Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that he thinks the recent heatwave had a positive effect on the local fishing. The water temperatures rose into the mid-60s and the fish are moving into their summer haunts. There is a bit more bunker around this week, but it can still be tough to find. Anglers are starting to adapt and using other forms of bait, like scup or eels. The shallow-water bite and the bite in the river has still been tough, but most of the usual central to eastern Sound reefs are fishing well. Topwaters are still working at times, along with spoons, diamond jigs, soft plastics, and the aforementioned live baits. Sea bass is closed in Connecticut until July 8th, but Matt’s heard it’s been on the slow side throughout Long Island Sound anyway. Fluke reports have been great in 35- to 60-foot depths. There is no one particular color working, but guys using high-low rigs with squid are catching them. Porgy has been very good in shallow, and we are definitely at the point where shore fishing is good. Sandworms and squid for scup are the best bet.
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic reports: “We had some great striped bass fishing this week. Our private charter on Friday had just under a full boat limit of slots, with oversized and undersized fish released. Our After Work Special trip was similar, with some great fishing! Our porgy trips remain slower than we’d like, and we’re hoping for an improvement with some warmer weather heading our way. Our Thursday fluke trip was great, with a steady pick of keepers and shorts from the first drift to the last! Some anglers had their limit of keepers, and some others were close behind. As a reminder, our Family Trips start this weekend; Saturday afternoons, be sure to join us for trips that are geared towards families with children. Smaller crowds, shorter trips, and some great family fishing fun! This year, we’ll even have a special surprise on Saturdays for one lucky family… be sure to join us! We’re sailing 7 days a week now, so check our calendar online and grab a ticket for your trip. We still have a few private charter dates available—contact the office to get your date on the calendar. Let’s get those kids outside and fishing!”
Captain Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing in New London reported: “We have been out scouting the midshore tuna grounds for the last couple of weeks when the weather allows. This week we saw a large influx of bait and marine mammals as the water warmed, so the tuna should be arriving in numbers any day. The striped bass fishing at Block Island has been about as good as it gets; we have also seen an increase in gator blues this week. Visit our website keepinitreelsportfishing.com to book or call me at (845) 416-8679 for info. and availability.
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Captain Joe at Diorio Guide Service had another great week of local fishing. The recent heatwave has warmed things up nicely and has enticed the striped bass to chew. They have still been fishing mostly the deeper reefs, where they are seeing water temperatures in the 62- to 65-degree range. This week, the average size stripers were 38 to 44 inches, but they also caught a few jumbos up to 53 inches. There has been steady topwater action on the Joe Baggs Skipper when the fish are smashing bunker on the surface. When the fish are down on the bottom, they have been 3-waying live eels, Joe Baggs Miracle Minnows, and bucktails. All have been super productive! Joe anticipates seeing some more fish move into the system over the next couple of weeks, with all the fish dumping out of the rivers and migratory stripers moving east. Joe has dates still available if you’re looking to get in on the action!
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Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures shared the following report for the week: “Bass fishing remains steady, but a lot of these fish are not in their usual haunts for this time of the year. The deeper bite out on the reefs has remained phenomenal and some big bass are being caught regularly. The shallow inshore and river bite, however, has been pretty lackluster. Not sure whether it has to do with water quality, the overall lack of bunker, or the sudden spike in temperature, but hopefully it picks up soon. I did run into some bass feeding on massive hickory shad this past week, which was very cool to see them around this early. Some big blues are starting to get in the mix which is always nice to see after a slow start from them. Soft plastics, topwater plugs, and live bunker (if you can find them) have all been working great. Our DuraTech 13-inch Eel has been getting some big bites when the bass are on larger bait, and downsizing to a 7-inch soft jerkbait when they’re on the smaller stuff has been the ticket for picky fish. With blues in the mix, it’s tough to beat the DuraTech plastics! Fluke fishing is improving with the water temps finally climbing. Bucktails, fluke spoons and squid in 50 to 80 feet have been getting some keepers. Porgy are starting to move in shallower, and the bite is definitely improving.”
