DEP Marine Weekly Report #7 6/3/09

Water temperatures in Long Island Sound (LIS) are in the low to mid 50’s °F.

STRIPED BASS fishing remains good with fish in the 40 inch range being common and a couple of 50 pound fish have been reported! Western LIS from Norwalk to Greenwich has been red hot for stripers and blues. Drifting live bait (eels, bunker), trolling the tube and worm combination, and soft artificial baits have been very effective. Also western LIS from New Haven to Stamford is loaded with bunker. Striper spots include the Pawcatuck River, upper Thames River (Norwich Harbor down to Montville), lower Connecticut River from Hamburg Cove down to the breakwaters, Long Sand Shoal, Cornfield Point, Southwest Reef, New Haven Harbor (Sandy Point), Bridgeport Harbor by the power plant warm water discharge (Breezy Point/Seaside Park), Housatonic River, Saugatuck River and the Norwalk Islands.

BLUEFISH spots include the Race, Millstone Point, Plum Gut, and western LIS. Bluefish range in size from about 2-7 lbs.

HICKORY SHAD fishing is good in the tidal rivers and can be found mixed in with school stripers.