New England - Connecticut Fishing Reports

Jesse at Fisherman’s World said that local action was good with steady bites for bass, bluefish, weakfish and scup with some decent action for fluke. The biggest change they’d heard of this week was a developing shore bite for striped bass. Linesides in the mid-30 to 40-inch class were being taken on bait by day and paddletails fished on jigheads by night from the rocks. The bass bite out at the reefs is unchanged. The best bite is on the deeper reefs, fishing at night with eels. There are some fish to be caught early mornings on topwater lures as well, but the largest fish, in the 30- to 40-pound class, are taking live and plastic eels while the sun is down. Some more bluefish are filtering into the area. There is a mix of sizes around and some are very large. Topwater feeds have been common throughout the day for large choppers, 15-pounds and larger. 28C and Middleground have had the biggest concentration of big blues. The weakfish bite going on in shallow water, 20-feet or less has been pretty good. Jesse said customers reported doing well with keeper sized fish on peanut bunker and pink gulp and epoxy jigs. Fluke fishing is the same. Lots of short fish with a few keepers here and there for dedicated anglers fishing in 40-feet of water or less. Scup fishing is very good. Boaters targeting hard bottom with clam chum in 30-feet or less are doing well. As are shore anglers fishing from popular spots like Calf Pasture Beach and Sherwood Island. The shop is open seven days a week.

Bobby J’s said fishing in the region is “steady as she goes,” with the best bites being for striped bass and scup. While the bluefish in the area commanded quite a bit of attention for the tournament last week most regulars in the shop were back focused on bassing. The striper fishing is good, mostly unchanged with maybe a few more opportunities for topwater as the days start to get shorter. With that said, the best bite is still with live or plastic eels has been the ticket to tangling with bass in the 30-pound plus class. There is some topwater action as well at first light. Bluefish reports quieted down but there are still some big blues around. Fluke fishing seemed to tick up this week with a few more customers reporting keeper sized flatfish. They are catching them anywhere from 12- to 40-feet of water, but lately it seems the bigger fish are coming from the shallower end of that range. Scup fishing has been good for both boat and shore anglers though those fishing from the rocks seem to be catching the biggest porgies. There are short sea bass mixed in with the scup but coming by a keeper sized fish has been a chore. There are some snapper blues starting to show in the estuaries, harbors and bays though they are still very small. Blue crabs are being caught as well in the estuaries and scooped from pilings in the harbors. The shop is open six days a week closed Mondays.

