Tyler at Fisherman’s World said the Housatonic River has finally caught fire, the ice is mostly gone, snow melt is keeping the flows up and anglers are catching fish. Tyler suggests bringing a variety of sizes of soft plastics and says that he would lean toward the larger offerings (9 to 13 inches) to try and catch the eye of the bigger fish and downsizing on the days or nights when the bite is tough. He also said that now is the time pack a few swimmers and darters, because when the herring begin filtering in, the plug bite typically gets hot, fast. They have also seen a lot of trout interest this week, DEEP has begun stocking and that always gets people fired up to get out there and fish. Tyler suggests worm patterns during these times of increased runoff and said that spin guys will do well with classics like the Roostertail, Thomas Buoyant and other smaller, shiny offerings. Ice fishing continues, although not close to the shop. Locals are traveling north to get on places like the Twin Lakes, Squantz Pond and others, to connect with panfish, pickerel, a few pike and a few really nice brown trout, as well.

Bobby J’s said the Housy ice finally broke up and the upper reaches of the river are now putting out stripers. Medium and large soft plastics fished on light jigheads are the name of the game, and the bite has been solid. A few of their guys have been sticking with the ice game, heading north, where Jason had some really nice browns and all the other ‘typical’ ice species seemed to be biting well over the weekend.

Captain Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Peering out at Long Island Sound through the fog, you might see a few harbor seals feeding or basking on the rocks until feeding time arrives. That activity has increased as water temperatures track upward and herring make their way into the big pond. There has been minimal holdover movement in tidal rivers, but it is a start. This coming week ought change course as thawing continues to eat away at the snowpack and the developing green color below it begins to take hold. Safe ice has pretty much slipped by the wayside along the shoreline while doomsday for the ice pack is gaining traction further north. Fish, on the other hand, are feeling the change. Striped bass are stretching their fins in tidal rivers that cater to holdovers while lakes and ponds are showing good catch and release trout activity and more movement of largemouth bass. Left over from the good ice period, perch, crappie, pickerel, sunfish and some catfish are getting oriented to springtime while anglers’ fishing schedules are being re-established due to the daylight saving time adjustment. Lower tidal river water temperatures have dipped to around 34 degrees, but as we enter the upcoming warming trend, expect them to claw their way upward toward the 40’s. Historically, we have seen 47 degree March air temps around this time, but it looks like this year those will jump to 53 before moderating back into the 40’s. Perhaps, with even a little more snow in the mix. All in all, things are beginning to look promising. Keep a close eye on the broodstock Atlantic salmon bite as well as staying in touch with the sea-run trout scene, etc. on Captain Morgan’s fishing blog. April 1st winter flounder could be interesting if the wind stays down, but blackfish season around here will probably kick in halfway through April when water temps warm up enough.”

Matt from Black Hall Outfitters emailed over their report to say, “Ice fishing is still possible, but you’ll want to do it carefully as warmer temps drive meltwater down into the rivers and lakes, the edges of the ice tend to deteriorate in a hurry. Some anglers were reporting 10 inches early last week, and those same areas were devoid of anglers by the weekend. While diehard anglers are heading north to stay on the hardwater, there’s a whole other contingent that are coming out of hibernation and waiting for the slushy ice to disappear so they can resume open water activities, and that time should be coming soon.”

Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 called this a ‘difficult time of year’ because of the rapid loss of local safe ice, but the fact that the thin, slushy ‘nuisance ice’ makes it impossible to open water fish. For now, most of the anglers coming in are either buying shiners to run north to safer ice or stocking up for the inevitable changeover to open water fishing. He said that guys were still on the rover coves this past weekend, but as the water level comes up, ice access is going to require some real ingenuity. The shop is still on winter hours, they will be open Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday. 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. With that said, Andrew noted that all calls to the shop are forwarded to his cell phone and even if the store is closed there will likely be someone around to help out.

Heather from the Black Hawk says, “These couple days of nice weather really got us excited for spring and fishing!  We've kept busy working on rods and reels, booking charters, working on our Black Hawk and the Community program, and heading down to Derecktor Shipyard to work on the boat.  Still busy, but we're ready for fishing busy! Last week's Talkin' Tackle was focused on knives; and we got some great emailed feedback about it, so thanks for joining.  If you didn't see it, check it out on YouTube or on our Facebook page.  We'll be doing another one this week, so stay tuned! We look forward to seeing everyone soon!”