Connecticut Fisheries Report
Matt on Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook I was told: “Summer mode is now in full swing. Stripers are heavy on the reefs of the Central Sound, including The Race and Plum Gut. Don’t think you have to stick to the popular spots, though, because most smaller rock piles and points will also have stripers in. With sea bass season open on July 8th, look for the bite to come in strong as the fish will not be pressured and looking to feed porgy action is also on fire today, and with the inshore water warming up quickly, the inshore and shallow water bite is keeping many local anglers excited.The fluke fishing remains solid, and there are plenty of anglers reported ‘tight bites’, meaning hot zones are concentrated and those doing short drifts in productive areas within the area, are doing the most damage.
Captain Matt on Stonington Stripers is back in action after a short break. Fishing has been good locally, mainly in the early morning. With all the recent fog, he’s been hitting some of the quieter spots and it’s paying off. You’re less likely to get run over and generally have a decent fish to yourself. He also recently had a fly trip out to Block Island and it went well. He had to do some dredging with heavy sinking lines but put together a good trip. The choice of color became important; Bright lures that stand out and have a good silhouette have been most productive with gray backgrounds of fog and mist. Slow presentations have produced fish through slack water. He has posted several videos on Instagram discussing rigging and color selection for anyone interested. Matt is available this month including weekends and looks forward to a productive July!
Heather from black hawk in Niantic gave the following report: “While we started the week off strong with bottom fishing, we had a few days where the fishing was a little slower than we’re used to, and we had to work to fill the coolers. The ones that stick it to the rail have decent catches, while others not so much. By the end of the week and into Sunday morning, the fishing improved. Our Saturday afternoon family fishing trip is a great way to kick off these trips for the season! We had a great group of young anglers who enjoyed trolling the porgies all afternoon. These trips are popular and limited, so be sure to sign up when you see them online. On the holiday itself we had a private charter that spent part of the day catching a nice slot sized bass, and the rest of the day they enjoyed porgies and sea bass. It was a great day with great fishing- what more could you ask for? Our private night charter on Sunday had a solid catch of slot fish with more overs and shorts than we could count released. The bass trip wasn’t as good on Monday night, with strong tides, making for a tougher catch. We still had some nice fish, but not what we expected. Our bass and blues trips, After Work Specials, and weekend trips again did well, with most trips having full boat limits of slot-sized fish, with more released.” The new tickets for all their trips, including their community program trips, will be posted on their website every Monday night at 8 PM!
Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that he saw more bunker schools move into the mouth of the river during this late new moon period. It will be interesting to see how long they hang around, especially in the current temperatures, but it amounts to some good fishing. Striper fishing is good in the lower river, with some monster fish hanging around those bunker schools, but there is also no shortage of nice fish on the local reefs and rips. If you’re having trouble with the river, or it’s crowded, don’t be afraid to take some of those bunkers from the river to the reefs and drop them on a 3-way rig. Captain Mike and his team have openings in the next two weeks, which should be prime time. Call her today to book your spot.
Joe on Diorio Guide Service gave the following report after another strong week on the water: “Fishing this week has been very good. Whether we’re fishing locally, The Race, or the Block, it’s on fire! Top water lures like the Skipper and Doc are great when we are seeing surface feeds. When they are low/mid column, live bunkers and eels do most of our damage. This week we saw fish up to 54 pounds! It’s a great time to get out and fish. We still have dates for the season, so get in touch to book a trip!”
Captain Andy of Carolyn Ann Charters continued to have success with striped bass this week. He’s looking for plenty of slot fish on either tide, along with some heavy over-slot class fish. The Bluefish action is spotty, but there’s enough around to keep things interesting. The bottom fishing has improved a lot as the sea bass season has reopened, and they are starting to chew. Plenty of hubcap scup in place too, so filling the cooler wasn’t an issue. Andy has never been shark fishing, but several threshers have been seen/reported in the Eastern Sound, so this will be added to the itinerary soon.
Captain Cote on Tighten the Charters have reported that as we begin summer, the summer bait schools have shown up in a big way. These bait schools have fired some epic top baits in the morning, providing plenty of smiles, but no shortage of fish during the daylight hours. As the sun rises, the fish tend to drift into deeper water channels, where they are often eager to hit live bunker fished close to the bottom. Father’s Day has always been a point of reference for the Cote in terms of bigger fish coming out, and this year was no different, as the bass quality has increased dramatically over the past few weeks. The bluefish joined the party, albeit inconsistently. Some days you can’t get away from them, and the next you can’t find them, so it’s always nice to have the blues on top for a while. Sea bass season has reopened, and fishing has improved as they move from their spawning grounds to their usual rocky anchorages. Once you find the right spot, vertical jigging has been the top producer for big sea bass.
When I spoke with Captain Chris of Another Guide Service, he reports that even though it’s been brutally hot lately, the bait scene has remained fall-like! He found solid bass action in certain areas, but more so than in previous years, it was very water dependent. They are on fish from 20 inches to over 40 inches on top, and they also get an Exo jig when the bass are deeper. It’s been great fun on light tackle with fish in 3-inch peanut bunkers, but it’s difficult to schedule trips based on specific tides in action. The time of day doesn’t matter-even in the heat of midday, these fish are dialed to the nuts in a few select spots if you can spot the zones!
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
Warm temperatures haven’t stopped hot fishing across Connecticut. Air temperatures can be uncomfortable at times, but this has resulted in summer water temperatures that are favorable for our local species, particularly striped bass. Striped bass are caught throughout the Sound and its major tributaries. The Western Sound is still producing big, 30-pound-plus fish and the bite at The Race may offer the most consistent bite that occurs anywhere within Connecticut waters. There is a lot of water covering those two areas, and almost every quality reef or rip in between has held bass at one time or another. The scup bite also seems to have taken off in this last heat wave, with no shortage of hubcaps across the Sound. Scup are coming from almost every piece of structure, regardless of depth, as the sea bass season begins again with a strong burst into deeper structure. Those targeting blackfish in the summer are also finding some success, and you may just find a few keeper “togs” as bycatch while targeting the aforementioned species. Dedicated fluke fishermen continue to shop for legal-sized flatfish, though their conversations at most stores are generally the same—lots of shorts on the way to snag a few fish for the table.