2011 Wrap Up Well folks, this will be the last formal report of the 2011 Fishing Season. We will be sending out a few communications during the winter months, but the best way to stay abreast of everything we are doing here at the shop and equally important what is going on in the fishing world in general, will be to sign up for our Facebook page. Simply search “Westport Outfitters” and become a fan. That being said, today is also December 1st , which officially kicks off our annual sale which will last through the holidays. Everything in the store will be up to 25% off with the exception of new inventory. So come on down and get that shopping list for the special fisherman or women in you life filled up!! Although some including myself will keep the boat in a few more weeks, if you look around to the marinas, boat & yacht clubs they are close to barren with a few strays left, no doubt most likely the ones that forgot to fill out the appropriate paperwork to inform their service facility that they wanted to get hauled. But enough about the boats, let’s talk about the fish. It always amazes me how there is so much discrepancy amongst fisherman as they assess the past season. This is not only about this season, but every season. Of course some of this stems from the fact that all anglers have varying degrees of skill, but that can only account for some of the debate… HOLIDAY SALE-UP TO 25% OFF SELECT ITEMS The spring started off late as usual, but once things heated up and the sand eels made their annual invasion, both those anglers from shore as well as from the boats had some tremendous fishing. Fly rods lined the beaches of Compo and Penfield and everywhere in between. Ironically one of the best weeks was when I was in Montana chasing trout. I vow not to touch technology while I am out there each year and this year was no different, which is why when I got back it was rather ironic that I received an anonymous email saying that it was our fault there was so many people at the local beaches. The crowds came for the fishing was almost easy, with all the bait around, not because of one report or another. Once the sand eels pushed through, they were backfilled by silver sides and some small schools of bunker, although the bunker were not here for long, which is a discussion we will have later into the report. HOLIDAY SALE-UP TO 25% OFF SELECT ITEMS The blues also showed up in full force, with some good sized fish being taken as early as late May and early June. Like last year, I saw the contents of very few fish, but the ones I did see were loaded with all sorts of crabs as well. Once the baits moved a bit offshore, the fishing slowed a bit in mid July from shore as it always does. But just out past the reach of a decent cast from shore, things remained hot well through July and even into August. In fact, our own Captain Blake, managed to catch a bass (if not multiple) on every trip through July and August. HOLIDAY SALE-UP TO 25% OFF SELECT ITEMS By early August, the bunker situation was meager at best and the fishing no doubt felt a little pressure because of it. This is the first year in my tenure in the Western Sound that literally there was no bunker schools at all into July/August For those of you on our Facebook page, I recently posted some very critical legislation that will reduce the commercial harvesting of bunker by nearly 40 % next year, it’s just a shame that it had to get this bad for our legislators to hear our call and do something about it. August also brought Hurricane Irene and with it, she all but blew out any Bonito that may have been en route into the Western Sound. Because of the storm, the annual WICC Bluefish Tournament was also postponed, a very rare occurrence, but one that was necessary. After the storm, many boaters that had hauled their boats and just said the heck with it and never even put them back in. Those that stayed in had some awesome False Albacore fishing into September. As always, the biggest blues that were caught were weeks after the tourney eventually went off. October came the Third Annual Saugatuck Cup hosted by Westport Outfitters which helped raise nearly $50,000 for the charity looking for a cure for children’s cancer. The after party and raffle were nearly as good as the overall fishing where nearly all entries brought at least one fish to the rail to be safely released for another day. Currently, the black fishing remains red hot, with our good friend George D. fishing the West Haven break wall over the past two weekends, tallying a few fish just shy of 10lbs, with a host of 6-8lb fish in the mix almost at will. Back locally, the jig bite for bass is good, despite the fact that there are still some 15-17lb blues in the mix. Overall, despite the absence of bunker which will hopefully improve next year, I would give the 2011 Fishing Season a strong 8 out of 10, only hurt by the lack of bait and the disruption that the two rather large storms caused. Going back to my original point in regards to the discrepancies amongst area anglers, I feel a lot have a tendency to repeat what they have heard. Make no mistake about it; I am not saying people are conspiring to say things that they never personally experienced but rather the opposite, they want to be out on the water so bad, that they repeat what they have heard others say; wishing that they too could have been on the water. Let’s face it; we live in a high pressure world, with not a lot of free time at our disposal. Add the additional stresses that the Greater Fairfield County area puts on us all and free time becomes a premium, and thus fishing often draws the short straw. The problem arises when the information that is being repeated is also originating with an angler who is in the same boat as the repeater (i.e. has not been on the water enough). Almost overnight what occurs is statements like this “Awww the fishing is no good” and thus the chain begins without any real substantial information. Being in the shop all the time affords me the ability to interface with some of the areas most accomplished anglers and according to them, their thoughts about the 2011 fishing echo min. So next year, let’s all try and get out just a bit more, one extra A.M. trip before heading onto the train, or perhaps a few extra hours on the boat. For overall, the fishing is only going to be as good as the people experiencing it and I think we would all agree, all of us would definitely enjoy that! Thank you all for your support during the 2011 Fishing Season and we look forward to seeing you all soon and don’t forget about the sale! And if it makes any of you feel any better, I am about two days away from finalizing the Spring Seminar Series…so it won’t be long now!! Happy Holidays! November 11th-November 18th 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! WINTER FLY TYING CLASSES NOW POSTED UNDER "NEWS" TAB! Don't Forget To Sign Up To Our Facebook Page..."Westport Outfitters" No doubt things are beginning to slow down, as the 2011 fishing season wraps up, however, the fishing itself is heating up as stripers are setting up for their swim south. Locally in places like the Housatonic River, things are anything but slow, as summertime fish are departing; wintering ones are beginning to stage at the mouth before heading back up river for the winter. Looking around the other day on the water it was almost depressing seeing a lot of slips empty, boats around town being shuffled to and from wrapped up in plastic and the boat basins lifeless. But then again, this is New England and winter is inevitable, so come turn in your reels for some service and throw a coat of wax on those skis and boards and fire up the woodstove, for some say this winter is going to be even worse than last! The positive in this of course, is that when we have a real brutal winter, the fishing locally historically has been better than normal in the spring. This could be attributed to fish in areas like the Housy getting less pressure from winter anglers or perhaps just a more slumber some rest, but whatever the reason, history has proven this theory time and time again. