On The Water 10/28/05

1. This past week was broken up by rains Saturday and by Hurricane Wilma earlier in the week. Those who have been fishing in-between all the miserable weather have been catching some fish. Blackfish have turned on across the board, with the main problem simply being able to get out in the boat to set up off a reef or ledge. Bass and bluefish are still around in good numbers, with bass beginning to dominate catches in most areas as water temperatures finally cool. The big fish seem to be around Narragansett, with a few beginning to filter on down the south shore beaches. There are scattered reports of false albacore around the mouth of the Sound, but no one has seen large concentrations, other than perhaps across the way at Montauk Point.
2. The hurricane remnants kicked up a super high tide, and the high winds battered the shoreline pretty hard, so things may be mixed up for a few days. It’s impossible to predict exactly what this storm has done to the bait and movement of striped bass and bluefish.
3. Richard at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle in Waterford told us there have been a good number of bluefish moving in and out of the bay lately. Many are being caught on chunk bait from the beach along the tracks. A few albies are still around in small schools that have been popping up in the Millstone outflow and Pleasure Beach area, but they are in small schools and typically hard to catch.
4. Blackfishing has been great lately. They have seen fish of 13.5 pounds and 10 pounds, plus numerous other 8- and 7-pounders over the past couple of weeks. Local skin divers are seeing very high numbers of tautog around the rocks, more than usual.
5. The area between the bridges has been producing bass on live hickory shad on balloons. Anglers are still catching striped bass off Black Point and Bartlett Reef when the weather allows. The report from the Fishers Island area is that The Race is good if you can get through the bluefish. Ocean Beach was hot with bass and bluefish all last week. But no word on what’s happened since the hurricane came through. Even inside the Sound, Rich noted that the tide was higher at dead low today than it normally is at high tide between the bridges.
6. “Q” of River’s End, Saybrook said there were small bass and bluefish in the lower Connecticut River that are probably gone after this most recent flooding. He added that he was surprised they were there after the “nine days of rain last week,” but they were, in fair numbers. No telling what the recent storm has done to the river, but you can bet it’s high, flowing hard and very dirty.
7. Blackfish action has been good at Hatchett Reef, off the Thames and in Niantic but no specific reports on big-fish catches, just that those who are fishing these areas are satisfied. One of my friends caught a limit of blackfish from New London Harbor Saturday morning. “Q” said that at least now the weather is beginning to feel like it’s blackfish season.
8. Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle, Madison said that blackfish turned on hot and heavy off all the local reefs, with Charles Reef, Madison Reef and Kimberly Reef all holding decent fish. Some big bass have moved into the rocks and shorelines throughout the Madison area, along with the bluefish, which have been present for months. The captain said that “the three Bs – blackfish, bass and blues” are all in hot and heavy, and waiting for someone to get out and catch them this weekend.
9. Chris Fulton, owner of Stratford Bait and Tackle in Stratford, was on the phone all afternoon, probably reordering all the tackle the bluefish have eaten up this season.
10. Scott from Fisherman’s World, Norwalk said not much has been happening in his neck of the woods, due to the poor fishing weather. He said they have the impression that some bass movement is starting, based on the fact that anglers fishing in deep waters outside the Norwalk Islands, around Buoy 28-C and 11-B, are jigging up bigger fish but no monsters lately. Friday, Dixon Downey caught a limit of blackfish, with the largest tipping the scales at seven pounds, along with a 4.25-pound sea bass, all from 15 to 20 feet of water off Cockenoe Reef. That same day Jim Zottoli and his son caught four blackfish over five pounds off Budds Reef, so it looks like with all the dropping water temps and storms the blackfish are finally beginning to move around in the shallower, warmer waters of western Long Island Sound. They have been turned on in the east for two or three weeks now.
11. Local shore fishing has been up and down with the weather. It is expected that the catching of bass and blackfish will do nothing but improve from now through nearly Christmastime, depending on temperatures. It’s a matter of staying out in the cold.
12. This week, it looks like a double-dip trip, starting with blackfish and ending with striped bass, might be a wise choice.