Connecticut Fishing Report

Matt at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook reports that blackfish action has been very good, and the early-season bite is going strong. Most of the fishing is done shallow early in the season, so try areas between 10 and 20 feet with light jigs in the 5/8- to 1-ounce range. You can find these fish almost anywhere there’s current and submerged rock structure. The week saw continued bait balls and blitzes become the norm on most days. Bay anchovies, silversides, and peanut bunker seem to be fueling the fall run of striped bass. The cloudy and windy days present a chance at all-day blitzes and/or topwater action. This time of year, smaller baits tend to perform better than larger presentations in most scenarios. Four- to five-inch topwater poppers and spooks, as well as 5- to 7-inch soft-plastic flukes, Mag Darters, SP Minnows, and paddletails of all varieties, are fall run staples. Sea bass fishing has been excellent and porgies are also still chewing well.  

Heather from the Blackhawk in Niantic provided the following report: “Early last week, we once again had a fantastic bluefish trip, with gator blues all day long.  Our combo trips early in the week showed more blackfish, which was nice to see, along with loads of porgies and a good number of sea bass.  If you know anything about the Black Hawk, you know we’re honest—we’ll tell you when it’s good, and when it’s bad.  Well, to be honest, Saturday was bad.  We spent some extra time and went to several different spots, but it was definitely not one of our better days.  Saturday night, on the other hand, was a spectacular night bass trip, with an easy boat limit of slot-sized fish, and plenty more released unharmed. Our weekday trips will have crabs available now, so if you’d like to target some blackfish with the porgies and sea bass, come join us! As always, new tickets for each week will be posted online on Monday night at 8 p.m. throughout the season.  We’ve started posting our November Block Island blackfish/bottom fishing combo trips, so check out the website.” 

Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reported that fall fishing is turning on in a big way. There is absolutely tons of bait, ranging from small rain bait to adult bunker. There has been an extra push of bass feeding on bunker this week, so the overall quality of fish has increased. Stripers are taking topwater, plastics, spoons and live bait. Mike is also seeing lots of bluefish gorging on sand eels. Captain Mike and his crew also had a nice start to the fall blackfish season, with limits on most trips, including some easy limits of fish to 11 pounds on Sunday. With all the recent warm weather, water temperatures have been dropping slowly, so the blackfishing should remain red hot, and the bass should hang around for a while. Captain Mike and his team have openings over the next two weeks for prime fall run fishing. Give him a call to book your spot today! 

Captain Matt of Stonington Stripers reported a stronger light-tackle striped bass bite for his clients this week. Another mass of anchovies has fired up some solid topwater blitzes, along with some bigger fish hanging down deeper, and also gorging on anchovies. With the continued warm temperatures, the bass should be hanging around for a bit longer for sure. Matt has also made some tautog trips when he has had a chance and told me that the fishing has been strong in his area, especially around the Stonington breakwater and all around Fishers.  

Anthony from Game On Lures told me that there continues to be tons of small bait throughout the sound. Week by week it seems to be either anchovies or peanut bunker dominating the area. He hasn’t seen any full-sized bunker recently, which is a bit concerning, but word is that a few big schools are still moving around through the area. Striper fishing has been up and down from day to day, with some anglers having luck running into massive active feeds, while most are having to work for some bites. Six-inch X-Walks and 7-inch Duratech jerkbaits have been getting a majority of the bites recently. Larger bass are still active on all the reefs, but the season is winding down fast. Live bait and the 13-inch Duratech eel have been the ticket for these fish. Blackfish, it seems, have been the main focus of most guys this fall, with the albie run being so weak, while the tog bite is as strong as ever—some giant fish are being caught close to home. This is some of the better blackfishing Anthony has seen in quite a while! The Carbon Black 7-foot Heavy (1/2-2oz) paired with a 1-ounce Rock Bottom jig has been the ticket for successfully targeting these fish—from the kayak, specifically. 

When I talked to Captain Chris of Elser Guide Service he told me that the best option in his area has still been targeting bonito, using ¾-ounce pink and white Exo jigs. Some days have been lights out, some days solid, some days slower, but you can generally find them most days. And while false albacore numbers haven’t been impressive, the Western Sound remains one of the few areas where anglers are seeing at least a few schools each trip. They are generally up and down quickly, and we seem to be in a transition period, but this warm weather should keep them around for a little longer at least. The striped bass and blues have been blitzing one day and the next day they are gone. The albies and bonito are holding territory and currently the best option for daytime light tackle and fly fishing. Water temps are 61-63, when temps drop into the mid to high 50s, we will see consistent blitzing from bass and albies and remaining bonito and blues. 

Connecticut Fishing Forecast

While anglers are still targeting bluefish, sea bass, and scup, it seems that most anglers are focusing their attention on blackfish or striped bass. The majority of reports have consisted of anglers targeting, and generally succeeding for blackfish, while mentioning seeing some striped bass as well. The blackfishing has been best in shallow water, for anglers pitching light jigs. As mentioned earlier, it’s time to start thinking about finding some smaller rockpiles that haven’t been hit too hard by the fleets. Fall run fishing for stripers is said to still be in full swing, with many anglers reporting waves of migratory fish on the move and feeding heavily on anchovies. The hardtail renaissance in the Western Sound continued, with reports of bonito and false albacore, however the numbers are starting to thin a bit. Flows are generally low and slow, but trout results have been solid, following some recent fall stocking, although we’re getting to the point where we can really use some rain.