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Back out on the water, you guessed it, the Micinilio Brothers continue their conquest not even thinking about throwing in the towel just yet. Despite the wind on Sunday, they were able to poke out of Black Rock Harbor as well as up inside the bay and managed dozens of bass up to 27 inches all on smaller rattle traps and rapalas close to shore. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! They were back at it again on Wednesday in the rain and again picked up a few dozen fish in the Black Rock Harbor area all on lures. They did note that they were able to get some perfect trolls over Sunken Island as well as Penfield reef with not a bump. Unfortunately the bilge pump failed and they were forced to retreat in because of it. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Sage N. also checked in on Wednesday where he and crew fished in and around the housy off the bottom. As I mentioned, it seems like some bigger bass are beginning to come into the river which is a great sign as other begin to leave that have called it home for the summer. Several good fish the boat with one breaking the 20lb mark. In the mix as well were some chomper blues to 14lbs. Back locally, the black fish bite remains strong, giving up some double digit fish on several outings this past week, but you will have to venture out deep for them. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! That’s about it this week folks, stay tuned for a year wrap up next week. For those of you that follow the reports and events in the store, you will now that for the month of December, most every item in the store will be 20 % off, with the exception of a few new stock items, so come on down and stock up on some gear and/or buy some presents for the fish person in your life. Considering I know most everyone quite well, should you like to email me a list of stuff on your holiday list, so a wife, girlfriend, husband etc. can come down and buy it for you, please do so at ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. Wishing you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving! November 4th- November 11th Happy Veterans Day to all that have served and those currently protecting our freedoms! WINTER FLY TYING CLASSES NOW POSTED UNDER "NEWS" TAB! Well folks, despite air temperatures in the mid 50s, the water temperatures are slowly dropping into the high 50s. This means that the bluefish should begin to move out, while the Togs move into deeper water. The porgie bite remains strong as the state extension of the season continues. The striper bite is almost in a holding pattern in my opinion. There are no signs that any migratory push as occurred. UI had a friend camp out on some local structure three times this week and only two run offs for fish to 28 inches, nothing else. This would insinuate perhaps that there are no fish here, but I feel they are all still here just waiting for a sign to begin to really feed prior to journey’s further south. Normally it should be colder weather that sort of snaps them into swim mode, but since the Nor’Easter, temps have been well above normal. It will happen and for everyone out there that reads these reports, I hope it happens soon so you can take advantage of it, prior to your local club, marina etc. tells you to haul your vessel. 25 % ALL SAGE FLY RODS This is also the time of year that the Housatonic River begins to heat up, but it has actually been a bit slow. In fact, a friend reported in that he and crew scoured it this past week and almost found it devoid of life. Of course things can change with just one tide, but it was a bit troublesome not to find some resident fish beginning to stack up. We will keep you all posted as things heat up… 25 % ALL SAGE FLY RODS Back on the water, the typical winds and weather kept many off the water, as many more have already thrown in the towel and hauled their rigs. Matt Z. concluded that the Togs are definitely in deeper water while he fished around Frost Point for just a few bumps. On the way back in, he did manage to troll up 4 bass to 26 inches before calling a day. Nicolas N. continues to work the coastline fishing from his totally rigged SUP. HE reported some very cold water temperatures but still was able to pull up a few nice blackfish still lurking around in the shallows. 25 % ALL SAGE FLY RODS The Micinilio Brothers checked in as they went out from the ramp right behind the shop. Within minutes, right off our docks, they were into some schoolie bass on small shads weighted with jig heads. This action continued for most of the day for these guys, boating nearly 40 bass up to 26 inches on soft plastics and tubes. They also managed several big blues in the river to 13 lbs. One good sign about the bass was that they were coughing up all sorts of baits, including baby fluke and hermit crabs (see recent catches). That’s about it for this week, the winds are due to subside for Saturday and Sunday so if you have the means, get on out there, the weather Sunday is supposed to be into the 60s! PLEASE NOTE WE ARE NOW OPEARTING UNDER WINTER HOURS October 27th-November 4th Well it continues to seem that Mother Nature is quite angry based on this last storm that ripped through Fairfield County last weekend. In its path it left downed trees, whole towns without power and very few people able to get onto the water again. I was speaking with Nathan from ASMW and he only confirmed what I had expected, with the exception of two diehards, everyone has called the season and requested that their boats come out of the water. Considering a big push of fish has yet to show any signs of migrating, this is a shame, but I can feel for everyone, since Irene anglers/boaters alike have contended with strong winds, cool air temps, snow, rain and just some downright gloomy weather. All this combined makes the idea of sitting by the woodstove with your beverage of choice watching the football game a lot more appealing than freezing your butt off. However, even if she is angry, Mother Nature has a funny way of giving us those two weeks or so of above average air temperatures around the second or third week of December. Why is this important? Well, in my opinion, this is when the migratory fish seem to push through in big waves and the reason you never hear anyone talking about, is the fact that no one has a boat in the water to participate. So for those that stick it out, they no doubt will be rewarded with calm seas and mild breezes with no one really to share it with, which for some, is exactly what they look forward to each year... 