Printer Friendly Version - How Important is a Spot Anyway?

Kurt Yaeger, a Los Angeles-based actor, professional athlete, and advocate for people with disabilities, caught his first fish when fishing off Branford as a guest of Ken Engelman aboard the Lucky Day 2. Photo illustration courtesy of Captain Morgan

As Sheldon from the television series The Big Bang Theory repeatedly states, “That’s my spot!” Fishers who are in the know are uttering the exact same thing. No, they’re not forcefully suggesting that someone move. Instead, they are most likely implying that there’s a strong feeling that fish like striped bass could realistically be schooling there.

Too many fishers spend the day actually looking for fish—as in sight fishing for blitzing bluefish under erratic diving gulls—rather than doing due diligence. Sure, stripers do feed on the surface and put on magnificent displays of wild feeding when they do. However, most of the time they wait in ambush below the water surface along some sort of structure, poised to strike a passing or disoriented soon-to-be meal.

These are the spots strewn throughout Long Island Sound to which the old salts gravitate during certain times and tides. When other people ask where the fish are, they are actually attempting to learn where the fish are feeding. In order to know that, you must know where the forage is located or where and when it has been most recently.

Take Faulkner’s North Rip, for example. When it sets up, you could find a school of fish that might be located in and around the sub-surface structure. If true, drifting through it could easily produce a striped bass or bluefish on the feed. On the other hand, you might do better just south of the island if conditions favor it. However, drifting the channel just south of Goose Island or the drop-off on the northeast side of the island could be the ticket. Regardless, it’s this one generalized location that is the draw.

The point is: Selecting where to fish based on an intelligent decision suggesting a specific spot or localized area is the way to go. Eventually, a library of these fixed locations or waypoints will be established and, with some pre-determined knowledge (moon, tide, time of day, and season), you’ll find catches increasing with the least amount of effort put forth.

So, before your next fishing trip, pull out a chart and factor in some recent local knowledge, including conditions. Then put a plan together, including the appropriate gear and bait, and head out. Briefing your crew on what’s expected before leaving the dock will make the trip all the more productive than if a shotgun approach is taken. Be safe and have a good adventure!

We had more rainy weather, but fishing was still the talk of the shoreline. Long Island Sound inshore water temperatures have been hovering in the low- to mid-70s, with certain species exploding, while one or two others lagged behind. Fog managed to creep in and, overall, seas have been rather calm with occasional gusts to 25 knots during passing fronts.

Striped bass spread onto many of the popular reefs, while the smaller schoolies are still working the harbors, bays, and lower tidal rivers. East of the Sound has been hot! Atlantic menhaden have been moving around, darting in and out of the harbors, and scattering throughout the Sound. Some offshore schools have created a few mini-blitzes as smaller harbor blues stalked them. Still, any signs of bigger toothy critters have been noticeably absent from our waters. However, the bass have been liking live eels, some of those bunker, chunk baits, and bucktails with a trailer. Tube and worms have been working on smaller fish along drop-offs and, if you feel like working, diamond jigging continues to be productive in the deeper water.

Black sea bass fishers need to hit the deep water for some prize humpbacks. As long as water temperatures remain constant, fishing from 90- to 120 feet remains the depth that these ever-popular fish of more than four pounds can be found. Squid, clams, and even jigs are producing, but you need to be separated from the smaller fish to catch a prize. Doormat fluke, on the other hand, haven’t been as deep, but are less plentiful. Drifting Six Mile and south of Faulkner’s Island has been producing larger fish more than Long Sand Shoal and Hammonasset, where a good number of shorts have been residing.

Numbers of dinner-plate size scup are being caught—even some measuring 17 inches. Sea worms, squid, and clams are catching daily limits with little effort, although shorter fish are showing up. The reefs and rock piles are holding fish that don’t seem to be as concerned as when the bigger blues are around. If your bait is down long enough, a sizable sea robin will likely mosey over and find it before putting up a tussle. Try filleting one up for the table if you haven’t done so already. Additionally, we are seeing more blackfish (tautog) being caught; two fish at 16 inches is the daily limit.

Even though Shark Week is winding down, that doesn’t mean that shark fishing is easing off. On the contrary, we are seeing large smooth dogfish being caught intentionally, or as a bycatch, and then released. You may also encounter spiny dogfish and the occasional visitor, including blue, mako, thresher, hammerhead, and small great white sharks. A word of caution: Sandbar and sand tiger sharks are regularly encountered in the Sound and are protected in state and federal waters. If caught, they should not be removed from the water and should be immediately released unharmed.

An increase in water temperatures has resulted in more hard shell blue crabs being caught. The warmth has pushed ahead the molt and more soft shells are appearing on the pilings, as well. Time to scoop!

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 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...

The brother-and-sister duo of Jason Gold (right) and sister Jessy (left), both of Madison, connected with these striped bass during a fun-filled day on Long Island Sound. Photo illustration courtesy of Captain Morgan