Fluke season opens Saturday
By Tim Coleman Publication: The Day
All our sources said people are gearing up for the opening of fluke season Saturday in state waters, but unfortunately the marine weather forecast isn't so hot. Right now they are calling for sunny skies but 20 mph winds from the southwest, doable conditions for some but it will likely mean fast drifts.
River's End in Old Saybrook reported one of the local youngsters landed 30 keepers in one day casting a Slug-Go along various spots in the lower Connecticut River. Another local fished Wednesday but gave it up after a short time: way too cold and windy for an open, small boat.
Evan at J&B got reliable reports about some stripers trolled up at Black Point and the Watch Hill Reefs, those bass full of sea lice, a normal sign of fish migrating into our waters for the start of another year. With that in mind, Evan also said there should be some bass out in The Race for the coming weekend.
People are still catching winter flounder in the Niantic River was the report from Hillyers Tackle. They are fishing up from the Route One Bridge and chumming is a big plus. Small boaters caught bass and the first blues at Millstone Point and some larger bass and more blues at times during the last week around the mouth of the Thames River. Casters working the stretch from Great Island to Essex along the Connecticut River were rewarded with bass from shorts to keepers-plus though you had to hunt around at times to locate the main body of them.
Captain Allen Fee said the first of the bass boats were out chunking on the Watch Hill Reefs, more obviously to follow in the days ahead. Lots of people are buying bait and launching boats for the opening of fluke season on Saturday. If it's too windy to head out, try the Mystic River from buoy 30 down to Sixpenny Island: best if you have a drift parallel to the river channel or edge of the channel, great for small boats in protected waters.
Shore anglers caught bass on sandworms or small lures along the Mystic River along the Mason's Island Bridge or people fishing from their property along the river. One fellow also landed small stripers from shore on cut bait south of the 95 Bridge over the upper river.
Red at Bob's Tackle reported seeing a cellphone photo of a 40-pound bass trolled up on wire line at Bartletts Reef on Monday on either an umbrella rig or parachute jig with pork rind. Overall though, Red said the cold, windy and rainy weather kept a lot of people back on shore. Those out in the river found schoolie bass mostly along with smaller blues chopping some baits in half. This year you are allowed to keep three fluke at 19.8 inches fishing in state waters.
Draggers are towing up fluke along the Rhode Island beaches said Capt. Jack Balint at the Fish Connection, welcome news for locals that might fish down that way tomorrow. Norwich Harbor had some smaller bass and a few blues plus the area from Gales Ferry to Montville had more bass, most of those on the small side.
Casters in small boats caught stripers off Barn Island and there was another report dated the week before of two shore anglers catching numbers of keeper bass in the Pawcatuck River fishing with swimming plugs on the outgoing tide after midnight. A fly caster had a 45-inch bass on a feather off one of the sandbars at the mouth of the Connecticut River, the angler saying he watched other large fish there that day chasing herring in that spot and other nearby locations.
Don at King Cove finishes us up for the week telling me schoolies can be caught at Lamberts and Quanaduck Coves or you might to snag some small schools of bunker in the Pawcatuck River then use those for keeper bass right in the lower part of the river.
Lots of people are anxious for fluke season to start but the weatherman is giving 20 from the southwest on Saturday, not exactly ideal conditions for fluke drifting.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com
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By Tim Coleman Publication: The Day
All our sources said people are gearing up for the opening of fluke season Saturday in state waters, but unfortunately the marine weather forecast isn't so hot. Right now they are calling for sunny skies but 20 mph winds from the southwest, doable conditions for some but it will likely mean fast drifts.
River's End in Old Saybrook reported one of the local youngsters landed 30 keepers in one day casting a Slug-Go along various spots in the lower Connecticut River. Another local fished Wednesday but gave it up after a short time: way too cold and windy for an open, small boat.
Evan at J&B got reliable reports about some stripers trolled up at Black Point and the Watch Hill Reefs, those bass full of sea lice, a normal sign of fish migrating into our waters for the start of another year. With that in mind, Evan also said there should be some bass out in The Race for the coming weekend.
People are still catching winter flounder in the Niantic River was the report from Hillyers Tackle. They are fishing up from the Route One Bridge and chumming is a big plus. Small boaters caught bass and the first blues at Millstone Point and some larger bass and more blues at times during the last week around the mouth of the Thames River. Casters working the stretch from Great Island to Essex along the Connecticut River were rewarded with bass from shorts to keepers-plus though you had to hunt around at times to locate the main body of them.
Captain Allen Fee said the first of the bass boats were out chunking on the Watch Hill Reefs, more obviously to follow in the days ahead. Lots of people are buying bait and launching boats for the opening of fluke season on Saturday. If it's too windy to head out, try the Mystic River from buoy 30 down to Sixpenny Island: best if you have a drift parallel to the river channel or edge of the channel, great for small boats in protected waters.
Shore anglers caught bass on sandworms or small lures along the Mystic River along the Mason's Island Bridge or people fishing from their property along the river. One fellow also landed small stripers from shore on cut bait south of the 95 Bridge over the upper river.
Red at Bob's Tackle reported seeing a cellphone photo of a 40-pound bass trolled up on wire line at Bartletts Reef on Monday on either an umbrella rig or parachute jig with pork rind. Overall though, Red said the cold, windy and rainy weather kept a lot of people back on shore. Those out in the river found schoolie bass mostly along with smaller blues chopping some baits in half. This year you are allowed to keep three fluke at 19.8 inches fishing in state waters.
Draggers are towing up fluke along the Rhode Island beaches said Capt. Jack Balint at the Fish Connection, welcome news for locals that might fish down that way tomorrow. Norwich Harbor had some smaller bass and a few blues plus the area from Gales Ferry to Montville had more bass, most of those on the small side.
Casters in small boats caught stripers off Barn Island and there was another report dated the week before of two shore anglers catching numbers of keeper bass in the Pawcatuck River fishing with swimming plugs on the outgoing tide after midnight. A fly caster had a 45-inch bass on a feather off one of the sandbars at the mouth of the Connecticut River, the angler saying he watched other large fish there that day chasing herring in that spot and other nearby locations.
Don at King Cove finishes us up for the week telling me schoolies can be caught at Lamberts and Quanaduck Coves or you might to snag some small schools of bunker in the Pawcatuck River then use those for keeper bass right in the lower part of the river.
Lots of people are anxious for fluke season to start but the weatherman is giving 20 from the southwest on Saturday, not exactly ideal conditions for fluke drifting.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com
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