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS So if you have scheduled your haul date these could be some of the last weekends to get into some fish, while the shore guys/gals hope and pray that some smaller baits will stick closer to shore to lure in passing fish so they too can have a shot at them. The black fish bite continues to be red hot, depending on where you are. I was reading a report from a captain who fishes out of Norwalk that claimed mostly all shorts, while a good friend and captain who runs out of Bridgeport says it’s been hard to find a short? There is no doubt about it, if you are proficient at catching black fish and show up on your favorite rock pile and its slow, don’t waste your time, move onto the next spot(even if that means burning some extra fuel for your clients). Areas in and around the spindle in Fairfield continue to fish well, including areas in and around Black Rock Light. Farther to the west, Sunken Island, the onion docks and Frost Point have also produced fish up to 8 lbs all week. In fact, I had two diehards come through Sunday A.M. after the storm and headed out to face some stiff winds. Armed with a bucket full of green crabs they limited out near Frost Point in less than 75 minutes. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Out towards the Triangle, the jigging continues to improve with fish up to 10 lbs for Dan and Matt who without power on Monday, called in sick and went fishing instead. As the tide slowed, they moved into shallower water nearer to Eaton’s Neck and began casting small Rattle Traps and buck tails where they had schoolie bass up to 27 inches on almost every cast. Back on this side of the pond, Danny P. headed out with his fly rod and fished up and down Fairfield Beach on Tuesday during the higher tide and was able to bring in two fish, one was about 16 inches, the other thirty one, both on blue/white deceivers. Interesting point, at this time of year, normally you have to make more casts than Danny did, but nonetheless the same story. These fish are hungry and are definitely schooled up, you may catch and releases a dozen schoolies for one quality fish, but it’s worth it. Jeff L. popped into the shop on Wednesday to report the exact same results, albeit in a boat. Fishing in and around Fairfield, tossing bucktails into structure, he and crew had to filter through well over a dozen bass for that 30 + inch striper, but no blues… 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Back around Westport, Pat fished Wednesday afternoon with very similar results. Just a white soft plastic jerk shad on a 3/8 oz bucktail was his go to bait. Fishing from Sherwood Point through the Mill Pond area and Slates to the Cannons, he figured he had nearly 60 fish, with only 4 keepers, but all good on the light tackle set up he was using. The bluefish are definitely still here, but beginning to thin out a bit, at least inshore. This weekend is looking decent; the air temps are expected to be above normal, with varying winds. As I mentioned last week, the end is near folks and its a lot closer than the beginning, so if your ride is still in the water, get on out and experience some great fall fishing before the snow flies…well…I guess that already happened, but you know what I mean. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Be sure to check under the “NEWS” tab for our recently posted Winter Fly Tying classes. There are no dates yet, so we are hoping you can email myself or Captain Matt Gifford to come to agreement on what will work best for the group, so we look forward to hearing your feedback. Stay warm and dry and if you are reading this from a mobile device because you have no power, we hope the electric company gets you fixed up sooner than later. We have power here, so come on down…Tight Lines! Winter Hours are now in effect with daily openings at 10:00 A.M…. October 21st-October 27th Well folks, as we mentioned last week, the end is now definitely closer than the beginning, but there is still a good amount of fishing to be had. Water temps are hovering in the low 60s which has kept the bluefish around (they usually start to beat feet when the temps hit about 58 degrees) as well as a pretty consistent tog bite. From Fairfield in areas like the spindle, Black Rock Lighthouse all the way down through Sunken Island, Frost Point, Goose Island, Great Reef and Green’s Ledge, the black fish are hungry. It has not been out of the ordinary for 6-8lb fish to be the normal and keep in mind we are a few weeks off when traditionally the “big” fish start to hit. In fact, good friend George D. claimed to have caught his best back fish ever in Norwalk this past weekend. If you are patient and know your spots, the bass fishing remains strong as well. To revisit a point that keeps coming up, the bass are here and will remain here for another month at least, but even when they return to their wintering grounds, all of them won’t do so, so we will still have a good amount of hold overs. Therefore, as I mentioned last week, if you have the time, get on out there. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Although it seemed the chunk bite for bass was the best method this past weekend, there is still plenty of casting to do as well and of course, the jig bite will continue to heat up from this point forward. This weekend are nemesis (aka “the wind”) looks like it will be in check or at least not enough to keep us all inshore with fall like temps in the 50s & 60s. It’s hard for me not to recommend that all of you go black fishing since it’s been that good, so I won’t, but I will say, if you are unfamiliar with it and want to test your luck, this is the time to do it. Onto the report… First to check in was Ken Wells from late last week along with fishing pal Mark Robichaux. Both had attended several of our seminars in the spring and noted that they were glad they did. They have been tossing poppers in and around Stamford Harbor and feel that they are finally starting to crack the code, after their first full season on the Western Sound. They also have been pretty dialed into to casting sluggos as well which have accounted for some nice keeper bas…Congrats guys…look forward to seeing you at some of the seminars again(see recent catches). 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Switching over to the freshwater side of things just for a moment, where the stream flows remain strong with all of this moisture around. I recently finished up one of my Fly-Fishing schools through Westport’s Continuing Education program and immediately had several students looking to jump in before the snow flies. After gearing up one of the students, I sent him to a few sections of the Mill River that I really like. After refining his skills for less than a day on the water Andy S. was already into the fish on his new fly rod (see recent catches). Andy is a real testament to an angler that listens. Prior to taking the course, he just had the passion, but not the skill. After two nights of discussing the sport, casting etc. and several hours in the store, he went out confident enough to get it done and getting it done is what he did. Great stuff Andy, the journey for you has now begun! Back to the salt, Jim D. checked in after getting some guidance on Sunday A.M. and reported back via an email on Sunday night that the ground bite was on. We had convinced him to give black fishing a try even though he had never done so. The report back was a host of porgies to 16 inches and his fill of 5-8 lb togs…his last comments, “you were right, they do taste good!” Good stuff Jim! Good friend and reigning champ of the 2011 Saugatuck Cup, Captain Matt Gifford was next to check in with this report. His comments echoed mine in regards to the blackfish bite, but there was a lot of boats on the more popular spots so he decided to target some stripers. He said that the bass have been a bit spotty as far as location. Stacked up on one point like cord wood one minute and then nothing the next, only to return during a different portion of the tide and have them again in thick. Captain Gifford did note a lot of mid size shrimp in the water, which is a very good sign considering there is no bunker. