Westport Outfitters 7/29

• The Heat is on! Not to worry - you can still catch stripers during the month of August from shore and/or your boat. Shop faithful and upcoming fly fisher extraordinaire Jay Thomson nailed a 33 inch striper taken off of Westport during the evening on Monday night. The fish hit a large mushy pattern. Rick also did quite well chunking fresh bunker this past Saturday off of Norwalk and he landed 3 bass up to 22 pounds. Bunker remains difficult to find in the Norwalk-Westport area but they are still stacked up in the Greenwich-Rye vicinity, so if you are looking to run, run west.
  
• Bluefish are keeping the bait at bay but any day the bunker should be heading east seeking more oxygenated water. Speaking of bunker, we have seen thousands of little micro like bunker that will soon grow old and be our prime source of food for the incoming tuna species we all love to chase in the fall. Time to stock up on the Deadly Dicks, we have every color and size available! Let’s just hope we don’t get another Ernesto like storm that blows this bait out this year.
• Stripers are now in their summer pattern hugging the deeper drop offs and reefs during the day and striking bait near shore during low light hours. Peanut bunker are growing and providing meals to hungry bass and blues but don't overlook snapper blues as another bait source. Try 4 inch blue/white deceiver patterns to imitate the baby blues. For the kids we have pre rigged light tackle combos starting at just $25.00, so no excuses on not getting the children out to enjoy these energetic, non stop action fish!
• There are still some sand eels holding near the Westport area but the fish are certainly targeting snapper blues, peanut bunker and silversides from now on. Crab patterns will also produce on the flats so keep your eyes peeled for fish slurping the small crabs on the surface. Pete Viviano’s crab patterns are moving fast, so come on down and have a look. A slow retrieve is critical…Spin fisherman should start deploying Rattletraps, blue/white Yozuri crystal minnows and FinS soft plastics as well as the new Storm peanut bunker imitations, now is the time to give these a cast!
• Tube & Worm and bait fisherman should target deep drop offs and rip lines on a moving tide but also consider shallow water areas with minimal boat traffic. Look for rocky shorelines and outflows to hold keeper size bass and big blues throughout the month of August. Our lead core combos are a must for effective trolling. With them you are able to put exactly the right amount of line out to hit the most productive area of the water column. Check these out to increase your catch!
• Last night at the top of the tide we experienced something that perhaps should not even be shared, but if you read these reports and know the shop, we are all about giving you, our loyal customers, the information you need to hook up! Off of Southport beach, large fish (let me reiterate…large fish) were in a full on frenzy. Hard to say what they were crashing, could have been adult bunker or perhaps small shrimp and or crabs. Our feeling is that these types of smaller baits versus adult bunker, would entice these fish to crash this bait rather than just engulfing full size adult bunker. Whatever it was, we are going back tonight to throw the kitchen sink at them. The inshore seen is not over .
• UPDATE-8/2/07-We went and scouted it out last night with the head lamps and the verdict was small shrimp...use the sparsest fly pattern you have with a painfully slow retrieve.
• The doldrums of Summer are here, but don’t give up the pursuit, there is still much fishing to be had. Again, focus on low light or no light conditions (don’t forget your head lamps for those chompers, we have some sweet ones!). As our temperatures exceed 90 degrees the rest of this week try to get out early if you wish to hook up using flies or light tackle.