Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that backwater stripers are an option now, though the local holdovers have been a bit more scarce than the past couple of years, especially in the smaller tributaries to the east where they seem to be concentrated to very tight areas. Small paddletails fished low and slow, or flukes on a snap-snap-pause cadence usually work well. Water temps are creeping towards 50, so there’s still some time before the topwater bite develops. Tautog reports have been slowly improving, and Matt had a good day this week, finding fish that were willing to chew in 10 to 20 feet of water. Points to the west are still producing better, as the water has warmed up quicker, but with the upcoming warm weather, we should see some better fishing to the east as well. Freshwater anglers are starting to report better largemouth bass action, as some fresh vegetation is starting to pop up as they shift into full prespawn feeding mode. Spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and small diving plugs like jerkbaits have been getting the job done. Trout action has also been solid on Rapalas, spinners, worms, etc. Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook will be having their Summer Kick-Off weekend on May 1-4 with storewide sales, promos, door prizes and raffles (some brands are excluded from the sale). It’s their biggest event of the year, so mark your calendars and swing by!
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Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following early season report: “We are counting down the days! Right now we’re booking charters, getting the boat ready, and making sure all of our gear is good to go. The boat should be back in Niantic very soon, and we can’t wait to get out there. Be sure to email the office soon if you’d like to get your top choice for a private charter date—some prime dates are filling up already. We’ll be back home in Niantic soon! Did you see our Trivia Tuesday contest? Every week in April we’ll have a “Trivia Tuesday” with a chance to win great Black Hawk prizes. Check it out! We can’t wait to see everyone soon.”
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service is still getting the boat ready and geared up for the upcoming saltwater season. In the meantime, he has been taking advantage of some solid freshwater fishing across Western CT. The fly hatches have been starting slow due to this cold weather, so most of Chris’s success has come on stone fly nymphs and streamers, but we should start to see increased hatch activity over the next week or so. The true opening day of trout season was a washout, but the state heavily stocked the streams prior. Chris noted that the state has stocked some very large brook trout in our streams over the past few weeks, with some over 20 inches!
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Anthony at Game On Lures provided the following report for the week: “This push of cold weather made things quite uncomfortable through last weekend, but a steady warming trend is firing up more spring fishing opportunities. The freshwater bite has picked back up, with largemouth bass still responding to slower presentations. Hair jigs, jigs, jerkbaits and small paddletails have been producing the best on these cold, post-frontal days. Panfish action has remained consistent with the best action coming on small plastics on a jighead. Better numbers of river herring have entered the river systems this week, and with the rivers cleaning up, holdover bass fishing has improved. I expect things to get really exciting as more herring trickle in and we start seeing the arrival of fresh migratory schoolies. Large plastics fished on wide gap swimbait hooks or on a jighead have been producing the best bites at the moment. The Game On 10-inch DuraTech eel rigged with a weightless 9/0 Grappler Hook is a great option to imitate these fleeing herring. The improved forecast over the next ten days should really get things fired up and put us back on schedule.”
Max at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reported that they were pretty much in a holding pattern due to the unsettled weather of the past week, but things were starting to fire up again with the improving conditions. Most customers were focused on either striped bass or trout, with others working to get their boats in the water for the season. Striped bass fishing has been steady, with the best local results coming on sandworms and bloodworms in the shallows. Norwalk Harbor, the river, Calf Pasture, and Sherwood Island are all producing big numbers of schoolies on bait. There are some better fish to be had around the herring runs locally, and in the Housatonic. The best shot at finding a consistent big bass bite remains in the Housatonic after dark. The trout harvest season started last weekend, and the Saugatuck Reservoir also opened for the year. Trout fishing has been very good, and customers reported catching on a variety of methods including bait, lures and flies. The Mianus, Saugatuck and Aspetuck Rivers have been fishing especially well. The shop is loaded up with everything you need for spring trout fishing if you’re looking to get in on that action.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters told me that they got their season underway over the past week on the better weather days. Fishing has been good, and it hasn’t just been schoolies. Mike and crew have found several fish from 30 to 35 inches mixed in with the schoolies. Most of their fishing this time of year is with light tackle and small soft plastics. The action should only get better from here on out, and the topwater bite should start to fire off as the water warms. They have some openings in the next couple of weeks, so be sure to book a spot before they run out.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
A few more warm days this week brought more encouraging tautog reports from the Western Sound and some of the first reports from the Central Sound.
Holdover striped bass action has been steady across the state all season, and another good push of river herring has brought some of the bigger fish out to feed. Bass can be found throughout the river runs and are also being caught in good numbers on the beaches along the mouths of the tidal rivers, so basically anywhere a bass could intercept a river herring, you’re likely to find one. We’re not quite at the true peak “spring run”, but there are certainly fish to be had at the moment.
The shad diehards on the Connecticut River are putting in their time, and word is starting to trickle in of a few being caught here and there, so we aren’t too far off from that spring run blowing open as well.
The trout streams were stocked well for the “harvest” opener, so trout results should remain very good across the state this weekend.