The Fishing Line

• Vince's Overview: Striper fishing has improved throughout the Sound with 40 inch plus fish showing up in the most popular spots. Sand eels are being chased in a number of areas and the bunker keep moving and are proving to be a constant challenge to find. Porgie season opened up June 1st and blackfish (tautog) season on June 15th, while the winter flounder season is now closed. For the largest fish, western CT shops are still sending boaters westward to New York around Hempstead, Cold Spring Harbor and Captain's Island in Portchester for stripers and Pt Jefferson / Mt Sinai for fluke. Eastern CT anglers can also shoot over to RI from the Watch Hill Reef to Pt Judith and Montauk where the striper and fluke fishing has been very good. Remember, if you fish NY waters for fluke that the state law is 19 1/2 inches, not 18 as in CT.
• WESTERN SOUND, GREENWICH TO FAIRFIELD: Stripers in the western sound, the fishing in western CT is okay, but unpredictable from day to day. Larger, migratory bass are being taken at night from Throgs Neck up to Captain's Island in Portchester, NY. While we await the arrival in western CT of the migratory bass, you can troll for stripers from the 32A buoy over to Hempstead with tube & worms, bunker spoons or shad umbrella rigs. We have a lot of sand eels attracting schoolie stripers and some larger stripers in the 20- to 25-pound range being taken on live bunker and chunked bait outside of the Norwalk Islands. Westport Outfitters reports that there are plenty of adult bunker in Norwalk Harbor with a few fish pushing them around at day break and at dusk. However, for the most part the Norwalk Islands are hit or miss, so you need to be in the right place at the right time.
• The area east of Norwalk has had an influx of sand eels especially in areas like Penfield Reef, Burial Hill Beach, Old Mill and Calf Pasture Beach. Since stripers have keyed in on them, it is important to fish imitations that closely resemble them, especially dark green ones, which seem to produce the best. Look around Slates Point and inside where the Millpond pours out, as well as Penfield Reef and the backside of Copps Island for sand eels, bass breaking the surface and / or terns working this area. Westport Outfitters also reported that the mouth of the Saugatuck River on the incoming tide has produced some very nice stripers in the last few days with excellent results for light-tackle and fly-fishing anglers who can imitate the green-hued eels.
• Fluke - with all the sand eels showing up from Compo Beach to Penfield Reef, we are starting to see some fluke action. A few good-sized fluke can be found in the middle passage of the Norwalk Islands and at Green's and Pecks Ledge. Some reports claim fish up to 7 pounds have been caught in the Norwalk area. However, the best bet continues to be a trip to the North shore of LI in the Mt Sinai / Port Jefferson near Can #9 and of course at Montauk.
• Bluefish - bluefish have been active in the area west of buoy 32A, west of Greenwich / Stamford, off of Todd's Point and mid-sound near Smithtown Bay. Look under the bunker schools as they are mixed in with the bass. Porgy - from Western CT, your best bet is to shoot over to Crane's Neck about 15 to 20 feet off shore and it helps to chum for them. Blackfish - we have some reports of tog action around the Goose & Duck Islands, as well as the Kelsey breakwater.
• Bridgeport to Madison: Striped Bass - we have reports of reports of some very large 25-30 pound fish on chunks off of Stratford in the vicinity of "Can 2". Bobby J's in Milford reports the bunker have moved out of Milford and are now in New Haven harbor and the West Wall. Joe at Fisherman's Paradise says that striper fishing around Branford has also thinned out in the last few days as the bunker have become hard to find.
• Fluke - we have reports of good fluke action in West Haven and over at can 9 from Bobby J's. With all the sand eels in the area, anglers are having good results with the Berkley Gulp sand eels, which can be set up on bucktail rigs along with squid strips. Bigger fluke are moving closer to shore according to Capt. Morgan’s in Madison, who recommends that you focus on the mouth of the tidal rivers and around Tuxis Island. Joe at Fisherman's World says nice sized flats have also shown up in Branford Harbor, but larger fluke will be found over at Port Jefferson and Cans 9 & 11 on the LI side.
• Bluefish - blues are taking chunks and jigs around Faulkner Island and a lot of bluefish are reported in the Housatonic and the area around Stratford, where anglers are taking them on swimmers, poppers and cut bait catching blues up to 10 pounds. Joe at Fisherman's Paradise reports that the sandbar in the Housatonic has been producing some harbor blues and blues up to 12 pounds are being caught at the Tomlinson Bridge in New Haven.
• Porgies - Captain Morgan’s Tackle in Madison reports large porgies are being taken on the rocky humps off Goose Island. Blackfish - Captain Morgan’s also reports a lot of blackfish action from rock jetties. Sea worms may make better bait right now, but with all the scup around you’re better off using green crabs. Joe at Fisherman's Paradise reports anglers are doing well around Branford in the breakwaters and some large togs are being taken at Beacon, Brown's and the usual wrecks in the Branford area.
• EASTERN SOUND: Old Saybrook & Connecticut River to the Race:
• Striped Bass - Pat at River's End says that there have been a few good sized bass in the lower Connecticut River and says that anglers have had success at the mouth with live eels, chunks and live bait over the past week. Schoolies are running along the Old Lyme to Old Saybrook Shoreline responding to tubes and worms during daylight and casters getting a few during low light. He recommends switching during the daytime to live/fresh bait or tube and worm or over at the Race, which is loaded with stripers, using diamond jigs.
