Westport Outfitters

• Many anglers enjoyed a near perfect weekend from a weather standpoint but there weren't many large bluefish hooked up. The average blues were in the 5-10lb range, including all of the fish that were caught by those of us from the shop that participated. These fish are a blast on the fly rods and give the newbie some very quick lessons on what to do and not to do with a traditional reel (i.e. no anti-reverse). Pound for pound, there simply is no better fighting fish on the light tackle or fly rods.
• Check the shallow sections of shoals and outflow areas near beaches to find blues finning while awaiting schools of peanut bunker and silversides to move through. Although August is not the prime month for striped bass fishing we had reports of stripers to 46" and 43" in and around the Norwalk area over the weekend. Congrats to George Moreo who landed a 47 inch, 35.5 lb striper on Sunday A.M. within the islands (see Recent Catches section). In fact, if we were to have taken a straw poll over the busy weekend, I would venture to say that almost more big stripers were caught by participants in the tourney than bluefish. Tube and worm and bunker produced these fish.
• As the peanut bunker grow you should switch your artificials to match baits in the 3-4" range over the next week. Rattle Traps, Yozuri Crystal Minnows, Smack-it Jr., and Striper Strike poppers are great choices for spin fisherman and fly fisherman should try blue/white, olive/white clousers and deceivers as well as crease flies and bangers for surface action. Speaking of flies, as we mentioned last week, we will now be carrying a full array of hand tied flies by Eric Peterson. For years, Eric has been seen as an innovator when it comes to tying. His new association with the shop and unique patterns we feel will compliment those others that we currently have on hand. Over the winter we will look to have Eric doing some demonstrations and classes so stay tuned. Come on down and have a look at the new Synergy patterns today!
• We are just beginning to enter the season when surface action will be the norm. Look for birds and bait busting on the surface and you will likely find bluefish under them. Under the bluefish, you will likely find some big lazy bass picking up the scraps from the frenzy taking place on the surface. Be sure to cast a weighted lure outside of these schools, say 15 feet. A one ounce Kastmaster delivered just so, will shoot past the bluefish and hopefully drift right past a waiting striper feasting…hold on!
• We continue to have several reports of Bonito being caught in the Norwalk Islands working schools of peanut bunker and silversides. On Monday we were forced to keep a fish that was taken on the fly rods after a bluefish severed the thing in half as we went to land it. Stripers are still being taken in deeper water but not so deep you cannot target them with light tackle. Try reefs and rocky areas using poppers early in the morning or just before dark. If you want a shot at a bigger bass during the day bunker chunks and tube and worm are your best choices, but you will mostly likely get plenty of bluefish action also using these methods. Some nice keeper fluke are still being taken in deeper water using live snapper blues and traditional squid/spearing combos. It looks like we have a nice week of weather ahead and for the holiday weekend, so get out there!
• The snappers are getting bigger and putting up a heck of a fight, get the kids out there this weekend for one last hurrah before they go back to school! Rigged combos perfect for this energetic fish starting at just $24.99!
• MONTAUK REPORT
• From the on board the “TEASER” sailing out of Montauk, Captain Dean reports that the fishing was slow with all the winds last week but the people who got offshore were greatly rewarded with great bites of Yellowfin and Big Eye tunas. There has also been a good giant tuna bite going on for the guys who know how to catch them. The bite seams to be in the "Mud Hole" closer to Rhode Island than to Montauk but only about a 35 mile ride for us here at the basin. Sharking is still going strong for the guys who want to skip the tuna's. The bass has been consistent all year and the eels will start working real well as the season progresses along. Flukeing has been a tough bite this week with many shorts, but the keepers are getting harder to come by each day. Dean hopes to see some new face's experiencing some of the best Tuna fishing we have seen in years. (Eric Johnson, Westport Outfitters).