Conn Post, 9/30/05

• Early autumn often provides some of the best fishing of the year on Long Island Sound. Striped bass and bluefish are bending rods along the entire coast. Porgy and blackfish are staging on all the rocky reefs waiting to get caught. Most importantly, snapper blues are still in the harbors. But time is quickly running out on these baby bluefish as they will soon migrate out of the harbors to their wintering waters.
• Snappers, which are pushing eight inches, are biting very well, making this fish an excellent choice for children and shorebound fishers. Older anglers and mature children can catch the snappers on small Kastmaster spoons and tiny crankbaits. Hang your lure off a "popping bobber." The bobber, which looks like a miniature traffic cone, splashes wildly as you retrieve the lure/bobber assembly rapidly along the surface. This splash attracts the snappers to your waiting lure. Younger fishers can entice the snappers with small pieces of frozen minnow. Try to keep the minnow cold as it stays on the hook better than a thawed shiner. Again suspend the minnow bait below a popping bobber, but work the baited bobber at a much slower retrieval speed.
• Striped bass are starting to come out of their summer night feeding mode. With the right approach, you can catch stripers all day long. During the day, live or chunked bait will produce the desired results. Look for the daylight bass along points, reefs and harbor mouths. Frost Point, Penfield Reef, Fayerweather Island, the Stratford Shoal, Pond Point and Lighthouse Point are great day fishing spots. As evening approaches, move into Norwalk Harbor, Southport Harbor, Black Rock Harbor, Bridgeport Harbor, the Housatonic River and the Quinnipiac River. Swimming plugs, poppers and surgical tube/sandworm combinations are great evening bass lures.
• Bluefish continue to hang in all the usual places, most anglers are waiting for the autumn run of large fish. Between now and November, saltwater anglers have a good chance of catching a trophy-size bluefish. You can apply for special trophy saltwater fish awards from the state Department of Environmental Projection. To find out more on the awards program, refer to page 49 and 50 of the state Anglers' Guide. If you are looking for that lunker bluefish, visit Buoy 28C, Sunken Island, Middleground, the Housatonic River between the state boat ramp and the river's breakwater, Morris Cove and Browns Reef.
• Walleye and northern pike fisheries are getting better and better with each passing day. The cooler nights early this week really sparked life into both fish species. You should find walleye at Lake Saltonstall, Lake Housatonic, Squantz Pond, Coventry Lake, Batterson Park Pond, Gardner Lake and the Saugatuck Reservoir. Nightcrawlers and live minnows are the preferred walleye baits. If you plan to fish Lake Saltonstall, leave the live minnows home as the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority prohibits the use of live minnows on that reservoir. Pike are grabbing large spoons, weedless spoons, spinnerbaits, Slug-go lures and live minnows at Pachaug Pond, Bantam Lake, Winchester Lake and the Connecticut River between the Middletown Bend and Salmon River Cove.