Connecticut Fishing Report- September 22, 2022

Connecticut Fishing Report 

Matt, at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook has seen the fall run start to approach full swing across the Sound. The first wave of false albacore came through heavily over the past week, with many anglers reporting better numbers than they have ever seen. Matt was able to put together a 12 albie day from the kayak, which is something we usually just dream about! They’ve started to spread out over the past few days, but increased reports from Rhode Island are encouraging, so we should see another push soon. Striped bass blitzes are also common, with tons of slot sized bass eating topwater offerings, and some larger bass still taking live eels on the shallow reefs. The fluke fishing has slowed down in the area, but the sea bass action seems to have picked up in the shallows, with the water cooling down.  

Heather from Black Hawk Sportfishing reports that they had another strong week of September fishing. Limits of jumbo porgies have been all over the boat during their day trips, along with some nice sea bass in the mix. Many of the trips have seen a nice mixed bag, with porgies, sea bass, a couple fluke, and some bonus triggerfish. The afternoon bass and bluefish trips remain as consistent as ever, with steady gator blue action and some nice bass chewing after dark. They will continue to run their bottom fishing trips every day except Monday, which is when they will be running bluefish trips. Their after-work trips have wrapped up for the year, and they would like to thank everyone who came out for a trip this season. They will continue to post new trips on Monday nights at 8 PM, so be sure to check their website and grab tickets before they run out! 

Dan, at Dan’s Bait Tackle and Charters in New London told me it was another strong week for anglers fishing the Eastern Sound. From Branford to Stonington, the shoreline activity has been great for anglers tossing light tackle offerings, due to the immense abundance of peanut bunker. False albacore, bluefish, and striped bass of mixed sizes have all been in the mix and have been willing to hit a number of different offerings. Anglers targeting larger bass and bluefish have been scoring good catches on fresh bunker or mackerel chunks from both shore and from the boat. Bottom fishermen are still finding a couple decent fluke in the mix, while sea bass results have improved a bit this week. Scup action has been extremely consistent for shore and boat anglers, and there have been some larger fish in the mix over the last week or two.  

Captain Mike Roy at Reel Cast Charters reports that the fishing has remained good in his neck of the woods, as we roll into the fall run. The number of striped bass seems to be improving, and they big fish are starting to be more willing to hit a large artificial offering. Topwater plugs at low light periods have been producing well, while live baits continue to fool the larger fish after the sun comes up. There are still a ton of bluefish around, and they are big, which is providing some great light tackle action. The false albacore action has also really started to take off in the Eastern Sound as well. Results vary from day to day, but Mike has been able to find some hungry speedsters on most trips. Give Captain Mike a call soon to set up a fall trip before he’s all booked up! 

Captain Chris, at Elser Guide Service has seen some of the best Western Sound false albacore action that he’s seen in years. They have been around for nearly 2 weeks, and he is finding them at almost every location that he has fished and has seen up to 8 different pods blitzing at once! The albies are mostly in the 6- to 8-pound range, but there are also a couple slammers in the 10-12-pound range that are true tackle busters! It gets tough weeding through the albies, but there have also been a few smaller bonito and Spanish Mackerel mixed in. The albies are mostly feeding on small anchovies, so when they get finicky Chris likes to use a hookless Exo jig with a 1.5-inch surf candy fly tied 2 feet behind the jig. That has been a deadly combination for him! There are still plenty of bluefish near shore, and they can be found on almost every boulder field or piece of structure in the area. Striped bass have taken a back seat to false albacore right now, but they are still around in good numbers, in the same areas as the bluefish.  

Fisherman’s World in Norwalk reports that it’s starting to feel like fall out west, with cooling water temperatures, and the first local false albacore reports coming in this week. Albies have been popping up at Middleground, Stratford, and New Haven, along with a few scant reports from the Islands. The striped bass bite has started to perk up this week and will only get better with the upcoming weather/moon phases. Fishing during low light is still a key to success for bass, and those doing that have seen bass to nearly 40 pounds on plugs this week. Daytime trolling remains consistent on the deep-water structure like 11B and 28C, and there should be plenty of bluefish in the mix at the same locations. Bluefish have also been blitzing sporadically around the islands over the past few days, as they have clearly keyed in on the massive schools of peanut bunker in the area. Fluke fishing hasn’t ended up yet, with reports of some solid fish coming from anglers livelining tinker mackerel last week. Sea bass fishing is good and getting better, while scup fishing is still excellent and shows no signs of slowing down.

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Connecticut Fishing Forecast

Some sporty weather over the next couple days should finalize the arrival of the fall run.  

Connecticut anglers finally saw a nice push of false albacore this week, and based on the reports from Rhode Island, we should be seeing another nice push following the blow this weekend. Solid false albacore reports have come in from border to border, with some incredible reports coming in from the Western Sound this week. Massive schools of peanut bunker are fueling the albie blitzes and are also fueling some enormous striped bass blitzes across the Sound. Fishing after dark has also worked out well for those that are doing it, with some big striped bass being reported from CT surfcasters and anglers drifting eels on the shallow reefs. The resurgence of bluefish also continues, with strong reports of 12- to 15-pound fish from Norwalk to The Race. The cooler nights seem to have helped the sea bass bite in 40- to 60-feet of water, while the scup bite shows no sign of slowing down. The blue crabbing has also been very strong in the lower CT River tribs and the Western Sound tribs for those looking for a nice change of pace closer to home, and there should be no shortage of snapper bluefish in the same locations.