Conn Post 8/5/05

The summer heat is starting to take its toll on the angling activities around the state. Fish are now finding the conditions as uncomfortable as the fishermen. Water temperatures on Long Island Sound are in the 70s, too hot for most marine gamefish. Lakes and ponds have water temperatures pushing 80 to 85. What this heat has done is push the fish out into deeper water. For example, many of the better striped bass reports have come offshore on the deep reefs, such as Buoy 28C, Buoy 11B, Middleground, the outer Thimble Islands, Faulkner Island, Six Mile Reef, Long Sand Shoal, Hatchett Reef, Bartlett Reef and Race Rock. Mike Roy and Mike Morsenzini of Stratford went out to Block Island last weekend to find their striped bass. The pair caught over 40 bass, including a 35-pounder.

Not all the striped bass are in deep water. You can catch some fish in the lower Saugatuck River, off Sherwood Island, in Southport Harbor, off Penfield Reef, around the tip of Fayerweather Island, at the mouth of the Housatonic River and around Charles Island. Most of these nearshore fish are small, running between 16 and 24 inches. Your best chance of hooking something in the 28-inch keeper range close to shore will come after sundown.

Bluefish are around in good supply in all the above striped bass locations. And like the bass, the bigger blues have been taken from deep water and the smaller one-to-four pound fish are in the harbors. Offshore, bunker chunks are the ticket. The harbor bluefish are taking swimming lures and poppers. Jessica Gluhanich, age 3 of Milford, caught her first bluefish last week off Charles Island.

Elsewhere on the Sound, fluke fishing is slow. You can catch plenty of fish, but the keeper-to-short ratio is very low. Skilled flukers report that patience is the key in finding keeper fluke. Large baits, like whole squids and giant willowleaf blade rigs, increase your fluke odds. Black sea bass and porgy are available in good supply on all the reefs and rock piles between Stratford and Rhode Island. Many of the porgy are big, bruising 14 to 18-inch fish. Ian Smith and Laura Gallagher of Stratford went to the New Haven Harbor breakwaters last week where they caught two black sea bass, two fluke and several porgy.

Large and smallmouth bass fishing is good in the larger lakes and ponds where the water is somewhat cooler. Look for largemouth bass on Congamond Lake, Winchester Lake, Quonnipaug Lake, Bantam Lake, East Twin Lake, Rogers Lake and Moodus Reservoir. Smallmouth bass options are Squantz Pond, Coventry Lake, Bashan Lake and Rainbow Reservoir. Try Lake Lillinonah and Candlewood Lake for either bass species.

Matt Silva, age 15 of Stratford, reported to Stratford Bait & Tackle after a fishing trip to Bantam Lake last weekend. While fishing for bass with a tube jig, the youngster caught a 9-pound northern pike. Meanwhile, Henry Wilk of Easton dropped by Ted's Bait & Tackle with a 3.90-pound walleye. He caught the fish in the Saugatuck Reservoir on a live minnow.

Trout can still be caught in spite of the summer heat. The best places to find these fish are in the deeper rivers, such as the Housatonic and Farmington, or the larger lakes, like Candlewood Lake and the Saugatuck Reservoir. Also, kokanee salmon are available at West Hill Pond. Ben Horwath of Stratford found his own 2.36-pound brown trout last week at the Saugatuck Reservoir. The fish hit a live minnow and was weighed by Stratford Bait & Tackle. [orginally published Connecticut Post Online, written by Frank McKane Jr]