Printer Friendly Version - Celebrating 50 Years of the Marine Mammal Protection Act

Fishing from Delaware to Rhode Island, Mark Piccolo of Madison caught and released this 46-inch striped bass, as well as chopper bluefish from 13 to 17 pounds, all on SP Minnows. Photo illustration courtesy of Captain Morgan

Glastonbury resident Jack Webb, who ships his vessel in Branford, has been into bluefish at dusk while casting lures in the Thimble Islands. Photo courtesy of Captain Morgan

Mike Webb, who is from Hollis, New Hampshire and has a place in Branford, joined his brother Jack to hook some 34- and 35-inch chopper blues from the Thimble Islands. Photo courtesy of Captain Morgan

As August water temperatures in Long Island Sound heat up and the unusual amount of forage continues to fill it, more large predators will follow. Several of those have previously frequented these waters and involve a range of species covered under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) that Congress passed

50 years ago in 1972. The MMPA was created in response to the growing concern that “certain species and populations of marine mammals were endanger of extinction or had been depleted as a result of human activity.”

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the MMPA set the global benchmark for marine mammal conservation as the first piece of legislation to call specifically for an ecosystem-level approach to wildlife protection. The primary goal is to support sustainable populations of marine mammals based on the capacity of the habitat. Since it was enacted, no marine mammal species have gone extinct in U.S. waters. The act’s protections have stopped the decline of many marine mammal populations and have led to the recovery of several populations, such as humpback whales, gray whales, gray seals, and California sea lions.

This is the time of year that we can experience firsthand the remarkable presence of humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins, seals, the occasional wayward manatee and, of course, sea turtles, which are also covered under the MMPA, but are technically reptiles. For their safety, it is important and mandatory to maintain proper distances from protected species (100 yards from whales, 50 yards from dolphins) to avoid possible distress or injury.

As fishers, we should be mindful of how we dispose of fishing line in order to prevent entangling marine mammals. We should avoid close encounters with them and be ever-vigilant when fishing and boating. It is not unusual to find protected species afloat with telltale signs of propeller marks or wrapped in discarded fishing nets during the fishing season. The Sound is a unique body of water, is undergoing proactive conservation measures, and is also in the process of removing discarded fishing gear left on the bottom. We are on the right track, so let’s keep it going by doing our part.

A warm front hit the area early in the week, followed by a passing weak cold front and another heat spell for the latter part of the week. Then, another weak cold front stalled just before the weekend, gradually dissipating. Air temperatures hit the 90s before easing mid-week, while Long Island Sound water temps fluctuated around the mid-70s and seas remained relatively calm.

A surge of striped bass over 40 inches moved in closer to shore, feeding on schools of menhaden while surf casters took advantage of the action. Timing is everything as topwater plugs scored heavily during a late-afternoon tide. As the tide flipped, the bite relaxed, but then picked up later in the evening as the barometer began to drop. Live eels were then the ticket, along with some bunker and plugs. Those fishers working the daytime tide did OK trolling, jigging, and drifting the offshore reefs for slot limit fish as inshore structure and lower tidal rivers gave up some frisky schoolies.

Slammer bluefish continue to destroy terminal tackle as they feed on menhaden anywhere from nearshore to the offshore reefs. Many of these choppers hit double digits and continue to hit lures and tear up the soft plastics worked by fishers looking for stripers. Cocktail blues and snappers remain in the mix and are being caught with much lighter gear, but are separated from the larger bluefish schools.

Sea trout (weakfish) are still being caught, typically as a bycatch and especially when bass and blue fishing using bucktails and squid targeted for summer flounder (fluke) on the bottom. Flukers working the Sound are finding fish, but quality keepers are still overshadowed by numbers of throwbacks. Those are best fished for in the deeper mid-Sound waters, even though some mini-mats are making their way into the deep channels of key tidal rivers.

The August porgy (scup) bite is good as a mix of sizes caught are scaled and prepped for a typical summertime meal. Hi-lo and side-by-side rigs tipped with squid, clams, or sea worms are definitely the way to go as both shore goers and reef hounds work the tides. Practically any hump, bump, or reef throughout the Sound will hold these scrappers that are easily caught on light gear. Finding a hump surrounded by 90 to 100 feet of water will generally put someone in black sea bass territory, where simple hi-lo rigs, jigs, and squid will net some 3- to 4-pound humpbacks or better.

There remains plenty of other bottom fish to hook as summer water temps kick in, and there is more than enough forage around. Catches of large dogfish, skate, sea robins, and several other southern visitors, including triggerfish, are being made. Additionally, blue crabbing continues to net large crabs as they molt and their shells fill up with their sought-after meat.

Inland lakes and ponds have been active with bass, pickerel, perch, black crappie, and sunfish. Vegetation is getting thicker, meaning that fishing can get sticky, but that is where the fish are hiding. Cast a topwater plug by the lily pads or weed lines on or after sunset for some good bass action. Soft plastics on or near the bottom are another option, along with fluttering a spinnerbait or casting a jerk bait by a drop-off or bottom structure. Trout rivers are producing a bit better since some rain fell, but prepare to work for a quality fish.

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 at 21 Boston Post Road in 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.