Norwich Bulletin

• Striped bass: Jack Balint of the Fish Connection in Preston and Don Michaud of King Cove Tackle in Stonington both agreed the fishing on the reefs and south side of Fishers Island has been running hot and cold. Good one tide, poor the next. Captain Don's in Charleston, R.I., said the beaches and tide ponds have been producing well. Balint reports there are still good numbers of 30- to 40-inch stripers in the upper Thames River chasing menhaden. Chris Allard of Norwich christened a new Ugly stick on a 32-incher Monday in Norwich Harbor.
• Bluefish: Loads of smaller bluefish have invaded most of the coast, providing action, sometimes when it's not wanted, for instance when fluke rigs get inadvertently chopped by these little line cutters. Most of these fish are typical 1- to 3-pounders, but everywhere from Narragansett Bay to Niantic Bay and the lower Connecticut River, there are reports of 10- to 15-pounders in the mix.
• Fluke: Fishing remains good and improving as these fish begin to push into Long Island Sound to feed for the summer.
• Scup/porgies: Season is open and the porgies appeared along the coast right on cue. They are pretty much a gimme for anyone fishing with sand worms, pieces of squid or clam on small hooks around reefs, rock piles and channel markers.
• Crabs: The early indicators in the form of small "dead, bloated and floating" blue crabs in the Thames River during late May evidently did not signify total winter/early spring die-off of our local blue crab population. At least some, mostly small ones survived, according to reports from Captain Morgan's in Madison, River's End in Saybrook and the Fish Connection in Preston.
• Freshwater: The best fishing will take place around dawn and dusk, often with short flurries of activity between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for some reason, probably the metabolic need to eat. Pike action has increased with summer time temperatures. Covino caught and released a 39-inch, 14-pound pike from Pachaug Pond last week. There have been reports of walleyes into the 20-inch range from Coventry Lake, Beach Pond and Mashapaug Lake, but Gardner Lake is quiet. (author ?, org pub Norwich Bulletin)