Connecticut Fishing Report
Matt Stone, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook, provided the following report for the week: “The tog bite is very good. Most guys are sticking shallow, around 10 to 30 feet of water. The shore bite is also really good. Nothing really unique at the moment, just your normal start to tog season. Lots of really excellent striper fishing as well, with some really big October fish coming in. Glide baits like the Game On X-Chop have been absolutely flying, and Slug-Gos are also going fast. Overall, it’s a lot of fun out there. Our upcoming TogTober Tournament is a week away (October 22–25), and the biggest tog wins. Last year, first place was $4,000 and second was $1,000, and we had 154 anglers. There is a big raffle and an after-party on Sunday the 25th at 3 p.m. Fish anywhere, but your fish must be weighed in at the shop. Details are on our website. Sign-up is $50, with an optional $20 Calcutta. You can sign up online, by phone, or in the shop.”
Heather from Black Hawk in Niantic reports: “Fall fishing is definitely upon us. We had to contend with some wind on some trips and lost Friday due to the weather, but overall, we had a great week of fishing. Lots of limits of scup around the boat, with some nice sea bass in the mix as well. Those who wanted to stick with the crabs were rewarded with some keeper blackfish to round out the coolers. Now is definitely the time to come and fill the freezer! Last week’s bluefish trip produced plenty of blues that kept our anglers busy all day. Our bluefish trips are winding down; our last one is this week, but we continue to fish every day, as long as Mother Nature cooperates. Our mixed-bag trips are running through November, then our famous 12-hour combo trips will start. We also have a few blackfish-specific trips coming up, so check the website and grab your tickets to join us. Now is the time to come fill the freezer for winter! Don’t just read the reports; get out there and make them!”
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Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said fall striper fishing has been solid for a variety of sizes. They continue to see some very large fish falling for bait and lures, while slot-size to over-slot fish blitz on the surface throughout the day. Multiple techniques and presentations are effective, and matching your offering to whatever the fish are eating is key to consistent catching. Larger fish glued to structure are more apt to slurp down an eel, large soft plastic, glide bait, or topwater lure, while blitzing fish on the move are better targeted with metal jigs like the Shimano Current Sniper. He said that once the waves of migrating bass start to thin in November, they will turn their focus to tog to close out the season. They plan to run until November 25 and have openings, so give Captain Mike a call to get in on the late-season action while it lasts.
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Geno from Total Tackle in Old Saybrook said it has been a quiet week due to the wind, but the customers he talked to reported good fishing for blackfish, stripers, and sea bass, with a few albies in the mix when they were able to get out there. The main draw for most of the anglers he spoke with was tog, and that will likely continue to be the case for the next few weeks. Blackfish action is reportedly steady, though working through short fish seems to be a common refrain among anglers. As the water cools and fish move deeper, the smaller fish and other nuisance fish should become less of an issue.
He reminded me about the blackfish tournament the shop is running through November 8. The main tournament is decided by the combined weight of each angler’s two heaviest blackfish. There is no minimum weight requirement, but the fish must be of legal length. All weigh-ins must take place at Total Tackle. For details and to register, visit the shop’s website.
Geno said striper fishing is good, with some big fish spread throughout the river and beyond on a few of the local reefs. Sea bass fishing has improved with falling water temperatures. The shop is open seven days a week through the end of November: Monday through Friday 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.
Anthony Charnetski from Game On Lures provided the following report for the week: “Weather has thrown a curveball over the last week with nonstop winds, but the dedicated anglers who braved the weather have been rewarded with a lights-out blackfish and striper bite. Water temperatures are finally dropping, and these next few weeks are prime time to run into the tautog of a lifetime. Between 10 and 30 feet has been the zone to target big fish. As temperatures drop, they will start sliding back into deeper water.
“The striped bass bite has also been solid. There have been plenty of schoolie- to slot-size bass blitzing on small bait throughout the Sound. Some larger bass are also in the mix, but it seems like the bigger fish are still relating to structure and are best targeted during low-light hours. X-Chops, 13-inch eel imitations, and topwaters have all been producing recently.
“Some bonito and the occasional pod of albies have been poking around the area, but unfortunately, that big storm a few weeks ago really shook up the bite. It always pays to have an EXO tied on, but I wouldn’t go burning gallons of gas searching for them.”
Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service told me he’s had some great close-to-shore bass fishing, with fish measuring 18 to 35 inches taking small X-Walk topwater plugs and soft plastics. He has never seen so many peanut bunker in the area, which is odd since there have been almost no adult bunker around all season. But he’ll take it! It’s also great to see so many year-classes of bass, making for excellent light-tackle fishing.
It’s pretty much been blowing with small-craft advisories each day, but the wind has mostly been from the north, so he has been able to find fish up and down the Connecticut side. Chris has seen only a few albies on the Connecticut side, but it has been unfishable where they typically show up closer to the New York side. There are no signs of bluefish, but the excellent topwater bass fishing is keeping his customers happy! He’ll be running trips for another three weeks before switching to pike, trout, and smallmouth.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The fall blackfish season has remained strong for those who have been able to brave the conditions and get after it this week! Some sporty weather hasn’t slowed down the bite, and the nice thing about blackfishing is that you can usually find a spot to hide from the wind, even on some of the roughest days. Anglers are still working shallow rock piles in 8 to 25 feet of water or so, but the fish can be found across a range of depths right now. Some bigger fish are starting to come from 40-plus feet of water, and that will become more commonplace as water temperatures continue to drop.
In terms of gamefish, the eastern to central Sound saw large, plentiful striped bass blitzes along the shore and inside the rivers last weekend. Anglers fishing the western Sound are reporting similar results, with bass of mixed sizes feeding on peanut bunker all along the Connecticut side. False albacore numbers have been quiet, but keep an EXO jig ready, as enough fish are popping up around the state that you shouldn’t rule them out completely. The same can be said for bluefish.
Flows are generally low to moderate in the trout streams despite the rain, and fall trout results have been solid. Crisp fall mornings, blitzing fish, and that distinct thump of a big tautog will only last so long, so get out and capitalize on some of the best fishing of the season.