Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook, provided a post-storm update. The albies can certainly show up again, but they haven’t shown their tails since the blow. Everything else, striper-wise, is definitely moving more toward a fall bite, with birds overhead and creek and river outflows bringing lots of bait. The action has been very good from the moment the water settled down, and the bass are responding to plastics, topwater, and eels. In terms of bottom fishing, anglers are basically just gearing up for the tautog opener on 10/10. The shop will be holding its annual TogTober from 10/22-10/25. The single biggest tog weighed in at Black Hall wins the pool. Last year’s pool was nearly $4,000! So be sure to check in with the shop for further details and to sign up!
Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic reports: “There’s not much to report. We were able to get out on Monday for bottom fishing and Tuesday for bass and blues, and we had good fishing on each trip. Monday had a nice mix of sea bass, porgies, and even some fluke! Tuesday had plenty of blues, with a few keeper stripers in the mix as well! Wednesday, we took another group of golfers over to Fisher’s Island, then came home and tied up the boat in preparation for the storm. We look forward to getting back out there this week for more fishing! Once the seas calm down after the storm, grab your tickets and get out there to join us for some fall fishing!”
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said that as we move ahead into October, they will be in full-on fall-run mode. If the start of the fall season is any indicator, we should experience excellent action for striped bass and false albacore, and once blackfish season gets going, the tog fishing should be very good as well. Striper fishing has been good, and as the brown sharks move out, it will get even better. In addition to targeting cow-sized stripers, blitz fishing will kick into high gear as waves of migrating fish move through the region. Captain Mike said he’s hoping some adult bunker return as well. False albacore fishing has been solid to start the season, and he’s hoping they stick around for a while. They plan to target tog as well later in the month and into November, and if the past couple of years are any indication, fishing should be good. They have openings for fall-run fishing, and it’s time to book your spot now, so give Captain Mike a call.
Geno, from Total Tackle in Old Saybrook, said that it had been a busy weekend in the shop, mostly with customers looking to tighten up their tackle for the fall fishing season. It sounded like the two bites his customers were anticipating most were fall blackfish and tuna, though bass and blues are typically the main characters of the run. The former put on quite a showing right through the storm, with anglers reporting some strong striper blitzes just inside the river during the inclement weather of the weekend. This bite will only improve as these fish fatten up pre-migration. Other customers with albie fever are hoping the local bite holds up after the storm. Early indications are that false albacore are sparse, but there are some bonito around. He said he’s looking forward to the fall tog season, and the shop is all stocked up with jigs, rigs, and all the tackle you need for the fall finale. The shop is open seven days a week. Monday through Friday, they are there from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Captain Joe, at Diorio Guide Service, provided the following update prior to the weather moving in and delaying things: “So we have had our first nor’easter of the season, and man, it was a crazy one. Seven straight days of heavy NE winds has reset the fishery. No more sharks, and there are a lot of big fish around!!! The past few days we have been focusing on fishing for stripers, and this blow has brought a ton of bait out of the rivers and into the sound. The bass have been feeding hard on mullet and 4-to-5-inch bait. We have been fishing mostly 8 to 25 feet of water. We are doing extremely well fishing topwater lures like the Joe Baggs Skipper and 7-to-10-inch weightless soft plastics. When the fishing gets tougher, we have been switching it up to weightless eels. There are some really big bass still around. We have caught multiple bass over the 40-pound mark the past few days. It is setting up for a great October. If you haven’t been out, I suggest going soon, as the fishing these past few days has been nothing short of amazing.” Joe has some dates left for the remainder of the season. Contact him while the bite is hot!
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for Connecticut.
Anthony, from Game on Lures, provided the following report for the week: “After this past storm, things are starting to settle down. Water temperatures were between 66-67 inshore, which was surprising to see, as it wasn’t affected more by the blow. Some bass have started to move into the rivers and backwaters, and the bite is starting to improve on the sound. Loads of small bait in the area have been fueling plenty of action. Fish are on the move, and as temps fall, we should get a nice push of fish. Exo Jigs, Albie Snax, and X-Chop glide baits have all been working great. There have been some bonito showing up in the sound, and it seems they are spreading west quickly. Exo Jigs have been doing the trick, as usual. A few pods of albies have been spotted post-storm, but it’s very much a needle-in-a-haystack type of situation right now. Fingers crossed we get another good push of them locally. With water temps still in the high 60s, we’ve got plenty of fishing to go!”
Captain Chris, of Elser Guide Service, had another week where the weather only permitted one trip. Luckily, it was a good one, and the Western Sound fishing is still going strong! He found some aggressive schools of bonito, although at times it was hard to get the false albacore to bite because of how aggressive the bonito were. ¾- to 1-ounce Exo Jigs in pink were getting the job done all day. There are still plenty of bass to the west as well, from slot size to 40 inches, and they’re mostly feeding on peanut bunker and have been relatively easy to catch. The hardest part of bass fishing is not getting distracted by the bonito!
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
As we turn the calendar to October, Connecticut anglers are ready for tautog season, but unfortunately, they have to wait 10 more days. The long-term forecast looks good for the opening weekend, but as we wait, there are still plenty of options for CT anglers. Strong bites for bass, bluefish, bonito, sea bass, and scup can be found in select areas across most of Long Island Sound. The false albacore fishing has been sporadic since the storm, but there seems to be a large glut of bonito in the Western Sound and plenty to play with in the Eastern Sound. There were some larger schools of fish on the south side of the sound before the swell, so everyone’s hoping those fish push in and not out. The striped bass bite has been strong throughout the sound, and as the fall run starts to kick off, we should start to see some larger schools of blitzing fish. If hunting some bigger fish is more your speed, the Fishers Island and Eastern Sound reefs are still holding plenty, and the same can be said for the usual Western Sound deeper reefs. The mouths of the larger estuaries across the state have also been filling up with striped bass of mixed sizes, which is another sure sign of October. Bluefish action has been sporadic, but there are some very large gators being taken at The Race and around Plum Gut. Sea bass fishing sounded better for folks fishing deep-water structure around slack tides. Most shops and charter captains mentioned this Indian summer weather after the nor’easter as an indication that we’re far from the end, with water temperatures still hovering in the low 70s.