Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me it has been rinse and repeat fall fishing across Connecticut—not much has changed since last week except for a few consecutive days of settled weather, for what feels like the first time this fall. Water temperatures are getting cold, so it’s time to start your tautog hunt in the 25- to 30-foot range, then work deeper from there. The hotspot over the past week seems to be 35 to 45 feet, but they can be found a touch shallower and quite a bit deeper. Short fish will still keep you occupied/drive you crazy, but over the past few days it appears that the quality of keepers has improved quite a bit. Anglers are reporting short flurries of undersized fish followed by some bigger fish once the bite has been established. Striped bass anglers are reporting that some migratory fish are still around, and they are being caught from both the shore and boat on soft plastics. There have even been some around 40-inch-class bass in the mix, which is great for this late in the season. Look for birds diving or work the areas around the river and creek mouths. Freshwater anglers are catching some solid trout and are looking forward to the upcoming salmon season. Both species can be caught on inline spinners, flies, or a number of different offerings, so keep an eye on water levels and flows to make the best choices when targeting these amazing fish.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “We had some excellent fall fishing this week! As usual, we didn’t make it out every day, but we don’t expect to at this time of year. On the days we were able to get out, we saw some fantastic fishing! Limits of sea bass around the boat, with a full boat limit on several days. We had some very nice blackfish come up as well, with several 10-pound-plus fish this week! We do our best to release these bigger fish whenever possible. Some jumbo scup were in the mix as well. Saturday’s trip was a little tougher, so we put in some overtime and stayed a bit later to make sure everyone had a solid catch. Now is the time to join us on one of our 12-hour combo trips. A reminder that trips this time of year are very weather dependent, so get your 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. We encourage all readers to shop local this holiday season—don’t forget to support the tackle shops, toy stores, bookstores, restaurants and other places in your community.”
Middlebank Sport Fishing out of Bridgeport provided the following report: “The wind has finally started to let up and the last few days of fishing have been nothing short of excellent. Seasoned anglers were catching easy limits of tog and anglers new to the fishery quickly caught on and were able to bring a meal or two home.” Unfortunately, with just a week left in the tog season, the Middlebank crew has decided to hang it up until 2026. Give them a shout to inquire about future trips and dates.
Captain Nick Pace at Reel Mayhem Outfitters out of Greenwich had another week of strong blackfishing, especially after finally seeing some breaks in the wind. The fish are starting to spread out with the temperatures dropping, so bigger tog are transitioning to deeper water and becoming more active. Water temperatures are around 50 degrees in his neck of the woods and the better fish have been anywhere from 30 to 80 feet. The water is finally starting to clean up and Nick believes this should lead to improved fishing on the late season 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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Rich, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk said that tautog are the main attraction for most anglers this time of year and reports from customers continue to indicate good fishing. The bite is now spread across a range of depths as cooling water temperatures continue to push fish into deeper water. Rich said if you’re looking for a particularly large blackfish, targeting deeper water is a good idea. With that said, most anglers they’d heard from were able to fill their three-fish limits and the overall quality was good. There are still some big sea bass to be had on the deepest wrecks and ledges in the area. Striped bass fishing has been good, he added; there are fish spread along the shoreline and moving into the river mouths and harbors. The quality of this particular body of fish has been good overall, with most of the bass in the 30- to 40-inch range. Fishing has been good with artificial lures including smaller swimmers and surface plugs as well as soft plastics. There are schools of peanut bunker in the area and a few reports of stripers chasing around hickory shad, as well. As we transition from November into December, most of the local action will be focused on fishing for stripers in the rivers. The Housatonic is the main magnet for striper fishermen and typically, early in the month, the fish are still pretty active. Soft plastics on jigheads are the baits of choice, and that holds true throughout the colder months. Freshwater anglers are starting to report some decent walleye catches at the Saugatuck Reservoir, along with a few bigger trout. The local, stocked trout rivers are also freshly stocked and will be fishing well through December.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said they’ve been fishing for tautog on most trips lately and the action has been good with plenty of quality fish around the boat. As the striper season winds down they will still occasionally intercept schools of migratory bass, but the focus will be on blackfish through the end of the season. They plan to offer trips through November 28th and have openings. Once the blackfish season is over, they’ll wrap their season as well and Captain Mike and his team want to thank all of their clients, new and returning, for what was another great year of fishing in Long Island Sound. They’ll start back up next April, and it’s never too early to book for prime dates so give him a call to reserve your spot now.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The only thing holding back Connecticut anglers from excellent tautog fishing is the persistent wind, and the season coming to an end on the 28th. The wind has started to take a turn for the better, and we’ve been able to string together a decent weather week. Tog fishing is as good as ever right now, with steady keeper action coming in 30 to 100 feet of water, along with a sharp increase in double-digit fish being reported. The water has cooled down, so look to some deeper structure this week, but be willing to bounce around.
Fall run fishing for stripers has mostly wound down, but there’s been an uptick in reports of blitzing bass from Niantic to Westbrook, mostly coming from anglers sitting on anchor for blackfish. The majority of these fish are schoolie to slot size and they’re feeding on small bait, however there are still some big girls hanging out throughout the Sound. Look to the Connecticut River and creek mouths for striped bass as well, as migratory fish are dropping out, while winter residents should be making their way in. While tautog fishing will hold over saltwater anglers until the end of season, it’s the holdover striped bass which will keep them occupied through the winter months. Stripers are setting up in all their usual haunts, and the numbers will only increase from here.
Pre-winter trout fishing has been productive for freshwater anglers in the stocked rivers and Saugatuck Reservoir, and those areas should keep fishing well right up until things freeze over.