New England - Connecticut Fishing Reports

Rich at Fisherman’s World said angler activity has rebounded to some degree since the storm and for the most part, they haven’t heard of many changes to the local scene. Fishing for striped bass and scup is still good, black sea bass fishing has ticked up and there are some rogue schools of bonito around. Striper fishing is mostly unchanged. Wherever you found them before the storm is where you’re likely to find them now as they haven’t yet seen a push of new migratory fish into the region. He said that’s a different story at the mouth of the Housatonic River where they are hearing of some larger bass being caught. Locally, there are fish to be caught on the reefs and inside the islands and the harbor. Diamond jigs, trolling and big plastic eels are all working on the deep structure with swimming and topwater plugs working in closer to shore. There are some blues around but not in any concentration of larger fish. Scup fishing is fantastic from both boat and shore. Boats chumming clams over hard bottom in 20- to 30-feet of water are catching big porgies as are anglers fishing from Sherwood Island and Calf Pasture Beach. Sea bass fishing seems to have gotten a bit better with customers reporting good action on the deep wrecks in the region. Schools of bonito have been reported from the area, mostly out in deep water in the middle of the sound. The shop is ready for the upcoming tog season and is all stocked up with gear to get you fishing if you’re looking to head out on the opener on Saturday the 10th. The shop is open seven days a week.

Bobby J’s said they are hearing of fall run fishing in the wake of last week’s nor’easter. Striped bass fishing has blown open through the region and is no longer confined to deep water reefs or low light hours. Stripers ranging from schoolies to 25-pound class fish are being caught on the reefs, in the river and along the beaches throughout the day with mid-day blitzes becoming more common. There is lots of small bait in the region fueling the fall run fishing and if you come across schools of peanut bunker, chances are there will be bass with them. There are some bluefish on the reefs and some scattered harbor blues inshore but they are not around in any kind of appreciable numbers at the moment. Bonito have been sighted and caught mid sound, off of the West Haven area but albies are a no show thus far this season. Scup fishing is fantastic from shore and boat but especially from the rocks, jetties and piers. Hickory shad have arrived in the harbors and estuaries as well, making for some fun light tackle fishing. The store is ready for the upcoming blackfish season that opens on Saturday, October 10th. The shop is open six days a week closed Mondays.

Captain Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Small bunker schools were pushed into the Sound. Fishing on both sides of I-95 beat back any disruption from recent storm conditions. Water temperatures dropped a little but are still around 64 degrees, with no significant signs of any seasonal fish high-tailing out, seas simmered down, topwater action continued as before - even an improvement, still numbers of brown sharks to work around. Blackfish season opens this Saturday in CT and NY on Sunday; toggers have been out already testing the waters and have been finding small local togs active in the shallow, rocky structures. Next week’s cooldown should crank it up. During this neap moon phase along with an incoming tide, striped bass have been moving in and out of tidal rivers and feeding by the nearshore and offshore reefs. At this point, black sea bass is considered a popular target primarily, for the table. There was little sign of the slowly down other than movement between the shallows and deeper water reefs. There is no shortage of small fish so, heading to deeper grounds is recommended. From bare jigs to rigs/squid, they continue to quite and active briny fish. Jumbo porgies have been the talk, but now that the commercial scup possession limit has been increased to 12,000 pounds through December, 31st, some of those jumbos may be harder to come by. There are more bluefish (including snapper blues) in the pool taking and assortment of artificials and baits. Weakfish remain in the mix while hardtails – mainly bonito – have been scattered, and reacting to swimming jigs, epoxies and flies. Looking for mini-doormat fluke? So is everyone else! Catches of smaller fluke are being made in clearer, easy-moving water that might be by a nearshore shoal or entrance to a tidal river. Check out the hickory shad run as well as the rest of the feeding bottom fishery that remains quite active.  Sweet water anglers take note. The Fall stocking program is underway. From the bassses to trout, lakes, ponds, rivers and state parks will even get better. Other than a very brief hitch, the storm did little to interrupt the outstanding fishing. Fall fishing when the season transitions from Summer to Fall, is a great time to be wetting line. For more   this flip-flop but good fishing  season and much more, click over to Captain Morgan’s fishing blog. Captain Morgan’s (an Authorized PENN Premium and Daiwa Tournament Dealer) is getting ready for the Fall season while supporting the fishing community. Calling ahead (203-245-8665) and leaving a message is advisable. Pay us a visit at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison and you will see why, as a seasoned full-service fishing outfitter, we say, ‘We don’t make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better.’”

