Western LIS, M. Armstrong 5/22/09

After a chilly start last week was a great one for local anglers. The warm days brought some terrific fishing opportunities to the area. Striped bass and bluefish action in Long Island Sound is improving daily and, on the freshwater scene, trout fishing is very good.

To demonstrate just how good fishing in the Sound is right now the folks at Rudy's Tackle Barn in Byram have been hearing complaints from one of their customers.

Sal Tardella, a die-hard striped bass fisherman, has been complaining that there are just too many bluefish around for him to enjoy his bass fishing. Not that Sal isn't catching any bass. He is. But he is catching and releasing too many bluefish. Life is full of problems.

The largest striped bass reported last week was a 38-pound, 2-ounce linesider weighed in at Pete's Bait and Tackle by Fred Bova. The fish measured 44-inches and was caught in Hempstead Harbor. Phil was using bunker chunks.

The folks at Fish Tales Bait and Tackle reported that for the second straight week Phil Vincoli boated some nice striped bass while fishing inside Hempstead Harbor. Like the week before, Phil's largest fish measured 42-inches in length and tipped the scales at 32-pounds. That's what I call consistency.

Jim Christianson also went to Hempstead Harbor where he caught a 29-pound 6-ounce striper. Jim was using bunker for bait.

Don Worthley, Sr. and Don Worthley Jr. did well fishing in 40 feet of water off Hempstead. They caught several stripers including a 20-pounder. They were also using fresh bunker.

Fishing in the mid-Sound is pretty good. Last week Mike Noyes boated a 30-pound linesider while drifting a live bunker. He also caught and released lots of bluefish.

Hank Weis of Skippy Charters has been catching lots of bluefish while trolling the mid-Sound off Greenwich. Hank was trolling an umbrella rig.

Gary Feighery caught and released 22 stripers while fishing off Darien. His largest linesider measured 38-inches and was taken on a 10-inch Finesse lure.

Striped bass were close to shore in Norwalk also. David Smith caught a 17-pounder from shore using a chunk of bunker.

Chris Miller did well fishing from the shore at the end of Shippan Point. He caught a 30 and a 41-inch striper. The larger fish weighed 22 pounds and was taken on a mackerel chunk.

Pete Miller fished from West Beach in Stamford and he caught a 37 pound striped bass and a 5-pound bluefish. Both fish were taken on fresh bunker.

Wayne Sorbo and Frank Wasco fished from Belle Haven in Greenwich last week. They caught several stripers and bluefish. Their largest bass measured 32-inches and was taken on a bunker chunk.

Zolton Horvath tried his luck off Rye last week and was rewarded with a 22-pound striped bass. He caught the fish using a bunker chunk.

Also doing well off Rye was John Rossi and his son, Adam. John caught a 30.6-pound bass and Adam caught a 32.6-pounder. Both fish were taken on bunker chunks.

Mark Hiller and Kevin Bova fished off Rye Beach last week. Together they caught three stripers including a hefty 30-pounder. The fish were taken using bunker for bait.

John Chan and Romeo Wang bottom fished in the Cummings Channel last week. They caught a pair of keeper winter flounder. The flatties were taken using clams.

Jason Vilicki caught a 13-pound fluke while fishing off Eaton's Neck. As fluke season is closed the fish was released.

Three anglers, who wished that their last names not be used, did well fishing the Norwalk River last week. Ernie, Pete and Kevin caught 25 rainbow trout measuring 12 to 14-inches. Ernie returned to the same spot the next day and caught a 5-pound, 2-ounch rainbow trout. All of the fish were taken on nightcrawlers.

Tim Mira, 10, and his brother, Dylan, 7 each caught a trout while fishing the Mianus River Trout Management Area. They were using mealworms and spinner baits.

Rusty Morales did well fishing at Kensico Reservoir last week. He caught a 7-pound, 4-ounce brown trout using a live shiner. [Martin Armstrong, Stamford Advocate]