LI Boating World, Bob Sampson, July 2004

1. YES I KNOW IT'S A 2004 REPORT BUT IT'S STILL USEFUL
   
2. July is midsummer, with the torrid doldrums taking over weather patterns in the northern hemisphere. Temperatures rise, rainfalls drop and conditions stabilize for a brief period before the patterns start shifting around with the approach of fall. It is the time of year when literally anything can be caught in our waters, with all the seasonal migrants present in good numbers usually by mid-month.
3. This spring has been a little cooler than normal, but not quite as cold as the spring of 2003, which created some truly unique fishing by the time July rolled around. This year is shaping up to be an echo of last year, but an echo that is of a lower magnitude.
4. As of June 6, 2003, Long Island Sound off Mystic was a chilly 49.5 degrees F. As of
5. May 28, 2004, it was in the 54- to 55-degree range, cool, overcast, cloudy, with overnight temps below 50, conditions which were delaying the warming process as these words were being written, but not off the charts like last spring.
6. Last year, the extremely cold water temps, which persisted until mid-June created
7. a situation where the big bass that normally move through the region as water temps rise, appeared to stay. The water did not get above 70 on the surface out in the ocean, so it was ideal temperature and there was plenty of bait to hold them. This combination meant that many big stripers did not migrate north. Their presence created some of the best big fish action fishermen in this area can ever remember.
8. From late July through August and into September there were more 50-pound stripers
9. caught and reported to area shops that I can recall in the 33 years I have been writing fishing reports. For about six weeks in a row there were 50-pounders brought in by area charters and private fishing boats.
10. Last year’s spring fishing was horrible, but the summer and fall was as good as it gets. This year is shaping up to possibly have some of the same qualities as 2003, but maybe not to the same degree. Could be we will have a protracted period of that great early summer action, but the odds are we won’t duplicate the unique conditions of the summer of 2003 again in our lifetimes.
11. Typically, some of the largest stripers of the season are caught during the month of July in this area. These are the mature breeders making their way northward out of Chesapeake Bay and the Hudson River. All the seasonal migrants are in or will show up by the end of the month and typically, the hot weather brings with it the first good offshore action of the summer.
12. The first big striper of 2004 came in to Shaffer’s Marina on May 24. The fish was a 50- inch, 53-pounder with a 30-inch girth was caught from the Pawcatuck River on a live eel after dark.
13. Bass to the low 40-inch range were being caught in the Race, and along the coast there were good numbers of 30-inchers to play with along with a smattering of 20-pound-plus fish by late May, so things were shaping up nicely at that time. Squid
14. came in on time, but were weak in numbers in some places. The squid always bring with them the first decent fluke catches of the year along with this slug of larger stripers noted above.
15. This month, especially early on, try fishing after dark with live eels, live menhaden or live hickory shad, whichever is easiest to catch. Either fish them in the location they are caught or run them out to the nearest deep water reef, stick a hook in them, set them gently in the water and hold on.
16. In the Race, Sluiceway, Plum Gut, and the Watch HIll/Fishers Island Reef Complex many
17. anglers successfully catch big stripers by drifting along after dark with a three-way rig that is baited with a live eel, rigged squid, menhaden or hickory shad, weighted enough to hold and tap bottom. It’s a hard way to fish that requires big tackle, but it accounts for a large percentage of the jumbo bass that are weighed in every night throughout the area.
18. Also, try drifting a rocky shoreline or wading in the surf while casting and retrieving a live eel like it was a soft plastic bait. This is my favorite way to catch big bass on light tackle. It is very effective in water under 20 feet deep. Add a slip sinker or a length of lead core line to get them down deeper, if necessary.
19. Until the porgies come in so thick that they get in the way, tube and worm trolling along any rocky stretch of shore along the coast is a great way to pick up stripers this month.
20. If the scup come in so thick it is impossible to keep a worm on the tube, wait till after dark to reduce the amount of bait that will be ruined by these abundant bait stealers. Once the live baits are gone try using Berkley Power Sandworms, strips of squid, even night crawlers on the end of your tubes.
21. Fluke fishing is always excellent this month. Despite the fact they have been aroundsince late May, by July they have moved into all the areas they will invade for the summer.
22. The best fishing this month typically comes along the South Shore beaches of Rhode Island, along the south side of Fishers Island, out around Block Island and west into Long Island Sound as far as Madison. West of there, fluke action is not quite as consistent for some reason, though these fish are taken throughout the Sound all summer long. Fishing always seems to be better across the Sound on the Long Island side, no matter out of what stretch of Connecticut coast one fishes.
23. Niantic Bay and the deep waters mid- Sound from there are always a hotbed of flukefishing activity. But fish can be caught from literally any of the sandy beach areas, river mouths and estuaries along the coast. Later this month, when the peanut bunker arrive in force, fluke will begin following them right into the surf break to feed, often chasing this rich food source for great distances up inside coastal rivers.