Captain Morgan's Bait and Tackle

Captain Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Momentum gained! Although Spring has all but been typical, fishers found a way to work around it capitalizing on the influx of the season’s multi-species migrations. Still leading the list of the most active and catchable fish is striped bass. From shore or onboard a vessel, the bite continues to raise eyebrows. The recent run of over-the-slot 40-inch linesiders has passed all expectations especially, during the rare Full Blue Moon cycle. Those caught and released from shore continues however, the reefs have been steadily gaining notice. Trolling, Tube/Worming, three-waying and jigging are all catching stripers. Consider Six Mile, Southwest Reef and Faulkner’s to name a few. Scattered schools of menhaden are darting in/out of channels and bays making for ideal forage as shad and other members of the herring family are proving productive baits. Hard and soft swim baits are being used effectively in tidal rivers and along the shore as well as spoons. Bluefish are chopping around but the volume and density of them is not necessitating the jump to wire leaders just yet if striper fishing. Black sea bass are running on the short side pretty mush throughout the Sound. It won’t be long before worthy ‘knotheads’ start showing up on the grounds. During the past week, scup made inroads, but their favorite nearshore rocky bottoms and humps need a little more time for thoughts of recreational anglers filling a cooler become a reality. But now is the time to look to deep water sites for some real humpbacks. Chilly temps appears to have been keeping summer flounder farther out. Shy of a few small catches, that migration into the sound.is no hurry to get to the rivers. Meanwhile baitifsh will be the driving force to crank it up as mid-Sound temps warm up. Super-sized winter flounder have occasionally been caught in June from lower tidal rivers as they tend to seek cooler water. With near shore water still on the cooler side, chumming up some mussels and clams while baiting a hook with a seaworm might not be a bad idea. Meanwhile frogs, bugs and jigs are doing it to largemouths as smallies key on searching jerk baits and hair jigs as well as other cold water forage imitations. Trout are preferring inline spinners, swimmers and scented baits. All three will not turn away from live worms along with numerous fresh and brackish water species. Casting to points and steep rocky banks including nearshore shallow pre-spawn/spawn spots. For more, head over to Captain Morgan’s fishing blog to read about what else is going on. We are open for business as usual and still unloading 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 on a 7 day spring hour schedule 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 Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Even though water temperatures dipped to 57 from 61 over a couple of days, the gathering of fish that migrated up the coast and from The Shelf did take place however, slowly. Striped bass, although still found in the tidal rivers and bays did slip to the reefs while other species logged had mixed results. It is the menhaden and herring that have been keeping some rivers busy with 40-inch – and larger – stripers. Porgy pounders tried for the early slabs as did fishers looking to score large black sea bass. The same went for the flukers and those looking to get into a tussle with an early bluefish. We could have done without the stiff east winds and small craft advisories prior to Memorial Day, but when the westerlies took over and seas moderated to about a foot the script changed. The Sound had more fish in it than previously, but fewer fair-weather fishers. There was a healthy mix of artificials and baits fished and overall, hookups were decent considering conditions. Admittedly, inland activity out-paced the marine side, but attribute that to the weather. All species, from trout to the basses, pickerel to panfish and several bottom feeders were sought and caught with a variety of baits and lures. Click over to Captain Morgan’s fishing blog to read what else is going on. We are open for business as usual and still unloading weekly deliveries to meet demand. 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.”