Conn Post, Frank McKane

• The recent warm weather has been a boon to anglers around the state. About the only complaint is the modest flooding in the larger rivers. But those anglers fishing in the lakes and ponds are finding hungry yellow perch and largemouth bass.
• Yellow perch are beginning their spring spawning rituals. If you find their spawning flats, you can easily catch one to two dozen fish. Perch do not guard their eggs like bass and sunfish. They simply scatter the eggs over the bottom and budding weed growth. Taking a few spawning perch for dinner will not harm the fishery, but only keep those fish you plan to eat for dinner. Release the rest to conserve the population for future use.
• Good yellow perch reports have been coming from Lake Housatonic, Lake Kenosia, Lake Lillinonah, Lake Zoar, Mamanasco Lake, Congamond Lake, Beseck Lake, Bantam Lake, Burr Pond, Dog Pond, Winchester Lake and the old Seymour reservoirs in Naugatuck State Forest. These fish are taking live pinhead minnows, halved nightcrawlers, brightly colored marabou jigs, natural colored curly tail grubs, tiny crankbaits and streamer flies.
• The spring sunshine is warming up the smaller lakes and ponds. Already, temperatures greater than 50 degrees can be found along the sunny banks. This warmth brings the aquatic insects to life. Minnows swarm to the same areas to feed on the hatching bugs. Largemouth bass migrate to the sunny shallows to eat the minnows and get warm after their long winter stasis. Anglers following the food chain are catching bass.
• Your best bass fishing opportunities are in the smaller lakes and ponds south of I-84. Also, concentrate on the northern ends of these ponds. The sun is still shining from the south. Thus, trees, houses and sharp banks can shadow the southern end of the lake. Conversely, the northern shores often get full sun exposure during the afternoon hours.
• Test the largemouth bass fisheries in Bantam Lake, Dog Pond, Lake Housatonic, Long Meadow Pond, Mamanasco Lake, Pataganset Lake, Hatch Pond, Silver Lake, Beseck Lake, Messerschmidt's Pond, upper Moodus Reservoir, Wood Creek Pond, North Farms Reservoir, Pickerel Lake and Mudge Pond. Live minnows are the best bass bait right now. Tube lures and shad-tailed grubs also have a strong following among the bassing crowd.
• Bridgeport Harbor continues to give up striped bass. You can access the harbor from the eastern end of Seaside Park or by boat. Occasionally, a sharpie comes up with a big score, but most anglers are only catching one or two fish. This fishery will steadily improve as the flooding subsides.
• Anglers are reminded that the state Department of Environmental Protection extended the moratorium on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from both inland and marine waters. The ban began in 2002 and has been continually extended since to preserve the dwindling stocks. FRANK MCKANE JR.