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Speaking of Captain Gifford, he will once again be heading up our fly-tying classes this winter. You can find the entire schedule under the “news” tab on the welcome page as well as on our FB page. You will notice there are no dates yet, since we are first looking to gauge commitment and don’t want to change work/life schedules around if we get little participation. So have a look and see what class(s) will work for you and simply drop myself or Captain Gifford an email. Look forward to hearing from you. Jimmy I. checked in Sunday after fishing one of his favorite holes in about 25 feet of water off of Westport. Frozen bunker is all that was in the cards, but he and crew chunked up multiple bass to 18 lbs, one of which he submitted for the Westport Striped Bass Club’s Calcutta running this month. Early Wednesday we had a fellow member and champion skier of the US Ski Team out from Utah. We actually met fly-fishing out in MT last summer so there was some pressure to make those fly reels sing for he and crew, despite the time of year. They left the dock with Captain Blake at 6:30 and returned at about 11:00. All three were determined to make orchestrated casts, so they could all use the long rods. For the day they had too many fish to count with an overwhelming number of these fish being taken on the fly rod. Mostly clousers and small deceivers brought all the bass to the rail with only a few blues. No monsters, but good fun with fish up to 28 inches for some trout guys from out west… 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Well folks that is about it for this week. The fishing is still strong and the weather looks like it should cooperate as best as it can for the weekend. Don’t forget to read over the fly-tying offerings and let us know which ones you are interested in so we can get some dates on the calendars…good fishing… October 14th-October 21st 25% off all SAGE fly rods...while they last... Well then, I heard they restocked all of our local rivers a few weeks back and it looks like they may just be the place to be this weekend…just kidding…although they did restock. If fishermen have one excuse that they can always rely on, it’s the wind and last weekend there was a lot of it. Blowing out of the east in the beginning and then shifting to the southwest, the whole weekend was doling out some very adverse conditions, however there are other options. Yet another benefit of the Norwalk Islands is they offer a good amount of protection and unless the wind decides to blow from all directions simultaneously you and your crew can fine some refuge amongst them. In addition, there are the rivers, the Mianus, Five Mile, Norwalk, Suagatuck and then Housatonic. All of these rivers hold fish at this time of year and at the same time give you more protection from the wind. Case in point, we had a charter go out Sunday, despite the weather, for a grandfather really wanted to get his grandson into fish. After poking out at the mouth of the river, Captain Blake went to plan B and headed up river, continuing to fish the multiple bridge abutments as well as rocky coastline, features that are present on all of the rivers I listed above. At the end of the day, they were dry, warm and content with the good amount of fish they had all on lures. 25% off all SAGE fly rods...while they last... So the moral of this story is nothing new, if you have the time at this time of year, get out and do some fishing. It also struck me when I used to ski four times a week in college when my buddies would wake up and say, “I am out, it’s supposed to be in the negative digits at the summit today.” Out? Why did your parents buy you that $450.00 ski jacket…to wear when it was 50 degrees out? Another benefit to step up and deal with these fall conditions, as well as skiing for that fact, is the reality that most won’t be on the water or slopes, leaving more un-groomed trails and more fish for the ones that are. This weekend is going to be clear and yes, a bit of wind is forecasted, but nothing like last weekend. The bass are actively feeding preparing for a long swim to points farther south in the next two months and the blackfish bite is red hot, in fact I had a buddy limit out on Tuesday in less than an hour and a half! So, come on down, get geared up and enjoy the last month or so of some great fall fishing…onto the report… Prior to the winds blowing, we had a late charter come in on Friday, a couple fly guys and one tossing a spinning rod on board Captain Blake’s vessel and not only did they have bass up to 29 inches and blues to 7 lbs on the surface, they had a few shots at albies as well. The albies no doubt will start to thin out, but there are definitely schools still around while places like Montauk remain on fire! 25% off all SAGE fly rods...while they last... Monday, I actually went and did some reconnaissance up in the WTMA of the Mill and it was quite productive with a few browns sucking in a small pheasant tail nymph as well as pretty aggressive brookies. It’s amazing how hard a 5 inch fish will fight…only if it knew that it was going to be released…The small streams should have plenty of water after this weeks “storm” so go give it a shot. The fish itself is always bonus at this time of year, since everything else is in transition. As I mentioned above, the DEP did restock so there should be some good fishing to be had by all… 25% off all SAGE fly rods...while they last... Wednesday Danny P. checked in who despite the rain, went out for togs. This is what you have to resort to if you work weekends. He headed out of South Benson and went right to the spindle, where he was the only boat there. Using a combination of green and Asian crabs, he and crew did not hook a fish less than 16 inches the entire two hour period that they were out, took one two for the table and back in by sundown. Good stuff guys. Thursday A.M. the weather was clear, but once again, the wind was howling. Dan wrote in to speak of, “yes” some adult bunker schools from a location from shore that he would not disclose (understood). He was tossing a mix of Rattle Traps and some larger plugs mid morning and was rewarded with three blues to 12 lbs and a striper that was just shy of 32 inches. 