MILLSTONE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, CT
Nuclear power plants have come under scrutiny again. Post 9/11, the trouble was due to the possible threat posed by terrorist types. Today, however, the unrest is caused by Japan’s nuclear disaster in the aftermath of the catastrophic tsunami. But the officials at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford, CT assure the public that its underlying granite geography makes our plant an unusually safe and stable platform.
The plant is the only one of its kind on Long Island Sound, and occupies 500 acres on an old quarry, which once produced high-quality millstones and building granite. The two active reactors (the third is decommissioned) generate enough electricity to supply about 500,000 homes. Fortunately for fishermen, the reactors’ cooling systems create two discharges that spew rivers of fast, clean, warm water into the Sound.
During the years immediately following 9/11, homeland security regulations prohibited fishing near the plant – from shore or a boat. Since then, the restrictions have loosened somewhat, and boat fishermen are again permitted access to these prized waters. However, shore-based fishing is permanently prohibited.
The warm-water outflows attract schoolie bass early in the spring, which arrive in April and stay until the surrounding waters become too warm. At the point, the first push of harbor bluefish move in during June and provide a new target species.
Spin casting with weighted soft plastics or various swimming lures like a Yo-Zuri crystal minnow are the go-to favorites. The common strategy to fish these turbulent waters is to jockey within reach of one of the discharges – often only a boat’s length away from the stone riprap – and idle or cut your motor. Immediately begin casting across the flow, letting your lure swing downstream while using a very slow retrieve – or sometimes none at all. Your goal is to imitate a baitfish struggling against the current, so a normally fast-cranking technique would appear much too fast and, therefore, unrealistic.
Methodically work the entire length of each discharge until you find the stripers, which may be present individually or in schools. Bass and bluefish will feed anywhere from the whitewater emanating from the steel bulkheads to the tail end of the slowest water 100 yards or more from the shore.
Avoid anchoring or motoring directly in the discharge waters because the current is strong enough to swamp a small boat. The waves are especially big when a stiff east wind opposes the outflows. In addition, proper fishing etiquette dictates that you don’t anchor in the middle of the prime fishing spots. That’s a quick way to make enemies with other anglers.
Small stripers sometimes school around the intake (west) side of the plant – and although this can be frustrating because they’re out of reach – you can only fish here with your boat outside the warning buoys (exclusion area non-lateral markers). The key is to focus on the fish working along this perimeter.
Tackle doesn’t need to be too fancy. But your gear does need to cast well to cover lots of water. I like a 7- to 7-1/2-foot medium-light-action rod matched with a small to medium reel like a Penn 4500SS. I load my reels with 15-pound mono. Using a double-uni knot, I attach 18 inches of 25-pound fluorocarbon leader to the main line and clinch it to the lure.
The Millstone Plant is safe to fish around, and its warm-water outflows attract species earlier than normal in the season. Give it a try. You may be in for a pleasant surprise.
