We're counting down to the end of Connecticut's fluke season
By Tim Coleman
Published on 8/14/2009 in Home »Sports »Sports Columns
Fluke season in state waters will close on Aug. 19, leaving less than one week to catch this popular summer species. At present, anglers are allowed three fish per person at 19.8 inches. On a side note, all should be aware that fluke season in New York waters closes on Aug. 17, so caution is advised when planning trips to the south side of Fishers Island or Montauk.
Captain Allen Fee at Shaffers summed up the fluke season to date saying most people were disappointed because of all the shorts. Roughly 40 percent of marina customers have already given up and are looking forward to the fall. Those still at the game are getting some keepers like the four caught on Wednesday by Mickey Brotherton and his friend Bernie, both from Mystic. Together they landed two big enough to take home on the south side of Fishers and two more off Gates Island.
After fluke closes, Allen said people have the option of switching to blackfish that will be open in state waters until Aug. 31. During September you can fish for porgies, sea bass, blues in The Race and striped bass.
Al Golinski of Misquamicut pulled his boat out for repairs due to a blown injector. Before the breakdown, he and two of his relatives found the first school of bonito of the year chasing bait under birds last Monday in 20 feet of water just off the Pink House. Using small Krocodiles reeled as fast as they could turn the reel handle, they landed three of the speedsters before the school moved on.
This writer fished this past Sunday from 6-8 p.m. with Captain Ben DeMario on the last of the ebb tide on the Watch Hill Reefs. Using small poppers and six-inch Slug-Gos on ½-ounce lead heads we landed eight bass, two keepers, and four very skinny blues to 8 pounds. We were back at the ramp at Westerly in time to see the remainder of the NFL Hall of Fame game.
Surfcasters got a few small and keeper bass during the week at Ocean Beach, said Red at Bob's Tackle in Uncasville. Those out in small boats had more stripers of the same size trolling a tube and worm in the morning around Goshen Reef. Three- to four-inch snapper blues are in the Thames and porgies on all the rock piles within easy running time of the river mouth.
Captain Kyle at J&B reported their charter boat found slow striper fishing in and around The Race this week. Blue fishing was better, said Kyle, but while it was improving it still did not merit a “good” rating. Porgies are biting well around Race Rock or you might try for sea bass to 4 pounds on the rocky bottom on the west side of Block and also rock piles in 80-85 feet off the southeast part of the island.
One local caught five smaller makos off the south side of Block Island and others looking for sharks reported small bluefin flashing in their slicks. From Monday through yesterday the offshore catches were better in Atlantis than Block Canyon with boats landing small yellowfins along with keepers and mahi averaging around 20 pounds apiece. The bite was best with winds from the south-southwest.
Captain Howard Beers at Hillyers said striper fishing is better now at night with eels or black bucktails on a three-way rig. Blue fishing in The Race was fair to good on a weekly not daily basis. Fluking remains about the same, lots of shorts for the average angler and a few very large doormats for those that put in the hours. Blue crabbing in and around Niantic is very, very slow at the moment, crabbing gear not selling well at all.
Captain Jack Balint at the Fish Connection reported rumors of a 50-pound bass caught up in the Shetucket on a live eel and keeper-size bass from Indian Leap on the same bait. A school of bunker is keeping other bass in place in Norwich Harbor. If the south side of Fishers isn't full of weeds, you can troll a tube and worm for small and medium bass.
The Hel-Cat's regular e-mail stated they will sail on their ever-popular Saturday night trips for ocean blues on Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 and 26. You can visit their web site at www.helcat.com for more details. Big fish of the week was a 14-pound blue caught by Ralph Cirella of Oxford.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com
By Tim Coleman
Published on 8/14/2009 in Home »Sports »Sports Columns
Fluke season in state waters will close on Aug. 19, leaving less than one week to catch this popular summer species. At present, anglers are allowed three fish per person at 19.8 inches. On a side note, all should be aware that fluke season in New York waters closes on Aug. 17, so caution is advised when planning trips to the south side of Fishers Island or Montauk.
Captain Allen Fee at Shaffers summed up the fluke season to date saying most people were disappointed because of all the shorts. Roughly 40 percent of marina customers have already given up and are looking forward to the fall. Those still at the game are getting some keepers like the four caught on Wednesday by Mickey Brotherton and his friend Bernie, both from Mystic. Together they landed two big enough to take home on the south side of Fishers and two more off Gates Island.
After fluke closes, Allen said people have the option of switching to blackfish that will be open in state waters until Aug. 31. During September you can fish for porgies, sea bass, blues in The Race and striped bass.
Al Golinski of Misquamicut pulled his boat out for repairs due to a blown injector. Before the breakdown, he and two of his relatives found the first school of bonito of the year chasing bait under birds last Monday in 20 feet of water just off the Pink House. Using small Krocodiles reeled as fast as they could turn the reel handle, they landed three of the speedsters before the school moved on.
This writer fished this past Sunday from 6-8 p.m. with Captain Ben DeMario on the last of the ebb tide on the Watch Hill Reefs. Using small poppers and six-inch Slug-Gos on ½-ounce lead heads we landed eight bass, two keepers, and four very skinny blues to 8 pounds. We were back at the ramp at Westerly in time to see the remainder of the NFL Hall of Fame game.
Surfcasters got a few small and keeper bass during the week at Ocean Beach, said Red at Bob's Tackle in Uncasville. Those out in small boats had more stripers of the same size trolling a tube and worm in the morning around Goshen Reef. Three- to four-inch snapper blues are in the Thames and porgies on all the rock piles within easy running time of the river mouth.
Captain Kyle at J&B reported their charter boat found slow striper fishing in and around The Race this week. Blue fishing was better, said Kyle, but while it was improving it still did not merit a “good” rating. Porgies are biting well around Race Rock or you might try for sea bass to 4 pounds on the rocky bottom on the west side of Block and also rock piles in 80-85 feet off the southeast part of the island.
One local caught five smaller makos off the south side of Block Island and others looking for sharks reported small bluefin flashing in their slicks. From Monday through yesterday the offshore catches were better in Atlantis than Block Canyon with boats landing small yellowfins along with keepers and mahi averaging around 20 pounds apiece. The bite was best with winds from the south-southwest.
Captain Howard Beers at Hillyers said striper fishing is better now at night with eels or black bucktails on a three-way rig. Blue fishing in The Race was fair to good on a weekly not daily basis. Fluking remains about the same, lots of shorts for the average angler and a few very large doormats for those that put in the hours. Blue crabbing in and around Niantic is very, very slow at the moment, crabbing gear not selling well at all.
Captain Jack Balint at the Fish Connection reported rumors of a 50-pound bass caught up in the Shetucket on a live eel and keeper-size bass from Indian Leap on the same bait. A school of bunker is keeping other bass in place in Norwich Harbor. If the south side of Fishers isn't full of weeds, you can troll a tube and worm for small and medium bass.
The Hel-Cat's regular e-mail stated they will sail on their ever-popular Saturday night trips for ocean blues on Aug. 29 and Sept. 12 and 26. You can visit their web site at www.helcat.com for more details. Big fish of the week was a 14-pound blue caught by Ralph Cirella of Oxford.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com