New England - Connecticut Fishing Reports

I spoke with Tyler at Fisherman’s World who told me they’d heard the first reports of early migratory fish in in the far western sound over the last week. Boats that headed west found fresh fish on the troll between Greenwich and Execution Rock. This first wave of fish in the sound will slowly bleed into local waters over the course of the next few weeks and it won’t be long until the local reefs and rockpiles are covered in larger stripers. In the meantime there are plenty of resident fish around and the rivers coves and harbors are all fishing well. Most of the bass are school-sized but there have been some better fish, up to 35-inches mixed in. Small soft plastics and swimming plugs are doing the most damage but sandworms and even mackerel chunks are taking their share of fish too. The blackfish bite has been good if not consistent. Many anglers report doing well on one pile one day and striking out the next. Fish can be found anywhere from 10 to 30-feet of water depending on the day. Staying mobile and actively searching for the tog has been a key to success for those who are able to fill their springtime limits. A few customers that fished the Saugatuck Reservoir reported it is fishing well for walleye and smallmouth. Trout fishing has been good and the Mianus, Mill, Norwalk and Saugatuck Rivers have all been fishing well despite being high. Traditional baits like Rapalas, Rooster Tails, small spoons, shiners and worms are all taking their share of fish.

Bobby J’s said that local fishing was steady again this week. There isn’t any particular bite that could be categorized as “red hot” but there is plenty of good fishing to be had locally. Stripers and blackfish have been the two main targets for most of their customers at the shop and there are a variety of places and ways to target them. Striped bass fishing has been good anywhere from the local harbors and estuaries to the Housatonic to the beachfronts adjacent to those river mouths. One notable change this week was better bass fishing around the New Haven break walls, something that Jason attributed to the likely presence of squid in the area. The break walls have also been the best bet for blackfish, although if you’re looking to steer clear of the crowds, other walls , reefs, jetties and rockpiles have fish too. Many anglers are still reporting excellent trout fishing as the state has loaded up all of the traditional streams and ponds. The freshly stocked fish are falling to shiners, crawlers, trout worms, Rapalas, jerkbaits, traditional spinners and other small metal lures. The shop is open six days a week, Tuesday through Sunday for the rest of the month.

Captain Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Some striped bass finally turned the corner re-introducing themselves to Long Island Sound after a journey down from the Hudson River or up from the DelMarVa area. Joining our holdovers that have been migrating down rivers and spreading out all along bays, beaches and entering into other estuary habitats, fishers are taking advantage of the run. Nearshore water temperatures are into the high 40’s and with a little help from the sun, we’ll be seeing the low 50’s soon. Winds and rain continued to be in the picture as well as bait runs of some river herring, shad and menhaden trickling into the mix of forage. These fish are hungry, working the tides in skinny water effectively being caught by fly fishers using streamer-type flies and dumbbell-eyed sinkers in two-tone color patterns. A dropper adds some excitement however, is not necessary when playing the time and tide right. Spoons, soft swim baits, select swimmers, plugs and small bucktail jigs on light-medium to medium setups leadered up are about par for the course to catch average schoolies and slot limit size fish. The race is on for getting vessels splashed in time to salvage the end of spring blackfish/tautog season. Toggers already working the walls and shoreline, have been dodging the weather and unsettled seas but managing to catch mostly average fish with an occasional good one mixed in to keep things interesting. When hooking up, it has been all seaworms, clams and some crabs rigged on single hooks, rigs and tog jigs. A few winter flounder have been caught and the wait is on for some meaningful numbers of weakfish to start showing up. Both eagles and osprey have been busy diving for menhaden, and farther inland, trout. With no chicks to feed yet, osprey are searching, catching and eating their fish before returning to the nests. Even they seem to be running a bit behind even in putting together their nests. Egrets on the other hand are working the tidal rivers for silversides and other finfish. Trout fishing remains challenging considering many rivers are still high and fast. Regardless, anglers are out taking advantage of catch and keep as well as catch and release. The bite is changing almost daily as it swings from natural/scented baits to natural live ones and flies. Largemouth continue to be the draw in the lakes, ponds and key upper tidal rivers. Black crappie has perked up along with pickerel, yellow perch and bluegills. Live Worms and artificials are doing it here. More families are introducing the youngsters to fishing as well as many of the retiring age are returning to a lost love as work obligations settle down. Overall and considering circumstances, both marine and inland waters are showing good promise! Time to gear up, join other fishers and catch the developing early bite. We continue to hear from some anglers having difficulty acquiring licenses on line. Give us a call or swing by the shop and if time allows, we’ll do our best to help you out. The fresh and saltwater season is upon us! If you have not had your reels serviced yet, we’ll do our best to get them up and running as soon as possible.

I talked to Captain TJ Karbowksi at Rock and Roll Charters who told me he was working on the boat daily and making all the preparations for the season ahead. They are going to begin their trips on May 18th and if this season is anything like last year they dates are already booking fast and Captain TJ said he’s looking forward to fishing with his returning crews as well as meeting new ones.

Matt from Black Hall Outfitters emailed over their report to say, “Local tog fishing in the central sound is slow but improving. I got out for tog for the first time this week and found fish in 23-feet of water. Tog could be anywhere right no from 15 to 50 feet right now, so stay mobile until you find some fish. Local stripers are getting increasingly active with the nights staying warm. More so than the days, I find the warmer night temperatures to be a better indicator of fish/animal changes. When those nights stay warm, it feels like you wake up to life already bustling, whereas when the nights are cold it seems like nature takes half the day to thaw before becoming active. The striper bite has been good at night. I've been out at 3 a.m. the last few weeks and found consistent action in the dark. Daiwa SP Minnows, Yo-Zuri Mag Darters, soft plastic paddletails, and soft plastic flukes are all producing. A couple local guys even had topwater striper blowups recently which is very cool.”

Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said that fishing was pretty good this week. The stripers are responding well to smaller-sized soft plastics fished on jigheads and a few were willing to take topwater baits. They are still targeting resident fish as they wait for fresh fish to show around the river mouths. Most of the fish are school sized up to 30-inches with the occasional 15-pound class fish mixed in. They also did a bit of togging this week to keep things interesting and were able to get their limits for the table. Captain Mike and his team have openings over the next two weeks, which should be primetime. Give him a call today to book your spot.

Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 said it had been a busy week at the shop as a few bites started to pick up a little steam with warming weather and the ongoing return of migratory fish. While they hadn’t been hearing of stripers covered in sea lice in the sound just yet, river herring numbers continued to rise and they heard their first reports of American shad. A handful of shad had shown up at the usual locations and while the run isn’t hot and heavy, just yet, it should get going soon as the river and weather conditions continue to improve. Striper fishing in the river was getting better with each passing day as the river clears and cleans up. The bait of choice for the majority of anglers, whether they are fishing anywhere between the dam and the mouth of the river has been sandworms. The bait bite has been productive and his customers are reporting schoolies and fish up to 30 inches. A few larger fish have fallen to artificials in the tributaries as they follow the schools of river herring. Andrew noted he heard blackfish action in the eastern sound ticked up a bit though the walls in the western sound were still producing more consistent tog fishing. They will continue to have plenty of crabs on hand throughout the rest of the short season as well as clams, sand and bloodworms. He also said that the local trout fishing continues to be very good, especially as the rivers and streams continue to fall to more fishable levels. The feisty trout have been falling to lures and bait alike.

Heather at The Blackhawk office reports, “It’s almost time!! We can't wait to start fishing!  Our season will start on Friday, May 3.  Tickets will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m., just like in past years.  Be sure to check out our calendar so you see what's coming up! We continue to book private charters, so be sure to email the office to get your date on the calendar. We are humbled to once again be in the running for the best charter boat in the "Best of the Best" contest.  We would be honored if you'd vote for us! We look forward to seeing everyone soon!”

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle told me local fishing took a solid step in the right direction this week just as he’d predicted. The local blackfish and striper bite ticked up coinciding with the couple of days of good weather. Local tog fishing really moved forward and lots of anglers reported catching keeper sized fish by both boat and shore. Crabs were catching fish but Ed mentioned that sand and blood worms can be just as effective, if not better baits this time of year when interference fish are scarce. Shallow rockpiles were the best bet for producing a two fish limit. There was a good push of herring that moved through the region and the local stripers took notice. The bass that were hot on the tails of the herring were pretty finicky but reports said that Berkley Magic Swimmers were the best bet for fooling them. Other striper action was reported from the local estuaries and those fish were less picky and much more receptive to small soft plastics fished on jig heads. There were a handful of winter flounder caught over the course of the week though the return on investment in terms of effort was very low. Ed said he’s got plenty of chum logs, sand and blood worms in the shop and will have green crabs right through the end of the blackfish season. They also have eels for anyone looking to try and cull out some bigger bass.

J&B told me not much had changed since last week. Those looking for local action were focused on schoolies and blackfish. The blackfish action close to shop is pretty reliable. The school striped bass bite is usually the most popular thing going close to home and the fish will increase their activity throughout the month. They hadn’t heard much from the cod grounds but cod fishing should keep going strong as long as the weather holds.

Captain Mike at Tartan II said the boat is ready to go and they’re getting all their tackle ready and all of their other things lined up in preparation for their first run of the 2024 season which is planned for Memorial Day Weekend. Captain Mike and crew are excited for another great season ahead. Some of the more popular weekends are already booking up so give them a call to secure your spot now while you still can.

Captain Bob of the Sunbeam Fleet reports, “As the weather warms and the days grow long, we're eagerly anticipating the start of 2024 fishing season. Our start up trip for public fishing aboard the Sunbeam VII will be April 27 at 7 a.m. fishing for blackfish. Then we will switch to Peconic pogies on May 4 and 11. Our first fluke trip of the year will sail on May 8 and our first bass and blues trip is slated for May 10. We highly recommend reservations for all trips. Check our website for all other trip details. The Sunbeam VI charter boat which carries up to 15 passengers and has had major overhaul this past winter giving us more power and speed. We're confident you'll be impressed by the advancements in our technology system we have installed. In order to receive prime days for private charters (6-80 passengers) whether is just family, friends or team building you may book online or contact office if you have any special dates or times we will do our best to accommodate you.”

Karen at AW Marina was putting away a huge order of rigs that had just come in when I called. She said most of the customers she’d heard from this week were focused on blackfish and stripers. She’d been selling lots of crabs, clams and sandworms to anglers looking for both species and many of them had been successful. Tog were taken from the shallow rock piles in the river over the course of the last week and many anglers reported crabs fished on jigs were the best bet to catch them. There are striped bass in the river spread out from the mouth up past Norwich. School sized fish have been taking sandworms in the lower river while better sized bass have been chasing the herring up river and in the tributaries. There were a few reports of winter flounder this week though they were generally few and far between. The shop has plenty of the typical flounder bait as well as cum logs for any optimistic anglers looking for a springtime flatfish.