New London Day

• DESPITE THURSDAY'S cold rain and sleet throughout our region, spring is slowly advancing, raising hopes for better weather. In the meantime, we'll plow through the chilly wind with what news is available for this, the first fishing column of a brand new season.
• Captain Al Anderson tried to work on his big boat but gave up after being pelted by wind and sleet at a Rhode Island boat yard. His last trip to the Thames was Tuesday, on a charter for Stephanie Cramer and Dennis Kelly. Fishing up in the Norwich Basin they landed 109 bass to about 22 inches, trolling mostly small umbrella rigs just down below the mix of fresh and saltwater.
• Capt. Don's in Charlestown noted there was absolutely nothing going on in either the pond or ocean front beaches. He heard about buckies showing up at Potter Hill dam, the only confirmed news of the week.
• Moving back to Connecticut, I called Bob's Rod and Tackle on a very quiet day, the only movement a hard rain coming down. Flounder fishing at Bluff Point has been so-so at best and there were the first few flats caught out of the Niantic River. Striper action in the upper Thames is good one day and poor the next couple trips. A couple anglers tried for blackfish but nobody to date has caught fish number one. Some of the saltwater crew will head to Rhode Island for the trout opener tomorrow, while others wait for the season to open in Connecticut on April 21.
• Jack at the Fish Connection made a comment or two about the dreary, cold weather saying it looks like we'll be hit with a northeaster on Sunday. Bluff Point offers the best bet for flounder with the Niantic River a poor second choice as of press time. Two weeks ago one of the kids that works in the store had a limit of flats at Bluff Point but nothing close to those numbers were reported since. Striper fishing in the upper Thames is a matter of mostly numbers not size right now. The first of the buckies are up around Brookside so we might see some bigger bass in a week or so.
• Richard over at Hillyers Tackle laughed when I asked him about any fishing news. Prior to Thursday's rain, a shore angler caught a couple keeper bass at Harkness while others had a few flounder from the Niantic River (emphasis on the word few). The water in the Niantic was a cool 42 degrees. That needs to come up some for better results.
• My good friend Sherwood Lincoln heard about tiny bass caught in Hamburg Cove by people in small boats either launched around the Baldwin Bridge or cartoppers put in right in the cove. He also said you can fish from shore there right by the Hamburg Cove Bridge, maybe arriving just at the start of the ebb tide for best chances.
• At River's End Tackle in Old Saybrook where Capt. Q told me the numbers of bass coming out of Hamburg Cove dropped off as this week wore on. On some afternoons as many as 30 small boats were working the fish over, maybe something to do with the drop in numbers.
• People further downriver at the DEP Dock caught a limited number of small bass with worms on the bottom. Those in the small boats in the cove were using small plastic baits or tiny bucktails. (by Tim Coleman The Day)