Anglers finding a mixed bag of keeper-size fish

Written by Leon Sylvester Jr.
Wednesday, 05 October 2011 09:34

Blackfishing season is now open, and anglers are finding a mixed bag of keeper size and smaller fish at the New Haven Breakwall, Penfield Reef and various rock piles off Middleground Lighthouse. Green and Asian crabs are working best, but sandworms and clams will also put tautog in the boat.

Joe Eltman Sr. of Waterbury landed several nice togs while fishing near Middleground Light on Saturday. This was Joe’s first attempt at blackfishing, and he was able to limit out with his largest fish of the day, weighing in at nearly 7 pounds.

Porgy fishing continues to be fantastic with large 1- to 3-pound porgies being caught just about everywhere. Porgies will strike sandworms, clams, squid and crabs, and can be found anywhere there is some sub-surface structure for them to congregate around. Because of the great abundance of porgy this year, the season has been extended to Dec. 1.

Bluefishing is also red hot with plenty of 10- to 15-pound blues being caught throughout the area. Live baits such as mackerel, bunker, porgy and eel have all been working very well from New Haven to Bridgeport, with the best reports coming from waters 30 feet deep or more. Diamond jigging has also been productive for blues.

Striped bass fishing continues to be hit or miss locally, with much better results being obtained from the east.

Pawel Sierzant of New Britian, Martin Atkins of Naugatuck, Joanne Bocialetti of Derby and Arturo Matos, Leigh Sylvester and Sevy Martin, all from Shelton, had an awesome day last week while fishing aboard the Dotty-e Dee out of Niantic. The crew of anglers landed more than 20 striped bass in the 20- to 30-pound class, as well as a handful of large bluefish.

False albacore fishing continues to be hot out east, while anglers are finding several pods of these exciting fighting fish locally along the beaches of Stratford, Fairfield and New Haven.

Keep an eye out for diving birds, as they are always a good sign feeding fish are near by. Try to cast your offering in the direction where the fish are heading rather than into the school you see.

Albies are super fast, so anticipating their next move could be the difference between hooking up or missing the bite.

That is going to do it for this week. Send me your reports and pictures of your trophy catches to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Go Fish is now available online at hersamacorn.com, and twitter. (fishingreporter)

Until next time ...

Tight lines!