Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reported: “There is a lot of smaller bait coming into play, mostly in the form of peanuts and such. It’s not quite time to focus on birds solely but we are seeing some bird action out there with smaller blues and bass mixed in. Rumors of some Spanish mackerel locally are floating around and there are bonito and the first few pods of false albacore over towards the Rhode Island beaches, so a few should be moving into our area as well. Fluke fishing picked up and some really nice ones are coming in. Sea bass also had an uptick. It is a transition time as water temperatures continue to fall. Of course, we are all waiting on some nice albies to show up locally in the coming weeks!”
Anthony Charnetski of Game On Lures reported: “It’s finally starting to feel (and fish) like fall! The bass bite has been lights out, and I’m starting to see more consistent topwater activity. Peanut bunker are everywhere, and they’ve been the main fuel for these feeds. Most of the action has been schoolie and slot fish, but some bigger bass are starting to mix in. The 6-inch X-Walk and smaller, soft jerkbaits have been producing solid bites. There have definitely been more blues around than in past weeks, though most are smaller “cocktail” size. Bonito have been hanging out to the east, but they’ve been in small pods and very picky. The 3/4 oz EXO Jig has been the ticket for matching the hatch and getting bites. With reports of albies flooding in from the Cape, I’m hoping we see some local Als soon! As the water slowly cools down, bottom fishing has really picked up. The sea bass bite is getting much better, although the keeper-to-short ratio is still tough. EXO Jigs, slow-pitch jigs, and even a simple plastic on a jighead have been working well around ledges and rock piles. Local fluke fishing has still been on the tougher side. Guys that are having success with keeper fish have been reporting hi-lo rigs and fluke spoons tipped with squid to be the ticket.”
Capt. Nick Pace of Reel Mayhem Outfitters in Greenwich reports: “Bottom fishing in western Long Island Sound continues remains strong with porgies and a mixed bag of weakfish and sea bass. Some bluefish are starting to move into local Connecticut waters in the Sound, and with the cooler temperatures, the fish should get more active. We are especially excited to see some blackfish being caught. Looks like it will be another epic full-season bite.”
Captain Chris of Keepin’ it Reel Sportfishing out of New London reported: “We made the long run to the eastern canyons because the fishing was just too good to ignore. It wasn’t 5 minutes in while setting out our spread and we were doubled up on 50- to 60-pound yellowfin. We landed those, made another pass, and had a 5 banger go off with more 50- to 60-pound yellowfin and a 120- to 130-pound bigeye. We couldn’t set out more than 5 rods at any given time because of all the chaos! Lines in at 3:30 pm and we had a boat limit of yellows to 90 pounds and 2 bigeyes collared and packed by 8 pm. Sterling Tackle Dial Bars with cedar rain Lumo Stingers put in a ton of work on this trip and were responsible for 90% of the yellowfin and bigeyes. The rest of the fish came on 3- and 5-ounce candy apple Joe Shutes with select ballyhoo.”
Captain Ben Burdine of Apex Angling reported: “The albies are coming! The albies are coming! My best attempt at a ‘False Albacore-Paul Revere’. This past weekend’s offshore trip produced some false albacore, bonito, and chub mackerel pretty close to shore and well within cell phone range. On Tuesday, there were several confirmed reports of albies near Montauk Point. If history tells us anything, once they hit Montauk, it’s often just a matter of a few days or 1 to 2 weeks at most until a few pods of albies find their way into Central and Western Sound to reign supreme. Spanish mackerel have been seen skyrocketing out of the water in Western Sound and are still being caught at the typical spots with high concentrations of juvenile baitfish and nice clean water. Bonito have seemingly thinned out. Bass and bluefish are starting to feed heavier in response to these colder nights. Peanut bunker beware…. the stage is set for an electric fall run with multiple species of hardtails entering the arena.”
