Offshore fishing has been as strong as usual this summer
By Tim Coleman
This is the time of year when offshore fishing is usually red hot and the summer of 2009 is no exception. Boats making the long runs for one to two-day trips came back amply rewarded for their time and gas dollars.
Roger at J&B Tackle reported the shop held its annual offshore tournament early this week with the best results in years. Seventy-five boats, fishing two weekdays, landed 30 big eye tuna to 272 pounds, 10 swordfish to 375 pounds, long fin albacore to 60 pounds, mahi to 20 pounds and two blue marlin. All the trolling during the day or bait fishing at anchor after dark was done from Block to East Atlantis Canyons.
On the inshore front, now is the time to take some kids out for great sport with porgies or maybe try tossing eels into the rocks on the southwest side of Block Island for stripers from 30 to 40 pounds.
If you want some big porgies, try the Cottrell Street dock on the Mystic River, said Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle. That spot appears best for largest sizes, other shore areas producing mostly throwbacks. Fluking is still a matter of fishing through lots of shorts looking for a keeper though on Wednesday a customer came back for a bigger net because he hooked and lost a monster doormat in local waters that he couldn't fit into his smaller net.
Live-lining porgies or bunker around the I-95 Bridge over the Thames accounted for some larger blues at times. That and schoolie stripers on bait from a variety of shore locations along the river rounded out the news for the week.
Captain Joe Balint was minding the store at The Fish Connection because son Jack and others from the area were still up in Alaska enjoying spectacular scenery and halibut fishing. A school of bunkers in Norwich Harbor is keeping some stripers in the vicinity. Jack weighed them in up to 42 inches on live-lined bunkers.
Pier anglers at Fort Trumbull were catching a little bit of everything in the Thames and those fishing around buoy 27 caught blues and small bass, almost all with bait on the bottom.
One out of 15 fluke caught between Seaflower and Intrepid Rock will be a keeper said Jack, adding the season in Connecticut waters only has another couple of weeks before it closes for the year. Bluefishing is better in The Race and this past Saturday night a couple of the shop's steady customers did well bucktailing around Valiant for striped bass. Jack was quick to add a footnote that he believes out striper stocks are decreasing, not nearly as healthy as stock reports suggest. Crabbing is a shade better now in Poquetanuck Cove.
Over at Hillyers in Waterford, I was told about some blues at times just off the mouth of the Thames River and large bass at night with eels on three-way rigs at Valiant and Outer Bartletts. Seventy-plus feet of water is suggested for best chance at keeper fluke in this the last part of the season. Crabbing is better on the incoming tide at sun set than right in the middle of the day.
King Cove in Stonington reported weighing in a couple 50-pound bass this week, both caught during the day, one from Valiant; the other from the Montauk rips. The Watch Hill reefs produced some 30 to 40-pound stripers, mostly on weighted bunker fished near the bottom in the deeper holes or cuts between the reefs.
The Hel-Cat sent in their regular e-mail stating the bluefishing in The Race this week was outstanding with a couple trips of better than average bass catches. The afternoon fluke trips continue to do well despite some rotten weather. Night trips for ocean blues are planned for Aug. 29, Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, leaving at 6 p.m. and returning around 3 a.m. the next morning. Big fish of the week was an 18-pound bass caught by Dishon Morgan of Ledyard
Tim Coleman is The Day's salwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com
By Tim Coleman
This is the time of year when offshore fishing is usually red hot and the summer of 2009 is no exception. Boats making the long runs for one to two-day trips came back amply rewarded for their time and gas dollars.
Roger at J&B Tackle reported the shop held its annual offshore tournament early this week with the best results in years. Seventy-five boats, fishing two weekdays, landed 30 big eye tuna to 272 pounds, 10 swordfish to 375 pounds, long fin albacore to 60 pounds, mahi to 20 pounds and two blue marlin. All the trolling during the day or bait fishing at anchor after dark was done from Block to East Atlantis Canyons.
On the inshore front, now is the time to take some kids out for great sport with porgies or maybe try tossing eels into the rocks on the southwest side of Block Island for stripers from 30 to 40 pounds.
If you want some big porgies, try the Cottrell Street dock on the Mystic River, said Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle. That spot appears best for largest sizes, other shore areas producing mostly throwbacks. Fluking is still a matter of fishing through lots of shorts looking for a keeper though on Wednesday a customer came back for a bigger net because he hooked and lost a monster doormat in local waters that he couldn't fit into his smaller net.
Live-lining porgies or bunker around the I-95 Bridge over the Thames accounted for some larger blues at times. That and schoolie stripers on bait from a variety of shore locations along the river rounded out the news for the week.
Captain Joe Balint was minding the store at The Fish Connection because son Jack and others from the area were still up in Alaska enjoying spectacular scenery and halibut fishing. A school of bunkers in Norwich Harbor is keeping some stripers in the vicinity. Jack weighed them in up to 42 inches on live-lined bunkers.
Pier anglers at Fort Trumbull were catching a little bit of everything in the Thames and those fishing around buoy 27 caught blues and small bass, almost all with bait on the bottom.
One out of 15 fluke caught between Seaflower and Intrepid Rock will be a keeper said Jack, adding the season in Connecticut waters only has another couple of weeks before it closes for the year. Bluefishing is better in The Race and this past Saturday night a couple of the shop's steady customers did well bucktailing around Valiant for striped bass. Jack was quick to add a footnote that he believes out striper stocks are decreasing, not nearly as healthy as stock reports suggest. Crabbing is a shade better now in Poquetanuck Cove.
Over at Hillyers in Waterford, I was told about some blues at times just off the mouth of the Thames River and large bass at night with eels on three-way rigs at Valiant and Outer Bartletts. Seventy-plus feet of water is suggested for best chance at keeper fluke in this the last part of the season. Crabbing is better on the incoming tide at sun set than right in the middle of the day.
King Cove in Stonington reported weighing in a couple 50-pound bass this week, both caught during the day, one from Valiant; the other from the Montauk rips. The Watch Hill reefs produced some 30 to 40-pound stripers, mostly on weighted bunker fished near the bottom in the deeper holes or cuts between the reefs.
The Hel-Cat sent in their regular e-mail stating the bluefishing in The Race this week was outstanding with a couple trips of better than average bass catches. The afternoon fluke trips continue to do well despite some rotten weather. Night trips for ocean blues are planned for Aug. 29, Sept. 12 and Sept. 26, leaving at 6 p.m. and returning around 3 a.m. the next morning. Big fish of the week was an 18-pound bass caught by Dishon Morgan of Ledyard
Tim Coleman is The Day's salwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com