Captain Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Last week’s bluefish tourney winner of 18.49 pounds, that pulled off the unofficial win in the waning hours, told a story. Although not fully rebuilt, the bluefish stock is no longer subject to overfishing. However judging by Long Island Sound catches, they have been incommunicado. The increase of baitfish predation by dolphins, sharks, stingrays, humpback whales, and the like - even hammerheads, has reduced forage. Go to the islands or the offshore tuna grounds and one will find them teaming with fish and mammals. Putting warmer waters and overall weather conditions aside, anglers will find that other species like striped bass scurried to offshore reefs. As long water temperatures remain warm and the storms bypass us, the season will extend and hopefully, water temps will drop enough in time for sharks and other predators to leave thereby, salvaging the fall migration in the Sound. Needless to say, nearshore fishing recently took a hit. We’re still looking for bonito and albies to cross over. Weakfish are no substitute, but catches have been steady. Farther out, bottom fishing remains good! Porgies are obliging, black sea bass catches continue to be respectable as both species hug the reefs and other bottom structures. Even fluke catch numbers continue to rise. In most case with these bottom dwellers, fishers are having to contend with shorts, but ratios are improving. There are more triggerfish, northern pufferfish and kingfish being caught as well as toadfish, sea robins, large/small dogfish, and yes, plenty of brown sharks. Don’t give up on the snapper blues just yet! Our fish are learning from feeding brown sharks to go elsewhere while brown sharks are learning that anglers mean an easy meal. And so, the rest of the food chain will follow suit as more visitors venture into the Sound causing a shift in the ecological balance. Blue crabbing (hard/soft shell) is producing about average catches for crabbers. Until the late September trout and salmon stocking, the already over-the-top freshwater fishing season continues with largemouth/smallmouth, toothy critters and large panfish being caught in the lakes and ponds. No sharks here but aggressive pickerel, northerns channel cats and carp are in the rivers while trout fishing (including native brookies) are selectively taking bait, lures and flies. For inland anglers, “if” is not the question” - how many will be caught is! For more on early fall’s fishing and much more, click over to Captain Morgan’s fishing blog. We are open for business as usual and still packing the walls with weekly deliveries to meet demand. To accommodate, we are fully stocked with natural, artificial (including flies) and live baits, to fill your fishing needs - including servicing rods and reels. Gift Certificates, too! Time permitting, we will do our best to assist anglers who have difficulty acquiring licenses on line. If you are looking for popular productive spots in the Sound and want to set up your electronics for your specific fishing needs, swing by the shop and check out one of our marked and recently updated charts for sale. 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 they are starting to see some signs of fall in their catches, most evidenced this week by a nice Spanish mackerel they brought aboard while catching bluefish. Fishing in the region has been steady for blues, porgies and sea bass if you know where to look. Striped bass continue their sabbatical for now but in the meantime, they are catching as many bluefish as his crews want. The blues are running on the smaller side but what they lack in size they make up for in number and tenacity and have made for sore arms and wide smiles. Scup fishing is lock and load with drop and reel fishing for hubcap sized porgies. Sea bass fishing continues to get better and, if you can find the pockets of them, pretty good. They are consistently seeing good numbers of keeper sized sea bass on most trips as well as short fluke with the occasional keeper mixed in. 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 eventually 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 “fluke and sea bass action is still solid 50-feet of water and deeper. The sea bass bite seems better than fluke but still the expectation for either species should be to pick through shorts. There really is no “easy button” for keepers this year for either species. Try big squid baits for both species along with metals for sea bass. Stripers have been on and off. There is better action earlier and later in the day. There are still plenty of large 45-inch plus stripers around and they will be through a lot of September if it stays warm. Eels are great this time of year for easy bites. Try smaller stuff for smaller fish, like swimbaits, mag darters, SP minnows, etc. Porgy are running well right now. Some really big fish coming on hi low rigs and clams and squid. Bonito are very close. I haven't heard of any in the actual sound but they’re probably a day or two away from someone getting them in Stonington or at the Race or thereabouts. Hopefully the albies show within a couple weeks.”

Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters said they are starting to see some signs of fall run style action with each trip out and are happy to look forward to the frenetic fishing that comes with the season. With the coming fall they expect to see good fishing for stripers, blues, albies and bonito as well as the departure of the brown sharks that have been hard to hide from during the summer season. Striper fishing is good now, especially for big fish. Live bait is a best bet but soft plastics are proven winners and can be fished versatility throughout the column depending on the kind of presentation the fish respond to on any given day. As the fall run gets going they will be fishing for bass of all sizes, many times blitzing on the abundant small bait that is loaded up in the region. They have heard of some albies and bonito around as well and when they show in force they plan to chase them around as well. It’s time to book your spot now for fall run action and Captain Mike and his team have availability over the next few weeks and the season ahead so give him a call to book a spot now.