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Captain Chris at Elser Guide Service told me things are starting to get going in the Western Sound. Small bonito have been in a few specific areas and 2- to 3-pound blues are in the same areas feeding on abundant small bait. Finding bigger bass is still mostly a nighttime game, but you should be able to stick some quality fish at just about any time on the tube and worm. The lure of choice right now for hardtails is the 3/4-ounce pink and white Exo jigs—the bones can’t resist them! Albies are also close by but there have been no hookups just yet.
Middlebank Sport Fishing out of Bridgeport reports that “beautiful and bountiful” just about sums up the past week of fishing for them on the Middlebank II. The porgy bite remains strong. They’re seeing larger scup, and the “sharpies” are filling their buckets with limits or very near limits. Sea bass continue to make a showing, as well as some weakfish. Now is the time to get out if you’re looking to start filling the freezer! They will continue mixed bag bottom fishing until mid to late October, then they will switch over to blackfish. Be sure to follow them on Facebook to view the daily reports and be notified of any special jigging trips! Book online to guarantee your spot at the rail. They are also looking to hire crew to finish out the season and join them next season. If you’re interested, please send an email to: middlebanksportfishing@gmail.com.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “We had some good fishing this week, and some beautiful end of summer weather! On some trips the porgy fishing was a little picky, but those who stuck it out at the rail were able to bring home some nice fillets. We’re seeing more sea bass in the mix as well, which we hope continues into the fall bonus season. Congrats to many of the kids who had some nice fish this week; we had a bunch of young anglers getting in some last-minute fishing before school starts. We also had our last Saturday afternoon kids trip of the season with beautiful weather and excellent fishing. The kids were reeling up porgies all afternoon, and a good number of sea bass in the mix. It was also our last Capt. Scott’s Saturday giveaway: Congrats to Michael M, who was the winner! Thanks to Capt. Scott’s for this fun bonus on our weekly kids trips! We had a beautiful evening for our final Saturday night cruise of the summer. Thanks to all who joined us this summer on one of these trips; as you know, these are all fundraisers for various local organizations through our Black Hawk and the Community program. We’re honored to be able to help our local community and greatly appreciate all of you who help us. We’re now into our fall fishing schedule. All bottom fishing trips (6 days a week) leave at 6 a.m., and our bass and blues trip leaves at 7 a.m. We have one After Work Special left, this Friday at 3 p.m. We continue to fish 7 days a week, with a slightly different schedule than our summer schedule. Check the website or give us a call if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing everyone soon for some great fall fishing!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters told me that his trips have been very good over the last week as we are starting to see the earliest stages of the fall run take shape. This week, they seen waves of juvenile menhaden as well as butterfish in the region—a great sign for fall fishing patterns. This influx of bait has kicked the bass into gear and topwater feeds have become a more regular sight the past few days. Another change that’s materialized lately has been the appearance of bonito zipping around and slashing through bait on the surface. Most days, there are some blues mixed in with their bass catches, and another change this week is smaller numbers of brown shark encounters. They do have some spots open for the late summer and early fall, so give his team a call now to take advantage of those spots while they last.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Early fall fishing took a turn for the better this week, as topwater feeds of bass and bluefish have started to explode throughout the Sound, along with a few more bonito and Spanish mackerel entering the mix. Striped bass are being caught throughout the Sound and in its major tributaries. The late-summer reefs are holding quality fish, with anglers taking them on the tube and worm, along with live eels. There have been quite a few more topwater feeds of striped bass in the Sound this week as well. The usual hotspots around Fishers, Bartletts, The Race, The Gut, and Middleground are all holding blitzing fish, but you’re bound to run into them closer to home as well. These fish are feeding on juvenile butterfish, silversides, and peanut bunker, all of which have become plentiful.
Bluefish of mixed sizes, Spanish mackerel, and bonito have joined the party and can be found sporadically around throughout the Sound. False albacore are just starting to show themselves sparingly in Rhode Island, so we should see some entering our waters at some point this week or next, if they haven’t already.