Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook provided the following report for the week: “The blackfish bite had finally started to improve over the past few days, but unfortunately, the season ends with the month of April. Saltwater anglers will start to turn their attention to striped bass fishing, and there have been some larger striped bass caught in the outflows of some of the smaller creeks and rivers that dump into the Sound. There are also fish in the Connecticut River, if you know where to look. The best artificials for striped bass right now are slowly fished soft plastics, while bait anglers are doing very well on sandworms. It is still very cold, so moving anything slowly is the way to go in terms of lure presentation. Freshwater has been very good on the trout front with all sorts of catches being reported. I have not heard much about largemouth bass except that I do know where they hold in a body of water will depend on how big and deep that body of water is. Anglers should start this time of year by targeting south-facing shorelines and coves because they will get the most sun exposure and be the warmest.”
Captain Nick Pace at Reel Mayhem Outfitters out of Greenwich started off their April striped bass season on a high note. They have put together a few strong trips so far, including one of their best this past Sunday. An influx of bait has caused the bubble to burst on the Western Sound striped bass action. They are seeing new waves of fish on each tide, with the fish falling to a number of different offerings, besides just trolling. The fish have been a range of sizes, with plenty of slots on each trip. It will only get better from here, so reach out soon to see the open boat schedule for this weekend or to lock in a date before it’s too late!
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic provided the following early season report: “It’s finally time! Our first trip of the season is Friday, May 1, and we can’t wait! As usual, we will open our trips for booking on Monday nights at 8 p.m., with each Monday opening a new week of tickets. Head to our website and get your tickets online today. The squid trips should start soon, too; once we know when the squid have arrived, we’ll get those tickets online. We’re still booking private charters, and our summer dates are filling fast, so be sure to get yours on the calendar before we’re booked!”
- Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in Connecticut
Captain Joe Diorio at Diorio Guide Service is back to chartering for the season, and provided the following report for the week: “We started charters this week for the 2026 season. The water is still very cold, ranging between 44 and 48 degrees. That said, this week we did get into some pretty good tautog fishing! This time of the year you want to focus on shallow spots, ranging 4 to 12 feet of water. We did best using 3/4- and 1-ounce Joe Baggs Lay Perfect jigheads and for bait, we were using green crabs and sea clams. We also did some striper fishing this week and got into them pretty good the past few days. The majority of the fish range from 24 to 30 inches, hitting topwater lures like the Joe Baggs Skipper and weightless soft plastics. These bass in our area are following the herring, so find the bait and you will find the bass close by. Over these next few weeks, we will start to see the water temps rise and more fish will enter the system, both in the rivers and out front. 2026 is shaping up to be a great season! Contact us to book your trips today!”
View this post on Instagram
Jesse, at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, said there have been plenty of positive reports making their way into the shop, especially for stripers. Striped bass fishing is good for resident and holdover fish as they continue to spread out and search for meals, whether in the local rivers, bays, harbors, estuaries or along the beachfront. There seems to be a couple of distinct size classes of fish around. Most are in the 24- to 32-inch range and either up on mud flats inside tidal creeks or roaming along the beaches locally and to the east. There are some concentrations of larger fish in the 36- to 40-inch range focused on following schools of river herring. These bigger bass are pretty well keyed in on live bait but will fall to a well-presented artificial under the right circumstances. Sandworms have been a popular bait for customers fishing in the harbor, around Sherwood Island and at the beaches. Trout fishing has been very good at all the local rivers. The Mianus, Mill and Norwalk were all well stocked and continue to produce fish. The Saugatuck River still has some fish looking up to flies and the reservoir is fishing well, too.
Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures provided the following report for the week: “The time of year we have all been waiting for is finally here! The first big push of migratory striped bass has entered the Sound and things are picking up quickly. It is still mainly schoolie-size migratory fish but some larger slot or slightly over-slot fish are making their way in. They are still primarily feeding on the herring, but some pods of bunker have been starting to roll in slowly. As long as the bait keeps coming the bite should continue to improve. Estuaries and areas near river mouths have been the most productive. Some shorelines are starting to show more consistent bait and fish, but success is still hit or miss. Weightless plastics, paddletails, minnow plugs, and occasionally, topwater plugs, have been productive. The freshwater bass and panfish bite has continued to be excellent. The steady weather and colder nights have temps stagnant which has kept these fish in pre-spawn mode. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a proper spawn, but this year is lining up perfectly!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said striper fishing is good and getting better as this week they had bass chasing herring on top. They are seeing 28- to 39-inch fish with several fish over the 20-pound mark in the mix. A mix of soft plastics and larger baits has been effective, though the larger bass are indeed falling to the bigger baits. Captain Mike and his team are already booking prime dates for the season and it’s never too early to lock yours in so give him a call to book a spot now.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
As we flip the calendar from April to May, the tautog season closes, but others open as we get closer to late-spring/early-summer patterns of fishing. Scup season opens on May 1, fluke season is right around the corner, and while you’d likely have to travel to find decent action with either species right now, it signals that we are getting closer to summer fishing. Striped bass action can hold down the fort in saltwater right now, with strong reports of quality bass chasing herring up the estuaries, along with some fresh schoolies around the river mouths. A large glut of bigger bass is starting to show up in the far Western Sound, and they are right on schedule, so we should be seeing some much larger specimens showing up in local reports with each passing day.
Another highly anticipated bite heated up over the past week—American shad in the Connecticut and Farmington Rivers. The shad catches increased as the temperature climbed, and water levels fell, and that trend should continue this week. Trout action also benefitted from some better river flows, along with the recent Hendrickson hatch.