Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook, provided the following report: “Freshwater fishing, particularly for trout, is your best bet right now. Water levels are good, there has been a lot of stocking going on, and fishing is good. All your typical options including Panther Martins, PowerBait, and nightcrawlers will work well. Holdover striper fishing seems to be picking up. There aren’t a lot of reports coming into the shop but based on what customers are buying the bite seems to be improving. There are some ospreys around, and word is that the river herring have started to arrive in force. All that bait coupled with the recent warm-up should kick up the bass activity to another level. Blackfish action has been slow to start, which is typical. Green crabs are hard to come by, but if you’re set on trying to catch an early season tog, sandworms and clams are effective baits.”
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reported: “We’re ready to go! Our first trip of the season will be May 1, and we can’t wait to get out there. As usual, we will open our trips for booking on Monday nights at 8 p.m. Monday 4/13 opened up the first weekend of trips, so grab your tickets now! We’re still booking private charters, so send us an email so you can get your date soon. We’re proud to announce that we’ve been selected as a finalist for the ‘Best of the Best’ contest again. We know it’s because of our fantastic customers, so thanks for your support and for being a part of the Black Hawk family. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone soon!”
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Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service is still getting the boat ready and geared up for the saltwater season. In the meantime, he has been taking advantage of some strong freshwater fishing across western CT. The fly hatches have started to pick up after this recent push of warm water, so Chris has been taking advantage of some large stonefly hatches over the past few days. With the recent stockings prior to opening day, there’s plenty of stocked fish on the fly hatches, aside from the good bite in the wild trout streams.
Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures provided the following report: “After this week’s warm-up, things have been progressing quickly. Holdover striped bass continue to feed on herring in the rivers and have been much more active and willing to eat an artificial. A paddletail or straight-tail on a jighead still seems to be the best option for catching numbers. This warm weather seems to be speeding up migration, so hopefully we will have fresh migratory fish in the coming week or two. Freshwater fishing success depends heavily on the specific lakes or rivers you choose. In some smaller and shallower ponds, fish have already begun spawning or are getting ready to do so any day now. In some of the deeper, cooler lakes, fish have started moving into shallow areas, but it’s not quite time to spawn yet. This time of year offers endless options for whatever style of fishing you want to do. Jigs, jerkbaits, paddletail swimbaits, drop-shots and chatterbaits are all great options for bass right now.”
Max, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that the opening day and weekend of trout harvest season kept them busy at the shop into this week. The state has stocked all the usual local bodies of water including the Norwalk, Saugatuck, and Mianus rivers. Fishing has been good for the last few weeks and should be just as good, if not better, as the state continues stocking. The shop is loaded with all of the baits and tackle you need to go and catch some hungry fish. Lures like Rooster Tails, Kastmasters, PowerBait Worms, and Trout Magnets have been popular, as are natural baits like mealworms and shiners. Some of the fly fishermen they’d talked to were doing well with dry flies at the Saugatuck. Speaking of, the reservoir opens back up this week and should be fishing well for trout and smallmouth bass. Striper fishing continues to pick up locally as they’ve heard about some fish caught in the Norwalk and Saugatuck. Bait, particularly sandworms, seemed to be the best bet, but soft plastics drifted on jigheads are also proven winners this time of year. The bass in the Housatonic have spread out and fish are being caught anywhere from the mouth to the dam. It’s been a slow start to the blackfish season, which is not a surprise but that isn’t keeping some the diehards from trying. If you’re looking for an early season tog, Max recommended trying a variety of depths including everything from deep water wrecks to 10-feet of water or less.
Captain Jim Christensen of Rod and Reel Charters out of Norwalk reported that although he’s been off the water a few days, a friend of his encountered some fresh striped bass locally in the Western Sound on Wednesday. The bass were unresponsive to poppers, glidebaits, and swim shads, but a 6-inch Sebile Stick Shadd finally convinced a few fish to eat, and they were covered in sea lice—a good sign that there should be more migratory bass not far behind.
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said the 2026 season is underway and they are back to fishing. The main target for these trips is striped bass and right now they are focused on holdover fish while they await the arrival of migratory bass. This time of year they are focused on light tackle and finesse presentations. They are seeing more fish in the 30- to 40-inch class, which makes those light-tackle battles an absolute blast. They are catching best on soft plastics and jigheads, often on the lighter side, depending on current, depth, and what the fish want. Captain Mike and his team are already booking prime dates for the season and it’s never too early to lock in yours, so give him a call to book a spot.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
A few warm days this week equaled a few more encouraging tautog reports from the Western Sound, although things are still a week or so behind schedule. Holdover striped bass action has been steady across the state all season, and this warm spell brought in loads of river herring, which has enticed some bigger bass to come out and play. Bass can be found throughout the river runs and are also starting to be caught in good numbers on the beaches along the mouths of the tidal rivers, so basically anywhere a bass could intercept a river herring, you’re likely to find some action. We’re still a couple weeks away from true peak “spring run”, but there are certainly fish to be had at the moment, especially with migratory bass beginning to show up.
The shad diehards are putting in their time, and word is starting to trickle in of a few being caught here and there, so we aren’t too far off from that spring bite blowing open as well. The trout streams were stocked well for the “harvest” opener, so trout results should remain very good across the state this weekend.