Noreast.com Western Sound

• Every year the new fishing season brings with it at least one surprise. Sometimes it is an early fluke run, other times it is a blockbuster June weakfish bonanza. This year, all the buzz in Western Connecticut is about winter flounder and how there are so many, when before this, they were virtually absent from the Spring fishing calendar. "The fishing is off the charts, the best flounder fishing I have seen since the mid 80's. We are seeing lots of 7-8-inch fish as well as more than enough keepers and that is great" reports Jimmy O's of Strattford.
• It is great because those young fish mean that there are more from where they came. Anglers caught their limit of flounder while drift fishing at St. Mary's and Norwalk Island using sandworms.
• The last days of the blackfish season saw a 7.75lb & 5.6lb blackfish caught while fishing with green crabs at the West Haven breakwall.
• According to Chris Fulton of Stratford B&T in Stratford he caught his limit of flatties to 1.8 pounds while fishing in the Housatonic River with sandworms. In addition to flounder being caught in the Housatonic River, there are plenty of 18-23-inch striped bass willing to hit a sandworm as well. Rich Haig closed out his blackfish season with a 9.26 tog that he caught with an Asian crab at the New Haven breakwall.
• Reporting from Some Things Fishy in West Haven angler reports a large school of striped bass at West Haven Beach, where he used green metal flake shad to catch 30 schoolies to 24 inches. Another angler tried the live bait route and used sandworms to pick up 20 stripers to 25 inches.
• Now, here is an interesting report. There are shad everywhere off the East Street Pier, says Mike Sheehy of Salty Dog B&T in West Haven. Along with those bait fish are plenty of 18-25-inch schoolie striped bass and that should keep anglers busy for awhile in that area.
• Bobby J's in Milford confirms that there are flounder in the Housatonic River and catching schoolie stripers using sandworms while fishing on the Shelton side of the river. In some freshwater action, an 8.34-pound rainbow trout was caught while fishing in the Wepawug River with a trout worm. Big trout were also caught with trout worms in the Farmington River and Southford Falls.
• At Ted's Bait in Bridgeport, an angler caught a 12.85-pound blackfish at the West Haven breakwall using Asian crabs. Anglers using shiners caught a 5.10-pound brown trout while fishing in the Saugatuck Reservoir, Candlewood Lake a 6.4-pound largemouth bass, a 4.95 largemouth bass at Lake Hills and at Lake Mohegan,
• At Westport Outfitters in Norwalk, two customers, who caught schoolie stripers and flounder just north of Calf Pasture Beach, one hour after high tide using worms. Anglers should try fishing the sanctuary in Milford and Short Beach in Stratford, where there amre reports of schoolie size bass being taken using white clousers and soft plastics like 4-inch Fin-S and storm shad.
• Paul Hiller of Hiller Hunting and Fishing in Norwalk had news of striped bass in the Norwalk, Fairfield and Northport harbors. He also said that there are flounder being caught at Calf Pasture Beach.
• At Pete's Place in Stamford, the excitement there was all about stripers, stripers and more stripers with several fish from 19-40 inches caught while fishing the Greenwich estuaries with a 10-inch Fin-S. Roberto nailed a 35-inch striper on a mackerel chunk and Danny caught two stripers that were 35 and 36 inches respectively. Dave had six keeper bass over a 3-day period with all the fish coming on a 10-inch Fin-S. Guy tried his luck at his favorite haunt at IBM and picked up a 31-inch striper, using clam strips. Tommy fished the Kensico Reservoir where he used stick bait to land 10 lake trout to 7 pounds.
• Sportsman's Den in Greenwich fishing Todds Point landed two 18-inch striped bass using sandworms, while Bob caught a bass right at the limit size of 28 inches using a nine-inch sluggo.
• On the freshwater scene, at Merrybrook Pond in Greenwich where he used a Mickey Finn to catch a 16-inch rainbow trout, as well as some smaller fish.