Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that the striped bass fishing has been up and down, as the fish seem to be moving around quite a bit from day to day. That said, there is no shortage of fish, so if you put some time in you should find some that are willing to chew. There have been nice waves of fresh fish with sea lice coming through the area, and we should see even greater numbers with the upcoming moon cycle. When you locate the bass, small topwaters like the Rebel Jumpin’ Minnow have been getting the job done. 4- to 5-inch soft plastics like the Slug-go and Fin-S fish, along with small swimming plugs like the SP Minnow, have also been working well. There haven’t been any local fluke or scup reports yet, but they’re starting to come in from Block, so it shouldn’t be long now.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic finally had some fishing to report! She said: “It was great to get out there this week for the first trips of the season. Friday’s trip, the first of the season, was a solid first day. We anchored up and picked away at porgies for the entire trip; a one drop stop! Some anglers produced limits of 30 fish and others followed close behind. Having the right rig made a big difference with the delicate bite. We tie our rigs on the boat, so please ask us… we want you to catch! Saturday was similar—a beautiful day with calm seas and a steady pick all day long. Sunday was the best day of the weekend; it started off like the past few days, but then we made a move and landed on a heap of porgies, so we filled the coolers in no time. Many anglers had an easy limit and others came very close. The fishing should just get better and better, so plan on joining us soon. We will be posting some bass trips, as well as squid trips, for later this week. Check our website for info and grab your tickets to join us! We can’t wait to see everyone this year.”
Joe at Diorio Guide Service told me that fishing has been pretty good this past week and should only improve as the rivers clean up. There are plenty of stripers around locally ranging from 18 to 27 inches, give or take. At first light they have been eating topwater lures like the 6–inch Joe Baggs Skipper, which has been a blast on light tackle. As the sun gets higher, Joe has been switching over to soft plastics. They did really well on weightless 9-inch Slug-gos and 5- to 7-inch Joe Baggs paddletails on 1/4- to 1/2-ounce jigheads. With better weather on the way and the influx of herring they have seen over the past few weeks, Joe anticipates that the fish will only get bigger and more plentiful. He still has dates available over the next month if you’re looking to get on this bite!
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Anthony at Game On Lures provided the following report after another strong week of spring fishing: “With temps on the rise, the freshwater bite has gotten a little strange with the fish in all stages of the spawn, and most having already spawned. They should be entering their summer patterns soon and the bite should pick right back up. Chatterbaits, jigs, soft plastics and topwaters are all great ways to catch them. On the other hand, the striped bass bite has really picked up. The herring run has been unreal so far, and there seems to be more and more flooding in every day. This is definitely one of the better runs we have seen in a few years. There are a lot of holdover bass on the herring, but reports of fresh bass with lice on them are starting to pour in so they are definitely here! Big ones should be showing up any week now. Paddletails, medium-sized soft plastics and small topwater plugs have all been working great. It’s shaping up to be a killer spring season!”
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service is still getting the boat ready and geared up for the upcoming saltwater season, which will kick off on May 12th. He’s hearing some very good striped bass reports from the far Western Sound. In the meantime, he has continued to hit the freshwater hard. He had his annual camping trip at Bantam Lake this past week and enjoyed some nice northern pike fishing while casting big spoons. The largemouth bass and perch were also biting well for his friends that were casting jigs of mixed sizes. The Hendrickson hatch was going strong before the rain, but will likely be down for the count for a few more days, as the water cleans up and flows normalize.
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Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said that the fishing was pretty good this week. He reported their first stripers of the season with sea lice, which is always encouraging. It means that the bigger migratory fish are knocking on the door and should continue to push into the region this week. They filleted a slot-size bass that had two adult bunker in its stomach, which is another good sign for things to come. There have also been some fairly large schools of squid locally, so there appears to be no shortage of bait flowing into the area. 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 while they last!
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Fishing throughout Connecticut continued to follow a positive trend as more anglers are getting out and getting in on the spring fishing action. Striped bass were the most talked about species at tackle shops this week, and for good reason. Striper fishing in the major tidal rivers, and even in Long Island Sound, ranges anywhere from just getting going to very consistent depending on your fishing location. The three big rivers all have fish from the river mouths up to their first major dams. The hottest action seems to be in the Connecticut River, where fishing with sandworms has been very good. There are also some fresh fish showing up on structure in Long Island Sound proper, ranging from the central/eastern Sound to the west.
The American Shad bite in the tidal rivers was much more consistent before the recent rain events, so here’s to hoping that it starts to fire back up as the river cleans up.
Both the scup and summer flounder fisheries opened over the past week, and while we’re still a few weeks away from steady reports for both, it seems that enough scup are around to make it worth your while. Reports of squid from Rhode Island to the eastern parts of Long Island Sound are promising and indicate that fluke should be hot on their tails (or tentacles). It’s a great time of year, with no shortage of species to target. Get out and get in on the spring fever while it lasts.