Capt Morgan Madison 11/16/05

1. The call of tautog (blackfish) has been attracting tog pullers to the reefs where fish in the 10-pound plus range have been caught. Inshore as well as offshore reefs, including favorite rock piles fished by the locals, have been dotted with small craft. Tack a chart to the wall and toss a dart and chances are the closest reef will have blackfish feeding on it.
2. At the time of this writing, a few helpful hotspot hints must include Southwest Reef, Madison Reef, Goose Island, inside Netties Reef, and various spots in and around The Thimbles. Two launches are available in the area of Madison/Guilford that are fairly close to these fishing grounds. Of course, there are several other reefs and rocky structures along shoreline that are also worth fishing but these score high marks based on the number of recent catches made. The tog's short menu reads crabs, clams, and seaworms.
3. Stripers with some big blues mixed in. Although several bass in the 45- to the 50-plus pound range have been caught earlier on out by Fisher's Island, mid-November has traditionally been a time for some big fish to surface farther west. Somewhere between the Connecticut River and Guilford Harbor, there are usually a few cows.
4. Live bait—as in eels, bunker, seaworms, etc.—are the fall time fishing delights for stripers. Effective both from shore or boat, the only limitations have to do with timing and location. Not to diminish the effectiveness of chunk bait or artificial lures—they will catch boasting-size bass as well—live bait does get the attention of those fined-tuned senses stripers are known to possess. With a full
5. moon phase upon us, bass fishing ought to prove productive for those anglers ready to do battle with the season's typically unpredictable elements. [org pub theday.com by Captain Morgan]