Blackfish season gets started today
By Tim Coleman Publication: The Day
We have another week of good news/bad news. The good part is blackfishing opens today, but the bad part is the wind and rain from the storm that moved up the coast will likely stop all small boaters from getting on the water.
Red at Bob's in Uncasville said yes, the blackfish season has opened but the weather looked terrible. Once the wind goes down, you are allowed to keep four blackfish per person per day in state waters as long as they are 14 inches long. You can also catch blues in The Race when the wind isn't howling. After dark small boaters landed bass on eels in Norwich Harbor or caught blues during the day in other parts of the Thames looking for bunker schools when bluefish usually under them.
Evan at J&B Tackle said their charter boat is getting blues and some bass at The Race. Sea bassing at Block Island was good the last time they got over there and on Tuesday there were some albies at Race Point. Where they will be after the water calms from Friday's storm is anybody's guess.
People were chasing ablies around, said Jeff at AW Marina along with catching blues in The Race in between days with heavy south winds.
Hillyers Tackle said some of the surf fishermen caught blues from Harkness and Waterford beaches, best early in the morning or again around sunset. Blue fishing in The Race is still good. You might catch a false albacore off Harkness but you have to put in lots of time as they were few and far between.
The Fish Connection reported blues chasing bunker schools around various spots along the Thames River and also schools of peanut bunker now dropping down out of the river, presumably headed for the Sound. A few larger bass were mixed in with the blues in the river. Blues were around from Harkness over to Bluff Point, look for the birds, maybe a chance at a false albacore in the same area?
Local surfcasters drove over to Rhode Island where they caught bluefish from Watch Hill Beach over to Charlestown. On Wednesday one Connecticut angler caught several small bluefish off the front of Watch Hill light.
Captain Jack Balint took a charter to Montauk on Wednesday for 10 hours of fishing where a fellow from England landed 36 ablies on spin and fly along with blues. They've had sporadic blitzes of bass there but the south side that day was high and dirty, unfishable said Jack.
Thursday, Jack fished Race Point early in the day for a couple albies but once the wind came on, the fish shut off like a light switch. Albies were around during the week in the Sluiceway and the Gut, boats chasing them around. The heavy south winds seem to push some larger blues up on the beaches east of Watch Hill.
There are still bunker in the Pawcatuck River being chased around now by large blues. A 12-pounder was caught from shore right behind Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly.
Don at King Cove told me striper fishing on the reefs was just so-so. Sea bass was also good one day and poor the next, very dependent on the weather. False albacore catches were good some day at Montauk plus they had a bass blitz or two during the last seven days.
River's End said some of the local fly fishermen drove up to the Rhode Island salt ponds where they caught bass and blues feeding on mullet schools, the fish up there to get away at times from high, dirty surf on the outside. Locally, surfcasters plugged up some schoolie bass at the Westbrook and Old Lyme beaches, access now much better than during the busy summer. On Monday one small boat landed a couple better bass around the abutments of the Baldwin Bridge.
Ray Monahan of Westerly has been catching blues from 8 to 12 pounds in the evening, riding the beach in his 4WD east of Watch Hill Light. Ray said the best chances were between 6:30 p.m. and dark, the fish grabbing mostly the small teasers he rigs up ahead of a Super Strike popper.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com
By Tim Coleman Publication: The Day
We have another week of good news/bad news. The good part is blackfishing opens today, but the bad part is the wind and rain from the storm that moved up the coast will likely stop all small boaters from getting on the water.
Red at Bob's in Uncasville said yes, the blackfish season has opened but the weather looked terrible. Once the wind goes down, you are allowed to keep four blackfish per person per day in state waters as long as they are 14 inches long. You can also catch blues in The Race when the wind isn't howling. After dark small boaters landed bass on eels in Norwich Harbor or caught blues during the day in other parts of the Thames looking for bunker schools when bluefish usually under them.
Evan at J&B Tackle said their charter boat is getting blues and some bass at The Race. Sea bassing at Block Island was good the last time they got over there and on Tuesday there were some albies at Race Point. Where they will be after the water calms from Friday's storm is anybody's guess.
People were chasing ablies around, said Jeff at AW Marina along with catching blues in The Race in between days with heavy south winds.
Hillyers Tackle said some of the surf fishermen caught blues from Harkness and Waterford beaches, best early in the morning or again around sunset. Blue fishing in The Race is still good. You might catch a false albacore off Harkness but you have to put in lots of time as they were few and far between.
The Fish Connection reported blues chasing bunker schools around various spots along the Thames River and also schools of peanut bunker now dropping down out of the river, presumably headed for the Sound. A few larger bass were mixed in with the blues in the river. Blues were around from Harkness over to Bluff Point, look for the birds, maybe a chance at a false albacore in the same area?
Local surfcasters drove over to Rhode Island where they caught bluefish from Watch Hill Beach over to Charlestown. On Wednesday one Connecticut angler caught several small bluefish off the front of Watch Hill light.
Captain Jack Balint took a charter to Montauk on Wednesday for 10 hours of fishing where a fellow from England landed 36 ablies on spin and fly along with blues. They've had sporadic blitzes of bass there but the south side that day was high and dirty, unfishable said Jack.
Thursday, Jack fished Race Point early in the day for a couple albies but once the wind came on, the fish shut off like a light switch. Albies were around during the week in the Sluiceway and the Gut, boats chasing them around. The heavy south winds seem to push some larger blues up on the beaches east of Watch Hill.
There are still bunker in the Pawcatuck River being chased around now by large blues. A 12-pounder was caught from shore right behind Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly.
Don at King Cove told me striper fishing on the reefs was just so-so. Sea bass was also good one day and poor the next, very dependent on the weather. False albacore catches were good some day at Montauk plus they had a bass blitz or two during the last seven days.
River's End said some of the local fly fishermen drove up to the Rhode Island salt ponds where they caught bass and blues feeding on mullet schools, the fish up there to get away at times from high, dirty surf on the outside. Locally, surfcasters plugged up some schoolie bass at the Westbrook and Old Lyme beaches, access now much better than during the busy summer. On Monday one small boat landed a couple better bass around the abutments of the Baldwin Bridge.
Ray Monahan of Westerly has been catching blues from 8 to 12 pounds in the evening, riding the beach in his 4WD east of Watch Hill Light. Ray said the best chances were between 6:30 p.m. and dark, the fish grabbing mostly the small teasers he rigs up ahead of a Super Strike popper.
Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be reached at thewreckhunter@aol.com