Westport Outfitters (Norwalk) Fishing Report

• Trout stocking continues this week throughout our area and the fishing should be great in the local rivers with plenty of water flowing.
• The Norwalk River has produced excellent action recently using spinners, nightcrawlers, streamer flies and nymphs. Our trusty Norwalk River Scout Jae had several browns and a hefty Brook Trout this past weekend on small spinners. The Saugatuck TMA holds many trout as well as the upper river above the reservoir. Fly fisherman will do well with many hatches of small mayflies showing, try fishing #16-20 emerger patterns in the water surface film. Smallmouth and Largemouth bass fishing continues to improve on Candlewood Lake and Lillinonah.
• schoolie stripers and the flounder just north of Calf Pasture Beach 1 hour after high tide. The flounder were caught on a standard flounder rig – three bead 2 hook (size 1/0) with a 1 oz weight on a three way swivel with worms (bottom with slight jig action). The stripers were also landed on flounder rigs - 1/0 hook attached to 6 ft of 25# flouro leader to a swivel with a sliding ½ ounce egg sinker. They also were bottom chumming with minced clams – slow release.
  
• We also scouted the areas near the Norwalk Islands and Long Island's North Shore yesterday and got into some fat schoolie bass and one keeper at 28 inches on the fly rods using olive/white clousers on a slow sinking intermediate in 5 feet of water. The water clarity has improved and the temps are at 53 degrees in most areas.
  
• The Housatonic River is finally clearing up and fishing has picked up once again. Try fishing the sanctuary in Milford and also Short Beach in Stratford. We have reports of many schoolie size bass being taken over the past 3 days using white clousers and soft plastics like 4" FinS and Storm Shad.
  
• Schools of bunker or popping up all around the area and the large migratory stripers aren't far behind as typically the Western Sound is seeing these big fish by the end of April. Fish near the schools of bunker for your best shot at a cow bass!