25% off all SAGE fly rods...while they last... Well folks, a shorter report this week since may have been off the water due to the wind, but as I mentioned at the beginning of the report, get on out there. Let’s put it this way, come mid February you will be kicking yourselves that you did not while you contemplate shoveling the driveway…AGAIN! October 7th-October 14th Before we get to the report this week, we first must recognize all those who participated in the Saugatuck Cup last weekend as well as all those sponsors and volunteers that made it all happen. The event once again was a huge success with almost 80+ anglers actually fishing and well over 175 people in attendance for the after party and raffle. The preliminary numbers are pointing towards us raising over $40,000 for Sloan Kettering. So to those of you that were able to join us, we thank you for your support. For those that could not make it, be sure to log on to our Facebook page (“Westport Outfitters”) and check out some of the photos. Hope to see everyone again next year! It is worth mentioning that those who did fish the “Cup” did pretty well. We had an assortment of fish caught including, blues, bass, fluke, porgies and even a few albies. Since the tournament was all artificial, makes these catches even more impressive. There were only a few boats that did not catch at least something. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS The bait situation remains quite strong still, with a mix of peanut bunker, silversides, bay anchovies, butterfish and mullet. The key is finding the feeding fish. At this time of year more than ever, fish will start to stack up and almost stage before they begin their journey south, so hitting your points, rock outcroppings and underwater reefs will be key to your success. To that point, its okay to be impatient… Good friend and winner of the spin division at the Saugatuck Cup, Captain Matt Gifford reported that he had fish on every point while he was fishing yesterday, nothing huge but some good numbers mostly all on top water. In fact, on one of those points, his 7 year old son hooked and landed an 18lb bass on a popper after it knocked it nearly 4 feet out of the water!! The Micinilio Brothers checked in earlier in the week where they were able to enjoy the string of warm weather. They fished the mouth of the Saugatuck, the mouth of the Norwalk and amongst the islands. They reported in excellent water clarity reminiscent of spring and a ton of bait in the water that could be easily seen. They had a dozen or so stripers and a few blues up to 12lbs and the bass up to 16.5lbs. All fish were caught trolling tubes and deep lip swimmers as well as casting Yozuri Crystal Minnows (see recent catches). Captain Blake took the weekend off, but returned from Florida on Monday for a trip that yielded a good bunch of fish, including a fat Albie. Lures of choice were Sea Rocks and Albie Snax when they were not tossing flies (see recent catches). 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Dan and company headed over to some of the rips off of Eaton’s Neck on Wednesday and were greeted with birds working some small schools of bait but no fish underneath. They headed tighter to shore and began tossing some poppers and were immediately into 7-10 lb bluefish. Once they got bored of that they headed back to this side and poked around the Darien coastline for some more blues in tight and a few bass up to 14 lbs, great fun on the light tackle rods. Matt Z. stopped in with some choice tog filets for yours truly and spoke of a pretty hot Blackfish bite off of Fairfield with fish up to 9lbs. His preferred method is jigging for these fish on some custom heads that he pours himself and they seem to be working quite well. If you have not tried this tactic for Blackfish, you are missing out, so go find that favorite rock pile and get jigging! 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Dan M. continues to hit the Fairfield Beaches pretty hard and over the past week he reports in that it’s been hit or miss, with two nights without a bump, but three is a charm, after he landed 21lb bass on Thursday evening on a Northbar Bottle Nose Darter. It’s a valid point as I mentioned previously about being impatient. With fish keying in on certain small pods of bait, it is not unlikely for there just to be no fish under the school you are fishing. Solution, be on the move, just like in the boats. Dan is normally working the entire beach head from the South Benson pier all the way down to where Sunken Island meets the beach, so there is a lot of walking involved. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS Captain Blake was out again on a charter on Friday A.M. where they had their fill of blues on the surface as well as a few bass tossing Crystal Minnows and Smack Its. Although no casts were made, Captain Blake was convinced he saw a few schools of Albies that came up and went right back down. This weekend is looking okay, maybe a bit moist, but totally fishable. Let’s be honest, the end is near, so I would be taking advantage of fishing any chance I get from here on in before the snow flies. A friend of mine posted a short video from last October when it snowed over an inch….I am sure you all get the point. September 30th-October 7th Well folks, this week’s report will be a short and sweet one, but in brief the following topics will be covered, Saugatuck Cup, Albies, Jig bite and Togs. CHECK OUT OUR NEW FACEBOOK PAGE-SEARCH WESTPORT OUTFITTERS ON FACEBOOK-More timely reports on where the fish are, special deals, sales and more! So for some you can rest assured that I won’t ask, beg or even plead for you to participate in the Third Annual Saugatuck Cup from this point forward, which is scheduled for this Saturday October 8th. As of this writing, we once again have topped the number of boats we had last year and almost tripled the number from our inaugural year, so after this paragraph concludes, you will all be free from the Cup’s propaganda. To all those that have signed up, you are in for a great day for a great cause and we truly appreciate your support. The weather looks absolutely perfect, the albies are still in and the bass/blue bite remains consistent. After a good day on the water, be prepared for a rocking good time at the after party. To this point, if you were unavailable to fish or perhaps don’t have a boat; we are opening up the after party to everyone with a 50.00 donation to the cause. See myself, Matt or anyone else that looks like they are in charge, just not the people waking into the Black Duck. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Albies have yet again been the talk of the week, from here to Watch Hill and back across to Montauk and done the North Shore, these fish are everywhere. In fact, I had two people email this week that have fished pretty much longer than I have been alive and both of them used this little word in the fisherman’s vocabulary that is rarely spoken or even whispered, that word is EVER! That’s right; they claimed to have had some of their best fishing days EVER last week. Now a lot of this most likely stems from the Albie bite, but points farther east have also started experiencing some epic early fall bass blitzes, with some schools yielding fish no less than 34 inches! Let’s hope that action continues to move westward. I received so many Albie reports that in lie of highlighting each one, I will just go ahead and post the pics and let you all decide if these guys were having good days. Locally, however, the Albies continue to be here in force. As I was writing this, Captain Blake came in after finishing up with another charter, before he headed out again for an evening gig. He and his client were on pods of Albies from the first turn out of the river to the last turn back in, including across to the North Shore. For the week, are trips totaled well over 20 fish to the rail that were safely released. Albie Snax continue to prove themselves as well as the Sea Rock Jigs, Deadly Dicks and smaller sluggos. So if you are not fishing The Cup this weekend, get on out and stick some falsies before they are gone! 