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06/15/2017 12:00 AMFish evolve through the centuries, ever so slowly. A big factor is temperature. Another is the availability of forage. Still another is water conditions. And so on. To a fisher, there’s little doubt that times have changed since grandfather took you fishing, and they’ve certainly changed a lot since Native Americans first harvested the waters for food.
One of the more interesting things to do on the water is experiment—not only with new innovations, but also with early fishing gear, methods, and techniques. It’s interesting to see whether the same species of fish will react today as it did in the years gone by. Will an early lure generate the same or similar reaction today? How will it feel to catch a fish with a rod made back in the 1800s?
Taking an old lure and fishing it will invariably evoke an odd reaction when someone takes notice. One might think that it belongs in a collection, never to feel the wet of water again. Not for this skipper! It was made to fish once. Why not test it in today’s waters? The same holds true for fishing rods and reels, although, granted, there is less of a chance of losing them than a lure.
Throughout the centuries, tremendous advances have been made in the manufacture of fishing lures, rods, and reels—most notably, in materials and technology. Fighting a fish with a leather strip on one’s thumb serving as a drag or with a conventional reel without an anti-reverse is something every fisher should experience at least once. Heavier rods made of natural materials were employed more for catching food, rather than sport. Sensitivity was generally not a prerequisite until much later.
Jigging with an old whale bone lure, a fish bone hook, or early carved lure does take a fisher back in time, and to actually catch a fish on one is quite a trip. Recently, I was invited by Michael McBride, curator of the Henry Whitfield Museum in Guilford, to preview a well thought-out and eye-catching display of early fishing gear. The exhibit, The Lure of Fishing—Gear Through the Years, gives a stark overview of fishing through the ages with a flavor tilted to our own backyard.
For a trip back in time, bring a friend and take a wander through the museum located at 248 Old Whitfield Street in Guilford. This exhibit runs through October and is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will definitely encourage questions and conversation.
On the Water
It finally started to feel more like June, even though air temperatures dropped in the early morning hours. Westerly and southwesterly winds brought in warmer water as the Sound wavered in the low 60s and conditions simmered down to around five-knot winds and one-foot seas. Once the tides cleared out most of the stormy stained water, there was a noticeable increase of bait schools returning to the lower tidal rivers and the shoreline.
Atlantic menhaden schools are still scattered throughout the Sound, but they are balling up more often, especially around the full moon. Warming temperatures will make a difference. Relief from the steady stormy weather should bring more bass closer to the beaches and tidal rivers. However, the action on the reefs has been good from Six Mile to Faulkner’s to The Beacon and beyond. Live eels, bucktails, bunker spoons, jigs, and plugs have been good options.
Black sea bass are still claiming notoriety as four- to five-pound humpbacks are being boated in numbers. Their hangouts are still selective, predicated on changes in water temps. Recently, that put them in 65 feet and under. A simple combination of squid, rigs, and jigs is pretty much all any serious humpback seeker needs, other than the appropriate weight and bottom structure. Check out the wrecks!
Bluefish action is picking up with some bigger choppers cruising the offshore reefs. Top water activity has been limited with most catches coming from below using chunk bait, bunker, spoons, ‘brellas, and jigs. Some harbor-side catches are also being made when bait schools materialized. Fluke is another fish permeating the Sound from the tidal rivers to about 40-foot depths. There are doormats being caught to 10-plus pounds, however, as usual, shorts way outnumber the 19-inch minimum size limit. Squid is the number one bait; sand eels or spearing are good tandem rig partners.
Check out the weakfish bite around Faulkner’s, the American shad run in the Connecticut River, hickories intermittently in the tidal rivers, and white perch in the upper stretches of the tidal rivers. Of course, let’s not forget the porgy (scup). They have moved to the reefs and bottom structure in numbers, and slabs are being caught. Along the bottom, you will also run into the infamous sea robins, skate, and smooth dogfish. Time to put the blue crab net to work!
Up until the weather moderated, trout fishing in both the rivers and lakes had been uneventful. Since then, fishing improved, as did flows and clarity. Riffles and holes in moving water and deeper water in the lakes were productive areas to fish. The basses varied, with smallies seemingly more active, while the pike bite turned on. Pickerel, catfish, perch, and other panfish have been cooperative.
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...
Tight Lines,
Captain Morgan
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