Geno from Total Tackle said he’s heard of good bites this week from customers who were bottom fishing, catching big blues and snappers while other were chasing albies and still others working the offshore pick. Locally, one customer reported doing well by fishing bait for both sea bass and fluke. There are lots of shorts around for both species but fishing with bait was reportedly the ticket for picking through them and finding some legal sized fish. More consistent reports for fluke were shared by customers who’d been making the steam over to Montauk and catching some nice sized flatfish. He heard from some anglers that were catching striped bass and bluefish at Plum Gut where one customer had pictures of what he said was a 20-pound gator. Several folks were in over the weekend to buy epoxy jigs and Albie Snax hoping to cross paths with a hardtail. Scup action is still likely good on the reefs to the east as well but not as many customers have been trying. The nearshore tuna bite has been up and down. It seems you can have a banner day and then head back out and be in a dead sea. The canyons were also fishing well for yellowfin and a few swords. 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 said that talk of false albacore was persistent at the shop over the weekend as customers were headed out in search of funny fish. Reports of fish along the South County shore came in and had hardtail addicts fired up and ready to go. Andrew noted that while he hadn’t heard of any fish locally, once they are in the region, that can change on any given day, or tide. He also said that bonito were still present along the beaches in Rhody in pretty decent numbers late in the week. There is tons of small bait, not just in Rhode Island but also in the eastern sound and hopefully a good run of fish connects with them. He said he’d heard from customers who reported seeing some signs of fall not just in the arrival of pelagics but also in the form of striped bass and bluefish blitzing bait on the surface. Ground fishing seemed to drop a bit in popularity but for those still doing it, Block Island and Montauk seemed to be the best places to go. He said he’d heard of several nice fish from Block over the course of the last week. The mouth of the river and its tributaries picked up this week as blue crabs and snappers seemed to be more abundant, or easier to catch. The shop is open seven days a week for the season.

Tim at The Saltwater Edge shared that false albacore were caught over the last couple of days around the Harbor of Refuge and there were still reports of good number of green bonito along most of the south county beaches. Striped bass anglers continued to report encounters with brown sharks and it’s to the point where many responsible striped bass anglers have taken a break from targeting bass in an effort to prevent the bass from being killed by sharks. Tautog reports have been a little slow to start the season but will undoubtedly improve as the water starts to cool off. There are still some nice sized fluke around along with black sea bass and good-sized scup. The mid-shore tuna grounds are still producing some nice sized bluefin tuna, but the fish are heavily pressured and often difficult to fool. There have been reports of some nice sized mahi starting to show up around the highfliers inside of the shipping lanes.

Heather at The Blackhawk office reports, “September has brought us our fall fishing schedule, and some great fishing trips!  We had a great trip with the Waterford Napa store on Wednesday night, where the group had a great time together outside of work and caught plenty of porgies and sea bass to fill the coolers too!  Thursday's fluke trip wasn't what we'd hoped for; a handful of keepers, some sea bass, and many shorts. Friday afternoon's after work special trip had a good number of cocktail sized blues.  Our Saturday day trip was the hit of the week, with loads of porgies, good numbers of sea bass, and nice triggerfish to round out the coolers. We had our last regularly scheduled sunset cruise on Saturday.  The weather held off, and the sun appeared just in time for sunset!  Thanks to all who joined us.  As you know, all of these cruises are fundraisers for local community groups; so thanks for supporting local groups in our community! Congrats to Jonathan P who won a gift certificate to Family Pizza in Niantic just for joining us on a trip this week.  Stay tuned for some more gift certificates from other local businesses this fall!  Also, thanks to all who brought food for our food drive!  Heather and Faith were able to bring a huge load of food to Loving Hands of Southeastern Connecticut last week, where they will immediately get distributed to those in need in our local community. Now is the time to come fishing and fill the freezer for the winter!  Grab your tickets and join us!”

Ed at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle said it was another steady week of fishing for his customers though the word of the arrival of albies to the region had been the source of some new chatter. They sold lots of epoxy jigs and tins to anglers looking to head east in search of false albacore. A few customers mentioned they had heard the fish had shown there late last week Other than the albies, customers were in to buy gear for everything from snapper blues to bluefin tuna. Locally, there are snappers and scup to be caught from the rocks. Scup fishing is decent everywhere from the local rocks east to Watch Hill. A few customers are still picking away at local fluke but others are making the run to Montauk or Block Island where there is more consistent action for keeper sized flatfish. A few legal sized sea bass are being caught in deep water off of Black Point and at The Race. A few customers reported catching stripers in and around the mouth of the Thames River. Others were in to buy epoxy jigs to take east and look for bonito along the south shore of Rhode Island. Near and offshore fishing has been good. The recreational sized bluefish bite south of Montauk has been steady as have yellowfin and swords at the canyons.

