TheDay.com, New London, CT

1. Bass are moving into The Race, said Capt. Kyle Douton at J&B Tackle, though it's not consistent, day to day, tide to tide. As of yesterday the flood tide was better than the ebb but all this is subject to change as out waters warm up and more fish push on through. Diamond jigs and three-waying bucktails are your best bets; be ready to switch from one to the other as conditions change.
2. Fluking has improved at Montauk, though one boat had to run eight miles west of Montauk on the south side of Long Island to find a body of fish on his last trip over, noting it was a costly trip due to the price of gas.
3. Sherwood Lincoln of East Lyme made a run to Montauk from Niantic and burned about $120 worth of fuel in his 24-foot outboard. He and a friend had a fair catch that made for some great eating but from now on he'll wait until the fish move into this side of the Sound. Striper fishing is improving as it always does this time of year with some larger bass coming out of The Gut and Valiant Shoal.
4. Al Golinski of Misquamicut said two of his sources went over to Isabella for fluke and landed 10 fish to six pounds between them. As of press time there isn't a real run of bass on the Watch Hill Reefs though nearby Stonington Harbor is full of squid. It shouldn't be too long before the fish are on this end of Fishers Island.
5. Jack at Ocean House Marina in Charlestown reported plenty of worm hatches in Ninigret Pond just before dark with ever more people out taking advantage of them. Some larger stripers were caught along the outside beaches on chunks and more fluke now in deep water off the breachway and down toward Point Judith. No scup nor sea bass yet but the season is getting into gear despite some very cool days on the water.
6. Don at King Cove Tackle Shop in Stonington said the coves about Stonington Harbor are full of 14-18-inch bass with a few up to 24 inches. Two locals fished the reefs on Tuesday but landed only a couple smaller fish, not the jumbos the area is famous for. Shore anglers are landing a mix of bass to 34 inches and hickory shad along the Rhode Island shore from Watch Hill to Charlestown Breachway. Fluking has started at Isabella but nothing much to date in Connecticut waters and Fishers Island Sound.
7. Over at the Fish Connection, Jack said one of his regular customers landed 30 fluke at Fishers Island, keeping a limit to tops of eight pounds. He got mixed reports from those going over to Montauk. The Race is coming into form with fish caught on both six- and eight-ounce diamond jigs and bucktails depending on the strength of the current. Lots of squid can be jigged after dark in Stonington Harbor and around the Niantic River mouth. Jack said it's been several years since he sold this many squid jigs, a sure sign of good run of the creatures. Live eels and nine-inch Slug-Gos are still fooling some heavier bass on a weekly basis around the Greenville Dam.
8. Stephanie Cramer said tides in the upper Thames were mediocre all week. As a result fishing was just so-so with some tiny stripers caught Monday and Tuesday evenings on spin rods. One of her fellow workers at the Mystic Aquarium fished a Rhode Island salt pond on Wednesday evening, wading and casting for bass to 32 inches.
9. Richard at Hillyers had reliable information about some limit catches of winter flounder in the Niantic River and improved numbers of fluke from Montauk. One fellow used a plug made by Gapen to troll up two bass in the 20s in The Race at slack tide. The Millstone outflow has schoolies and tiny blues for the people with boats too small to fish The Race. Shore anglers are also landing schoolies and some fish in the mid-30-inch range at the mouth of the Niantic River after dark.
10. Mark Turek of the Connecticut Surfcasters has been busy this spring with bumper numbers of schoolies in the Housatonic River and also outfitting a brand new beach buggy. He and fellow members have made several trips to the west, fishing the Smith's Point section of the river both in the evening and after dark for stripers to 34 inches on a variety of lures. Another member fished the Charles Island sand bar at Milford for a 21-pound bass and a third caught a 36-inch bass that was full of fresh squid from an Old Lyme beach. His last piece of news was about another member who launched a small boat in the Connecticut River, ran it over to Great Island and fished from the shore there for a 42-inch bass.
11. Mark down at River's End in Old Saybrook reported bass to 40 inches taken this week on topwater plugs and nine-inch Slug-Gos in the lower Connecticut River. Flyrodders had American shad at the mouth of the Lieutenant River and hickory shad and schoolie stripers along other sections of the river from Calves Island to the mouth. Flounder news from the river and the beaches just outside is very poor.
12. Allen at Shaffers said people from his marina are coming back from Montauk with fluke catches. The New York regulations call for five fish per person with a 17.5-inch minimum and current Connecticut regs will allow you to keep six fluke per person per day with same minimum size. Valiant Rock is producing some bass on diamond jigs and bucktails but the Watch Hill Reefs have yet to see consistent action. Small boaters can get schoolies in the Mystic River around Six Penny Island, especially with full tide just at daybreak.
13. Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com © The Day Publishing Co.