Western LIS, M. Armstrong 5/15/009

Large schools of bluefish have entered the Sound and taken up residence around City Island and Hempstead Harbor. Striped bass fishing had improved and winter flounder is still pretty good. On the freshwater scene, trout fishing is very good.

Early in the week I received an email from Capt. Kevin Reynolds, skipper of the Snow Goose II. He reported "that on the fishing front it's been solid blues!!! They invaded the Hempstead Harbor area on Tuesday and it's been 'lock and load' ever since."

The bluefish have been holding in 30 to 40 feet of water. Mackerel, herring and bunker are all doing well as bait. And there have been a couple of keeper stripers in the mix as well.

Kevin Miller at Sportsman's Den reported that J.C. Mertz and his daughter, Sophie, age 7, caught lots of fish in Greenwich Cove last week. Sophie reeled in a 33-inch striped bass using a Rattletrap lure. The next day Mertz cruised over to Hempstead Harbor where he caught and released 40 stripers and a bunch of bluefish using bunker chunks.

Mike Noyes of Sportsman's Den and Bob Harris sailed over to Hempstead Harbor where they caught and released 21 striped bass. They also caught a lot of small bluefish in the 4 to 7-pound range.

The folks at Fish Tales Bait and Tackle reported that Phil Vincoli boated four nice striped bass while fishing inside Hempstead Harbor. His largest fish measured 42-inches and tipped the scales at 32-pounds, 10-ounces.

Fred Bova got a couple keeper bass and some bluefish while fishing in Hempstead Harbor. Bova's linesiders measured 29 and 32-inches and were taken on herring. He also caught two bluefish that weighed 4 and 6-pounds.

Nick at Fisherman's World says that Lon Epstein boated a 26-pound, 6-ounce linesider off Hempstead Harbor. The big striped bass was taken using a bunker chunk for bait.

As usual for this time of the year fishing is also terrific around Mamaroneck, New York. Ben Cohen fished there and caught and released 28 keeper bass. His largest linesider tipped the scales at 22 pounds and was taken on a bunker chunk.

Also doing well in Greenwich waters last week was Giorgio Suarez. Using a sandworm, he caught a 30-inch striped bass.

While fishing off Shippan Point, Ed Sabo caught a nice 32-inch striped bass. Sabo was using sandworms for bait.

Bill Miller used bunker chunks to catch a nice striper off Norwalk. The fish weighed 24-pounds.

Dave McKee continues to catch some fat winter flounder in Norwalk waters. Last week he reeled in 6 keeper flatties while fishing near the Oyster Stakes in Norwalk. The fish were taken using sandworms and lots of clam chum.

Peter Kitlab had a great day fishing the Mianus River last week. He caught and released 17 rainbow trout, two 14-inch brown trout and a 13-inch brook trout in the Mianus Trout management Area. All of the fish were taken using nightcrawlers.

Chris Miller fished all over last week. He fished the Mianus River, Bruce Park Pond, Kensico Reservoir and below the Derby Dam with mixed results. According to his brother, Pete Miller, Chris caught a 7-pound, 2-ounce brown trout and a couple of lake trout weighing around 5 pounds at Kensico Reservoir but was shut out at the Bruce Park Pond, the Mianus River and the Housatonic River by the Derby Dam.

Dave Krom had a good day fishing around the Kensico Reservoir. He caught a 4.5-pound brown trout and lots of smallmouth bass. The fish were taken on shiners.