On The Water 11/12/05

1. It’s typical late-fall fishing throughout the region. The migration is on. There are still fish to the north that may or may not be available for us to catch here in Connecticut and Rhode Island, depending on bait distribution and temperatures when they arrive. But there are fish still around, and with temps in the high 50s, they should be for anywhere from a week to maybe three before things really shut down. The slugs of fish do have a great deal more “daylight” between them right now, so don’t despair if your favorite spot is dead two or three nights running because the mother lode could be waiting on the next trip. Blackfish have been the most consistent species lately, when the armada that chases them can get out over their favorite reefs. A few decent fish have been taken from docks, jetties and rocky shorelines, but this fish is definitely more suited for fishing vertically from a boat anchored on the edge of a reef than it is for casting horizontally out into the rocks from shore.
2. Rennie of The Fish Connection, Preston on the Thames said on Wednesday he started fishing off Smith’s Cove then went to the State Hospital and near the casino, across the river, and managed to catch six fish to about 18 inches, along with a few hickory shad – not the normal fall blitzes that the Thames River is famous for. The river has generally been slow in the upper reaches to Norwich.
3. The problem is that there’s not much – if any – bait in the river since the heavy rains a week or so ago. The tons of peanut bunker were evidently washed out to sea, so the normal fall blitzes are not going on throughout the river. There are a few more bass around the mouth of the river near Mamacoke Island and Smith’s Cove, but you have to work for them. Blackfishing has been excellent off the mouth of the Thames and nearby rock piles such as Sara Ledge and Goshen Reef.
4. Rennie fished Gardner Lake for walleyes and couldn’t catch one earlier in the week. He said that he hasn’t caught one this year and has not heard of anyone else catching them, either. However, some small ones have been coming from Coventry Lake and Beach Pond, but these fisheries are too new for the walleyes to have reached the minimum size of 18 inches. Next year these newly stocked lakes will begin producing keepers. Remember, the limit is two fish per day, a restriction that is long overdue and the reason the once great fishery at Gardner Lake is so depleted – three winters of heavy ice-fishing pressure wiped them out!
5. Richard at Hillyer’s Bait and Tackle in Waterford said the blackfish action has been pretty much the whole story in his area. Rich Wilson, who works at the shop, and some friends caught a dozen nice blackfish one day last week, with the top-end fish a whopping 9.5-pounder. Rick caught his fish on hermit crabs, which he says is like “cheating,” they work so well.
6. Ocean Beach, Harkness Park and the Waterford Town Beach still have decent numbers of bass and blues up close to the rocks after dark but not out on the Niantic River.
7. Pat Abate of River’s End, Saybrook said there are a few bass around but it has been spotty down in his “neck of the woods.” Pat made three trips in two days under good conditions but didn’t get a single strike, saying: “There’s lots of room between fish, but you never know when they will be at your spot.” Napatree Point is a good example. He said that last week it would be good one night and dead for the next two. The causeway and lower Connecticut River have bass and hickory shad around to catch. Out off the river mouth, Long Sand Shoal was red-hot for bass and bluefish the past few days, with the western end the better producer. The top-end stripers taken have been up to 30 pounds. Bartlett Reef has produced a few fish lately, as well. The Race has been slow, but Pat wasn’t sure if it was lack of fish or a lack of fishermen that’s caused a reduction in reports from this popular fishing area. Blackfishing is still good but seems to have tapered off this past weekend. Pat heard one report from the Vineyard that a bunch of fish showed earlier in the week, which means there are still some fish up north to come through. How fast they move through will depend on the amount of bait in an area and the water temperature. “Things have been shut down for a good deal of the time lately, due to the weather.”
8. Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle, Madison was not there when we called, probably due to the miserable weather on Wednesday. We will try to reach him earlier next week.
9. Chris Fulton, owner of Stratford Bait and Tackle in Stratford, reported that not much has been happening around the Housatonic River and Stratford beaches. He noted that the best fishing they’ve had so far this fall took place during the nine days of rain, and things have tapered off ever since.
10. Like in the Thames, there isn’t much bait around, hence few fish feeding on them. Monday and Tuesday, Chris said he fished locally and didn’t get a bump. He’s heard that Rhode Island is red-hot, and there are still some fish up off the Cape, like others to the east have reported this week. Everything shut down this week, but there will be more fish coming. Anglers with bait are still taking bluefish on chunks. For some reason, plug casting has not been producing very well. During one of his local trips to Charles Island, he said one guy fishing near him was catching bluefish after bluefish on chunks while he couldn’t get a touch on poppers or metal lures.
11. Nick from Fisherman’s World, Norwalk said diamond jigging at 11-B and the Obstruction Buoy are hot for both bluefish and striped bass – nothing big, but good overall action in these two spots. Fish along the shore up to 20 pounds are still being caught. Penfield Reef produced decent fish one night for a customer, and they were literally gone on the next. But that’s the way it is this time of year, hot and cold, though apparently turning mostly cold in many areas for now.
12. Here, as to the east, blackfishing has been very good and the mainstay and most consistent fishery. Customers are reporting fish to about seven pounds – no real monsters in the typical catch but good numbers of shorts to keep the action factor up. There are many smaller fish in the catches but not a high percentage of shell crushers in the average catch. However, Nick said, like the folks to the east, that the blackfishing this year is the best it’s been in quite a while.
13. This weekend the best bet, if the winds allow, will be to set up over a reef or rock pile and send crabs down for blackfish. Then after you catch your fill, hit the shoreline for striped bass. If stripers are your thing from the surf, the epicenter of the best fishing as of midweek was and probably still is the three breachways and their respective salt ponds. Charlestown, Quonny and Weekapaug breachways accounted for the best striper and bluefish reports we heard of this week, and live baits such as chunks have been the ticket for the big bluefish being taken.