May 11, 2026 - 10:34:47
Headline news from Rich at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk: Saugatuck Reservoir surrendered two big browns recently, both pushing 8 pounds, each caught on a shiner by different individuals fishing different parts of the impoundment. The reservoir has also been producing good catches of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappies, and perch. Local rivers such as the Mianus, Mill in Fairfield, Saugatuck, and Norwalk remain reliable trout spots. Periodic stockings are keeping these flowages filled with trout, and crowds have dwindled, leaving surviving stockies to the efforts of diligent anglers. The upper and lower Saugatuck River was stocked May 6. The Mianus River outside the TMA was stocked May 7.
May 11, 2026 - 10:34:42
I talked to Tyler at Fisherman’s World who told me that local action is on the upswing and will only get better for the next month or more. Striper fishing is the best game in town right now and it’s not even close as fish are spread out everywhere from inshore harbors and bays out to deep water structure. The freshest fish in the region are likely to be found on the deep water reefs like 11B, Can 13 and the OB Buoy. These schools of fish seem to be on the move as they’ll be around an area in the morning and gone in the afternoon or vice versa. Tyler said that trolling mojos, umbrella rigs and bunker spoons is the best way to locate bass once you see something promising on sonar. If you do find a pile, diving swimming plugs are a good bet as well as topwater. Many of these fish are of high quality, in the 40-inch class. Another encouraging sign along the deep water reefs is the amount of bait currently present. They are seeing and hearing reports of bunker, mackerel, squid, spearing and rainbait. Tyler said that he expects fishing in the area to become more consistent with the arrival of the coming new moon as there are still good reports of fish coming from the west, say Captain’s Island to the Weather Buoy to Hempstead. Once those fish collide with the bait things should set up nicely and incorporating flutter spoons and big soft plastics into your repertoire will be a good idea. If you’re looking to fish from shore, there are plenty of bass in tight as well. Shore anglers reported catching on both bait and plugs this week. The Housatonic also continues to fish well, especially at night. On the fluke front, No one had caught one as of when we talked, but if you’re looking for a local fluke he suggested trying shallow, in 15-feet of water or less with small bucktails or spearing. If you want to look a bit deeper, cans 24 and 26 are always good early season bets for flatties. The best bet now and for a couple of weeks though will be heading to the north shore along Eaton’s Neck or in Smithtown bay. The same can be said for early scup, where fishing in 30 to 50 feet around Lloyd’s Neck with lots of clam chum is the best bet.
May 04, 2026 - 10:29:46
Rich at Fisherman’s World in Norwalk let us know that freshwater fishing in his area stayed about the same as the previous week’s. Local rivers including the Mianus, Mill in Fairfield, and Norwalk—the Wilton stretch of the latter all the way to Ridgefield especially popular among customers—all yielding plenty of stocked trout on a host of baits and lures, including worms, Roostertails, and PowerBait. The Norwalk River WTMA was stocked with trout April 29; the Saugatuck River TMA (Fly Area) accepted trout May 1. Fishermen hitting the Saugatuck Reservoir reported good action with largemouth and smallmouth bass on shiners and very good fishing for crappies to 16 inches on 2-inch soft-plastics. Not much on trout, though.
May 04, 2026 - 10:29:41
I talked to Jesse at Fisherman’s World who said the bass bite is now the main focus for most customers they’d seen in the shop. The blackfish and winter flounder bites were both good right up until the seasonal closure but with both species now in the rearview mirror, striper fishing will be the best bet for a couple of weeks and beyond. There are migratory fish pushing into the far western reaches of the sound and reports of fish caught both on the troll and on top were starting to become more common. Boats trolling and Diamond Jigging around Execution Rock were catching bass to the 20-pound class with a few fish beating that average. Topwater action was also working for a few boats, especially in the presence of bunker. There is some bait in that area, not huge schools yet but individual fish zipping around on the surface. These fish will continue to push east and if you’re looking to intercept them locally heading out to 11B, 28C and the OB would be a good bet in the next week or so. Water temperatures in the sound are hovering between 48 and 52-degrees depending on time and tide. Locally, striper fishing has been very good with holdover and resident fish continuing to move around the area. Some fish are pushing out of estuaries, bays and harbors and onto to the beaches while others are chasing herring into tidal creeks and rivers. The Housatonic continues to fish well with bass spread from the mouth to the dam. Trout fishing has been very good at all the local rivers. The Mianus, Mill and Norwalk were all well stocked and continue to produce fish. The Saugatuck River still has some fish looking up to flies and the reservoir is fishing as well. The shop is a certified repair center for Shimano, Daiwa and Penn but will service any brand of reel the keep in stock. They also offer rod repair and roller guide replacement. If you’re looking to get some gear serviced, now is the time to get it in so it’s ready for the season ahead.
