Printer Friendly Version - Slow-Moving Reptile Enjoys the Sound’s Warm Water

Sea turtles are protected and need your help. The five that are known to frequent Long Island Sound sometimes get inadvertently hooked or washed ashore. Pictured are Norman Dahl of Branford (top), Kathy Honeyman of Westbrook (left), and Sarah Platt of Madison (right). Photo illustration courtesy of Captain Morgan

Making for a memorable diving experience and graceful to watch, sea turtles are one of our most treasured summer visitors found in Long Island Sound. Like fish, sea turtles migrate and can be spotted when they come up for a breath of air, are washed up on a beach from an unfortunate encounter, or mistakenly take a fisher’s baited hook for food.

Of the seven living sea turtles, five species of sea turtles can be found in the Sound during season. Their common names are the loggerhead, green turtle, leatherback, Kemp’s Ridley, and hawksbill. They are sensitive to cold water and have trouble keeping warm, especially when temperatures get below 50 degrees, when they can be stunned and die of hypothermia. Each are currently protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is the smallest, rarest, and the world’s most endangered species of sea turtle with only between 7,000 and 9,000 nesting females. It is named after Key West fisherman, Richard M. Kemp, who submitted the species for identification in 1906. On the other hand, the loggerhead is the one most seen of all nesting sea turtles in the United States. The biggest is the leatherback, which can grow to more than 6.5 feet in length and weigh up to 2,000 pounds. It lacks a hard shell or scales, which are replaced by a firm, rubbery skin.

To avoid harm and mortality to sea turtles, mandatory turtle excluders are attached to various traps that are used, for example, in crabbing and lobstering. Recreational and commercial fishers using hook and line gear have less control on what will take a baited hook. Consequently, it’s not uncommon for a sea turtle to become hooked and reeled in before a fisher realizes the catch.

If that happens, bring the vessel to a stop, release tension on the line and, using constant pressure, gently pull the line alongside. Never use a gaff or other sharp object to handle the turtle. Be sure to keep the turtle’s head above water since it breathes air, but do not exert excess force on the line since that might cause further injury. If the hook is visible and easily removed, do so and return the turtle to the water unharmed. Grab the sides of the shell when lifting.

If necessary, it’s best to call the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, a rehabilitator, or an organization that can properly address a more critical situation once the line has been cut and secured, leaving a foot of line past the mouth so that an examiner has something to grip.

Wonderful creatures to observe and enjoy, these endangered species that live to about 80 years and have been around for 120 million years deserve our utmost care and attention. So, when out on the water and especially when fishing, be on the lookout for sea turtles popping up for a breath of air and use the utmost care in releasing one that has been hooked or entangled in a net.

While central Maine is seeing the beginning of the foliage season, Connecticut is awakening to dropping air temperatures. Early mornings are definitely chilled, and the partly sunny days are doing little to keep that summery feel. Long Island Sound water temperatures hover around the 73-degree mark as September bows to October with optimists looking to calmer seas and fewer days under the influence of rain, easterly winds, and fewer turbulent seas.

Switching it up a notch, black sea bass have been working midway to deep structure taking squid and other baits, as well as some jigs tipped with squid or otherwise. Deep waters are where prize catches are found, but there may be some competition with slab porgies (scup). Closer to shore, the scup bite continues on the path of super active. Whether using simple hook and weight combinations, various rigs, or small jigs and scented baits, the bite has been good. It should not be a surprise if while fishing a nearshore reef, a gray triggerfish should take a liking to your baited hook. Tough to fillet but delicious to eat, these fish can be found from Nova Scotia to Argentina.

More bluefish in the 8- to 10-pound range are being caught on chunk baits, jigs, spoons, and trolling setups. Huge schools of Atlantic menhaden continue to be scattered throughout the Sound and in the harbors, bays, and tidal rivers. Blitzes still appear as on a catch-can basis, although schools seem to be unharassed most of the time. There has been very aggressive and competitive action in some of the lower tidal rivers once the switch was flipped.

The slight cooling trend set up conditions for better striped bass action both inshore and out on the reefs. The Sound is packed with baitfish just waiting to get picked off, so working the tidals, nearshore reefs, and offshore rip lines is paying off. Live eels, chunk baits, tricked-up bucktails, diamond jigs, and swimmers are among the prime fall setups. Although sea trout (weakfish) typically take small baits, they are being caught along with the bass and blues.

Spanish mackerel are not backing off with the abundance of forage. Catches are rather uncommon in the Sound. The past week saw scattered schools of albies darting from one spot to another before diving down and popping up again. Bonito have been mixed in with the schools where most activity has been east and west with sporadic runs in central Sound waters.

With water temps remaining on the warm side, dogfish, skate, sea robins, northern kingfish, and toadfish remain constant. Catches have varied in sizes, favoring the heavier side of the scale with enough juveniles around from the season’s spawn. Blackfish (tautog) season opens Sunday, Oct. 10—less than two weeks!

Many inland waters are still struggling with flows, levels, and staining from recent rains. Add in choked up vegetation and anglers are finding conditions challenging. Nevertheless, many lakes and ponds are producing quality fall fish, while the inland waterways have been producing varied catches of trout and catfish.

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 rods, swing by the shop (203-245-8665) open seven days located at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison. Masks required inside. Until next time from your Connecticut shoreline’s full-service fishing outfitter, where we don’t make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better.

Paul Kilbourne of Madison had a good day of fishing for local bluefish and sweet-flavored, good-eating gray triggerfish after rowing to a favorite inshore reef. Photo courtesy of Captain Morgan