07-03-2009, 09:43 AM
Finding some fish in between rainstorms ![[Image: nothing.gif]](http://media.theday.com/gbl/media/dynamic/lrgimages/nothing.gif)
By Tim Coleman Published on 7/3/2009
Rain, rain go away. We've had enough already on another gloomy week that saw 5-6 inches more precipitation dumped on our already soggy area. On the brighter side, the weekend looks sunny and clear.
Captain Allen Fee at Shaffers Marina said Wednesday's storm sank two small boats at the dock and thanks to help from local volunteers they were raised but the engines probably ruined. Those out during the week caught a keeper fluke or so for every two to three anglers trying. Last Sunday Tom Ciavaglia of Stonington took out his grandson to the Watch Hill reefs where the young man landed his first keeper bass trolling a tube and worm.
Over at J&B Tackle, I spoke with Captain Kerry Douton, another area fisherman “drying” out his business after the monsoon. This past weekend they held a shark tournament at Block Island with the biggest a 320.5-pound blue shark landed on the “Wrench.” In second place was a 262-pound thresher on the “Lucia” and in third, a 261-pound thresher on the “Independence.”
Some school bluefin were being sighted chasing bait on the surface but none was hooked. Fluking opens in New York waters today, letting area anglers legally fish in popular spots on the south side of Fishers Island.
Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle said tautog season opened back up in state waters on Wednesday. You are allowed to keep two fish at a 14-inch minimum. Over the past weekend, one boat had six keeper fluke that totaled 25 pounds just outside the mouth of the Thames and on Sunday another small boat landed shorts and a doormat of 11 pounds off Misquamicut.
In between rain storms, fluke anglers caught some keepers between the Dumpling and Intrepid Rock, said Captain Jack Balint of the Fish Connection. The flood tide in The Gut has been best for lots of blues. It's likely any future fishing in the Thames will suffer for a while due to all the runoff from the weekday deluges.
Captain Howard Beers at Hillyers told me overall the number of blues in The Race is increasing and daytime striper catches dropping off as they usually do at this time on the calendar. Overall the average small boater is catching far more short fluke than keepers but those with patience are finding some big enough to take home.
The Hel-Cat out of Groton reported the water temps now over 60 and the bluefishing improving in The Race. Butterfish have shown up and the despised dogfish have departed. The fishing though is still sensitive to lots of boat traffic making high-speed runs up for another drift, breaking up the bait and spooking the fish as happens more often than not on a Saturday. Mixed in with the blues and bass were some sea bass and porgies.
They have started sailing for fluke in the evenings on Friday and Saturday from 4-8 p.m. as well as the normal bluefish trips during the day. Big fish of the week was a 15-pound striper landed by Wes Beattie of Springfield, Mass., another regular on the boat. River's End Tackle in Old Saybrook said to expect to land a lot of short fluke at the Sand Shoal, maybe a few more keepers in closer off Soundview. The best spot right now for larger fish is the deeper water off Black Point. If you get live bait, there are some bass at the Sand Shoal early in the day and lots of blues in The Gut. The light tackle boats continue to see bass in the mouth of the Connecticut River, swirling on the top early in the morning but they are hard to fool. But, every once in a while somebody will catch a larger fish, maybe on a lure that looks like the small sand eels the stripers are chasing. Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be e-mailed at thewreckhunter@aol.com[IMG]http:...o_endstory.gif[/IMG]
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By Tim Coleman Published on 7/3/2009 Rain, rain go away. We've had enough already on another gloomy week that saw 5-6 inches more precipitation dumped on our already soggy area. On the brighter side, the weekend looks sunny and clear.
Captain Allen Fee at Shaffers Marina said Wednesday's storm sank two small boats at the dock and thanks to help from local volunteers they were raised but the engines probably ruined. Those out during the week caught a keeper fluke or so for every two to three anglers trying. Last Sunday Tom Ciavaglia of Stonington took out his grandson to the Watch Hill reefs where the young man landed his first keeper bass trolling a tube and worm.
Over at J&B Tackle, I spoke with Captain Kerry Douton, another area fisherman “drying” out his business after the monsoon. This past weekend they held a shark tournament at Block Island with the biggest a 320.5-pound blue shark landed on the “Wrench.” In second place was a 262-pound thresher on the “Lucia” and in third, a 261-pound thresher on the “Independence.”
Some school bluefin were being sighted chasing bait on the surface but none was hooked. Fluking opens in New York waters today, letting area anglers legally fish in popular spots on the south side of Fishers Island.
Red at Bob's Rod & Tackle said tautog season opened back up in state waters on Wednesday. You are allowed to keep two fish at a 14-inch minimum. Over the past weekend, one boat had six keeper fluke that totaled 25 pounds just outside the mouth of the Thames and on Sunday another small boat landed shorts and a doormat of 11 pounds off Misquamicut.
In between rain storms, fluke anglers caught some keepers between the Dumpling and Intrepid Rock, said Captain Jack Balint of the Fish Connection. The flood tide in The Gut has been best for lots of blues. It's likely any future fishing in the Thames will suffer for a while due to all the runoff from the weekday deluges.
Captain Howard Beers at Hillyers told me overall the number of blues in The Race is increasing and daytime striper catches dropping off as they usually do at this time on the calendar. Overall the average small boater is catching far more short fluke than keepers but those with patience are finding some big enough to take home.
The Hel-Cat out of Groton reported the water temps now over 60 and the bluefishing improving in The Race. Butterfish have shown up and the despised dogfish have departed. The fishing though is still sensitive to lots of boat traffic making high-speed runs up for another drift, breaking up the bait and spooking the fish as happens more often than not on a Saturday. Mixed in with the blues and bass were some sea bass and porgies.
They have started sailing for fluke in the evenings on Friday and Saturday from 4-8 p.m. as well as the normal bluefish trips during the day. Big fish of the week was a 15-pound striper landed by Wes Beattie of Springfield, Mass., another regular on the boat. River's End Tackle in Old Saybrook said to expect to land a lot of short fluke at the Sand Shoal, maybe a few more keepers in closer off Soundview. The best spot right now for larger fish is the deeper water off Black Point. If you get live bait, there are some bass at the Sand Shoal early in the day and lots of blues in The Gut. The light tackle boats continue to see bass in the mouth of the Connecticut River, swirling on the top early in the morning but they are hard to fool. But, every once in a while somebody will catch a larger fish, maybe on a lure that looks like the small sand eels the stripers are chasing. Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist. He can be e-mailed at thewreckhunter@aol.com[IMG]http:...o_endstory.gif[/IMG]
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