Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that the Connecticut River is still on the dirty side, but is improving, and should continue to do so over the next few days. There are two main striped bass bites in the area right now. Guys are getting fish on shallow flats throwing topwaters and plastics in the five- to seven-inch range. Those fish can be very picky. Cloudy and breezy conditions give you the best chance at a good bite. Long casts covering plenty of water help, too. The second bite is on the reefs and rips using spoons and slow-pitch jigs, or trolling deep-diving plugs like Rapala X-Raps. Nichols and Tsunami spoons are good ones, and for jigs, the SK Saltigas from Daiwa are solid. These reefs are also starting to put up some much bigger bass for anglers fishing live eels/soft plastics after dark. The first push of big migratory fish is here and this is usually a good time to get an early season giant right as they arrive. Marking fish, then drifting over them is better than free-drifting. Matt is just starting to hear of some local fluke anywhere from 30 to 80 feet of water, but anglers heading to the Long Island side are still fairing better. Keeper sea bass are starting to pop up locally as well, but the water temps are still a little low for it to really get going.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic reports: “This week had some ups and downs. We started off our week with one of our favorite trips of the year, the VIP (Visually Impaired Persons) trip with several local Lions Clubs. They had a great time reeling in porgies all day long! We look forward to this special trip every year! Later in the week, we had some private charters and porgy trips that showed excellent fishing. Nice porgies, some weakfish mixed in, and some striped bass as well. We lost our trip on Thursday due to the weather, and Friday and Saturday were still dealing with the after-effects of the storm. The fishing was slower those two days, but by Sunday it was starting to pick up again. Our Calamari Safari squid trip started off a little slow on Monday night but picked up once the wind dropped out. Saturday night’s trip was fantastic, with doubles and even triples coming over the rail. Some anglers were working on filling their second bucket! We’re still hoping for a few more trips before this short season ends. If you’d like to catch ’em, be sure to grab your spot soon. We will be posting some more trips on our website, so check the site for info and grab your tickets to join us!”
Captain Joe Diorio of Diorio Guide Service sent over this report following a few recent trips this week: “It was another great week on the water. The weather has been beautiful, and the fishing has been non-stop. This week, we were mostly targeting stripers. Most of the fish were in the 32- to 38-inch range, with a few bigger ones mixed in every trip. The biggest fish of the week were taping out around 46 inches! We were fishing mostly the deeper reefs ranging from 30 to 90 feet of water. The best tactic for fishing these reefs has been 3-waying a bucktail or a Joe Baggs Miracle Minnow. As the tides slow down, we have been doing very good on flutter spoons as well. As the water gets warmer, we should really start to see the bigger stripers move in. It’s definitely shaping up to be a great season!” Joe still has some availability for prime dates. Make sure to get in on the action while it’s hot!
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Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures sent over the following report for the week: “The recent cold weather and rains caused the rivers to dirty up and sent a ton of debris toward the Sound. This has made the river and shoreline a little tough, but there are still people catching some nice fish in the rivers and backwaters. The most consistent striped bass bite seems to be out on the deeper reefs. Just about every reef has a ton of fish on it and they have been primarily feeding on what looks to be butterfish, herring and silversides. These fish are hanging out anywhere from 30 to 90 feet of water, so you’re going to want to use heavier baits and jigheads. Flutter spoons, 6-inch DuraTech paddletails and our 7-inch soft jerkbaits have all been getting some solid bites. In the mornings and low-light hours, the 6-inch X-Walk has been working great when the bass are feeding on top. Water temps are still relatively cold for this time of year, but with warmer weather on the way, the topwater bite should open up shortly!”