Middlebank Sportfishing out of Bridgeport reports that the scup have begun their descent into deeper waters, which has affected their fishing. The bite is very hit or miss from day to day. When they are settled, the bite is good, and everyone is eating fish for dinner. When they seem to be on the move, the bite is definitely more technical, and anglers need to pay close attention to their rod. They recommend using the house rig as it is designed specifically for fishing in areas of western Long Island Sound. The fluke fishing has been action packed with countless shorts to 18 inches, but unfortunately, the keepers have been hard to come by. Bucktails and their house drift rig are recommended to up your chances at taking home a bag of fluke fillets. The best tip that they can provide this time of year is to listen to your Captain and deckhands! They know how to help you have a successful day at the rail. What works in the ocean very rarely works in the Western Long Island Sound. As always, check out their Facebook page for daily updates.
Max Finch at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that excellent fishing has continued throughout the western part of the state, for a variety of species. Stripers, bluefish, fluke and scup have been prominent and there is some sea bass fishing to be done once the season reopens on July 8th. Bass fishing is excellent as the fish have spread out, and bunker and schools of stripers have started to move in around the islands and even into the harbor. They talked to customers who have been catching fish ranging from 15 to 30 pounds on paddletails, bucktails, spooks and poppers around the islands. The deep-water reefs are still producing big fish, too. Customers reported catching fish on topwaters, soft plastics, diamond jigs, flutter spoons, mojos, bunker spoons and deep-diving plugs. Live-lining or chunking bunker has been increasingly popular with reports coming into the shop of bunker-eaters fish ranging from 20 to 40 pounds. Fluke fishing has picked up locally. While there are still plenty of fish to be caught along the North Shore of Long Island, there seem to be fewer bites but bigger fish on our side of the Sound. Shop owner Rick Mola had a two-man limit with fish to 8 pounds recently. Dragging spoons tipped with full squid has been a popular way to cull out some of the larger fish. Scup fishing continues to improve as well, as more reports came in from customers catching them locally. Shore reports have been good, too, with shore anglers scoring from Sherwood Islands and other areas of hard structure on sand worms.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said striped bass fishing remains very good; they are catching fish of all sizes on a variety of baits. This week, 9-inch Slug-Gos and 7-inch Fin-S Fish on jigheads really shined. They also saw some solid topwater action from larger fish rising to spooks like the Shimano Splash Walk. One notable difference, which they’ve seen develop over the last few days, has been the arrival of large bluefish. These gators are running in the 10- to 15-pound class and are making for some explosive action. The black sea bass season is now open in New York, and he anticipates fishing to be good if years past are any indicator. As we look ahead into July and August, they will start to shift focus to fishing live baits for cow bass.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
It’s certainly starting to feel like summer. Recent brutally-hot temperatures may have kept anglers wanting to stay inside, but the weather seems to have gotten a number of species chewing. The frenzied action of late spring has slowed to some degree, but early summer patterns are becoming reassuringly predictable. It’s been a great start to the summer season for striped bass with shops and charter captains from Norwalk to New London reporting excellent action. Bass seem to range from right around the 28-inch mark on up to 40 pounds.
Bottom fishing is a bit of a mixed bag depending on where you’re fishing, but generally, there have been enough bottom dwellers around to make a meal for most anglers. Fluke fishing seems to be best in the Western Sound, though there are good and bad days to be had out east, with the last few days trending better on the eastern reefs. Scup fishing is good and getting better throughout the Sound as these tasty fish play a central role in summer fishing for many anglers. The black sea bass season is closed until July 8th for recreational anglers, but not for charter boats. If you’re looking to make a meal of these beautiful and delicious fish in the next couple of weeks, there’s no better time to hop aboard a charter boat.