Captain TJ Karbowksi at Rock and Roll Charters said his hope that the nor’easter would blow some bass back his way was confirmed on their trips this week. They are catching stripers again after they took something like a six week sabbatical from the area. Where they had all blues in the weeks prior to the storm, there isn’t a sign of them around but they have been replaced with linesiders ranging from 28 to 51 inches. It isn’t all bass though as ground fishing has remained solid all the way through. Scup fishing is about as good as it gets right now with quantity and quality reaching off the charts. He said they are consistently seeing porgies “the size of your steering wheel” make their way into the cooler. Sea bass fishing is good, but not everywhere. If you can find the pockets of keeper sized fish the action has been steady. He said they are looking forward to adding blackfish into the bottom fishing routine when the season opens next week as well. Captain TJ and his crew are fired up to get into some fall run fishing and if this season is anything like the past couple they expect to see good action for stripers, blues, scup and blackfish. He’s reserving dates now for the coming fall season so give Captain TJ a call and grab your spot now.

Matt from Black Hall Outfitters emailed over their report to say they are hearing “The bass bite is on fire after the storm. Lots of great reports from the eastern sound including the Connecticut River mouth area. Topwater is working very well along with glide baits like the Game On X-Chop. Eels and GT Eels also producing. Bonito still kicking around the eastern sound but albie reports have been non-existent. Water temperatures dropped quite a bit and could have sent them packing from those north winds. No news on ground fish yet. Our upcoming TogTober Tournament runs from October 22-25, and the single biggest tog wins it. Last year first place was $4,000 and second was $1,000 and we had 154 anglers. There is a big raffle and after-party on Sunday the 25th at 3 p.m. Fish anywhere, but it must be weighed in at the shop, details on our website. Sign up is $50 for main tournament, $20 for optional calcuttas. You can do it online, phone, or in the shop.”

Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said fall run fishing is on with striped bass on the move through the region. The storm seemed to shake the bass up and they can now be found both on structure and chasing bait at any time of day. Blitzing fish under birds have been a common sight this week and lures that imitate the small bait they are feeding on have been effective. Shimano Current Snipers as well as soft plastics on jig heads have worked well for slow sized fish while larger cow sized bass have been falling to live eels. The albies seem to have dispersed since the storm but they are seeing schools of bonito around. 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 said they’ve heard about improvement to the local bite since the storm. Striper fishing has picked up locally and beyond with many customers reporting good fishing during and after the blow. There are fish in the river as well as outside, heading in both directions. There is bait, mostly small bait and peanut bunker and if you can find it, chances are you’ll find the bass with it. All kinds of presentations have been effective including topwater, swimmers, tins and epoxies, plastics as well as live bait like eels. There are also schools of small harbor bluefish around, harassing the small bait as well. Geno said there is a lot of excitement for the upcoming blackfish season and they are hosting a tournament. It will run from October 17th through November 8th. The main tournament is decided by the combined weight of each angler’s two heaviest blackfish. There is no minimum weight requirement. Each blackfish must measure at least 16 inches and meet all applicable state and federal fishing regulations for the region. Fish may be caught anywhere in compliance with applicable state and federal fishing laws. All weigh-ins must take place at Total Tackle. To see more details and register, visit their Instagram page or website for full details. 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.

Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 told me he’d heard from customers who’d been catching striped bass this week as well as from others gearing up for the fall tog season. He said he’d heard from anglers catching bass from both boat and shore at all times of the day as fall run style action had picked up from the mouth of the river and to the east. The bass they were catching ranged from 20-inches to 20-pounds and larger on both live eels and artificial lures. A few boaters mentioned seeing schools of bonito from black point to the east but as far as most anyone connecting with hardtails can tell, the false albacore seemed to have gone missing for the time being. They are hearing from lots of customers who are getting ready for the blackfish opener on Saturday. He said the shop will be all stocked with jigs, rigs, rods reels and crabs for when the season starts on October 10th. He was also excited to share that the shop will run their fall blackfish tournament again this year. The tournament runs the full six week tog season and the heaviest fish will take the total pot at the end in the form a Fishin’ Factory III gift card. There will also be weekly prize winners each week of the season from different sponsors so keep an eye on their social media to see what’s up for grabs each week. Fish can be weighed at the shop or at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle and you must sign up in person in Middletown to get in. Last year they had over 75 participants and at $30 a head to get in the payout should be a good one. The shop is open seven days a week for the season.

