Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that despite a lack of consistent bunker schools in the area, the early June striped bass patterns are taking hold across eastern CT. The shallow rocky shore points have been strong for small boat anglers and surfcasters throwing live eels. The bass are also responding well to soft plastics, glide baits, and live bunker if you can find it. The chunk bite has also been very good when anglers have been able to find the fresh stuff. The deeper reefs hold plenty of fish as well. These fish are eating the usual offerings during the day, specifically flutter spoons and Daiwa SK jigs, but often, they will rise for topwaters as the sun gets lower. The fluke season has started off slow, but reports have started to improve across a myriad of depths in the Eastern Sound and parts of Fishers Island Sound. Black sea bass reports have been very quiet since the season opener, while the scup bite has slowly and steadily improved on sandworms and clams.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic provided the following early season report: “We had some ups and downs this week, but that’s fishing! Our Wednesday morning porgy trip started off hot, then slowed down a bit as the tide turned and the red weed started and made it hard to keep the rigs clean. Friday’s porgy trip had a good shot of big fish at the end of the day, which was great to see. We lost Saturday’s trip to the heavy wind. Sunday’s trip was better than expected after the stormy conditions Saturday, with a good number of porgies in the coolers. Special thanks to Sacred Heart School, who joined us on Tuesday for a special seal watch field trip. We saw a ton of seals and the kids had a blast! Our Calamari Safari squid trips were good, especially Saturday night. After the windy day, we were treated to calm seas and full buckets of squid. We’ve added a new trip for Wednesday night at 5 p.m., so come join us! Our After Work Special on Thursday was fantastic, with plenty of bass up to 27 pounds, all released unharmed. We had so many big fish we couldn’t get through them to get the slots. The rods stayed bent all evening. We’ll be adding more of these trips soon, so stay tuned and join us! We’re still booking some charters for the summer, so email the office to get your date on the calendar.”
Captain Stephanie from Middlebank Sport Fishing out of Bridgeport reported a strong start to June on the scup grounds, after the foul weather of the weekend blew through. Their recent trips have seen many anglers managing limits of porgies, with a few hubcaps showing up in the mix. There are also some decent fluke in the mix and a push of mackerel, which seems to be inhabiting the Western Sound once again. As the temperatures continue to rise, things will only get better. They are sailing daily from 8 am to 2 pm, and also in the afternoons on weekends from 4-8 pm. Visit their Facebook page for updates to the schedule and daily fishing reports!
Captain Ben Burdine from Apex Angling provided the following report for the Western Sound: “Striped bass fishing in western Long Island Sound is still in the peak of the spring migration. The average size is around 38 to 40 inches, and that continues to impress anglers on a daily basis. Schoolies are still notably absent. We’ve seen a few giant fish in the 46- to 50-inch range on topwater plugs this week. The surface temperature is still a few degrees below average, so bluefish seem to be a week or two behind schedule but are expected to make their appearance any day now. I haven’t seen many striped bass feeding on sand eels but have received a few reports and videos. I have mostly seen aggressive bass feeding on large baits, such as bunker, herring, large butterfish, and mackerel, so make sure you are “matching the hatch” by using large and extra-large lures in the 7- to 11-inch range and up.”
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Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service was happy to report that not much has changed since last week—the fishing remains red-hot in the Western Sound. Per usual, some days are better than others, but the amount of bait is making the bite fairly consistent. He’s seeing mackerel, bunker, and sand eels all over the Western Sound, with the latter getting much thicker since the water has warmed up. That influx of sand eels has equated to bass from 20-inches to 30-pounds. The mackerel numbers appear to be strong once again, and he was seeing some large topwater blitzes of bass feeding on mackerel. Chris still hasn’t had to resort to trolling to find cow bass, with most of the fish coming on topwater plugs, like X-Walks, and 3- to 4-ounce jigs like the A47 and the 3-ounce Exo jig from Game On Lures. Chris is also starting to add in a little bottom fishing this week, with better fluke and sea bass reports coming in from both sides of the Western Sound.
Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures provided the following report for the week: “The May full moon brought in a massive push of bass of all sizes including a ton of schoolie-sized fish that seemed to have been absent early in the season. It also brought in a wave of adult bunker and butterfish, which have been fueling some lights-out feeds. Big fish continue to be caught both shallow and deep, but the more consistent bite has been on the deeper reefs. The action is still very tide dependent, and it’s been hit or miss in certain areas but nonetheless, there are a ton of fish all over the Sound. Using live bunker on a three-way rig or free-lined has been a sure bet if you can find them thick enough to net. Large topwaters like the 8-inch X-Walk have been effective during low-light hours. Large soft plastics, spoons, and bucktails have also been working great. Bluefish are being caught on some of the deeper reefs, but there are not many around otherwise. Sea bass action has been decent, although I’ve heard reports that the bite slowed down and keepers are harder to come by. Focus on deep ledges and humps using bucktails and slow-pitch jigs. Try to find areas away from the crowds. The freshwater bass bite has been pretty tough, as they are in that post-spawn funk. Focus on docks, shade lines, shallow or deep grass, and offshore rock structure. Jigs, glide baits, chatterbaits, topwaters, and T-Rigged plastics are all great options.”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said they are seeing more big bait on their recent trips and it’s been fueling some very good bass fishing. Bunker, big butterfish and various sizes of whiting are all present in our waters and finding the baitfish concentrations has equated to finding the bass. A variety of presentations have been effective depending on where they’ve been fishing. Bunker have been inshore and on some reefs while the butterfish and whiting have been closer to deep water structure. Soft plastics, topwater lures, and flutter spoons are all working well. We’re heading into the peak of the season, and Captain Mike and his team are already booking prime dates, so give him a call to book a spot now.
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Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Large schools of bait and bass are colliding on both sides of Long Island Sound, from Connecticut to Long Island’s North Shore, which has led to some great action across the state. After a late May blue moon, the table is set with bait of all flavors for our resident gamefish to gorge on in June. Bunker, squid, mackerel, butterfish, whiting, sand eels and spearing are fueling an excellent striped bass bite from the Western to Eastern Sound. Anglers to the east are starting to find the bass settling into their shallow haunts close to the shoreline, which has helped out the surfcasters. Stripers are also filtering into the usual reefs and rips and taking spoons, soft plastics, and jigs by day, while rising for large topwaters as the sun starts to drop. The Eastern Sound reefs and rips, like The Race and Plum Gut, are holding plenty of bass that are gorging on butterfish. Meanwhile, in the Western Sound, deep water reefs are holding big schools of bunker and cow bass to 50 pounds.
While bluefish, fluke, and sea bass are all present, they are lagging behind a bit so far this season. Whispers of some better fluke fishing have started to trickle in from the far Eastern Sound and Fishers Island area, so here’s to hoping that some warmer water and the upcoming new moon helps things out. In the meantime, the scup bite is picking up the slack and becoming much more consistent.