A mixed bag as we hit middle of July
By Tim Coleman
Published on 7/17/2009
Our fishing picture is mixed. Fluking remains a game of patience, culling through shorts. Stripers are around, the small ones on lures, the bigger ones on live bait. Porgies are on the rockpiles with blackfish for those interested in them. Blue fishing, on the other hand, is not what we've come to expect from The Race at this time of year.
Capt. Kerry Douton of J&B was sorry to say their charter boat saw a lack of blues this week, a situation that will hopefully change as time goes on. Striper catching was up and down, good when the tides were right, a bit of a struggle when they were not. Offshore there were lots of small yellowfin in the canyons and school bluefin on some days for those fishing off Montauk or Block Island, grounds within easy range of day fishing.
Al Golinski of Misquamicut had a fair to good week of fluking in 40 to 50 feet of water off the Rhode Island beaches using very fine super-braid line with a lead head dressed with whole squid. When I reached him via cell on Thursday morning, he and his wife had two 4-pounders and a 6-pounder aboard by 10 a.m.
During the week, he caught a 23-pound striper while fluking and also saw his relative Eric McCann from Utah catch a fluke of 4 pounds along with a 10-pound bluefish, species not seen in the Great Salt Lake in his home state.
A 45-pound bass was weighed in Thursday morning, said the fellow on the phone at Hillyers Tackle. That fish caught at Bartletts on live porgy. Bunkers are scattered around and tough to locate for bass bait. There is a lot of action while fluking but many are too small and must be tossed back. Shore anglers caught smaller blues from the area beaches and blackfish from time to time around the Niantic Bridges. Tuesday saw some good porgy fishing around Seaflower Reef.
Allen Fee at Shaffers was happy to talk about clamming being reopened in Mystic waters after a month's closure. There's been keeper fluke in the low 20-inch class caught in the Mystic River mouth and from Groton Long Point over to Seaflower, including some from south of can No. 1. On Tuesday evening, Fee took New York Yankees relief pitcher Dave Robertson out for a little casting around Cormorant Reef and Middle Clump. Using X-Rap plugs they landed two blues and bass of 30 and 36 inches, all in about two hours.
Capt. Jack Balint at the Fish Connection reported small blues caught by shore anglers in the Thames River around Stoddard Park and buoy 27 plus a few bass on a weekly basis in Norwich as well as a few on eels around the Greenville Dam at higher tides. Sixty feet of water between Seaflower and the North Dumpling has been best for locating fluke big enough to keep. You might bump into a school of small bass or blues on top chasing bait at either Ledge Light or the north side of Plum Island.
Shore anglers are catching porgies as far up as the Sub Base said Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle. Blackfish numbers are dropping, still caught in the boats but not near as many from shore. Locals are catching enough keeper fluke between all the shorts to keep them coming back for another trip said Red plus landing small blues and schoolie bass in the lower part of the river.
Mark at River's End heard a few reliable reports about a small number of larger bass chunked up from shore in the lower Connecticut River this week along with numerous reports of small bass from the local reefs from Southwest to Hatchetts. At times, usually during slack or slower tides, you might find these fish on the surface chasing bait. Fluking in this area of the Sound remains about the same as to the east: lots of shorts and a few keepers from the deeper water.
We close with a note from the Hel-Cat in Groton reminding everyone that if you fish on a licensed party or charter boat in the area you don't need the new saltwater license. The boats carry a blanket license good for their customers.
Tim Coleman can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com.
By Tim Coleman
Published on 7/17/2009
Our fishing picture is mixed. Fluking remains a game of patience, culling through shorts. Stripers are around, the small ones on lures, the bigger ones on live bait. Porgies are on the rockpiles with blackfish for those interested in them. Blue fishing, on the other hand, is not what we've come to expect from The Race at this time of year.
Capt. Kerry Douton of J&B was sorry to say their charter boat saw a lack of blues this week, a situation that will hopefully change as time goes on. Striper catching was up and down, good when the tides were right, a bit of a struggle when they were not. Offshore there were lots of small yellowfin in the canyons and school bluefin on some days for those fishing off Montauk or Block Island, grounds within easy range of day fishing.
Al Golinski of Misquamicut had a fair to good week of fluking in 40 to 50 feet of water off the Rhode Island beaches using very fine super-braid line with a lead head dressed with whole squid. When I reached him via cell on Thursday morning, he and his wife had two 4-pounders and a 6-pounder aboard by 10 a.m.
During the week, he caught a 23-pound striper while fluking and also saw his relative Eric McCann from Utah catch a fluke of 4 pounds along with a 10-pound bluefish, species not seen in the Great Salt Lake in his home state.
A 45-pound bass was weighed in Thursday morning, said the fellow on the phone at Hillyers Tackle. That fish caught at Bartletts on live porgy. Bunkers are scattered around and tough to locate for bass bait. There is a lot of action while fluking but many are too small and must be tossed back. Shore anglers caught smaller blues from the area beaches and blackfish from time to time around the Niantic Bridges. Tuesday saw some good porgy fishing around Seaflower Reef.
Allen Fee at Shaffers was happy to talk about clamming being reopened in Mystic waters after a month's closure. There's been keeper fluke in the low 20-inch class caught in the Mystic River mouth and from Groton Long Point over to Seaflower, including some from south of can No. 1. On Tuesday evening, Fee took New York Yankees relief pitcher Dave Robertson out for a little casting around Cormorant Reef and Middle Clump. Using X-Rap plugs they landed two blues and bass of 30 and 36 inches, all in about two hours.
Capt. Jack Balint at the Fish Connection reported small blues caught by shore anglers in the Thames River around Stoddard Park and buoy 27 plus a few bass on a weekly basis in Norwich as well as a few on eels around the Greenville Dam at higher tides. Sixty feet of water between Seaflower and the North Dumpling has been best for locating fluke big enough to keep. You might bump into a school of small bass or blues on top chasing bait at either Ledge Light or the north side of Plum Island.
Shore anglers are catching porgies as far up as the Sub Base said Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle. Blackfish numbers are dropping, still caught in the boats but not near as many from shore. Locals are catching enough keeper fluke between all the shorts to keep them coming back for another trip said Red plus landing small blues and schoolie bass in the lower part of the river.
Mark at River's End heard a few reliable reports about a small number of larger bass chunked up from shore in the lower Connecticut River this week along with numerous reports of small bass from the local reefs from Southwest to Hatchetts. At times, usually during slack or slower tides, you might find these fish on the surface chasing bait. Fluking in this area of the Sound remains about the same as to the east: lots of shorts and a few keepers from the deeper water.
We close with a note from the Hel-Cat in Groton reminding everyone that if you fish on a licensed party or charter boat in the area you don't need the new saltwater license. The boats carry a blanket license good for their customers.
Tim Coleman can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com.