With the summer season in full swing and just about every registered boat now in the water, fishing is at its high point. One of the most popular targets for inshore anglers in Long Island Sound is the black sea bass. These colorful and delicious bottom fish are abundant and aggressive, making them a fun target for all anglers. Readers might remember that there were changes to the sea bass limits for 2023 because recreational anglers over-harvested in 2022. There were several measures available for making a corrective change to the regulations, and while some states elected to raise their minimum size and/or reduce their bag limits, Connecticut chose to close their season for two weeks at the start of the summer.
While this change might be a nuisance to some anglers, let’s not forget that our bag limit is the highest in New England and our minimum size is the lowest.
This closure took effect on June 24th and runs through July 7th, with the season reopening on July 8th. After reopening, the fishery will remain open through December 1. This closure will not affect party and charter boats. The for-hire fleet will be allowed to continue fishing through the recreational closure and, later in the season, they will also enjoy a bump in bag limit to seven fish starting September 1. In addition to the fall bag limit boost, for-hire boats will be allowed to continue fishing for sea bass through December 31.
If you really want to get in on some sea bass fishing in Connecticut waters during the closure, please consider leafing through our reports section and hopping aboard one of our many affiliated charter boats. As they say, the best way to learn a fishery is to “go with a pro”. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until the season reopens on July 8.
