Capt Morgan Madison 11/10/05

• What a fall! Bass, blues, and blacks top the list of seasonal fish to be caught. Stripers are hitting, bluefish are attacking, and togs haven't yet figured out there are fishermen at the other end of the line. It is the time of year when popular reefs are bombarded with anglers especially on a bonus weather day. Tog pullers are looking for elbow room, drifters are looking for a clean shot, and you can bet your last piece of chunk that someone will squeeze their way in and proceed to launch heavy metal in the direction of an anchor line prompting a variety of reactions.
• Diving birds in the Sound are filling themselves full of herring, alerting some fishermen to a short (but perhaps sustained) run of these irresistible bass baits. Often close to shore, these fish often bring on the biggest and the best of the fall run of linesiders. Live-lining, partial rigging, or chunking will often bring immediate and dynamic hits. Short casts in the wash or long distance hurls may be necessary in order to reach the target zone. Similarly created plugs that imitate these fish are scoring both at night and during the daylight hours.
• Anxiously awaiting the run of the cows, anglers have been gearing up all along the Connecticut's striper coast. As a prelude to this annual event, 20- to 30-pound class fish are serving as a warm up. Tidal river basins have been serving as a cauldron for these feeding stripers, especially on falling tides. The more aggressive bass are swimming farther upriver pursuing menhaden and herring, remaining there until the tide forces them from the feeding grounds.
• Recently, a fresh class of 30- to 35-pound bass has entered the Sound. Feeding on fresh bait, these fat bass are putting a bend in the heartiest of rods. Carl Asman of Guilford along with Aaron Karlak of Seymour had a striper morning off of Faulkner's Island. With bass to 35 pounds and measuring 42 inches, the duo hit pay dirt using chunks on the start of an early morning rising tide.
• November is considered by many to be the month of the eel. Or should it be said, the month of striper eels. Slinging a hefty one from shore or drifting snake candy across your favorite rip generally proves to be a successful tactic when looking for the bass of the season.
• As stripers move down the coast through Block Island Sound, past the Race and into Long Island Sound to feed, most reefs and shoals along the way become stopping points. Reefs like Bartlett's, Hatchett's, Cornfield, Crane, Six, Southwest, Kimberly, and the Beacon come alive. Long Sand Shoal becomes a magnet and if hit right, you ought to have a scale on board that can register greater than 50 pounds.
• With all of the fuss being made about togs and bass, bluefish almost seem to be overlooked. However, some of the best fights of the year are going on right now. Gators (and those looking to grow into ones) are on the prowl, slicing into schools of baitfish and imitation look-alikes. They are cruising the depths with the stealth of a barracuda one minute and in the next, turning a calm water surface into a foaming turmoil. The fight is on and likely to continue well into the month of November.