July 22, 2024 - 08:16:24
Colin at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown is still selling lots of faux frogs, Whopper Ploppers, and shiners to bass guys fishing local private ponds and public places including Millers Pond in Durham. The week’s best bass report, though, came from a gentleman who won a tournament on the Connecticut River in the Middletown/Haddam area. He tallied 13 pounds of bass and said action with both smallmouths and largemouths was very good. Catfishing in the river is good too, especially at Harbor Park in Middletown where a father-and-son team fishing chicken livers after dark reeled in ten nice channel cats in just one evening.
July 22, 2024 - 08:16:21
Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 told me most of the customers that came through the shop this week were focused on either striped bass or scup. While others headed offshore or targeted groundfish in the sound, the striper and porgy fishing was keeping lots of folks busy. Striper fishing has been good from in the Connecticut River, to out at The Race and beyond to Block Island. In the river, live bait and top water lures like the Doc are getting it done but Andrew noted, with water temperatures exceeding 80 degrees, that any catch and release fishing needs to be done with some care. Other anglers are getting bunker inside the river and taking it out to reefs where they are scoring some nice sized bass to 30 pounds plus. The Race is still fishing very well for bass and now for bluefish as well. Diamond Jigs, bucktails and eels have all been working there. Boats headed to Block Island have been scoring big numbers of big bass as the bite there has exploded over the last couple weeks. Shore anglers have been stopping into the shop to buy sandworms and reporting excellent porgy fishing, especially around the mouth of the Thames River from Fort Trumbull and Avery Point. That said, porgy fishing is good from just about any rockpile or jetty from Black Point east to Rhode Island. Bottom rigs fished with Sandworms, squid or clams are the gold standard for some fast fishing. Fluke and sea bass fishing has been mostly slow this week with a few exceptions and a few anglers reported catching their limits of summer tog. Blue crabbing in the river and its tributaries is picking up and there were reports of soft shells last week with the full moon.
July 15, 2024 - 10:00:14
From Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown we heard that FF3 is selling lots of faux frogs and Whopper Ploppers, an indication that bass are hitting topwater lures. Local private ponds are the most popular destinations, but some people have been fishing public places like Millers Pond in Durham. The problem with public ponds such as Millers is that they are jammed with swimmers and other recreators during the day. To avoid crowds, anglers must limit fishing times to early morning and late evening. Catfishing in the Connecticut River after dark remains good, fresh chunk bait around blowdowns and in hard bends of the river being the most effective approach. Carp fishing, though, has slowed.
July 15, 2024 - 10:00:10
Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 said it had been a bit slower this week compared to the last few. He cited the hot, humid weather and gusty southwest winds as the reason. Still, there were plenty of fish caught by those willing to put in the effort. The big schools of bunker in the mouth of the river have attracted the attention of some striped bass. There is a live bait and top water action there though the water temperatures are very hot. Andrew noted any catch and release fishing done in 80-degree water should include plenty of thoughtful revival time. Outside the river the same reefs and rips that have had fish all summer continue to produce stripers. The reefs from the mouth of the river out to The Race have sporadic small fish chasing bait on top and larger fish, to the 40-pound class on live bait. The Race continues to fish well though the overall size of the stripers there seemed to wane a bit this week. Big bluefish are being caught at The Race as well. Scup fishing for shore anglers is very good and they’d heard from folks who’d been fishing from the mouth of the Thames River over to Niantic Bay. Sandworms have been the top producer of porgies but clams and squid are working well too. There were some good blackfish catches talked about at the shop this week with fish up into the 7- to 8-pound range. sea bass fishing hasn’t really seemed to set up yet but there have been some nice fish taken by anglers looking for fluke. The fluke story remains the same – dedicated anglers continue to pick away at keeper sized flatfish but it takes some doing. Blue crabbers are picking up their activity and although it isn’t lights out in terms of numbers there are some crabs making their way into traps and nets.
