On The Water, Bob Sampson

• Last weekend, Rhode Island opened its trout season with a pleasant, sunny day and comfortable temperatures for a change, and it looks, based on long-range forecasts, like Connecticut will follow suit this Saturday, when the trout season starts officially and opens up a large percentage of waters that were closed the past three weeks for stocking.
• In the marine arena, all the shops we contacted this week had talk of schoolie stripers, probably all local fish that are beginning to move around with water temps poking up into the low 50s in some places. Herring runs are going strong in many areas. Like last year, winter flounder action seems to be better from the middle portion of Connecticut to the west, while spots to the east are not doing much. Rhode Island opens its winter flounder season on Saturday, which should add a great deal more pressure along the coast, which in turn will generate more reports for next week.
• Steve McKenna of Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle, North Kingstown told us the trout season opener was very good with fish to 3 pounds coming into the shop. Bass fishing is hot in local ponds with one customer reporting the bass were on the beds already in some places, which means water temperatures have to be around 65 degrees F. The first reports of scattered catches of schoolie bass off the West Wall at Point Judith began last Thursday. I would bet most of those fish were locals dropping down out of the area’s salt ponds and rivers.
• Peter at Saltwater Edge, Newport reported that rumors of those same schoolies off the walls made it to Newport, which is a verification of sorts. One of his friends caught a 28- incher in the Barrington River during the week. Peter is currently waiting for the squid to show off the causeway, an event he’s expecting will take place any time now. At this point, every warm, sunny day will help cook things up and hasten the progression of fish arrivals, like the squid that are out there in the ocean waiting for temperatures to warm a tad more before making their first showings along the coast in this area.
• Captain Don of Captain Don’s Tackle, Charleston, Rhode Island said he has heard of a few schoolies in the Pawcatuck River. There were a couple of bass caught at cemetery cove but nothing more exciting to report than that at this time. The Rhody winter flounder season starts on Saturday, and Captain Don said he will stock sand worms for this event. This weekend, with some warming days, everything should break loose along the South Shore.
• Joe Balint of The Fish Connection, Preston on the Thames has been seeing and hearing of bass from the Thames, mostly schoolies, but a few larger fish have been caught, too. Last weekend, 30-pounders were weighed in, but tides are bad at prime times right now, so the big-fish catch has dropped off for the moment. Sand worms are taking fish already in all the usual spots from Fort Shantock on downriver to Montville. As is typical for this point in the season, all the coves are producing some fish, with the spots that have spawning alewives being the most likely in which to catch those large stripers on large herring clone lures. The bass have moved downriver, so it’s no longer just a vertical jigging thing in the harbor’s deep water. My friend Eric and another angler caught 202 fish a week ago under overcast skies, but this week in the same spot they only landed 39 fish but had twice that many follows and missed slashes. Not too much in the way of white perch reports from either the Thames or the Connecticut rivers at this time, but expect whatever will happen this spring to take place within the next two or three weeks. Normally, the whites peak during the last week or two of April. A few winter flounder were reportedly caught at Bluff Point. My guess is we have already seen the best of the spring run from this place. Look to places like Jordan Cove, Niantic Bay, Mystic and other spots to produce the usual soon.
  Calico bass are starting to gather up for spawning in shallow, weedy places like Glasgow Pond, Hopeville Pond, Pachaug Pond and Bog.
• I couldn’t make contact with Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle, Waterford for this week’s report due to phone connection problems.
• Mark Lewchik of River’s End, Saybrook said there are bass in the lower river that are hitting lures and worms. However, the water is still running too cold and high, so fishing is difficult and odds are these bass are overwintering fish, not fresh-run stripers from the Hudson or Chesapeake. One angler tried midweek but did nothing with flounder off the river mouth. He said the water was flowing too hard and was much too dirty. It was like fishing an endless ebb tide. Here the best time to do the flatfish is during the incoming tide and to fish near the clear-water edge between river and incoming ocean water. Mark also noted that they haven’t heard much from the white perch fishing crowd about anything changing in Hamburg Cove. Those trying have not been doing much lately. It is still a tad too early. Look for things to break loose this week.
• Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle, Madison reported that schoolies are showing up in the East River, Guilford-Madison. Winter flounder were caught at East and West Wharf, Guilford Harbor and the Thimble Islands. Anglers who know what’s going on are taking limits while others are struggling to catch a couple of flatfish.Like everywhere else, the captain’s customers are more interested in getting ready for Opening Day than in working hard for a stray flounder or school striper. No one has taken any sea-runs this week, but the captain expects to see some fish over opening weekend with all those anglers out there. Captain Morgan’s is holding its usual “Opening Day Trout Contest” on Saturday. A UL trout combo goes to the first-place winner; fishing gear will be given for second and third places. There will also be drawings for gifts throughout the day.
• Chris Fulton, owner of Stratford B&T, Stratford is also gearing up for the season opener, with the most activity centering on freshwater trout. Chris went to Rhody to open the season last week and caught fish to 2.8 pounds. Smiths Point has been hot in the Housatonic River for the past week. Anglers are taking good numbers of schoolies on flies and small soft plastics. Chris said that there have been a few flatfish caught off the mouth of the Saugatuck River near Sprite Island during the week. No limits but anglers are catching some fish for their time investment. With flounder so sparse, using a chum pot is by far the best way to draw and hold fish around your boat; it is almost a necessity for success with flatfish in this day and age.
• Nick at Fisherman’s World, Norwalk also reported improved winter flounder catches with some of the better fish measuring up to 17 inches. Jason Vlicky of Norwalk had five keepers on Tuesday. Others are taking a fish or two here and there. Nick expects the flounder action to pick up as water temperatures rise. John McLintuck caught a 44-inch striper off Seaside Park in Bridgeport on a mackerel chunk earlier in the week, the biggest bass of the spring so far. Schoolies are being caught off the mouth of the Housatonic River, around the piers in town and around the power plants in the area. Bear in mind these are probably all still local fish that are “waking up” after a long winter’s period of inactivity.Rhode Island Fresh Water
• Bill Hopkins of Hope Valley Bait & Tackle of Hope Valley, Rhode Island said the bass fishing is on fire in all the local lakes. Bass fishing won’t get any better. Lots of fish in the 3- to 4-pound range being caught but great prespawn action. Jerkbaits are doing well on light orange bellies and clown colors. Their season opener brought with it some great catches of quality trout averaging 1 to 2 pounds. The best Bill has seen so far was a gorgeous rainbow trout of 6.75 pounds and lots of 2-pound fish. With water dropping and forcing fish into pools, they are getting easier to catch with small worms and a split shot or weighted nymphs, Wooly Buggers and other bottom grubbing offerings. CT Fresh Water.
• Jim Dimitri of Lebanon Sports Center, Bozrah / Lebanon said they will be doing hot dogs, chili and beverages for their usual opening-day affair, along with their Opening Day Contest for the biggest trout, by length. Steve, out at Mike’s Bait and Tackle, Voluntown said that everyone is gearing up for Opening Day. The goal of the shop’s contest is the longest trout – a $100 gift certificate goes to the adult winner, and a tackle box worth $75 goes to the winner under age 16. Pre-registration is required. Nearby Bethel Church is having a fisherman’s breakfast starting at 5 a.m. on opening morning. The shop is having free coffee and donuts for customers.
• This week the best bet will of course be trout anywhere in the state. With no heavy rains predicted prior to Connecticut’s opener, water levels in rivers should be favorable, and with nice weather predicted, there should be plenty of anglers out to catch some of the 400,000-plus trout the state has stocked for this event. Otherwise, the best bet for sheer action is still the Thames River, which is turning on big time. Monday evening, I tried some of my large herring clone lures at Greenville Dam. I didn’t do anything because the fish there were small. But according to one guy I talked to, there were many small fish caught that day, fish that were too small to hit the 9-inch plug I was tossing in an effort to catch a herring chaser. Remember, Connecticut has a total ban on the taking of river herring again this spring.