Western Connecticut, Noreast Magazine

• There is no doubt that fishing is the absolute best hobby a person could have, especially for anglers in western Connecticut. This is primarily because just when it looked as though the season couldn’t get any better, something comes along to top what is currently occurring.
• This week, the treat for anglers is the arrival of blue crabs to the region, and lots of them. And to make it better, they are just about everywhere.“This has to be the best crab season I have seen in the last 20 years,” Jimmy Orefice of Jimmy O’s of Stratford said. “I have sold out of crab nets and traps, and the crabs are everywhere from Ash Creek, Southport Harbor, Mill Pond and Sunken Harbor.”
• The fishing has not been bad either with fluke still dominating Black Rock Harbor, Penfield Reef and Fairfield Beach. Dave Johnson cashed in on the presence of fluke in Black Rock Harbor, where he took his limit to 22 inches, using a squid and spearing combination. Mike Puskis had one of those days where good news and bad news are one and the same. He enjoyed non-stop action with the fluke, catching 27 fish in Sunken Harbor, using spearing and squid. That was the good news. The bad news was that only two were keepers.
• Mike Maffucci had better luck and limited out on keeper fluke, using the same bait as Puskis. Capt. Bob Turley went after bigger game and reeled in 10 bass to 13 pounds, using bunker chunks in Stratford Harbor, while Andy Trisker had 18 bass to 22 pounds while fishing Middle Ground. The best was that Trisker was using a 3-way baited with three whole bunker.At Stratford B&T in Stratford, Chris Fulton reported that the fluke are hot and heavy in his area, with the emphasis on heavy. Carl Farese caught one of those heavy fluke, a 7.36-pound flattie with a squid strip, while fishing the first breakwall in New Haven Harbor, while Nick Miakos pulled in a 6.22-pound fluke while fishing with sandworms at the back side of Charles Island.
• The porgy bite is going good as well with Rob Litzie limiting out in New Haven Harbor, using sandworms to a catch 1.5-pound fish. Stu Francis introduced his 6-year-old son, Francis, to fishing, and he took to it in a big way, limiting out on porgies to 1.62 pounds while using sandworms at Charles Island. Frank Welder gets the angler of the week award for his catch at the Race, where he used a 3-way rig baited with live eels to catch a 50.0 and a 54.17-pound bass. Now that’s fishing! Both of the stripers were released unharmed.
• Jason Jadach of Bobby J’s in Milford was raving about the presence of crabs, affirming what Orefice had said about the blue-clawed crustaceans being just about everywhere right now. Jadach indicated that crabs could be found in New Haven Harbor, Gulf Beach and Milford Harbor.
• In other news, Dawson Sander took a 16.3-pound bass on a bunker chunk at Fort Trumbull, while John Biggs tossed poppers at Gulf Beach for two bass to 20 pounds and two bluefish to 9 pounds. Al Day fished Buoy 18 with squid strips and caught his limit of fluke to 4 pounds. Al Day headed over to the first breakwall of New Haven Harbor where he used a squid and spearing combination to limit out on fluke to 4 pounds as well.
• At Ted’s B&T in Bridgeport, Kevin Karchman talked about his off shore trip with Mike Bass and Steve Rosie. The trio of anglers trolled the Tails to the 500 line during the early morning hours and caught two yellowfin to 60 pounds, a longfin albacore and several mahi mahi. They used a combination of sardines, cut bait and a good slick to get things going.
• In local waters, Henry Godfrey fished Westport Beach with a squid and spearing rig for a 5.75-pound fluke, and Karchman said that there are plenty of cocktail blues to be had at Buoy 18. For porgy anglers, theses feisty fish can be found at Middle Ground and Bell 22 with sandworms being the bait of choice.Nick Massaro of Fisherman’s World in Norwalk had some news on bass and spoke of the efforts of Howie Lipper, who used bunker chunks at Buoy 11B to catch four stripers to 16 pounds. John Beres had success with the bass as well, fishing Budds Reef with bunker chunks for five stripers, with the heaviest fish weighing 15 pounds.
• Tom Curry tried a change of pace and fished Norwalk Island with squid and shiners and came away with a hefty 9.6-pound fluke. Porgies are being caught at the back side of Charles Island with plenty of chum the ticket to catching 1-pound or more fish.At Pete’s Place in Stamford, Pete Miller said that there are plenty of blues in the water right now, all in the 9 to 12-pound range, with a few bass mixed in as well.
• Fluke and porgies are also present as well. Fred Bova took advantage of all of these fish, having a field day with the fluke and limited out on the flatties to 22 inches. He also caught 20 bluefish at mid Sound as well as four bass to 28 pounds. The bluefish and the bass were caught in 65 feet of water with bunker chunks. Rich Dombrowski fished Middle Passage where he used bunker chunks to catch eight bluefish to 10 pounds, four stripers to 22 pounds and two 6-pound fluke. That was some day by anyone’s account.
• Frank Wasco fished from shore at Bell Haven in Greenwich where he used bunker chunks to catch 12 bass to 30 inches and 10 bluefish. Gary Feighery caught a 30-inch bass in Greenwich Harbor on a bunker chunk, while Phil Vincoli took a 40-inch striper while fishing in 60 feet of water at mid Sound with a bunker chunk. Ray Kovak chased the smaller, more voracious fish, catching his limit of porgies to 2 pounds while fishing with clams at the Cows. He also caught two 6-pound blackfish. Joe Horvath fished the Cows and he too limited out on porgies to 2 pounds, using sandworms as his bait of choice.
• Mike Noyes of Sportsman’s Den in Cos Cob reported that the bass bite has slowed and that bluefish are still a strong presence in his area. Brandon Devers was able to verify that the bass are still in Stamford Harbor and had a terrific outing where he live lined bunker to catch a 25-pound and a 32-pound bass. Porgies can be had at theShoals around Captains Island, and the fluking at Todds Point is still steady (Rob Calouri)