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service had several great trips this week, including Wednesday’s trip, which saw a load of slot-size stripers and some bigger fish to 42 inches in the Western Sound. There are no signs of bunker at all, but the influx of mackerel in the 10- to 15-inch range has caught the attention of these striped bass. Diamond jigs are the way to go unless you prefer flutter spoons, but Chris finds the diamond jigs work better when the bass are feeding on mackerel vs bunker. Macks tend to move quite a bit before they depart to the east, so you need to bounce around at times. There haven’t been many surface feeds in his area just yet, but the night bite for anglers chunking bunker and/or mackerel is starting to take off. With bunker, bass and blues in the far Western Sound, things are looking great! The better fluke fishing is still on the LI side where there are sand eels stacked in many locations. The migration to the CT side should occur over the next week or so, hopefully. The water is still very cold for this time of year at 54 degrees, so we need the temps to warm up to bring the bait!
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that striped bass fishing is taking off in a big way as they continue to see pushes of fresh fish, covered in sea lice, fill into the area. This week they noted a marked increase in bigger fish, with several measuring over the 40-inch mark. These fish are keyed in on adult butterfish and bunker, and large soft plastics, topwater plugs, bucktails and flutter spoons are all working well. There are some blues in the mix, but they haven’t showed in full force yet and the hot weakfish bite seems to be thinning out. That isn’t a bad thing though, as now is the time to focus on the spring striper run since it can be some of the best fishing of the year. The next couple of weeks should be very good and they have some openings, so take advantage of those spots while they last.
Tyler at Fishermen’s World in Norwalk reports that the striper fishing in their area somehow managed to get even better than last week. The arrival of menhaden took what was already fantastic fishing and super charged it. Fish are spread out just about everywhere in the area, but the best bite for big fish is happening around deep-water structure. These bass are also occasionally corralling the big baitfish on the surface and can be taken with a large spook or pencil popper; 20- to 30-pound fish are starting to become commonplace from Norwalk west, and each day they are hearing of more fish over the 40-pound mark. Inshore action has been hot as well, and anglers fishing around the islands were catching fish on all types of lures including SP Minnows, topwater plugs and soft plastics, to name a few. The harbor and local beaches are also packed with school bass willing to take plugs or bait fished on bottom. There are a few bluefish mixed in with the bass wherever you might find them, but they’ve yet to show up in any large numbers. The region is still overrun with mackerel that can be found feeding on the surface anywhere from outside to the islands to 28C and beyond. Fluke fishing is still best on the other side, around Eaton’s Neck and Smithtown Bay. Fishing shallow sand flats in 15 to 20 feet of water has resulted in lots of limits for boats making the run across. There is some local flatfish action to be had, mostly around cans 24 and 26. That said, plan to pick through a pile of short fish on your way to a keeper or two for the time being. The same can be said for scup, as local porgies are still elusive. However, if you’re looking for them, heading to Oyster Bay or Northport Harbor along the North Shore and fishing around rockpiles in 30 feet of water is the way to go.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Fishing throughout Connecticut continued to follow a positive trend this week. A slight increase in temperature has coincided with an uptick in fishing for most available saltwater species, so summer fishing has gone from knocking on the door, to busting down the door. Striped bass continue to be the main target throughout the state, and their range continues to increase. The tidal rivers are still holding plenty of fish, but the dirty river water has driven a lot of anglers to the local reefs, and they have been rewarded. The usual hotspot local reefs throughout the state are holding good numbers of fish, and the first arrivals of some big fish around 40-pounds-plus have shown up this week. Just about every angler who has gotten out for bass this week has reported loads of bait in the Sound, which can include bunker of all sizes, herring, mackerel, silversides, butterfish and/or squid. The big bass bite in the far Western Sound has continued to creep closer as well, with some excellent reports of big bass and bluefish from Norwalk to Fairfield. Bunker reports have been quieter than usual out west, but a mass concentration of mackerel has the bass and some big bluefish feeding heavily.
Both the scup and summer flounder fisheries are lagging a bit behind as the water temperatures are still low. That said, the first reports of both species, along with some solid black sea bass, are coming in locally. Also, if you don’t mind running over to the Long Island side, you should be rewarded with good fishing for fluke and scup.