Captain Morgan's Bait and Tackle

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 Morgan’s emailed over their report to say, “Just hours before the WICC Bluefish tournament was set for lines in, anglers were still wondering if any blues worthy of the big check would be caught within rule boundaries. Until then, scattered schools of small fish were spread out while the main school was south of Long Island and stacked at the tuna grounds. Block Island Sound saw a fair share as did some that split off to feed on baitfish turning to eastern Sound - The Race proper, Valiant Rock and the Gut also shared by some stripers. The striped bass bite did not have too much of an off-week out on the reefs. Considering the Full Sturgeon Moon and some off weather factored in, the more invigorating reefs did give some fish trolling, jigging and three-waying. Closer to shore, brown sharks continued to bite away causing some fishers to move. Small weakfish continue to be active, fluke got a thumbs up for keepers but a so-so grade for the numbers of shorts. It’s been a better week for black sea bass in 40 to 50 feet where most of the knotheads were, but hammered by young fish closer to shore with a few exceptions noted. Porgies have really come alive as jumbos keep showing up. Their movement from the deep reefs to the shore has been a slow go until water temperatures took their gradual late summer trickle downward. Add schools of dogfish, stingrays, toadfish, sea robins, gray triggerfish and the like and the bottom fishery is keeping keeping fishers busy. Blue crabbing keeps getting better while the freshwater scene is feeling an early touch of fall as the overall bite in the lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams perk up. Back to the bluefish fish tourney for a minute: ten hours in and zero blues have been listed on their official leader board. But as the twelfth hour rolled in 17.84-pounder hit the board followed by an 18.49! Time will tell if this #1 spot holds or if it will be bested in the end by another heroic last minute weigh-in. We’ll let The Fisherman tell the story since report deadline time is before the final bell. Congrats to the unofficial winner! For more about 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 on a 7 day Summer 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.’”