Eastern LIS, T. Coleman 6/12/09

On that happy note we turn to fishing. Captain Jack Balint at The Fish Connection said the Connecticut fluke season opens on Monday, the last day the New York fluke season is open, giving state anglers one day to legally fish in both waters. New York will reopen its fluke fishery on July 3. Rhode Island will open up fluke on June 17, but do you get the feeling the regulations are getting a little complex for the average person?

Chartreuse parachutes on wire are working at Valiant Shoal when the tide isn't running hard and when it does, chartreuse bucktails on a three-way rig are scoring in the deeper water from the west end of the shoal through the 70-foot drop off on the west end of the Middle Race. There are some bass taking smaller diamond jigs at Race Point but the Watch Hill Reefs were very good one day and very poor the next.

Capt. Kyle Douton at J&B Tackle reported their charter boat catching bass trolling at Valiant Shoal on the flood tide and drifting with live eels or bucktails in the same general area after dark. The night trips along with those out just at sunrise produced some bass from 45 to 50 inches though none broke the 50-pound mark. On Wednesday there were small stripers on top around Race Rock at the end of the ebb into the start of the flood.

Don over at King Cove in Stonington told me about some sea bass catches at Block Island and sporadic catches of stripers from the Watch Hill Reefs.

Capt. Allen Fee at Shaffers Marina said shore anglers continue to catch a smaller number of large porgies from the Cottrell Street Park along the east side of the Mystic River. Out in the boats, Captain Bruce Meyers had good trips this week for stripers, leaving around 5 a.m., usually back before 11 a.m., with limits. Overall, Allen said he's seen a steady supply of bass at the cleaning tables, most from small keepers to some over 10 pounds.

There are some porgies to fish for now, said Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle. His customers are catching a few from shore along the New London side of the lower Thames River and out in small boats on the rockpiles just offshore of the river mouth. Bunkers looked like they've taken off from the river but there are still a few blues to 9 pounds and some bass taking chunks or the tube and worm.

Down at River's End Tackle in Old Saybrook, Mark Lewchik reported off and on results casting for stripers in the lower Connecticut River from Essex down past Great Island. One day the fish bite well, said Mark, the next day almost nothing. There are some porgies around Black Point and small sea bass at Outer Hatchetts. You can catch bass and smaller blues on the outside reefs trolling parachute jigs, drifting with diamond jigs or drifting live bunker on a three-way rig. [Tim Coleman, TheDay]