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Jigging…this is the time of year that everyone descends on 11B, 28C, Can 13 etc…and for good reason. Although jigging can be very productive with non-stop action on almost every drop, you need to really dial in your chart plotter and know the contours of the bottom like the back of your hand. For some, this can be hard, for others, a mere habit at this point. Whatever side you are on, have no worries, for the fish are really starting to stack up on some local pieces of structure. I prefer to rig every jig with a teaser and 9 times out of 10, that teaser is a fly, tied with 50lb fluorocarbon off the jig so it won’t get twisted in the main line. I usually dead stick one rod and work the other. With more hands on deck, the more rods can be in both the water and rod holders. So this weekend, give this method a try and come on in if we can assist on your rigging… 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Last but surely not the least, Blackfish season opened up on October 1st, which means for many, it’s Tog time. Locally, right from the start, it was game on. Friends Matt Z. along with Travis H. took the day off on Monday and headed out. Fishing some of their local piles in and around Fairfield, they had their limits in no time at all. Speaking of jigging, if you have not tried jigging for blackfish, give it a try. Simply attach your crab offering to a lead jig or even a buck tail. You are able to keep constant contact with your line and thus can feel those trademark subtle black fish bites. We are stocked up on green crabs for those that don’t want to dig their own, so come on down. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Although the fishing is still in full swing, it’s not too early to reserve your winter storage agreement with a local boatyard. Westport Outfitters highly recommends utilizing the services of All Season Marine Works. With the chill in the air, another boating season is coming to an end. Have you made plans for winter service and storage this year? All Seasons Marine is here to help you with any services you need. They offer full service winter storage along with a la carte services such as shrink wrapping, power washing, hauling and delivery and motor winterization. Their pricing and reservation form can be found on their website (www asmwct.com). Please email or call Nathan Gottlieb at nathan@asmwct.com or 203.222.9038 if you have any questions. They are available immediately to pick up your boat and get it wrapped up for the season. Although mine won’t be completed until December, when it does get done, the crew from ASMW will be doing it! One last call for this weekend’s festivities. If you don’t fish, can’t fish or maybe have another obligation during the day, feel free to come by the after party on Saturday October 8th for the Saugatuck Cup, participate in the raffle, food and drink and overall good times. Cost of admission is a $50.00 donation to the Ninth Floor Foundation. Hope to see you all here. September 22nd-September 30th LAST CALL FOR THE 2011 SAUGATUCK CUP-ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING-Don’t miss the chance to “MAKE A REEL DIFFERENCE!” CHECK OUT OUR NEW FACEBOOK PAGE-SEARCH WESTPORT OUTFITTERS ON FACEBOOK-More timely reports on where the fish are, special deals, sales and more! Well folks, I try to be on time, prepared and correct in my assumptions (most of the time), however in this case, I was one week off. Lucky for all of you, I have been talking about the arrival of one of our favorite fall fish for about a month now, so with any luck, you have all been preparing. Those little mosaics popped up on Saturday with vengeance, perhaps a little pissed off about having to deal with all of that stained water to the east. Whatever the reason, they are here and all signs are pointing to that they are in pretty thick. To reiterate, fluorocarbon leaders are a must, I start with 7 feet, but at times on the spinning rods, it may be necessary to lengthen. A nice fast tip rod to get your lure of choice out in front of these fish (keeping in mind they could be moving at about 30-40 MPH). 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! On the fly rods, again, a minimum of a seven foot leader, but have the option of extending if necessary. Since the bait in our local waters is so dense and fruitful, pattern selection could vary. Personally I like the smaller, slim line presentation of say a surf candy, but outside of some schools of bay anchovies and silver sides, the other baits such as peanut bunker and butterfish are also in the mix, so it may be beneficial to mix in some larger profile flies. We have two in particular that may be worth a try, some fine peanut bunker imitations as well as a larger butterfish look alike. On the spinning rods, we prefer the Sea Rock Jigs that are close to being out of stock so come down quick. These things are a spitting image of a bay anchovy and of course another go to, the Deadly Dick. This should do it, make sure your go too rod is rigged and ready to go so there is no delay when you see a school of them popping out. Lastly, these fish feed in an orderly fashion so unlike bluefish who are in chaos mode, jumping every which way from Sunday, Albies will feed in a more circular motion and controlled action. Don’t chase them, wait…patience will win this game. This weekend is looking good, so get geared up and be ready for what could be an epic few weeks for the Albies… 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Good friend Captain Matt Gifford checked in with a solid catch of some Albies on Saturday A.M. I knew Captain Blake was on the water with a charter, so I wanted to relay (on the QT of course) that they were around, he simply laughed and attached a series of four young girls that he had on a charter, each one of them holding an Albie. On Sunday, it was much of the same, with scattered reports coming in from Stratford to Greenwich, with an equal amount of anglers taking them on both the fly and spinning. The weather man seemed to be covering for the Albies as well, considering their predicted forecast was so miserable for Sunday, there was barely anyone out in a two knot breeze and somewhat clear skies. Those that ventured out were rewarded (see recent catches) Next up was Steve Eliot who checked in about a trip out to Middleground where he and crew had some good top water blues blitzing in the 12-14 lb range. Steve noted that he had consistently been doing well at slack tide for these large chompers on the surface. Captain Blake checked back in on Sunday as well where he fished to get some “me “ time after a long weekend of charters and once again had several Albies all on the long rods. