Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that striped bass fishing has remained consistent, and the word is more bunker are starting to file in. Most of the bunker are to the west, but they seem to be making their way toward the Connecticut River. Customers are still reporting solid topwater bites during low-light periods, very strong eeling after dark, and good results with fresh bunker chunks (if you can find them). If you can’t find live bait, don’t be afraid to throw a plastic eel like the GT, as they remain strong producers as well. As far as bottom fishing, the sea bass are still deep, and the bite is a bit tough. Fluke reports have been better, and so has the scup fishing, which hit its mid-summer stride this week. The offshore bite has really dominated the conversation around the shop, with solid weather and a better jig bite, encouraging even more anglers to give it a shot. South of Montauk to southeast of Block Island is holding mostly 40- to 50-inch bluefin, with some much larger fish in the mix. Some of the top producers have been sand eel or pink UVT jigs and Chatter Streakers, pink RonZs, and occasionally topwater poppers. The troll bite has been good on purple, white, green, or natural bars/chains.
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Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “Now is the time to get out and join us! Porgy fishing continues to be excellent with jumbo specimens coming over the rails. There are some sea bass in the mix as well to round out the coolers. Our family trip on Saturday afternoon had a great bunch of kids, who were happy to reel up the porgies on a beautiful summer afternoon. Congrats to Hunter D, who was our Capt. Scott’s Saturday winner of a gift certificate. Also, congrats to Sarah D, who was our winner in our weekly drawing in our summer food drive. It’s our latest Black Hawk and the Community program- just bring the specified food items for our food drive, and have your name entered in the drawing. Once a week for the next 4 weeks, we’ll pick one winner each week who will have their trip refunded. Check our website and Facebook page for more info! We’re sailing 7 days a week, so be sure to view our calendar online and grab a ticket for your trip!”
Captain Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing out of New London provided the following report after another successful week of tuna fishing: “This week we started shifting our efforts further east, checking out the cleaner water south of Ryan’s Horn, Suffolk, and Tuna Ridge in hopes of some mid-shore yellowfin. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any yellows, but we did run into a ton of bluefin tuna! Once we found the mass of fish, we quickly abandoned the troll and started picking them up on the jig. Again, same as last week—get away from the fleet of boats and your success rate will increase. We did have a couple of 20-fish-plus days with most of them in the 45- to 50-inch class. We also hooked a giant on a jig, which was an 80-inch class fish. Out of the last 50 bluefin boated, the UVT jig in the Shore Catch pink glow color combination is responsible for at least 45 of those fish in the last few days. We have been using them in 180g, 220g and 280g sizes depending on the drift speed. We are seeing some world-class recreational bluefin tuna fishing right now; I’m not sure it can get much better.”
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Middlebank Sportfishing out of Bridgeport provided the following report: “Porgy fishing remains consistently inconsistent, and if you’ve been out there at all this summer then you know what we’re talking about! One day they come in fast and furious with plenty of jumbos, and the next day is slow and spotty, with smaller fish. But even on the slower trips, anglers are catching enough fish for a dinner or two. Tide and current have a lot to do with the fishing results as of late. We’ve made it past the new moon and things should start to even out for a bit until the next moon. Mixed in with the porgies we’ve seen some of the usual suspects: sea bass, fluke (mostly short), short striped bass, weakfish, skate, and a lot of spot! Planning a trip soon? Visit your local tackle shop and pick up a box of sandworms as they can definitely increase your odds of filling a bucket. When we can get them, we have been supplying sandworms along with clam. Plenty of fishing left before the kids go back to school! Visit our website to view our sailing schedule for August – easy online booking 24/7. Follow us on Facebook at Middlebank Sport Fishing to see our daily catch reports.”
Captain Chris at Elser Guide Service had another strong week of fishing, with similar results to the last few weeks. Daytime striped bass action has primarily come from trolling the tube and worm, as the big fish have been holding tight to the bottom. Anglers who like to chunk fresh bunker or drift eels after dark are also finding great success right now, otherwise it’s mainly a trolling bite. Chris is still waiting for the topwater fishery to start picking up. If the amount of small bait in the Western Sound is any indication, it should get going soon. Chris finally saw his first Spanish mackerel of the season this week as well, and while numbers haven’t been great, they always tend to kick up in August!
Anthony Charnetski of Game On Lures provided the following report for the week: “Striped bass fishing has been hot despite the uptick in shark activity. All the usual summer hot spots are starting to see a consistent presence of bass, and they are chewing. Large plastics like 13-inch DuraTech eels, XL Albie Snax and topwater plugs like the 6-inch X-Walk have been working great. There is still a lack of bunker around, but it seems the sand eels and other smaller baitfish have been keeping the bass in the area. Some blues have been in the mix here and there but the bite is consistent. Fluke fishing has slowed a bit but there are still some keepers to be had; following the balls of small bait and dropping fluke spoons and bucktails with Gulp has been the ticket. Sea bass has been good in terms of numbers, but the short/keeper ratio has been tough. Porgy fishing has been lights out and a great option to fill the cooler. If you have the ability to make it out to the tuna grounds, the bite continues to be red hot, and they are catching them every which way.”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said the big bass bite is “on” in the Eastern Sound and his team is fully focused on putting their clients on large stripers. The majority of their fish are coming on live bait (bunker and eels), but they are still catching on artificials as well. One notable thing they are seeing right now is the big influx of brown sharks throughout the region. Captain Mike said it’s hard to find an area that doesn’t have sharks feeding on hooked striped bass. Bottom fishing for scup and sea bass has been good and is a nice way to round out a trip. The near-shore tuna bite has been very good, and they are booking trips for that if you’re interested. They have openings for August so give them call to take advantage of those spots while they last.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The summer beat continues in Connecticut, despite increasing water temperatures throughout the Sound. Anglers who haven’t been taking advantage of the mid-shore tuna bite and have stayed inshore are still finding plenty of striped bass to play with. The relatively cooler water in the eastern Long Island Sound remains a haven for summer striped bass. Stripers are being caught throughout the Sound and in its major tributaries, with the Eastern Sound reefs starting to take charge this week. Reports of more bunker showing up in the central Sound also has anglers looking forward to this major bait source pushing further east. The Western Sound has slowed a bit, but there are still plenty of good bass and bluefish to be had. This is especially true for anglers fishing after dark. The scup bite is consistent with no shortage of hubcaps throughout the Sound, while the sea bass season has kicked into gear on deeper structure. Those targeting summer blackfish are also having some success, and you may find some keeper “tog” as bycatch while targeting the aforementioned species. Dedicated fluke fishermen continue to pick away at legal-sized flatfish, with better reports coming from shallower water this week. Spanish mackerel reports have just started to pop across the Western Sound, and based on the plethora of bait, we should start to see widespread macks and hopefully bonito.