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| From left to right Tim Visel (Coordinator), Angela Lomanto, Giancarlo Lomanto, Jonathan Pico, Victor Campanile and Sandro Campanile joined together for a Sound School blue crab reporting trip. |
In order to breakaway from this virus 'thing,' many have been faced with becoming creative. For those who consider themselves anything other than the outdoorsy type, that poses a challenge. However, looking outside the box reveals many options that, until recently, had not even been a thought.
We all know (or have found out) that fishing and clamming provided that kind of escape - a counterbalance to being confined or restricted from the norm. However, fitting nicely into the niche of being outdoors, getting exercise, utilizing somewhat of a skill set and obtaining fresh food directly from nature is crabbing.
Not just the ordinary common shore green crab or even the invasive Asian variety, but the very ornery, aggressive blue crab known for its attitude and tasty meat is our focus. True, the season kicked off to a slow start. However, as it marched on and crabbers were looking to ply their throws, nets and traps, catches of these snappy claw bearers began showing up.
Crabbers started working the river banks and creeks in earnest, looking for signs of a run of 5 inchers (the legal size, point to point) of hard shells to harvest. They lowered their crab pots, baited their lines and dropped them to the bottom while crab nets were kept ready. The June group outing from The Sound School, spearheaded by Coordinator Tim Visel, was looking for the latest reporting data on early season blue crabs.
Their efforts produced a male or female crab about every 5 to ten minutes over a one and a half hour session, the majority of which were under 5 inches. Based on these early findings, it would appear that blue crabbers could have a productive season ahead. That being said, it would be a good time to be creative and put together some crabbing gear and a plan which, of course, should include a few blue crab recipes.
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| David Levett of Guilford hit one of the popular tidal rivers for night and day striped bass catch/release fishing with live eels. |
On The Water:
A few brief scattered showers did little to alleviate low water levels throughout the state during its first real heat spell. Long Island Sound and its tributaries however, is faring well as water temperatures have been creeping up from the mid to high 60's, with some of tidal rivers and shallow bays reaching 70ºF. Meanwhile, there are more vessels on the water, in spite of the almost daily foggy startup, in search of the multi-species fishery now settling in the Sound.
Catches of weakfish have been ongoing both out on the reefs and definitely along the shoreline. Casters are scoring fish to 20" using small baits on a flood tide. Try a bucktail up to an ounce with a strip. In the process, a harbor bluefish could easily take the bait as well. A few more catches of these toothy critters have been caught along with a slightly larger cousin.
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| Josh Sexton of Guilford, along with family and friends, enjoyed some exciting Block Island catch/release striped bass topwater action. |
Striped bass over 40" continue to cruise the shallows during low light hours. Fishing in and around the ten foot breaks have been successful when using live eels, plugs and soft plastics including T/W's. Schoolie class bass and those a bit larger have been plentiful and most likely have been re-caught since the slot limit has been put in place. Top action has been good as well as bait and small jigs.
Word is spreading! Scup fever is catching on now that the bite is 'hot' throughout much of the Sound. Most reefs and rock piles have them stacked up so putting together a family dinner is well within reach. Even novices are scoring once they get the hang of it. Try a slightly larger hook size if you are looking for bigger fish.
Porgy pounders are seeing steady bites and good catches. Sizes continue to be impressive with some whoppers in excess of 18" being caught. That's a good scup! From single hooks to double hook rigs tipped with small portions of bait have been effective. Tide matters and water depth varies as these scrappy fish are now being found throughout the Sound. Just find some bottom structure and a school of porgies will most likely be close by.
Porgies have company on the sea bottom since other bottom feeders have arrived. Unprotected sea robins are here in numbers and are also making for a tasty meal. Catches of these 'only-a-mother-could-love' critters are climbing with fewer of them released than in previous years. Skate are cleaning the bottom along with sizable sand sharks that will test you. More northern kingfish are in the bays, coves and channels also providing good table fare - and a few surprise cod in deeper water..
Black sea bass catches remain good but appear to be slowing down a touch. Fishing deep structure is the way to go for these prized humpbacks while inshore reefs are producing much smaller fish. Fluke catches have improved after coming off tough drifting conditions and so-so tides. Creative flukers who are changing up their presentations and being creative with terminal tackle (like adding a 'spin and glow' ) are doing well. Fish in the low 20's are near shore while most doormats have been caught in depths of 45-100 feet.
Clamming along the Guilford/Madison shoreline has been quite active. The lack of any substantial rain has kept the beds open and the influence of COVID-19 has kept them quite busy - plenty of clams to catch, though. In addition, blue crabbing action is picking up with numbers of small ones being netted pointing to a good season ahead.
Best bet for inland fishing has been for largemouth/smallmouth bass. There are plenty of pickerel, perch and sunfish to be caught as well as some catfish and black crappie. Low water levels and slow flows have put a challenge to the trout anglers. Still, there are some good trout being caught on both fly rod and conventional setups.
Note: Email us pics of your catches to share with our USA and International fishing friends who keep up with the latest fishing news and frequent social media.
For all things fishy including the latest gear, bait, flies/fly fishing, rod/reel repairs, clam/crabbing supplies, fishing trips and licenses/permits, swing by the shop (203-245-8665) open seven days located at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison. Until next time from your Connecticut shoreline's full-service fishing outfitter, where we don't make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better...
Tight Lines,
Captain Morgan
captainmorganusa@hotmail.com
twitter @captmorgan_usa
Column appearing weekly in Shore Publishing/The Day newspapers and Web Zip06.com: week of06/28/20.
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