Albie reports are trickling in and it shouldn’t take too long for the mayhem to begin!
Connecticut Fishing Report
Andrew, at Fishin Factory 3 in Middletown, told me it was a bit of a quiet week around the shop due to some unsettled weather, but striped bass anglers have been finding some decent fish around the mouth of the river. There have still been plenty of big fish around the island and we’ll see if they remain there after the residuals from Florence pass through. There are still some large schools of small bass and bluefish around Niantic and the mouth of the Thames; while most of the bigger blues have been coming from the mouth of the CT River. The bonito have thinned out, but the first confirmed reports of albies from Buzzards to South County have anglers throughout the region gearing up for the madness that should get going over the coming week. Sea bass action has been very good on all the deeper structure in the sound and Rhode Island; while fluke has quieted locally.
Lou, at Hillyers in Waterford, reported that there has been some pretty large blitzes of bass in Niantic Bay around dawn and dusk, and light-tackle anglers have been scoring big numbers of school to small keeper bass. Pleasure Beach and Ocean Beach have seen similar action, and there were some larger fish feeding on peanuts at Goshen Reef last week. Sea bass action has been best in very deep water, while scup action remains tremendous all over. Bonito and albie reports have been confined to Rhode Island, but we should be seeing some in local waters any day now, especially as the weather settles.
Rivers End in Old Saybrook reported that school bass are dominating the catch throughout the sound. The Race, Plum Gut, Hatchets, the Niantic River area and the CT River area are all holding fish that can usually be found on top. Small bluefish have been mixed with the bass in most cases and snapper blues are still biting well in the river estuaries. Scup action has been very good and sea bass action is steady, although there seems to be quite a few shorts.
Mike Roy, of Reel Cast Charters, told me that he’s getting geared up for what should be a great fall run. There are tons of peanuts, mackerel and squid with bass and blues feeding on them, and there are still plenty of larger bass taking live baits after dark. Light tackle and fly action has been great so far for bass and blues and should really take off when the false albacore show up. Give Mike a call today to get in on all the fall fun!
Captain TJ, at Rock and Roll Charters, also got into the schoolie bass action this week and told me that they have been able to keep rods bent all day. Keepers are a bit tougher to come by, but there are still some in the mix and the bluefish are getting bigger and more consistent in the same areas. The fall run is just getting going and TJ still has some openings up to his finale on November 18th.
Captain Bruce, of The Otter Sportfisfhing, had another strong week of charters, including Saturday’s trip where they found nonstop action and ended up with 25 bass to 46.5 inches. Along with the big fish they have been getting on Otter Tails, there remains plenty of small bass, blues and the occasional bonito feeding on top. There is still plenty of great bass fishing in the coming weeks, so be sure to schedule a trip with Captain Bruce today!
Rhode Island Fishing Report
The Frances Fleet in Narragansett reported a successful tuna trip last Friday. The night bite was slow, but the troll bite was relatively strong. They managed nearly 50 longfins and a good pile of big mahi. Good weather resulted in perfect troll speeds, and at time 3 to 5 fish were on at once. The half-day fluke trip was decent as well, with high hook landing 5 keeper fluke. Sea bass and scup action remains steady, so the rods were bent all day. The weather looks a bit rough for the rest of the week, but should be improving later in the weekend and through next week.
Captain Russ, of The Seven B’s in Snug Harbor, reported another good week of fishing late last week and into the weekend. Sea bass and scup action was tremendous, and there were enough keeper fluke in the mix to keep things interesting at the rail. The Seven B’s sailing schedule has now changed to full-day trips targeting black sea bass and scup. These trips will run from Wednesday through Sunday from 7-4 and require reservations, so be sure to check with the office ahead of time.
Dave, at Ocean State Tackle in Providence, reported that the big news this week was that the false albacore have started to filter into the area. There were some decent reports as far west as Matunuck late last week and they should be filtering in even better in the coming days. Tautog have started to move inshore and catches have been much better on the shallower rockpiles. Big scup are all over the area, and there are now some big bluefish just south of Prudence Island. The menhaden are still thick in the Seekonk River and some better striped bass have started to move in and target them. Watch Hill Outfitters in Westerly reported that the striped bass fishing remained consistent close to home, as well as at Block Island. The Watch Hill reefs are holding a good number of bass of varying sizes, while action at Southwest Ledge picked back up with a good number of bass over 40 pounds. We can only hope that we don’t see too significant of a storm swell that can put an end to things out there. Sea bass fishing has been as steady as ever locally and at the island, but the fluking has started to slow considerably. Block Island or Montauk are safe bets for some good fluke when the weather clears, but local waters are getting tough. The green bonito bite had been steady for a while throughout South County, but reports have slowed this week due to weather and possibly from the arrival of false albacore. Albie reports haven’t been hot and heavy but they are starting to filter in, and I expect an increase in reports as the weather clears.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
The majority of light-tackle enthusiasts across New England wait patiently for this week to arrive, and I think we are there. False albacore reports, albeit while sparse, are starting to pop up around Rhode Island and generally it only takes a few tide cycles for them to disperse across the area. As long as residual weather from Florence doesn’t get in the way, we should see a good amount of albies in Rhode Island by late weekend and a few pods in the sound as well. Topwater striped bass action remains excellent, so if you cannot locate the albies you should still have plenty of fish to keep you busy!
Thanks for the Reports.