Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook, reports that the constant wind has put a damper on things, but the tautog fishing still remains very good. The fish are chewing early and often in shallow water, with most of the best bites coming from less than 20 feet of water. There can still be a ton of short fish, along with small sea bass and the occasional porgy in the mix, so once you build a bite, using a whole crab helps to weed out some of the smaller fish. The striped bass bite has been excellent as well, and while the fish have thinned out a bit, anglers reported some of the biggest blitzes they’ve ever seen over the weekend. These striper blitzes included fish of mixed size classes, so don’t be surprised if you get a slot fish to take home amid feeds full of 40 inchers. The bass are in migration mode and they’re certainly showing it! Anything mimicking a peanut bunker or a small adult bunker is killer right now. Topwater plugs, eels, and soft plastics are getting the job done.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reported: “While we lost the early part of the week due to the storm, we were pleasantly surprised when we got back out there with our private charter on Wednesday. We had jumbo scup, some even bigger sea bass and some nice blackfish waiting for us. Thursday’s trip was similar, with excellent fishing. Friday and Saturday’s trips were a little on the slower side, considering we’ve been spoiled for months. That said, there were still plenty of fish to be had for everyone who stuck with it at the rail. We’re looking forward to getting out there this week for more of our mixed-bag trips. We start our famous 12-hour combo trips in November, too, and we can’t wait! Grab your tickets so you can get out there with us!”
Middlebank Sport Fishing out of Bridgeport reports that the fishing remains very good in their operating area, especially when the weather cooperates. They have switched over to blackfishing, and the early results remain strong. Despite some tough conditions, they found some quality tautog this week, including limits for a number of anglers. The Middlebank II will continue sailing daily for blackfish by reservation only. Tickets can be purchased on their website middlebanksportfishing.com.
Captain Nick Pace at Reel Mayhem Outfitters had another week of strong blackfishing, despite the brutal winds. They have been able to put together a full boat limit or close to it just about every time they have made it out. They saw fish to roughly 8-pounds and some anglers caught and released double-digit numbers of keepers. Those fishing light jigs on sensitive spinning gear have had the best results, as the fish remain in very shallow water; Nick has been targeting roughly 8- to 20-foot depths this week. Water temperatures are starting to drop nicely, and that has coincided with a clear uptick in blackfish activity. The cooler water should start to cull out some of the smaller nuisance fish, so the bite will only get better from here!
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Captain Chris at Elser Guide Service said, when he has been able to get out, there is some encouraging fishing around the Western Sound. It has been hard to spot blitzing false albacore or bonito due to the chop, but he had some solid success with striped bass. He’s finding plenty of quality stripers near rocky structure by blind casting Game On paddletails on ½-ounce jigheads. When targeting bigger bass on the reefs and rips, he has mostly been casting live eels and Duratech 13-inch eels, and both have been producing very well. Big bluefish are around on the usual deep-water reefs, and have also been seen occasionally blitzing on top in between 2- to 4-foot swells. Chris is hopeful that, when the swell clears and the surf settles, the Western Sound will come alive with topwater blitzes of bass, blues and late-season hardtails.
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Anthony Charnetski of Game On Lures provided the following report: “Despite the nonstop blow this past week, the bite has been on fire! Massive schools of bass have been making their way through the area gorging on peanut bunker. It’s primarily slot-size fish, but there are bass ranging from schoolies-size up to 40 inches plus. Larger fish always seem to hang out below these feeds, so try letting your bait sink a bit next time you encounter actively feeding fish. The peanut bunker have been on the larger side, so the 1.5-ounce EXO Jig, Albie Snax, and 6-inch X-Walk have been money. Bonito and false albacore have been mixed in with the bass, but they seem to be thinning out. That’s not to say they won’t pop up on any given day, so always have a hardtail setup ready. Water temps are finally taking a dip, so tautog fishing has picked up and the bigger fish are starting to chew! Besides the nighttime temps dipping into the low 40s, there doesn’t look to be any major cool downs in the forecast, so fingers crossed we get a little bit of an extended season this year!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said they’ve enjoyed an excellent fall run so far. The hope for the next couple of weeks is for the action to stay hot as water temperatures cool. Fishing has been good for the typical fall species here in the Sound, and his trips have seen everything from good striper fishing with plugs to chasing down albies and bonito with small jigs, and just about everything in between. Blackfish season is off to a strong start and should only get better as the month goes on. They plan to offer trips through November 16th and have openings available. In November, they plan to focus more on tog while also being ready for schools of stripers as they migrate into their winter holding areas. Give Captain Mike and his team a call now to take advantage of those open spots while they last.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The fall blackfish season has been solid for those who have braved the conditions this week! Some sporty weather hasn’t slowed down the bite, and the nice thing about blackfishing is you can usually find a spot to hide from the wind, even on some of the roughest days. Anglers are still working shallow rockpiles from 8 to 20 feet or so, but the fish can be had across a number of different depths right now, so be ready to fish rigs and jigs.
In terms of gamefish, the eastern to central Sound saw large and plentiful striped bass blitzes along the shore and inside the rivers last weekend. Reports have been quieter during the week, but I’d imagine at least some of these fish are still in the area. The bluefish action was strong pre-storm as well, with small bluefish all over the coastline and some bigger fish out by The Race. False albacore numbers from the central to eastern Sound were much better last weekend as well, and everyone’s hoping to get one more shot at them this weekend if they haven’t been blown completely out.
Flows are generally low to moderate in the trout streams, despite the rain, and fall trout results have been strong. Crisp fall mornings, blitzing fish, and that distinct thump of a big tautog will only last so long, so get out and capitalize on some of the best fishing of the season.