Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that things remained similar to last week in his neck of the woods. The bass bite has been good. During the day, you want to go deep with GT Eels, spoons, and live eels. After dark, look in the shallower, tide-swept boulders and throw live eels, large unweighted soft plastics, and big swimmers. There has also been some topwater action early in the morning. The sea bass bite has continued to improve, especially on the New York side of the Sound, with metals like the Daiwa SK Jig scoring well off the deeper ends of the reefs. Fluking continues to slowly pick up, although there isn’t much of a pattern. Anglers are simply finding a few more keepers across a variety of depths and on a number of different offerings. Scup fishing has been good in 15 feet of water, and bait is producing the most fish.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “Another good week of summer fishing. Once again, our bottom fishing trips were excellent, with lots of limits of porgies, some sea bass in the mix, and an excellent showing of triggerfish. Saturday’s morning trip had the most triggerfish we’ve seen in one outing—they just kept biting! Our Thursday fluke trip was a private fluke and sea bass charter, and it started off on the slower side. Then we made a move and found plenty of action, with lots of shorts but some quality keepers mixed in. Congrats to Diane K., who was the winner in our Captain Scott’s Saturday drawing. She won a $25 gift certificate to Capt. Scott’s Lobster Dock in New London just for joining us on a Saturday trip. Also, congrats to Jay J., who won our weekly Summer Food Drive drawing. His trip will be refunded just for bringing food and beverages for our food drive! Don’t forget, all summer long we’re refunding one trip per week—bring requested items for our food drive, and you’ll be entered to win. Help us help our local community this summer! We had a beautiful evening for our sunset cruise on Saturday night and we have more coming up. These trips are all fundraisers for our Black Hawk and the Community program, so grab your tickets and join us for a great night for a good cause!”
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Captain Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing out of New London provided the following report after another strong week of tuna fishing: “Earlier this week, we were midshore recreational bluefin fishing. Happy the weather models were wrong, and we were able to get out and get it done! We started our trips this week in the Coimbra with hopes for a mixed-bag yellowfin/bluefin trip, as there was some nice water around that area and reports of some yellowfin mixing in. We didn’t get any yellows, but a few boats in the area did. As the week went on, we got into some bluefin closer to home and south of Montauk. We are seeing a nice, fun-size class of fish in the mid-50-inch range. It’s great to finally see more fish showing up in our local waters, and it seems that more tuna are finding the mass of bait every day. I would not say the bite is lights out, but we are happy to report there are fish to be caught. Sterling Tackle Lumo Dial Trackers continue to get the bites that save the day. It also seems that a steady jig bite may be shaping up, especially as the tide slows. We dropped a couple of fish on the new UVT Fishing Chief and their 180-gram limited edition glass-pattern jigs. We are back out on the midshore grounds later this week, so hopefully the fishing will continue to improve.”
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service told me that, when the weather permitted, the fishing was excellent for bass to 35 pounds, with some slot-size fish finally mixing in as well. Trolling the tube and worm has been the best option by far, but occasionally they are finding bass pushing bait to the surface. Jigging 3- to 5-ounce Exo Jigs has also been producing at times in deeper water. The area is loaded with silversides, so he’s thinking the bonito will be making another appearance soon. Bluefish have also entered the conversation briefly this week, and Chris is liking what he is hearing from the west in terms of bluefish making their way in. Coupled with the amount of bait, he’s thinking a very early fall run of Spanish mackerel and bonito may be in order.