Tim at J&B Tackle emailed over their report to say “The biggest news for our area is that albies are in with several reports of anglers catching them from Watch Hill to Point Judith. Early morning bite has been the best. Tons of bait are moving along the shore line. Watch for blitzes under working birds or in the area the birds are working. Hogy epoxy jigs or Joe Baggs long cast resins are the closest match to the bait. I would expect more consistency at Watch Hill this week and hope to start getting reports of albies at Fishers Island and Avery Point by the end of the week. Fluke and black sea bass fishing continue to improve in our local waters, Cerberus Shoal and around Montauk. Anglers looking to extend their bottom fishing season should continue to find opportunities as we head through the week. Striped bass fishing continues to be best around dawn and in the evening I would look out for some blitzes around reefs and other structure as a lot of bait is entering the area. Live lining eels at night continues to produce the biggest striped bass and remains a good option for anglers looking for a trophy-sized fish. Bluefish are in. Bluefish have shown up throughout our area, giving anglers another species to target as we head through the holiday weekend. Fish can be found at Watch Hill, Montauk, The Race, Sluiceway, Black Point, Rocky Neck, and Plum Gut. Bonito fishing has pretty much run its course for the season. There are still a few around, but sightings are very sporadic. Use small, peanut-style epoxy jigs or fast-retrieved metals. Watch for working birds and fast-moving blitzes, particularly when fishing choppy water. For offshore fishing we are hearing the bluefin and the mid-shore bite remains inconsistent. Bluefin and mid-shore activity has been challenging over the last week. Full moon currents and changing weather conditions have resulted in inconsistent fishing, with the bite turning on for relatively short periods of time. Most anglers finding success with bluefin have been using RONZ, UVT Chief, squid and whiting. Both jigging and bait fishing have been producing when the fish cooperate. A new bluefin area has emerged close to the beach off Moriches Inlet, New York. This is especially good news for anglers who can access the area through New York City. The lanes have been holding mahi, including many fish weighing more than 20 pounds. Mahi activity has been good, but yellowfin action has slowed considerably, with very few bites being reported. The local canyons from The Dip to West Atlantis have experienced similarly slow fishing. Some yellowfin have been caught over the past four to five days, along with a handful of swordfish caught at night. The water that was in Hydro is moving west and has produced solid catches of yellowfin, bigeye, and wahoo. A small pocket of water holding in the southeast corner of Atlantis has also produced a few more yellowfin than anglers fishing "down the middle." With offshore conditions changing quickly, call JB Tackle for the most up-to-date fishing report before heading out. 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 bottom fishing has been really great lately with his crews catching plenty of scup and sea bass and bluefish with sharks mixed in to keep things fun. The bottom fishing has continued to get better and better over the last few weeks. 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. Bluefish action has been steady and they are hoping to see a good fall run of bass when temperatures start to nudge down and the sharks depart the region. Speaking of sharks, his crews have enjoyed tugging on them for most trips to round things out. 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 talked to customers who’d had good fishing locally and beyond this week. Folks in the shop had reports for albies, bass, blues, scup, sea bass, fluke and tuna depending on where they had been or planned to go. Locally, the shore fishing is steady and good for anglers casting bait for scup. Sandworms, squid and clams have all been effective for porgies on both sides of the river at Fort Trumbull and Avery Point. Striper fishing in the mouth has been decent as well with one customer sharing pictures of a 40-inch class bass from the pier. The stripers are also being caught on the troll with spoons and tube and worm rigs. Bluefish activity as The Race has been steady though the size of the blues has been on the smaller side. Other customers in to load up on epoxy jigs, tins and Albie Snax said there were headed east to chase reports of albies and bonito along the Rhode Island shore. Word was some albies had shown up last week to join the bonito that had taken up residence. The best sea bass and fluke reports were coming in from Montauk where one customer described easy action for nice sized sea bass to pair with some good fluke action. Other folks into load up on bait before heading offshore have said that fishing in the canyons has been good. Karen said she had plenty of bait on hand including rigged squid for anyone making the long steam offshore.