Connecticut Fishing Report
A lot can change in a 7 days. After last week’s arctic blast, which brought sub-zero temperatures and more flurries of snow to Connecticut and Rhode Island, the Constitution State’s resident stripers are once again fair game. Fishable ice is now covering many of the coves that flank the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers, providing access to zones where striped bass winter over. With temperatures in the single digits this weekend, you can bet there will be more fishing pressure on the bass in these sensitive areas. Even though temps are falling to almost zero degrees on Saturday and Sunday, ice fishermen are still encouraged to use extreme caution when fishing for holdover stripers in tidal areas.
Stripers always steal the spotlight, but there are excellent ice fishing opportunities for a myriad of species across the state. Fan favorites include trout, pike, pickerel and largemouth bass, but crappie and perch are also highly sought after by ice anglers who prefer to fish for food. There was even at least one Atlantic salmon pulled through the ice on the Housatonic this week, but again, anglers should be especially cautious when venturing onto ice that is subject to current and tide swings.
On most inland lakes and ponds, especially in northern CT, anglers are seeing between 7 and 10 inches of ice if not more, so there is no shortage of options regardless of your quarry. Yellow perch and crappie seem to be the most active and abundant, with stocked trout the runners-up and some respectable largemouth bass in the mix.
View this post on Instagram
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook said that with even the rivers now frozen, it’s ice fishing or bust in his neck of the woods. Local ponds are giving up the standard freshwater species like panfish, bass and pickerel, and anglers in the know are fishing holdover spots on the rivers with good results.
Rich at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk said that traveling to northern Connecticut is the best bet for steady hardwater action. There’s a lot of snow on the ice, so bring a shovel on your sled and proceed with caution. Even though most ponds are plenty frozen, snow on the ice poses a hazard to anglers searching for untapped spots. Bass, perch, crappie, pickerel and trout are all available. The Housatonic, he said, is locked up but they haven’t heard of anyone getting out on the river. The shop has live bait in stock, so swing by before your weekend ice fishing trip.
Jason at Bobby J’s Bait and Tackle in Milford reported that there are plenty of folks getting on the ice locally; there’s several inches of ice down to the water’s edge by the Sound, so all the ponds and even the river are locked up. Yellow and white perch fishing has been excellent in the river especially for anglers jigging small spoons like the Swedish Pimple on a light-tipped rod. If spoons aren’t working, he added, tie on a small teardrop tungsten jig tipped with a maggot and you should have no problem reeling in some slab perch. Both white and yellow perch school heavily and tend to suspend 3 or 4 feet from bottom so the action is usually consistent. Jason also said there have also been a couple of stripers caught in the coves on the river, along with your perch and the occasional pike, so Housy river anglers are enjoying solid mixed-bag fishing. Swing by the shop for bait before your ice fishing trip this weekend. They’re open 8am-6pm of Friday, 8-2 on Saturday, and closed on Sunday.
Capt. Joe Diorio of Diorio Guide Service shared a brief update live from the ice while fishing for holdover stripers with Joe D’Agostino of JoeBaggs Outdoors. He said they’d had a couple bites on jigs so far but were yet to land any fish. Joe said he mostly uses Rapala Jigging Raps and small Kastmasters and finds that the fish are typically hugging bottom but, at times, especially in deeper spots, they’re suspended a good deal from the bottom. He said the rivers are locked up plenty and he’s even heard of some Atlantic salmon being caught on the Housatonic. If a striper through the ice is on your bucket list, now is a good time to give it a shot.
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Connecticut
Anthony Charnetski of Game On Lures said that he’s been out a few times in the past couple weeks, but his outings have been reserved to fishing with his buddy who has an ice fishing tent since temperatures have been ridiculously cold. It’s been so frigid at times that his guides and reels are freezing up, so the tent provides some much-needed insulation. Anthony said he’s been fishing on a glacial (kettle) lake and catching trout and largemouth reliably. Most of northern Connecticut has close to a foot of ice, he said, while southern and central CT is hit or miss in terms of consistent ice thickness. Some lakes have 5 inches while others have 8 or 9 plus, which is largely due to recent snowfall and high winds keeping pockets of water from freezing enough to fish safely. He highly recommended checking the ice with a spud bar as you go; there can be 8 or 9 inches of ice in one area, while the opposite side of the same pond may have just 3 or 4 inches. Live bait (shiners) are getting the job done, and he noted that trout have been especially reactive to baits in shallow water or just beneath the ice. The sweet spot is 4 to 10 feet of water, but even over 40 to 50 feet, the trout seem to prefer baits hung within 2 or 3 feet of the ice. Jigging small spoons like the Clam Outdoors Pinhead Pro—which has a micro Colorado blade for extra flash and vibration—along with the Rapala Jigging Rap, has also been working well for both trout and largemouth bass. The holdover striper spots, he added, are all locked up too and plenty of folks are catching them lately. His parting advice was to be extra careful when scouting new spots, because the snow can make it more challenging to gauge how thin or thick the ice is.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
If you have yet to venture onto the ice this winter, now is as good a time as ever to give it a try. From the major rivers to inland lakes and ponds, anglers are catching just about every gamefish Connecticut’s waters offer: perch, pike, pickerel, sunfish, crappie, bass, different species of trout, and even resident stripers and salmon. There’s another cold front on the way that will bring temperatures back down to single digits this weekend, so grab some bait, bundle up, and find a spot where you can duck out of the wind. Or, better yet, take a page out of Anthony Charnetski’s book and make friends with someone who has an ice fishing tent to shield yourselves from the wind.
Be safe out there and enjoy the ice fishing season while the conditions are prime!