Noreast.com, Western, CT 7/8

• They say success is a matter of timing and that may be true even in fishing circles, especially when it comes to the cycles of arriving and departing species of fish. Imagine that just when anglers were starting to get concerned about the waning spring bass run, up comes a resurgence in the fluke population to take their place. And the fluke have arrived in a big way with flatties up to 11 pounds being caught all along western Connecticut.
• With the way that the fluke have rolled in, anglers should not forget to register for Nor'east.com's Flukemania Smackdown Tournament taking place on July 14 and 15. There is $20,000 in guaranteed cash prizes and the entry fee is $25 per angler. There is a $500 bonus to the first place winner if the angler that is a Noreast.com Club member. The winner will be decided by heaviest weight of one fluke measuring 20 inches or longer. For more information, call the hotline at 1-866-610-2246 or check our website at Noreast.com.
• Of course, porgies have made their presence known as well, with fish to 18 inches being caught at the Cows, Charles Island and Can 11. As the temperature rises so will the porgy activity. Bluefish are also vying for the bait with both cocktails and muscle-busting 20-pounders wreaking havoc pretty much everywhere right now.
• Nick Massaro of Fisherman's World in Norwalk had news of those fluke and reported that Eric Vickstrom cleaned up at Copps Island, where he used sand eels for 10 flatties to 5 pounds, while Scott Martin took his share of keeper fluke at the same location, along with a surprise 5.1-pound sea bass that just inhaled a sand eel. Rich Epstein is still chasing the sportfish with terrific success as he battled a 20.4-pound bluefish to the boat while live-lining bunker at Norwalk Island. He also reeled in a 20-pound bass. Pete Mirrol made a run at the title in the Montauk Marine Shark Tournament with a 200-pound thresher shark that was caught at the Horns. He came up a little short but the fight was one he won't soon forget.
• At Hiller's Hunting and Fishing in Norwalk, Paul Hiller did leave his mark in the Montauk Marine Tournament with a third place finish. Hiller's prize-winning fish was a 172-pound mako, which was a shock as it came alongside the boat. Hiller, who caught the fish west of the Ranger and fought it for 30 minutes, thought he had a thresher at first, and was then pleasantly surprised with the mako. Tyler Hiller captured the junior angler's prize in the tournament.
• In hometown waters, Janet DeScala proved Copps Island is the hot place for fluke and took a 6.5-pound fish using squid strips. Rocky Figoura caught a 15.4-pound bluefish on a bunker chunk at Norwalk Island, and Rich Arcomo hooked a 40-pound bass with a bunker chunk in Darien Harbor.
• Eric Johnson of Westport Outfitters in Norwalk said that inshore, the conditions continue to be good for bass and fluke, with much success coming through the use of sand eels, which are still in abundance. The fluke bite has definitely moved across the Sound and anglers should try Middle Passage, the Shoals, as well as around Sunken Island in Fairfield. Kayakers had some luck trolling tubes in and out of the boat traffic, with bass up to 22 inches grabbing hold.
• At Bobby J's in Milford, Jason Jadach spoke of Carl Schneider's catch of five fluke to four pounds in New Haven Harbor. Schneider used squid strips and killies to entice the fish to bite. Rob Jadach, fishing with Casey Stefco and Jason, took their limit of fluke at Can 11. The trio of anglers kept seven fish to 4.5 pounds and tossed back a dozen shorts. They also put 12 18-inch porgies in the bucket. All the fish were caught using squid and spearing. Dean Vogel fished from shore at Woodmont Beach with bunker chunks and was rewarded with a 13.9-pound bass. Capt. Joe Filenskowski was a second place finisher in the Montauk Marine competition with his catch of a 185-pound thresher shark and a 183-pound mako. What was really remarkable is that the day before the tournament in some pre-fishing preparation, he boated a 432-pound thresher. All of the fish were caught using bluefish 20 miles south of Montauk Light.
• Chris Fulton of Stratford B&T in Stratford had a mixed bag of news starting with Mark Casey fishing in New Haven Harbor where he used live killies to catch a 7.46-pound fluke and an 8.19-pound flattie. Chet Checkowski was out with his 2-year-old son, Chet Jr., and 5-year-old daughter, Lauren, at Penfield Reef where the family of anglers had their way with non-stop schoolie bass action. Then Dad introduced Chet Jr. to fishing in a big way with the youngster reeling in his first fish ever, a 12-inch blackfish. All the fish were taken with sandworms. Jack Wallace also fished New Haven Harbor and got a 12.25-pound bluefish which grabbed hold of a bunker head. Jim Butterworth caught 45 schoolie bass while trolling tube and worm in the Housatonic River.
• At Sportsmen's Den in Cos Cob, Mike Noyes told of the fluke action taking place at Todds Point. And that is exactly where Pete Farenelli took a 22-inch fish, while Bob McGreevy was a little better, catching a 23-inch flattie. Austin DeStanik chased the bass at Captain's Island and took two 15-pound fish using bunker chunks.
• Pete Miller of Pete's Place in Stamford said that the porgy fishing is starting to pick up, along with good size fluke action. Joe Horvath confirmed that with nine porgies averaging 18 inches that he took at the Cows with sandworms. Horvath also limited out on fluke to 5 pounds. John Crimmins fished in 30 feet of water at Todds Point with mackerel strips and promptly caught his limit of fluke to 24 inches, while John Friedman had a field day in Stamford Harbor where he caught a 12-pound bass, eight bluefish and three fluke to 3 pounds, with all the fish taking bunker chunks. Charles Hurty worked Stamford Harbor, using sandworms to catch 21 bass to 30 inches and Chris Poulos fished the same location with bunker chunks for eight bass to 25 pounds. Miller's 7-year-old son, Jonathan, caught a 30-inch bass with a bunker chunk at Wilson's Point, while Chris Miller fished from shore at Shippan Point and took a 24.5-pound bass using bunker. Frank Wasco and Wayne Sorbo combined for 12 bass to 36 inches while fishing with bunker chunks in Greenwich Harbor. (Rob Caluori).