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! The Micinilio Brothers checked in next with a good closing weekend report. They fished the Black Rock area on Saturday where it started slow, but then picked up as the day progressed. Tallies for the day were 29 blues, and two keeper bass, trolling from Fayreweather Light to Sunken Island. Sunday they were back at it, while they fished in the Norwalk/Westport area. Putting down the tubing rods, the broke out the spinning rods armed with Yozuri Crystal Minnows, they managed a few dozen bass up to 31 inches. Thy recalled the action south of Sheffield was spot on…(see recent catches) 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Back up towards Fairfield, Danny has still been sneaking a few quality fish in at the Sasco Beach area, despite the onslaught of fresh water inundating the sound. Fishing Monday evening with the incoming tide, just after dusk, small schools of bait began to move into the belly of Sasco Beach and within minutes were being harassed by 2-5 lb blues. While fishing the edges with a peanut bunker imitation, he landed two nice bass that according to the notches on his rod, were 29 and 32 inches respectfully. Nice fish Dan! Tuesday was a day off for yours truly, so I headed over to rthe Saugatuck to follow a tip on the stocking of the fly-fishing only section. Drifting some small caddis, I managed a few trout up to about 13 inches, but did see much larger fish in some of the deeper pools that had to have been well over 15-16 inches. Don’t overlook some of the great trout fishing at this time of year. Most if not all of our local streams have received their fall stockings, so grab some flies and go enjoy…it’s hard to beat a nice warm fall day in your waders in one of our local streams and rivers. Well that is about it for this week. The weekend will definitely not be a wash out, so make plans to head out. If you need some more motivation, take a listen to this. The crew from ASMW out back just finished up at the Norwalk Boat Show where they had one of the largest booths within the entire show and they are lucky they did. Many boats were sold for spring delivery, however as I write this report, several that were sold are being prepped in the shed for fall delivery. This means that these folks are so stoked to get out on the water; they are taking delivery of their vessels the second week of October!! Don’t forget, The Saugatuck Cup is October 8th, only a few spots remaining…. Week of September 16th-September 22nd Before the report this week we must mention yet again the upcoming 3rd Annual Saugatuck Cup that is now only two weeks out! We will close registration once our max number has been hit. Many have called or emailed stating that they are in. We appreciate these calls and emails, but until your application and check are received, your spot is not secured. Last year we had over 200 people at the after party, so to that point, we need an accurate head count for food and beverages so we can plan accordingly. Should you want to participate, but not want to fish, you will be able to buy into the festivities for a $50.00 donation to the 9th Floor Foundation. CHECK OUT OUR NEW FACEBOOK PAGE-SEARCH WESTPORT OUTFITTERS ON FACEBOOK-More timely reports on where the fish are, special deals, sales and more! Well folks, the fishing over the weekend and into this week has been pretty strong, all things considered. The wind blew out of the east for at least a little bit, starting on Friday and continuing through the weekend. This meant tuff stuff for the small boats, especially when the tide turned and started heading out. The bait situation also remains strong, with a mix of peanut bunker, silversides, mullet and butter fish. In fact, I confirmed what someone had tipped me off on earlier in the week that there are several adult bunker schools in the area. In order for this one individual to speak, I was forced to put on an anklet monitoring device of my position. In addition they will be recording and monitoring every spoken word from my mouth for the next week. Hard to say whether these few schools were just hiding or they are new, but my bets are on new… ALL SAGE RODS ARE 25 % OFF! Despite the East wind, anglers took to the shore and boats this past weekend and for those that were able to deal with the adverse conditions, they were rewarded. The porgy bite continues to be insane, with 20-22 inch fish being hauled in from Bridgeport to Darien. I actually spoke with a contact that actually said the DEP is considering extending the porgy season, because of all the bad weather we have had and how it has cut into some fishing time. We will of course keep you posted as the information becomes available. The blue fishing is still hot with plenty of chompers in the 10-13lb range in our local waters. Adam C stopped in on Tuesday to tell of a 14lb fish taken on a chunk in about 10 feet of water, just outside Compo Cove. As for the bass, the lower light times are still going to produce the best. We have however been leaving the dock a bit later just because the sun is not coming up until about 6:15-6:210. Anything that looks like a small baitfish such as a rattle trap, badonkadonk, storm shads, crystal minnow or popper should do the job. If you can afford to, stick with a 3/40 lb fluorocarbon leader as opposed to steel. Danny was plugging on the northwest side of Kensie Point on Friday, protected from the wind, and landed a beautiful bass that bounced around on the Bogagrip around 18lbs before being released. Speaking of beaches and points, now that Labor Day has come and gone, all of the beaches in Fairfield are now open to the public, so you have access to the aforementioned point as well as plenty of other productive spots. The Micinilio Brothers also checked in on Saturday where they fished the Fairfield area in and around Sunken Island. The weather was fine, but the fishing a bit slow to their liking. All said and done they boated 10 stripers, 2 being keepers and a few blues along with a monster blue that came to the boat by tail walking almost the entire way there (see recent catches) ALL SAGE RODS ARE 25 % OFF! At this time of year, reports from farther east are almost as important as the reports from the west in the spring, understanding that perhaps, just maybe, the fish gorging themselves up the line, will make there way to us. At the time of this report, I received an email from an angler that was fishing the race and said without question, that the albies seemed to be spreading out and heading farther west. However before they did, Pat A., Jeff H., Alex P & Richard E. had them from Race Point, to MTK to Fishers to Watch Hill. Alex continues his conquest with his Albie Snax, which accounted for all of his fish. Pat was on the fly rod along with Richard who were into them thick on Friday and Saturday near Montauk. Jeff simply was looking at schools so big it was hard to even get a cast off. All in, these fish hopefully will move this way. Although my prediction from last week was not realized, I am still confident we will see some soon. Again, be sure to have fresh leaders or fluorocarbon on the spinning rods, a nice reel and a bag of Albie Snax from a soft plastics standpoint and a handful of Sea Rock Jigs as your hard bait. For flies, I like epoxy imitations, but we also have some smaller mushies that will also get it done. (see recent catches). ALL SAGE RODS ARE 25 % OFF! Back home, Captain Blake was out on trips early in the week with some success, but not like last week with trips boating only 1 keeper bass as compared to 6 or 7 the prior week. Although long term, I feel the colder weather will help us, short term, I think it shocked the fish a bit. Of course the weather itself is not the issue, but rather the pressure change with the cold front that pushed through. Fish have that ability to feel