ct saltwater Fishing report, June 12
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Fishing report, June 12
Norwich Bulletin
Striped bass fishing,
Other than those pods of sporadically inactive fish in a few shallow areas near the Connecticut River and Barn Island area, has been very good.
Off-shore, squid is the primary food source, so soft plastics such as Slug-Go’s, squid bodies and bucktail jigs with pork or plastic, are wise choices.
Along the coast in rivers and estuaries, bass will be eating menhaden. Find the bunker and you’ve found the bass and blues. Norwich Harbor continues to be a productive spot to fish from shore or boat for big bass and bluefish.
The Race and Watch Hill Reef Complex are also producing a mix of schoolies and larger stripers at the present time.
The worm spawn seems to be over at Ninigret Salt Pond for this year. Ron at Breachway Tackle said this was one of the worst years he can remember as far as worm activity is concerned. The constantly fluctuating temperatures with many very cold nights was the primary reason.
Bluefish
It’s still a tad early to get really excited about chasing bluefish, but they are around and being caught mixed in with stripers throughout the region. The Race will be holding fish as always.
Reports of blues have come in from the lower Connecticut and Pawcatuck Rivers. There are choppers chasing bunker in the Thames up to Norwich Harbor.
The best is yet to come from this species.
Fluke
The best fluke reports are coming in from the south shore beaches of Rhode Island and south side of Fishers Island.
King Cove Tackle in Stonington said customers are not complaining, with many limiting out in Rhody waters where the minimum length is 20 inches and bringing their five fish back to Connecticut. Keeper-to-short ratios have ranged from one-to-three to one-to-10, depending on who you talk to and when they were fishing.
Niantic Bay, Ocean Beach and Black Point are all producing fluke.
The biggest fluke this week was a 9.7-pounder weighted in at the Fish Connection. This doormat came from the south side of Fishers. Breachway tackle noted that a young kid fishing with his dad from shore off the Charleston Breachway caught fluke weighing 5.1, 6.3 and 7.3 pounds over last weekend.
Fluke fishing appears to be better in Block Island Sound than Long Island Sound. The fish will move west over the next couple of weeks.
Scup
None of the shops had anyone targeting scup at this point in the season. They are really just beginning to become active. “Q” Kresser of River’s End summed it up when he said, “Spending the money for gas to go scup fishing is like spending $150 to go catch a pail of bluegills.” Most people aren’t doing it at this point in the season.
Bait
There are lots of squid in around the area reefs, with some really big ones weighing in at a pound or more being reported in Stonington and off the Watch Hill Reef Complex.
Menhaden continue to be found in the Thames and Connecticut rivers and sporadically along the coast. Ronnie at Breachway Tackle said most of the bunker he’d been seeing “out front” were now up in Narragansett Bay, noting “they (the bunker) moved out of Charlestown a few days ago.”
Reports from the west indicate that there are still many bunker in the western part of the Sound that should be working this way as the summer progresses.
Freshwater
Not much in the way of notable freshwater catches again this week. The carp are spawning in the larger coves of the Thames River.
One customer at the Fish Connection reports catching some decent channel catfish, ranging from 15 to 19 inches at Mohegan Park Pond. This heat wave has probably put a damper on the trout catching in this small, hot pond for the season, but catfish love the heat.
The trout have simply gone deeper, so fishing deep with power bait may still catch some trout that were stocked in this small pond this spring. Last time I was there two weeks ago, I saw a brown trout that was five pounds or so cruising the shoreline. Now that fish is probably sulking in the depths where it’s much cooler.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fishing report, June 12
Norwich Bulletin
Striped bass fishing,
Other than those pods of sporadically inactive fish in a few shallow areas near the Connecticut River and Barn Island area, has been very good.
Off-shore, squid is the primary food source, so soft plastics such as Slug-Go’s, squid bodies and bucktail jigs with pork or plastic, are wise choices.
Along the coast in rivers and estuaries, bass will be eating menhaden. Find the bunker and you’ve found the bass and blues. Norwich Harbor continues to be a productive spot to fish from shore or boat for big bass and bluefish.
The Race and Watch Hill Reef Complex are also producing a mix of schoolies and larger stripers at the present time.
The worm spawn seems to be over at Ninigret Salt Pond for this year. Ron at Breachway Tackle said this was one of the worst years he can remember as far as worm activity is concerned. The constantly fluctuating temperatures with many very cold nights was the primary reason.
Bluefish
It’s still a tad early to get really excited about chasing bluefish, but they are around and being caught mixed in with stripers throughout the region. The Race will be holding fish as always.
Reports of blues have come in from the lower Connecticut and Pawcatuck Rivers. There are choppers chasing bunker in the Thames up to Norwich Harbor.
The best is yet to come from this species.
Fluke
The best fluke reports are coming in from the south shore beaches of Rhode Island and south side of Fishers Island.
King Cove Tackle in Stonington said customers are not complaining, with many limiting out in Rhody waters where the minimum length is 20 inches and bringing their five fish back to Connecticut. Keeper-to-short ratios have ranged from one-to-three to one-to-10, depending on who you talk to and when they were fishing.
Niantic Bay, Ocean Beach and Black Point are all producing fluke.
The biggest fluke this week was a 9.7-pounder weighted in at the Fish Connection. This doormat came from the south side of Fishers. Breachway tackle noted that a young kid fishing with his dad from shore off the Charleston Breachway caught fluke weighing 5.1, 6.3 and 7.3 pounds over last weekend.
Fluke fishing appears to be better in Block Island Sound than Long Island Sound. The fish will move west over the next couple of weeks.
Scup
None of the shops had anyone targeting scup at this point in the season. They are really just beginning to become active. “Q” Kresser of River’s End summed it up when he said, “Spending the money for gas to go scup fishing is like spending $150 to go catch a pail of bluegills.” Most people aren’t doing it at this point in the season.
Bait
There are lots of squid in around the area reefs, with some really big ones weighing in at a pound or more being reported in Stonington and off the Watch Hill Reef Complex.
Menhaden continue to be found in the Thames and Connecticut rivers and sporadically along the coast. Ronnie at Breachway Tackle said most of the bunker he’d been seeing “out front” were now up in Narragansett Bay, noting “they (the bunker) moved out of Charlestown a few days ago.”
Reports from the west indicate that there are still many bunker in the western part of the Sound that should be working this way as the summer progresses.
Freshwater
Not much in the way of notable freshwater catches again this week. The carp are spawning in the larger coves of the Thames River.
One customer at the Fish Connection reports catching some decent channel catfish, ranging from 15 to 19 inches at Mohegan Park Pond. This heat wave has probably put a damper on the trout catching in this small, hot pond for the season, but catfish love the heat.
The trout have simply gone deeper, so fishing deep with power bait may still catch some trout that were stocked in this small pond this spring. Last time I was there two weeks ago, I saw a brown trout that was five pounds or so cruising the shoreline. Now that fish is probably sulking in the depths where it’s much cooler.