The cold weather had a lot of Northeast anglers thinking about packing away the summer gear and busting out the ice-fishing gear, but a warming trend for the holiday week will provide plenty of opportunities to wet a line before the hardwater arrives. In the salt; tautog, black sea bass and cod are biting well and provide a chance to get some good eats for the holiday dinner. Inland fishing has been solid despite the cold and will only improve with some near-60-degree days.
Connecticut Fishing Report
At Hillyers Bait and Tackle in Waterford, word is that the bluefish finally appear to be gone, but there is no lack of school-sized bass inside the Niantic River and around the Millstone outflow. Blackfishing has still been very good in eastern Long Island Sound, although anglers are now starting to move away from the shallows and the breakwaters and are targeting slightly deeper water. With water temperatures dropping, some of the larger fish are likely moving deeper, and the more common shallow-water spots have mostly been fished dry. The deeper waters of the eastern sound are still holding numbers of black sea bass.
At Rivers End in Old Saybrook, Joe told me that there is no lack of bass in the lower Connecticut River, although it is all pretty much schoolie fish at this point. A few anglers are finding some keepers on cut bait at the Causeway and around Saybrook Point, but overall it appears that most of the larger bass have moved out with the bait. The local reefs and Long Sand Shoal are still holding a few keeper bass, and anglers have found some success drifting live eels this week. Tautog fishing remains very good from Clinton to Groton, but again, a move to slightly deeper water equals success.
Andrew at Fishin’ Factory 3 in Middletown saw the drop in temperatures equal a drop in fishing pressure in the Connecticut River this week, but anglers who braved the cold found success in both the northern and southern stretches. The lower Connecticut River, as well as the rest of the tidal rivers out east, are holding good numbers of schoolie bass. In the northern stretches of the Connecticut River, the panfishing has been excellent at most of the coves and marinas. Good-sized perch and crappie have been easy to find, and have been hitting small jigs tipped with pinhead minnows or maggots. The northern pike fishing has also been very good from Hartford to Haddam, with big live or dead baits being the top producer. Fishing a slip bobber has been the preferred method when throwing a live bait, but dead baits fished right on the bottom have been just as successful and are a bit easier.
Bobby J’s Bait and Tackle in Milford reported that blackfishing and schoolie striper fishing have been good enough to keep saltwater anglers interested in the central and western sound. Blackfish are still around in good numbers from Stratford to Clinton, as evidenced by the 12.5-pound beast weighed in by Cameron Hammond this week. School striped bass are still thick outside of Milford Harbor and around the island, but the best bite is happening in the Housatonic, where fish are spreading out through the river on their holdover patterns.
At Upcountry Sportfishing in Pine Meadow, Torrey reported that despite a whole bunch of rain earlier this week; flows have not gone up too much along most of the Farmington River. Flows remain very fishable with good to great clarity. The cold days have slowed down the action a bit, and the best bites remain in the late afternoons, after the sun has been out for some time. The warming trend forecasted for next week should get things going, including the afternoon olive hatches, which are a staple of late November. During the olive hatch, it is best to think small with a #22-26 fly, however big post-spawn browns will be looking for some meat and may still take a large streamer.
Fishing Forecast
The cold has scared some anglers away from the water over the past few days, but those who have gotten out are still seeing good catches of tautog and school-sized striped bass along the coastline. Inland, trout, pike and panfishing are all in full swing.