Western Connecticut, Nor'east Saltwater Magazine

• Well, the chaos the WICC Greatest Bluefish on Earth Tournament brings to waters of western Connecticut was in full force this weekend with more wire being pulled than that found in an assembly plant. Despite the onslaught of anglers who were seeking to take home the first prize, there were still plenty of hearty souls pursuing other species of fish beside the toothy choppers. And for good reason, because there are still plenty of porgies to be caught, along with fluke, sea bass, and the striped bass are still around as well.
• Chris Fulton of Stratford B&T in Stratford had plenty to say about the fishing that has been taking place in his neck of the woods and told of the 45.07-pound striped bass that was caught by Derek Kirkpatrick. Now for all those old salts who think deep water is where the big fish are, know that Kirkpatrick caught this cow while fishing from shore, casting live eels into the surf. Now that’s not to say that big fish can’t be caught in deep water either. Note that Bruce Roofing proved that when fishing the Race with a 4-ounce bucktail that was tipped with a yellowtail pork rind. This crazy rig drove the bass crazy with Roofing catching a 52 and a 43-pound striper with it. John McKeeta and J.D McKeeta went after some smaller game and used sandworms at Branford Harbor to limit out on porgies, with the heaviest fish weighing 2.36 pounds. John McKeeta enjoyed the porgies so much that he went back for more the next day and this time fished Clinton with sandworms and limited out again. J.J. Pfohl, who is a mere eight years old, got a taste of fighting bluefish when he hooked into a 10.42-pound chopper in the Housatonic River. The young lad was using a bunker chunk and did land the fish. For anglers in pursuit of blue crabs, the hot spot in this area is Indian River and the nighttime method of using a flashlight and fast net hand still works the best.
• At Fisherman’s World in Norwalk, Nick Massaro talked of Steve Elliott dragging tube and worm throughout the Norwalk Islands where he caught a 33-inch striped bass and had four bluefish to 11 pounds chase down the hook as well. Alex Besterman found the bluefish at Budds Reef, where he used bunker chunks to catch a 15-pound chopper. He also had a very nice surprise when an 18-pound bass jumped on the hook. Ashley and Daniel Allwood tried a different tactic and left the game alone for others to chase down. The angling duo headed over to Green’s Ledge where they used a combination of sandworms and clams to limit out on porgies to 14 inches. Sandra Montine was fishing among the Norwalk Islands and used sandworms to catch a 33-inch striped bass, while Mark Tomasulo used pencil poppers at Buoy 11B to catch several bluefish, with the heaviest fish weighing 13 pounds. In some offshore news, Capt. Kevin Valachi had Frank Albano and Johnny Covacks out with him at the Dip where the trio just cleaned up with a grand slam of species. Trying both chunking and trolling, the able crew took home two albacore, two mako sharks, a blue marlin, two mahi mahi and four yellowfin. Frank Van Duzen had a good day as well and fished southwest of Block Island where, in 65 feet of water, he caught a 120-pound mako and a 300-pound blue shark.
• Eric Johnson of Westport Outfitters was chock full of news this week, making sure to note that the bonito have arrived in mass and were the craze over the weekend. There were at least a dozen anglers who got into these fish with about half as many bringing some to the boat up to 8 pounds. Deadly Dicks was the lure of choice. It is very important to note, that when these fish come up, they rarely have a pattern like albacore, so try and cast where they might be going and not where they are. Fly selection should be small silverside patterns or lighter colored baby bunker imitations and snapper patterns. The charters that ventured out early in the week still relied on the go to lead core trolling set ups and managed bass up to 34 inches and blues to 12 pounds. It’s that time of year again to break out the diamond jigs. Although, as usual, the normal ledges off of Buoys 11B, 28C and 13 will no doubt start filling in, this technique can also be utilized closer to home. The preferred method is a three-way swivel with a hand tied teaser on a stiff piece of fluorocarbon. A blue or green deceiver or baby bunker pattern could be just what the doctor ordered. 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. Captain Chris and crew managed bass and blues with one fat 35-inch striper taken on a bunker chunk and several blues in the 11-pound range.
• At Ted’s B&T in Bridgeport, Kevin Karchman told of his trip to Rhode Island with Capt. Will Rhames and Sam Newman, where the trio of anglers limited out in fluke to 5 pounds while using Peruvian smelt as their bait of choice. They also limited out in sea bass to 14 inches. Rhames returned to the local area and fished Sunken Island with squid strips and caught a 6-pound fluke. Just goes to show you that big fish are right in your front yard. Al Rosenthal hooked into an 11.8-pound bluefish while fishing at the Port 5 Dock with bunker chunks. Karchman said porgies can be found at Middle Ground, Bell 22 and Penfield Light. (Rob Caluori)