Over at The Saltwater Edge they have been hearing reports of some very good fishing for striped bass around the islands. Both surf and boat anglers are doing well, and the fish have been feeding on bait in tight to structure. There have been reports of green bonito in the area but the false albacore seem to have moved off for now. Tautog reports are improving and will continue to get better as we get further into the month of October. There are good number of black sea bass around, a lot of them are short but some keepers are being caught.

Heather at The Blackhawk office reports, “Once we got back out there after the storm, it was like we never left!  The porgy fishing picked up right where we left off, with jumbo porgies coming over the rails!  Our trips on Thursday showed some of the best scup fishing of the season, with an easy full boat limit and some nice sea bass in the mix as well.  Friday and Saturday also showed good porgy fishing for our awesome anglers. We continue to fish every day.  Starting next week, with the opening of blackfish, we will have crabs on board for our "mixed bag" trips. Our famous 12 hour combo trips start in November, so get ready for those! Now is the time to come fill the freezer for winter!  Get out there and join us!”

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said local fishing has been good, especially for striped bass since the storm blew through. Stripers are being caught locally, in the bay, at Black Point and beyond and he said the number of eels he’s selling has been a good indication of how hot the bite is. Bass are also falling to topwater plugs during blitzes as they bust up schools of small bait. There are cocktail sized blues cruising around as well, confusing some anglers out looking for hardtails. Most customers have reported seeing bonito around since the blow, but not albies. Bottom fishing effort has waned in the week since the storm but that will all change on this Saturday the 10th. He said there’s lots of interest in the upcoming fall tog season and the store is ready to go. They are loaded up with tackle and all kinds of jigs including the shop special, four for ten dollars, a hit with his customers last year. They will have crabs on hand and if you’re looking to buy in bulk you can give the shop a call. He also said that they have plenty of plugs, plastics and tins and epoxy jigs on the wall, ready for anglers looking to get in on whatever kind of fall run action you’re looking to get in on.

Tim at J&B Tackle emailed over their report to say “Pre nor’easter and during it we had some incredible surf fishing reports from Rhody. Several customers reported catching personal best bass in the 50-plus inch range. Definitely diehards as the stories, videos and pictures will attest. Striped bass, bluefish, false albacore and even bonito have stayed in the area post nor’easter. South side of Fishers Island, Race Point, the Race, the Gut, Black Point, Millstone Point east to the mouth of the Thames River are the best areas to locate fish that are on the move. Early morning most productive but fish can be caught throughout the day. Make sure you have epoxy jigs, topwater plugs and soft plastics available. Majority of the action is on top with some diamond jigging for blues at the race as a backup. Tog season in CT opens on Saturday October 10. Boats in our area need to be aware that NY tog opens one day later on Sunday October 11. There are some regulation differences between CT, RI and NY waters that you need to be aware of as well. For offshore, we had a few customers heading out during midweek weather window and hope to have some reports this weekend. We did hear that a few boats were hooking up at the canyons but have not gotten a full report from them. Nor’easter did take a week of fishing away but looks as if there’s still some good opportunities. As soon as we hear from the offshore boats we will update the report. JB Tackle is open Monday–Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.”

Captain Mike at Tartan II told me good bottom fishing has been the name of the game right up until the big nor’easter. The bottom fishing has stayed fantastic for both scup and sea bass. The scup they are seeing are both numerous and large making for some lights out action. Sea bass fishing has been good with a mix of sizes but plenty of keepers to fill up the fish box. The fall run is coming and Captain Mike and his crew are looking forward to another great fall fishing season. They will run charters as scheduled with open boats on Tuesdays and Thursdays for bottom fishing as well as open boat striper trips on Fridays at 4 p.m. so give him a call now to book your prime dates.

Karen at AW Marina said she heard from customers this week who were catching local stripers and scup. The striper fishing in the mouth of the Thames River was good before the storm but it seems to have become better since it passed. Longtime customers are telling her the striper fishing from shore is as good as it’s been in the last few years. Bait like chunks, sandworms and clams are all catching as are lures and tins like Deadly Dicks. Other anglers report seeing some bonito off the beaches around the mouth of the river as well. Porgy fishermen are still catching them on both sides of the river, at the Fort Trumbull Pier as well as Avery Point. When we spoke, Karen was already selling crabs to customers looking to get a jump for the opening of fall blackfish this coming Saturday. She reminded me that they remain the “crabbiest people on Pequot Avenue” as they intend to have them through the duration of the season. They will be open seven days a week until the seasonal closure to support their customers.