Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that reports were similar to last week, with strong blackfishing and some schoolie bass blitzes in between bouts of rough weather. Tautog fishermen are still seeing solid results as the fish start to transition to deeper water. Striped bass reports have been quieter, but there are some schoolie blitzes in the Eastern Sound and a good number of fish moving into their holdover haunts. Smaller spook-style topwaters, along with 5- to 7-inch soft plastics have been the easiest way to get these bass to eat, but they’re generally willing to eat a number of lures presentations—don’t put away the metals yet.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “After being tied to the dock for the majority of the previous week, we were thrilled to get out there this week. On Sunday, we headed for Block Island and we were not disappointed! It was a beautiful fall day with a nice mix of fish, and the story of the day was the good numbers of big sea bass! During the week, we had our first special 12-hour combo trips. Our anglers were rewarded with jumbo sea bass—some of the biggest we’ve seen in years! On several of the trips, we had a full boat limit. We also had a nice mix of blackfish for those that wanted them, as well as some jumbo scup. A reminder that trips this time of year are very weather dependent, so you want to get tickets ahead of time so we can contact you in case of any weather-related concerns. Also, a reminder that we will have our annual “Small Business Saturday” gift certificate sale on November 29. Support your community by shopping local this holiday season. We look forward to fishing with you!”
Middlebank Sport Fishing out of Bridgeport provided the following report: “While the winds didn’t let us off the dock much this past week, the few days we have been able to fish have been nothing short of excellent. Seasoned anglers are catching easy limits. Anglers that are new to the fishery are quickly catching on and have been able to bring a meal or two home. We have two weeks left of the season, and with the worst of the wind seemingly behind us, we are looking forward to getting back out on the grounds this week. The tog bite will likely be transitioning from jigs to fishing rigs in deep water this week, but we will still be prepared for anything. All trips sail limited load by reservation only. Book online at middlebanksportfishing.com.”
Captain Nick Pace at Reel Mayhem Outfitters out of Greenwich said they had another week of strong blackfishing despite brutal winds! The fish are starting to spread out with the temperatures dropping, so the bigger fish are transitioning to deeper water and getting more active as fishing pressure diminishes. Water temperatures are around 52 degrees in his neck of the woods and the better fish have been anywhere from 30 to 70 feet. After another week of wind, Nick believes the fishing should be even better on the deeper reefs. They were able to put together a full boat limit or close to it just about every time they made it out, with fish over the double-digit mark hitting the scales.
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Anthony Charnetski of Game On Lures provided the following report: “The wind machine continues to rage but mild temperatures and warm rain have kept water temps somewhat steady. Weather windows have provided some pretty lights-out action for blackfish and striped bass. Blackfish have slowly started to move out to some deeper water but there is still plenty of good action on shallow structure. I would start looking between 30 and 50 feet of water for a more consistent bite. There are some smaller schools of bass out west making their way through the Sound, but the majority have either moved south or into their holdover areas. Since the water is still relatively warm for this time of year, the bass have been pretty active and spread out. As the water cools these fish should congregate into tighter schools and the bite should improve; 5-inch DuraTech paddletails, straight tails, flukes and glidebaits have all been working great recently. As the fall progresses, the freshwater bite is also improving for anglers looking to target something different. The largemouth/smallmouth bite has been lights out and the upcoming cold snap should only improve things. Jerkbaits, jigs, CT Fish Nerd hair jigs, and minnow-style baits on jigheads have all been doing some heavy lifting recently. Don’t hang the gear up just yet—there are still plenty of good bites to be had!”
Rich at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that, despite the less-than-ideal conditions, many customers have been soldiering through and getting on some fish. Striper fishing is good throughout the region in a variety of areas. Up along the coast, the same bite that’s been going for the last week carries on; there are fish in the 25- to 38-inch range working schools of peanut bunker along the rocky shorelines and pieces of inshore structure. Soft plastics and paddletails were the best producers, but twitch baits and topwater lures have had their moments as well. The diamond jig bite at the reefs is still going strong as well, and word is that last week’s big moon tides brought good action. Most other customers are focused on blackfish. Rich said it sounds like the fish are starting to spread out and good fishing can be found anywhere from 15 to 50 feet of water and deeper. Most anglers they’d heard from were able to fill their three-fish limits and the overall quality was solid. There are still some big sea bass to be had on deep structure. As usual, targeting the deep wrecks is the best bet for a big late-season biscuit. There aren’t nearly as many scup around as there were a few weeks ago, but the ones that are left are very large.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said that as water temperatures have cooled, they are focusing a lot of their attention on blackfishing, and the action will continue to get better as the season’s end approaches. There are some waves of migratory striped bass pushing through the region as well. These fish are often schoolie size but occasionally a wave of better fish will move through. This week they also encountered schools of harbor blues scattered throughout the Sound. Finding birds working over bait is generally the best way to locate fish this time of year and they’ve run into schools of bass in a few different areas. They plan to offer trips through November 16th and currently have openings. For the remaining trips, they plan to focus more on tautog, but they will also fish the 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!
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Tautog fishing remains the main draw for saltwater anglers across Connecticut, although anglers continue to have to check the forecast and pick their days. The fishing has been as consistent as ever for anglers that have gotten out, but most note to try and find some pockets of cleaner water, if possible. The fish have really started to transition to deeper water, with the best fish coming from 40 feet plus this week. That said, they can be found anywhere from 15-100 plus, so don’t be afraid to bounce around. In terms of gamefish, the eastern to central sound continue are still seeing some schoolie bass blitzes, but they have definitely quieted down since last week. The Western Sound bass fishing has remained steady, with good bass reports of bass feeding on peanut bunker along most of the rocky shoreline down that way. It won’t be long before the Housatonic starts fishing really well and I expect to start hearing some reports from there before Thanksgiving. False albacore seem to be gone, but there were encouraging bonito reports on each side of the sound. Bonito fishing has been good all season, and it looks like these tasty funny fish are giving us one more chance to play. Flows are generally low to moderate in the trout streams, despite the rain, and fall trout results have been solid. Don’t let the windy weather discourage you, as we still have plenty of fresh and saltwater options to play with before the long winter ahead!