Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that, at least for now, the false albacore have pretty much disappeared from the eastern part of Connecticut. It’s tough to say why, as areas to the east, west, and south have still held some big pods, but that’s albie fishing. Hopefully some cooler temperatures and another weekend blow bring a few more back in. The striped bass bite has picked up and topwater lures, as well as eels, have been producing some nice bass in the upper-30 to lower 40-inch class. Bonito have been showing locally in Westbrook as well as in the Western Sound. For tautog, we will have crabs for the opener, and we are fully loaded with all other tog needs! Our TogTober tournament is set to run October 16th through the 19th and sign-ups are open. Mega prize money available (last year’s winner got $4,000), along with a huge raffle on Sunday after scales close at 3 p.m. Heaviest single tog is the goal!
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “Once again (we’re on repeat here), another excellent week of fall fishing. We started the week with a bluefish and striped bass trip, and everyone easily had their fill of jumbo blues with some sea bass in the mix to fill up the coolers. During the week, we had excellent porgy fishing, making for easy limits around the boat, again with some sea bass in the mix. On some trips, we had triggerfish, a few slot-size striped bass, and even some blackfish that were released unharmed. We can’t wait for the opening of blackfish season, and judging by all of the calls and emails, you all can’t wait for the opening of blackfish season either! We’ll be doing some blackfish trips in October, and we’ll start our famous 12-hour combo trips in November. Grab your tickets online and come fill the cooler (or the freezer). We continue to fish every day, with all bottom fishing trips (6 days a week) leaving at 6 a.m., and our bass and blues trip leaving at 7 a.m. Check the website or give us a call if you have any questions.”
Middlebank Sportfishing out of Bridgeport provided the following report: “The fishing remains good in our operating area, especially when the weather cooperates. There are plenty of scup, and they have been less picky than last week. Weakfish numbers remain good, along with sea bass and the occasional bonito rounding out the catch. We will continue our porgy bottom fishing trips through October 13 and will be switching over to blackfish in the next week or so. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for target species updates and scheduling.”
Captain Nick Pace at Reel Mayhem Outfitters out of Greenwich reports that the fishing remains good across the board in the Western Sound. There are plenty of scup to fill the coolers on structure in varying depths. The keeper sea bass ratio has improved as well, with some nice fish coming off the deeper structure around Greenwich and Stamford. Weakfish numbers are also solid, and they have been rounding out the catch on just about every trip. The skipper said they have been catching some very nice tautog as bycatch and on scouting trips, and they will be switching over to targeting them basically full time as of this Friday.
Captain Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing out of New London was able to get out in search of yellowfin earlier this week, before the weather took a turn for the worse. Unfortunately, the draggers south of Shinnecock were not holding many fish, so they continued southwest until they found another fleet of draggers and scallop boats. There, they found warmer water and plenty of nice yellowfin. Chunking with butterfish was the key to success. They were also jigging UVTs but were having a tough time getting through the large albies that were around. Chris is moving the boat from New London, CT, to the south shore of Long Island after this blow, which will put their customers closer to the midshore tuna grounds and the Hudson canyon. They plan to finish out the season on the island, so reach out if you want in on some yellowfin!
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Captain Chris at Elser Guide Service continued to battle through some tough weather days, and unfortunately, lost a few trips this week. When he has been able to get out, there are good opportunities around the western Sound. Striped bass fishing has been solid, with fish from 30 to 40 inches set up in several areas deep and shallow, where you would generally expect them to be as the fall run kicks off in the Western Sound. He has mostly been casting live eels and Duratech 13-inch plastic eels, and both have been producing very well. Big bluefish are around on the usual deep-water reefs, but they have been sporadic from day to day. He was also able to find a few more schools of false albacore and bonito locally, and they appear to be growing less finicky. Hopefully they are still around this weekend and following the wind forecasted for Sunday.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said that fall fishing is very good and they’ve seen stripers, bluefish, albies and bonito on any given trip. They are about to add blackfish to that list of fall target species. Striped bass fishing has been consistently good, and they are catching both schoolies-size fish and some much larger bass. Bluefish action has been good; they boated a 38-inch, 21-pound gator last week—a remarkable specimen for the region. Black sea bass activity ticked up this week and as previously mentioned, tog fishing should be very good out of the gate. They do have some spots open for fall run fishing and they are now booking fall blackfish trips, so give his team a call to take advantage of those spots while they last.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Steady fall fishing patterns continue across Connecticut, and the day most fall anglers have been waiting for is here, with the opening of blackfish season. Bottom fishermen across the state will be out in full force looking for blackfish this weekend, and there will be no shortage of sea bass and scup in the mix, as they are still in their late-summer patterns. We’re tracking another coastal storm this Sunday/Monday, but it looks like the weather gods will bless tautog anglers with a decent Friday/Saturday opener.
The eastern to central Sound is still seeing some pretty large blitzes from striped bass of mixed sizes on anchovies and peanuts. Light tackle and fly anglers are still cashing in consistently, but don’t be hesitate to throw some bigger offerings into the mix to try and cull some bigger bass. Bluefish reports have picked up inshore, but the better reports are still out by The Race and Plum Gut. False albacore reports have been almost non-existent to the east, but you have a chance at running into a pod of bonito or two on most trips, especially on the North Fork of Long Island.
Western Sound anglers are also finding more consistent false albacore, but with the tough weather this week, I use the word “consistent” lightly. Bonito numbers have remained strong, and our great weakfish season continues throughout the Sound!
For freshwater enthusiasts, the fall trout stocking program is firing up, and flows are great. This is a great time to keep a fly rod or ultra-light setup in your car to quickly hit a local trout stream for some fish or the fall scenery.