Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that things are going very well in the Central Sound, and it seems like we’re knocking on the doorstep of lights-out summer fishing. Water temperatures have started to rise in the Sound, and there has been a nice push of local striped bass as a result. There are still massive numbers of bass at The Gut and The Race that should continue to work their way inshore over the next few days. The CT River is still muddy but is finally starting to clean up. With that clean up has come a few decent reports from the mouth, and the fishing there should improve as long as it clears up before the water gets too warm. Bunker reports have been scant, but there seem to be plenty moving in to the west, so we shouldn’t too far away from a full bait smorgasbord in the central to eastern Sound. A push of bunker will also certainly help the lower river fishing. The early CT River reports have been encouraging, but anglers are having to move around quite a bit to find action. Sea bass anglers reported a much better week, with 80 feet being the most productive depth.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic reports: “Once again, there were some ups and downs this week. The porgy fishing was slow early in the week, then picked up mid-week before slowing down again over the weekend. We’re looking forward to some improvement soon. Our bass trips, including our private charters during the week and After Work Special in the afternoon, were excellent. On both trips, we had loads of slot fish, releasing some under- and over-slots as well. We’re looking forward to more of these trips. While our last Calamari Safari squid trip on Sunday night wasn’t the bucket-filling bonanza we have had in past weeks, we had a lot of newcomers filling up with plenty of quality squid! Overall, not a bad night for our last trip. We have a few days left for private charters in June, and July and August are also filling up, so be sure to contact us if you’d like to get your date on the calendar. We will be posting some more trips on our website; check the site for info and grab your tickets to join us.”
Captain Joe Diorio at Diorio Guide Service reported: “Another awesome week on the water here in Eastern CT and it’s official…the fishing has blown wide open! We are seeing lots of stripers and a few bluefish come in, not only on the deeper reefs but in the rivers. Most fish have been between 38 and 42 inches, but we did catch a few big ones up to 51 inches. We have been finding our best success on the deeper reefs still, throwing lures like the Joe Baggs Skipper when the fish are on top. When they are on the bottom, we have been 3-waying bucktails and Miracle Minnows. This week, we only anticipate that the fishing will continue to get better and better with more bait and migratory fish showing up. We have a few openings left for June and July. Contact Joe to book your trips ASAP.”
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Anthony at Game On Lures shared the following report for the week: “Things have really been heating up locally! With the rising water temps, it seems like we’ve gotten a wave of some giant bass in the past couple days with a ton of anglers reporting 50″+ fish hitting the deck. It worries me a little bit if these fish will stick around with the lack of bunker but hopefully last night’s full moon will bring some bait and more fish in. Flutter spoons, X-Walks, Bucktails and large soft plastics have all been working great recently. The night bite has been the best time to target a true giant. Large soft plastics like the 13″ Duratech eel jigged off the bottom is a great nighttime option. Bluefish have been thin but you will get a few rolling through every now and then. Sea Bass bite has been solid with some good fish being caught on EXO Jigs, Bucktails and slow pitch jigs. 60-90ft seems to be the sweet spot for keeper size fish. Porgy fishing has been lights out. Fluke fishing has continued to be tough but should pick up with the temps on the rise.”
Middlebank Sportfishing in Bridgeport reports that porgy fishing has been nothing short of excellent in their neck of the woods over the past week. For those on their A game, limits have come easy with hubcap-size specimens, but regardless of skill level, everyone is going home with dinner. They are starting to see more summer flounder and weakfish rounding out the catch as well. On the Captains Choice trips that sail Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons, they’ve been catching a few keeper sea bass mixed in with the porgies. Dedicated fluke trips begin next week, and they will be targeting them every Monday and Tuesday until further notice. Visit their website, www.middlebanksportfishing.com to view the schedule and book your trip!
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service told me that bass of all sizes and a few schools of bluefish continue to filter into the central portions of the western Sound, and the bunker have finally arrived in better numbers. The only problem he has had over the past week, was having to cancel half his trips due to fog or wind. When he’s gotten out there, he’s done quite well. Chris has found several schools of bunker on recent trips, and most of them held some fish underneath. Casting large topwaters like the Game-On X Walk around these schools was the ticket. Even in the late morning and early afternoon, the fish were willing to hit topwaters, which is always a good time. The jig bite also rolls on, but it is more spread out and tide specific. Chris hasn’t done any nighttime trips, but anglers dunking chunks after dark are reporting some bigger bass over the past few nights. Reports are indicating giant masses of big striped bass to the west, and they should be filtering into the Sound any tide now. The only downside at the moment, is there are little to no sand eels showing up on the CT side like they did last year. The water is considerably cooler than it was at this time last year, so there’s still time for them to arrive. When that happens, it will open up some strong fly and light tackle action, as well as improved fluke and sea bassing.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said striped bass fishing is really good as they continue to see big numbers of quality fish in the 30- to 40-inch range. A wide variety of artificial lures have been working and their clients are catching on soft plastics and jigs, flutter spoons, metals and topwater lures. Topwater is still a bit of an exception rather than the norm, but as the water continues to warm, surface plugs will make up greater portion of their catches. There is a lot of bait in the region including adult bunker, butterfish, whiting and herring. There are some bluefish mixed in with the bass, but they’ve yet to see a big push of choppers into the region thus far. They are also starting to hear of some black sea bass from other anglers targeting them in the central Sound. Captain Mike says he expects another wave of fish and bait to push into the region on this week’s moon and that can only add to the already great action. The next couple of weeks should be very good and they have some openings so take advantage of those spots while they last.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Fishing throughout Connecticut has heated up as quickly as the recent weather, with striped bass fishing still the main show in town. The reefs and rips from the Western Sound to the Eastern Sound and everything in between are now inundated with bass of the larger variety. The fish seem to have shown up with a vengeance during this full moon phase, with multiple bass approaching 50 inches in the Central/Eastern Sound. They’re are eating the usual offerings—large soft plastics, eels, etc.—but there has been an encouraging amount of topwater reports this week.
The Connecticut River is starting to clean up, and a few bass can be had there as well. If the water quality continues to improve, and the bunker arrive, that bite should intensify until around the Fourth of July holiday. The Race and Plum Gut are all still holding plenty of bass that are gorging on butterfish and willing to eat a spoon or diamond jig. In the Western Sound, deep-water reefs and structure are holding big schools of bunker and very big bass with fish in this week’s report exceeding 50 pounds.
Bottom fishing reports have picked up, including some decent Eastern Sound fluke reports, along with fluke to 9-pounds in the Norwalk area. Sea bassing has started to hit its stride in 60 to 80 feet of water, and scup fishing is beginning to take off on both sides of the Sound for both shore and boat anglers.