Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook told me that a good majority of his customers are cashing in on the excellent recreational tuna bite south of Montauk. A variety of presentations are working, including the UVT Chief, RonZ, jigs, and topwater when it’s called for. Inshore, stripers are early- and late-specific. Don’t go at midday and wonder why there’s no fish around. Sea bass are being caught in 70 feet and deeper, while fluke are coming from 50 feet plus on squid and bucktail rigs. Metal jigs like Streakers or Daiwa SKs are effective for sea bass. There are tons of porgy out there on nearly all the rock piles. Squid and small metals are hooking the scup.
Heather from the Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “It was another week of good summer fishing! Bottom fishing trips had plenty of porgies, along with sea bass, triggerfish and some fluke in the mix. We had limits of porgies all around the boat on most trips. Now is definitely the time to get out there and fill the freezer! Our bass and bluefish trip Friday night started off slow, but we put in some overtime and ended up with some nice blues in the coolers. We had a beautiful sunset cruise on Saturday night and even caught some fireworks. We have two of these trips left, but we continue to fish every day, so get your tickets and bring the kids before they go back to school. Our sunset cruise trips are all fundraisers for our BlackHawk and the Community program, so grab your tickets and join us for a great night for a good cause!”
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Captain Joe Diorio at Diorio Guide Service provided the following report: “We did a lot of bluefin tuna fishing this past week, and we have been crushing them on the 110- to 150- lines. We are targeting areas where we are seeing tuna chicks on slicks. This week, we did extremely well fishing 6-ounce and 8-ounce white, chrome and pink Joe Baggs Resin jigs, as well as electric chicken and chrome UVT jigs. We also caught a few fish this week on the pink UVT Chief, dead-sticking it mid-column or right on the bottom. Most of the fish have been in the 43- to 55-inch range. We also ran a few inshore trips this past week for stripers and have found our best success fishing as close as we can in the rocks while using topwater lures and live eels. Unfortunately, there have been a lot of sharks around, so the bass have been taking refuge inside the structure. Lastly, we have been getting some bonito up and down the RI beaches. We have done extremely well targeting them with the Joe Baggs 3/4-ounce Resin jigs. The fishing has been excellent, and we have some dates available over these next few weeks. Contact me to book!”
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Geno from Total Tackle in Old Saybrook said there are a few local bites that are keeping his customers busy. Striper fishing is still on the slower side, though there are a few fish around. Better bassing is happening on the reefs adjacent to the river mouth. Live eels have been the ticket for those fish that seem content posted up on that structure. Sharks have been around just about anywhere bass or blues have been caught. Bottom fishing is steady for the most part. Fluke reports have improved this week, with some of the larger fish of the year being caught from the rocky structure east of the river. The same can be said for sea bass, though targeting deep water has been the key to finding legal-sized biscuits, and the eastern Sound seems far superior to points west at the moment. Scup fishing has been good, too, with consistent action for anglers working Crane’s and Hatchett’s Reefs. Tog fishing was a steady, if not slow, pick for customers who’d been targeting them. Nearshore tuna action lit up this week, with the area south of Montauk being a hotspot for rec-sized fish. The canyons were also fishing well for yellowfin and a few swords. The shop is open seven days a week. Monday through Friday, they are there from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.; on Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Captain Chris Oliver of Keepin’ It Reel Sportfishing out of New London also noted that the fishing south of Montauk continues to be the go-to for midshore fishing. His best trip this week saw double-digit hookups on the Chief. The focus has been on tuna chicks and slicks, then working that UVT Chief close to the bottom. He has been fishing all different colors of tails and heads in the 5- to 7-ounce range until he figures out what the fish want. As far as the metals go, the UVT Glass and Shore Catch colors in the 150- to 180-gram range have been his go-tos.
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Captain Chris Elser of Elser Guide Service told me that he is finally seeing smaller bass in his area that have moved in on the peanuts, so the fly and light-tackle action is back for the season. The tube and worm is still solid for 20- to 30-pound bass, but those fish have spread out, allowing him to move around and fish several locations. The story of the week was losing a nice bass to a shark. He’s seen brown sharks in the western Sound before, but this is the first time he’s had one rip the fish off the line 10 feet from the boat! It scared the young kid on the boat big time. There has been no sign of bonito or Spanish mackerel lately, but they should be there any day now, and Chris will continue to hunt for them.
Anthony Charnetski at Game On Lures sent over the following report for the week: “Fishing across the board remained similar to last week. The striped bass bite has still been solid when you can dodge the sharks. Some large fish are hanging around the reefs and islands in the central and eastern part of the Sound, but they have been tough to get fired up during daylight hours. Nighttime or sunrise/sunset are still your best bets. Large straight-tail plastics like the 13-inch DuraTech Eel have been very effective at night. Small plastics, topwaters and bucktails have also worked well. Bonito have thinned since showing up in the eastern Sound, but RI beaches have been loaded, so hopefully more are on the way. 3/4- to 1-ounce EXO Jigs, specifically in silver and electric chicken, have been lights-out when the bones are around. Bottom fishing has also remained solid, but a lot of the popular areas are being fished out quickly. Choosing areas away from the crowd has produced some better results for anglers looking to fill the cooler. These next few weeks will begin the fall run, so things will start changing quickly!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said this is the time of year when they are best able to target large, cow-sized striped bass. The fish can be at their most predictable when they’re following their late-summer routine, and finding small schools of large fish with your electronics and then fishing them with live baits is a proven tactic. While live bait is the top producer of the cows they encounter, artificials like large soft plastics are very effective as well. Fin-S Fish and Slug-Gos are versatile lures that can be fished throughout the column. Captain Mike said they continue to see lots of brown sharks just about everywhere they are fishing, but this week they also encountered fevers of cownose rays. Captain Mike and his team have availability over the next few weeks, so give him a call to book a spot now.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
It is starting to feel more like early fall run fishing across Connecticut. The relatively cooler water in the eastern Long Island Sound provides some excellent striped bass action. That said, the bite is much better overnight or during the low-light periods. Striped bass are being caught throughout the Sound, with the eastern Sound reefs holding the most promise. Areas from the central to eastern Sound also saw many more surface-feeding striped bass on juvenile butterfish and peanut bunker. In the western Sound, the usual deepwater rips are holding fish that will respond to diamond jigs or fresh chunks by day, and jigs, eels, and occasionally, topwaters, during periods of low light. Some increased reports of small bass blitzing on peanuts have also gotten Western Sound anglers fired up.
The scup bite is as consistent as ever, with no shortage of hubcaps throughout the Sound, while the sea bass season has kicked into gear on the deeper structure. Encouraging fluke reports continue to come in, as they seem to be making a late-season push. Fish to 25-inches plus have been reported from the reefs east of the Connecticut River. Those targeting summer blackfish are reporting better results, and you have one more week to target them before the season closes. Bonito reports are popping up here and there in the eastern Sound, and hopefully it won’t be long until we hear of a few more “funny fish” entering the mix.