• Bluefish - Rivers End reports there are some blues in the lower river running up to 15 pounds this week. Fresh chunk bait has been the best producer for both shore and boat blue fishing, while jigging has produced some good results at Plum Gut and Pigeon Rip, mostly on the flood tide. Fluke - River's End reports a few good sized fluke are being taken in 80 feet of water off of Old Lyme.
• Niantic Bay & Thames River: Striped Bass- Bunker and bass are still thick around the mouth of the Thames with some very large bluefish in the mix. Since the stripers are focused on the bunker, they are snubbing anything that does not look like them. Bartlett Reef and the Millstone discharge are also producing large bass in the last few days, which have been spotted chasing hickory shad in the early morning. Shane at Hillyer's in Waterford reports large striped bass are being taken on the inner and outer sides of Bartlett Reef and that striper action is still good in the 23 channel in Niantic Bay, around Millstone and Blackport's 45 foot hole, at Hatchett's Reef and inside the bridges on the Niantic River. We continue to hear reports of larger fish being taken off the south side of Fisher's Island and Dottie at Ken's Tackle points to the Eastern and Bluff Point areas in Groton at the mouth of the Thames for larger stripers. Trolling a tube-and-worm along the beach areas like Ocean Beach is still producing nice sized stripers.
• Fluke - We have reports of big fluke being taken in the warm water discharge area near Millstone and in deeper waters off Black Point. Hillyer's says the fluke action is also hot in Niantic from the red can south of White Rock out to the 23 Channel in 40 feet of water and at the Sea Flower and Horseshoe Reefs near Groton. The areas around Gales Ferry, Ocean Beach, Seaflower Reef and Intrepid Rock have been producing keeper sized fluke, as well as from Ocean Beach over to Seaside in 20 to 25 feet of water where they are chasing squid and sand eels. Bob's Bait & Tackle reports keeper sized fluke continue to move into the Thames.
• Bluefish - a lot of 3 to 4 pound bluefish are being taken in the Millstone area both from shore and boats, Joe at the Fish Connection reports that a lot of large bluefish are being caught off the golf course and the east end of Fishers Island. Bob's Tackle reports lots of blues in the Thames, some as large as 10 pounds.
• Porgies - Shane at Hillyer's reports that anglers continue to find large scup between the bridges in the Niantic River. High Rock and Low Rock are also producing some nice scup and we have reports that scup are also being taken in the Thames now.
• Blackfish - Hillyer's reports 8 to 9 pound fish taken between the bridges on the Niantic River, as well as near Millstone at the High Rock and Low Rock. Bob's Tackle reports with the warming water that a few blackfish are still around the mouth of the Thames, but most are starting to move to deeper water. They suggest you look around Hatchetts Reef and Two Tree Island.
• Mystic River to Watch Hill: Striped Bass- The Mystic River is still producing large stripers and we continue to hear reports of stripers caught on the local reefs - Sugar, Watch Hill, and Wikipee - up to 50 pounds. The bunker have moved out of the Pawcatuck River and hickory shad, which had been in the Mystic River, have been sited over there. The main bait outside of the rivers has been sand eels, which are packed into the backside of Napatree Point, where they are attracting mixed sized stripers. Cheryl at Shaffers in Mystic says that the charters are reporting good results trolling on Valiant Reef around the East and Middle Clumps and near Latimer's Light using live eels for bait.
• Fluke- Hillyer’s Bait & Tackle in Waterford reports that fluke can be found in about 50 feet of water along the Misquamicut Beach area of Rhode Island and at Isabella Beach on the south side of Fishers Island is red hot for fluke. Fluke catches are picking up, but small bluefish in the area make it difficult to get bait down according to Hillyer's, who report that Black Point and Isabella Beach on the south side of Fishers Island are the hot spots. They recommend whole squid to attract larger fluke. Anglers have been catching fluke to 9 pounds on the south side of Fishers Island near Isabella Beach, in Barley Field Cove and off of the beaches at Misquamicut near the Carousel generally in about 50 to 60 feet of water. Some anglers have found fluke in the Mystic River and off the Stonington breakwater and the Monastery, but drifting without too much boat traffic in the area is generally difficult. Other spots with good reports of keeper-sized fluke include the area between the Pink House and the Old Reef in about 40 - 50 feet of water and inside the can on the Watch Hill Reef.
• Blackfish - Shaffers in Mystic reports anglers are catching blackfish off of Mystic and Stonington, but warns not to drift into NY waters, where blackfishing is closed. Bluefish - Cheryl also reports a lot of harbor sized fish have moved into the Mystic River where they have been chewing up everyone's tackle. She said the action on the causeway bridge has been particularly hot. A lot of bluefish up to 10 pounds are also reported along the Watch Hill Reef. Jim Gray says they are mixing in with the stripers now, so start using hard, non-plastic rigs. Porgy - larger "humpback" porgies up to 16 inches are turning up around Mystic, particularly at Latimer and Watch Hill Lights with some 2 plus pound fish taken from shore on sandworms at Watch Hill Point. Porgies can be found over the rockpiles from Misquamicut to Charlestown, RI.