Jesse at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that things haven’t changed much, and luckily, that means striped bass fishing remains solid. The bass have taken up residence along the deep-water reefs, and fishing has been good, though timing and presentation make the difference between catching and striking out. Fishing during low-light periods and at night is critical right now, and while trolling and casting lures can still be effective during the right windows, bait has been the best bet. Eels or chunks of mackerel and bunker have worked well, especially at night, and are the best way to cull out some of the biggest fish. Stripers have continued to spread out and can be found anywhere from deep-water structure to rocky points and bowls inshore, with plenty of places in between holding fish. Topwater bites are best during periods of low light. Other effective methods include trolling mojo rigs, bunker spoons, and deep-diving plugs, as well as fishing vertically with diamond jigs, flutter spoons, and soft plastics on jigheads. There were a few reports of bluefish being caught here and there, something a bit different from weeks past, as they have been scarce so far this season. Fluke fishing has been decent, especially in shallow water from 10 to 20 feet. There are lots of shorts around, but also some keeper-sized fish in the 7- to 9-pound range. Most of the fluke they’re hearing about are coming from inside the islands, around structure, and near river and harbor mouths. Scup fishing is excellent in shallow water. Shore anglers casting bottom baits like sandworms, clams, and squid are catching fish from Calf Pasture Beach and Sherwood Island. Boats are also doing well fishing with clams and chum in 20 feet of water or less. Sea bass action has been much the same and has been slow to pick up.
Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures sent over the following report for the week: “Striped bass fishing is good, but results have been different day to day. Bass ranging from schoolie size to cows are being caught regularly around all the well-known deeper reefs and some shallow reefs; however, the deep bite has been more consistent. Fishing during low-light conditions has been very important with the water temperatures rising. Once the sun rises, the bite has been extremely finicky. I recently caught a bass this week with a small blackfish in its throat, so with the lack of bunker around, these fish have been gorging on whatever is available. Live bait is always a solid bet, but large topwaters, glide baits, and 13-inch DuraTech eels have been getting quality bites. Jigging metals out deep has also been working great when the sun comes up. There isn’t an abundance of them, but I’ve run into some decent-sized bluefish on the last few trips out in the central and eastern Sound. Sea bass fishing has been steady on deeper reefs and ledges. Larger presentations have been the ticket to keeper knotheads. Fluke fishing is slow, but some solid fish are being picked off shallower than you’d expect. Pinch points, inlets, and shallow bays are holding some quality fish. Scup also remains solid, and anglers from both shore and boat have been catching them on squid or clams.”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said striper fishing continues to be strong in the area, and most trips are seeing several quality bass. They are fishing with both lures and bait, but the biggest bass are best culled from the schools with live bunker or eels. While live bait has been effective for fish to 30 pounds and more, lures continue to produce stripers as well. Fin-S Fish and Slug-Gos are versatile lures that can be fished throughout the water column, and if you can find schools with your electronics, you’ll know where to present the soft plastics. Captain Mike said he’s waiting to see if this full moon will bring a wave of bluefish, something that’s been missing from their catches so far this season. Another note he shared was about the abundance of brown sharks in the eastern Sound. If you’re catching bass east of the river, chances are you’ll encounter them. They have some openings over the next couple of weeks, and we’re right in the middle of a prime stretch of the season, so give him a call to book a spot now.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The summer pattern continues in Connecticut despite increasing water temperatures throughout the Sound. Anglers who haven’t been taking advantage of the midshore tuna bite and have stayed inshore are still finding plenty of striped bass to play with. The relatively cooler water in the eastern Long Island Sound is once again a haven for summer stripers. Striped bass are being caught throughout the Sound and in its major tributaries, with the eastern Sound reefs taking the lead this week. Unfortunately, most anglers fishing east of the Connecticut River have probably encountered brown sharks while bass fishing lately, so be mindful of how many of your bass are being eaten. The western Sound has fired up a bit this week, with quality bass being taken on deeper structure and some decent bluefish finally showing up, albeit in small numbers.
The scup bite is as consistent as ever, with no shortage of hubcaps throughout the Sound. Scup are coming from just about every piece of structure, regardless of depth, while the sea bass season has kicked into gear on deeper reef structure. Those targeting summer blackfish are also finding some success, and you may even pick up a keeper tog as bycatch while targeting the aforementioned species. Dedicated fluke fishermen continue to pick away at legal-sized flatfish, with better reports coming from shallower water this week. Spanish mackerel reports haven’t popped just yet, but with the abundance of small bait, we should be seeing them—and increasing numbers of bonito—very soon.