Printer Friendly Version - A Day Forever Etched in Infamy

Fish are biting as Josh Sexton of Guilford enjoyed a good bass day at one of his favorite hot spots.Photo courtesy of Captain Morgan

It doesn’t seem like 15 years has gone by since the Sept. 11 attacks. There was a trip planned that day, but it was suddenly canceled. Few words were exchanged during the phone call that ended with, “I wish you all the best locating your friend. We’ll pick this up at another time.” These two gents were scheduled to do some fishing that day, but it was not to be.

After being glued to the horrific scene on television for most of the morning and into the afternoon, somehow, this skipper was drawn to the water. The air did not smell fresh, probably due to the westerly wind being mixed with burn. In the distance was this low-hanging black cloud making its way over Long Island from Manhattan. Certainly, it was a sight seen by many that’s forever embedded in our memories.

There were several rods on board, but none rigged to fish. In fact, the desire to actually wet a line was not even present—a rare moment, indeed. Images of what was seen earlier kept appearing and reappearing. Even thoughts of fishers caught up in the aftermath of the attacks flashed in and out.

The boat rocked gently, although the stare was always glued southwest. A few prayers were said. Then, images of those fishers broke the thought barrier and, suddenly, there was the realization that most, unbeknownst to them at the time, had already made their last cast.

That was the catalyst that prompted a single rod to be rigged. Perhaps, a salute in the way of a last cast would be an appropriate gesture, however small. And so, the lack of initiative to wet a line morphed into a purpose. With one cast toward the twins and upward to the heavens, it carried the words, “I pray that I may live to fish until my dying day. And when it comes to my last cast, I then most humbly pray: When in the Lord’s great landing net and peacefully asleep, that in His mercy I be judged Big enough to keep.” The fisher mentioned earlier was reunited with his friend and we all got to fish at a later date. It was a solemn, but productive and meaningful get-together.

There was another about-face as we headed into the weekend with a very hot, humid, summer-like start before any relief was felt. Air temps climbed into the 90s, while Long Island Sound water edged back up to the mid-70s. The swing in weather conditions came after the fizzling storm did little to disperse fish.

Menhaden held tight all along the shoreline and, in some cases, rivers experienced a natural die-off due to a sudden reduction in oxygen. Because the stock has effectively rebounded, the die-off, as well as all the foraging that has been taking place, hardly made a dent. The term “walk across” was used repeatedly to describe how thick some of these schools were.

Not only were bluefish taking advantage of these bunker, but striped bass joined in on the feast. Light gear was the key to catching a mix of smaller bass and blues, however, there were double-digit hefties that suddenly would appear. This applied to fishers out on the reefs or those fishing the inshore bays. Oddly enough, in many cases there was little evidence of diving birds and, if that was your only key, you probably missed out on a very productive frenzy.

Fly rodders, surf pluggers, and baitcasters all had good action during the first quarter moon. Live eels continued to draw strikes from stripers. Some bass, at times, even ignored live bunker, although it was hard to pass up for many. Bucktails were another good choice for casters, drifters, and trollers. All in all, it’s been a good time and great fishing for most who ventured out these past couple of weeks.

Whether out pounding porgies, jigging for black sea bass, or attempting to locate a school of fluke, very few returned with empty fish boxes. Many scup congregating on reefs would fill dinner plates and readily took sea worms and squid. Larger sea bass remained in deep water and fluke were scattered. There are sizable sea robins, northern kingfish, and coastal sharks that have been putting up a fuss once realizing a chunk of fish was attached to a hook. Snapper blues and blue crabs are showing no signs of letting up as more hickory shad are showing up in the rivers.

When freshwater lit up, largemouth bass were smashing topwaters—poppers, jitterbugs, spooks, and frogs. Smallies were hitting soft plastic craws, small jigs, and bottom diving hard-bodies. The carp bite has been good and it’s the same with pickerel, catfish, pike, panfish, and night time walleye. Trout rivers are low and temps are above normal, making fishing a challenge. A few spots have been stocked and those fished with faster flows and where trout held in the colder holes saw much better action. Due to weather-related conditions, many lakes have also seen slower trout action.

Registrations for Catch for the Cure Bluefish Tournament, which is affiliated with Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven and the Yale Cancer Center, ends Friday, Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. Call for details or swing by the shop before 6 p.m. to register.

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 fishing trips, 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...

Jay Levett of North Branford (top) and Madison’s Jim Luce (bottom) continue to take advantage of this season’s highly productive bluefish and striped bass bite.Photo illustration courtesy of Captain Morgan