently with GT Eels, poppers, and live eels. Tubes and diving plugs are great right now too, along with 24-7 Needlefish and 24-7 Mully’s. There were a few reports of sporadic pods of false albacore from Saybrook to New London, but it has certainly been spotty. The hope is that the upcoming swell and an absolute powder keg of bait will fire up this bite very soon.
Captain Matt at Stonington Stripers told me that things improved a bit locally this week, with some solid local bonito fishing, and some big bass blitzes along the local beaches. Bay anchovy numbers have improved, and there are still plenty of peanut bunker fueling these blitzes. He’s still finding some huge, local bluefish, which have also 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 around the surface, but you often have to downsize your offering to Jumpin Minnows or albie snax. Matt is confident that the upcoming swell should help push more hardtails into the area, instead of blowing all the bait out. Matt was also able to find a weather window to get offshore one more time and was rewarded with 3 over bluefin from 60-67-inches!
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “It was another great week of fishing! We had some great bottom fishing trips, with loads of porgies and some nice keeper sea bass coming over the rails every day. We even had a few short codfish one day, hopefully indicating more to come. We also had one of our favorite nights of the season, our annual veterans trip. We had a big group of veterans this year, who came to join us for a great evening of fishing and camaraderie. Special thanks to all of the sponsors who helped with the trip, including the Northeast Saltwater Fishing Club, whose members are instrumental in putting the trip together. We are honored to be able to provide a trip for those who served our country. Our fluke trip on Thursday was one of the best of the season, with a nice pile of keepers ending up in the coolers. Our bass and blue trips continue to be excellent, with a good showing of blues and a few bass in the mix as well. 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. Check the website for details and grab your tickets to come join us soon! New tickets for each week will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m. throughout the season. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!”
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Joe at Diorio Guide Service provided the following report after another week of strong fishing. “This past week was just amazing. It was another mix of striped bass and bluefin, and both species were chewing well! We had some really memorable trips targeting stripers. We had multiple stripers up to 46-lbs on eels and soft plastics, like the Joe Baggs Block Island Eel on a jighead. Finding the bait schools near some pronounced structure has been key for finding big striped bass. That’s where the fish will be. When we haven’t been striper fishing, we have been having success on the tuna grounds. The bluefin bite had slowed with the nice weather at the end of last week but has picked up again big time these past few days. UVT jigs and Joe Baggs Sleek jigs have been working great when the fish want the metal. When they don’t want the metal, they can’t resist a grey or pink RonZ. When looking for these fish, it’s been key to finding the life. This upcoming week, we are looking forward to targeting stripers, albies, and bonito. We still have dates available for the rest of the season. This next month, with all the bait dumping out of the rivers, the fishing should only get better! If you’re looking to get out, make sure you give us a call.”
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Anthony from Game On Lures told me that this past weekend was the first time it really started to feel like fall out there! Striped bass and bluefish of all sizes were blitzing on mainly peanut bunker, however there were a few blues that spit up juvenile herring, which was interesting to see. The numbers and size of the striped bass has improved locally, and they have been much more active. They’re often eating the 8-inch X-Walks on the surface and the 13-inch Duratech eels more consistently. Big bluefish still are lacking inshore, but reports of gators have been coming in from some of the deeper reefs and Plum Island. Bottom fishing remains superb with some tank seabass and porgy being caught recently. The local hardtail reports are pretty weak as of recently, with some guys seeing them here and there but nothing consistent at all, especially albies. Anthony has seen some Spanish mackerel/bonito in the central Sound, but unfortunately, they disappeared as fast as they showed up. He’s also heard some rumors that there have been a ton of albies in Montauk, so fingers crossed these heavy winds and rain bring them a little closer to home!
When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service he told me that massive amounts of peanut bunker and bay are still fueling some massive topwater blitzes in the Western Sound. He spent most of this week focused on bonito, and it has been one of the strongest bonito seasons in the Western Sound in years. The false albacore have also shown up out west, and the numbers have actually been decent on some trips. He is still seeing plenty of bluefish, along with some decent bass feeding on all the small bait. For those still interested in the trolling game, Chris hasn’t spent too much time doing it this week, but reports are still strong. 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 the striped bass fishing has remained steady, with big bass taking live baits almost exclusively. Over the past 24 hours he’s found a very strong bite, likely fueled by the north wind and large swell. Often times a nor’easter wind/wave pattern like this will really help the big bass get the fall feed bag on. There was also 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 push. Hopefully this will happen over the next week or so, after this swell is through. There are plenty of bottom fish, porgies and sea bass on all the reefs. Mike has seen fish spit up juvenile squid, butterfish and silversides this week, so the aforementioned bite should continue, and hopefully we’ll get a better push of hardtails. 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.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
False albacore have started to show up in the Western Sound and a few reports have trickled in from the central to Eastern Sound. This is giving anglers some hope that the albie fishing will blow open following this upcoming storm swell. In the meantime, the bonito numbers stayed strong. Most of the Sound has seen a strong push of smaller bait this week, so the table is set for the fall run to kick off. Local striped bass fishing has taken a turn for the better over the past few days, with some nice blitzes of smaller fish on small bait and some big bass taking live baits on the reefs and rips. The river mouths and estuaries are also holding more striped bass, as they intercept the bait which is flowing out. 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.
Where are the hickory shad in Old Saybrook Thanks