Eastern Connecticut, Nor'east Saltwater Magazine

• The easterly blow slowed things down over the first half of the week, but with the 3-4 degree water temp drop, the action picked right up once the front passed through.
• Jack from Jack’s Shoreline Bait and Tackle reported that Jonathan Raszczyk had a blast catching fluke up to 5.5 pounds on Friday morning at Cranes Reef. The bluefish have been blitzing on top, especially during the morning hours and late afternoon. The incoming tide appears to get these maniacal fish motivated to eat. On Friday, David Griser and Keith Salisbury scored a 51.5-pound striped bass fishing the waters around Valiant Rock. For the locals in and around Westbrook, adult bunker have finally started to make a consistent appearance over the last several days.
• Over at Captain Morgan’s Bait and Tackle in Madison/Guilford, the Captain proclaimed the action to be “very good,” especially following the cold front that passed through on Tuesday and Wednesday. The blues are everywhere from the reefs all the way into the shoreline. There are plenty of bass in the area as well, but you’ll need to work hard to reach the bass working under the blitzing bluefish. Most of the nearby reefs are producing at a steady clip. Six-Mile Reef, Falkners Island, and the North Rip have been yielding big bass. Again, use live bunker, shad, or porgies to garner the attention of the big girls. The bass catching is not relegated to the reefs, as shore-bound surfcasters are getting into the action with bass working the flats and drop offs of channels. Lastly, if you look hard enough, you shouldn’t have a problem finding live, adult bunker.
• At Hillyers in Waterford, Elmo described the striper bite as “steady.” Just about every nearby reef, rip, and rock pile has been producing. Towards the end of the week, a 55-pound striped bass was pulled from the rushing waters of the Sluiceway. Bartlett’s Reef and Hatchett’s Reef have been producing a nice mix of big bass and blues. On Friday, a spear fisherman sauntered into the shop and placed an 18-pound blackfish on the scales for all to see. This fish was 3.5 pounds lighter than Arthur Dutra’s state record of 21 pounds 8 ounces. Unbelievable! Moving on, the snappers are everywhere near Jordan Cove and the hickory shad are still popping up at first light and sundown in between the bridges.
• Mark Beers of Block Island Tackle in Westbrook began our conversation with a heartfelt story. This past week, nine-year-old Max Gentino and his family from Wethersfield boarded John Paczek’s charter boat, The Hunter , for a fun-filled morning of striper fishing. Unfortunately for the little guy, the seas were incredibly harsh and seasickness settled in rather quickly. Expectedly, Max was upset that his sickness ruined the much anticipated trip. John, being the good man he is, took Max back to the docks and asked if he wanted to do a little crabbing. When Max returned home, he presented his family with buckets of crab for a delicious evening feast. Way to go Max. We’re all proud of you. You turned a disappointing day into a great one by catching all those delicious crabs!
• Mark continued the conversation by stating the fishing has been hot since the front moved through the area. On Friday, one of Mark’s loyal customers caught 8 bass at Southwest Reef; all of these fish weighed more than 40 pounds! Cranes Reef, Southwest Reef, and the west end of Long Sand Shoal have been loaded with a large mix of blues and bass. As Mark stated, “Any of the local haunts are holding lots of good fish right now.” Fluking has been rather slow, but some anglers are catching keepers at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Porgy fishing has been outstanding along any of the local rock piles. And lastly, for those in search of bunker, direct your vessel to Clinton Harbor. There has been a steady presence of adult bunker in this location.
• Like clockwork, Pat Abate of Rivers End forwarded this species-by-species breakdown for the waters in and around Old Saybrook.
• Striped bass - The bunker moved back in force late this week from Westbrook to New London and beyond. While there’s mostly blues on them the bass aren't too far away. Even though last week’s weather may have felt like fall, it’s still the dog days of August as far as bass go. There’s been a few big bass reported from Hatchetts and Southwest on live bait, and I believe we’re still knocking off the remainder of summer residents. The Race has had some medium sized bass if you can get through the blues.
• The schoolies are running fair to good for August along the shoreline from Old Saybrook to Waterford. Rhode Island beaches have also had a good population of small bait and adult bunker with mixed sizes of bass. There’s been schoolies at the Causeway bridges near daybreak.
• Bluefish - Just in time for the WICC Contest, the blues have sent in the reserves. Bunker schools have increased and drawn more blues close to shore. The Connecticut River was good on Friday with choppers busting the bunker schools. There have been intermittent blitzes all week when the two parties get together. The Race and Plum Gut have a good bunch of mixed sizes but the bigger boys tend to be in or near the river and smaller reefs.
• Fluke - We had some good reports this week from Black Point but not much from the shallower waters. There have been some decent reports from NY around the Ruins and Gardiner’s. Don't give up on the last roundup; we should see some good doormats these next two weeks.
• Bonito - Bonito reports are waning this week as rumors of false albacore are increasing. There have been a few credible one fish catches in the Sound. They are on the Vineyard now and that’s a good sign, we should see some by week’s end.
• Blue Crabs - Very good reports came in this week for both trappers and scoopers. All the coves in the lower river had good catches for traps and most pilings in the marinas are being worked hard. (Roland St. Denis)