pressure changes and in my opinion they really felt it last weekend, but keep the faith, there are still two if not three months of some great fishing to be had and tog fishing is right around the corner. The Micinilio Brothers checked in again early Thursday A.M. to tell of a decent day by most standards and a slow day for them. The day started at the mouth of the Housey, an area they had not fished since before Irene. The blues were up to 12 lbs and a lot of them. Only 10 bass to the boat all on trolling tubes, one beautiful fish that was nearly 25 lbs and just over 40 inches(see recent catches) Weather again this weekend is looking fine so get on out there and get some fishing in. If you are not fishing, still come down and drop off your applications and checks for the Saugatuck Cup on October 8th before its too late!! Week of September 9th-September 16th SAUGATUCK CUP-OCTOBER 8th-SIGN UP BEFORE IT SELLS OUT!!! APPLICATIONS AND CHECKS MUST BE IN OUR HANDS TO SECURE YOUR SPOT-DON’T DELAY! Become a "FAN" of our NEW FACEBOOK PAGE-Simply search for Westport Outfitters on Facebook so you can receive special fan deals, reports and much, much more! Another great week of early Fall fishing, with signs of Albies moving closer and closer, so let’s keep our fingers crossed. In my opinion, as well as others, I think we can pretty much write the Bonito off for this year (unfortunately). Although there were some confirmed splashes right before Irene, not a sniff since then. Look at the brightside, now all you have to do is focus on the Albies. This past week, areas in and around Stonington and Watch Hill lit up, along with Montauk. If you are looking to take a day and head east, be sure to call/email the shop before you do. We have a handful of guides that we are very close with that can get you on fish without all the hoopla that normally comes with a fishing excursion around Montauk. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! As a new rule in regards to procedures, when I receive some of theses reports say about Albies, they are very time sensitive, therefore I will not post or include them in our fishing reports on westportoutfitters.com. Instead, we will exclusively be posting this more timely information on our Facebook page. Therefore, I highly encourage you to sign up, it’s simple and easy. Log onto Facebook and search for Westport Outfitters. You may see a page that we shared with ASMW, this is not it. Our stand alone page you will see has our branding. Become a friend today! So back to the fishing, contracts to the angler who weighed in a last minute bluefish on Sunday afternoon just before the deadline, that took out the two other leaders with a fish that tipped the scales at 15.41lbs and was caught in and around the Guilford area. Speaking of winning fish, it is confirmed that Mr. Myerson who landed that 81.88lb fish a few weeks back, has officially submitted his catch to the IGFA to qualify for the new All Tackle World Record for Stripe Bass…we will keep you all posted on how it all shakes out. The bass bite locally in the Western Sound remains better than good. We had several charters earlier in the week that both left the fish biting, with blues up to 8 lbs and a bunch of schoolie bass up to 30 inches on all trips. Captain Blake is till throwing poppers, partly due to the fact that he consistently has been boating fish all from the surface. Good for the fishing and even better for the clients as they witness bass sending plugs high into the sky. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Alex Peru checked in after stalking Albies around Watch Hill over the weekend. Alex of course is the founder of Long Cast Plastics and creator of the Albie Snax as well as the Swallow plastic baits. Once again he was into them pretty good using the brown colored Albie Snax, the more typical white just was not getting it done. If you have not seen these new baits, come on down and have a look. With these as your soft plastic and a handful of Sea Rock Jigs and you will be armed to take down any Albie in the Western Sound, as soon as they get here that is…(see recent catches). Cory C. from ASMW team cancelled his offshore plans on Monday and instead just fished locally. Covering some serious ground he noted how thick the bait was just about anywhere they went, however, not a very good showing for the fish. Fishing mostly west of Greens Ledge around Darien and Stamford, he and crew had bluefish at will but only up to about 6 or 7 lbs. The few times that they decided to soak some bait, they had one bass run off that spit it…Great day to be out though! Jim Micinilio checked in next. Despite some W.O. choice worms, it was a few days. Jim attributes most of this to the East wind which did blow most of the weekend. They had bass up to 25 inches all on tubes. The next day they managed to squeak out 2 stripers that tipped the ruler at 30 inches taken between Penfield and Sunken Island, along with a good pick of blues. 25 % OFF ALL SAGE FLY RODS! Danny headed out on Tuesday evening and went straight over to Eaton’s Neck. Armed only with Diamond Jigs and despite the tide, he and crew managed some bigger blues up to 12 lbs. In the mix as well were bass up to 31 inches, with most coming to the net between 25 and 29 inches. Nice night to be on the water with minimal boats due to the nasty wind and chop…but then again that’s why you buy the good foul weather gear… The shore fishing has been off and on. David R. checked into say that while tossing his cast net for fun, he landed peanut bunker, silversides, mullet and butterfish with just one toss. With all of this bait around, a customer and I were having a discussion on Wednesday about how the fish have really concentrated since after Irene. Although there is no shortage of bait, it seems that only a few choice points were producing. One could fish Sherwood point and hammer fish and then just head over to Frost and although there was bait all over, not a fish. Good time of the year to be impatient! Steve Eliot checked in with the following report from Wednesday A.M. Steve and crew were off the dock at Compo at 5:30 A.M. and were hoping to head east for some top water action around Fairfield, but no luck. They headed out towards Middle Ground to see large schools of blues blitzing. Once the tide turned and started heading in again, they dropped the T&W set ups down and it was game on. They had non-stop action until about 10:30. All the blues were between 5-12 lbs and bass to 33 inches ( see recent catches) Good friend Don R. and Bill L. checked in with a late wrap up from over the weekend. With an early start he and crew were into fish almost immediately in and around Eaton’s Neck. In fact at one point they moved from their location, because it was loaded with bass and they were registered for the Bluefish Tournament! After repositioning they had blues at will just above the 10 lb mark and boated three bass over 30 inches. Lures of choice in addition to soaking some chunks, were larger Smack Its, weighted sluggos and good ole T&W(see recent catches). We are expecting a few cold nights into the weekend, so it will be interesting to see what this does to the fishing…I am going to go out on a limb here and say someone is going to see/hook up with an Albie this weekend in our local area, they are just too close and there is simply just a ton of bait around. Make sure you have a rod rigged, with a 20/30 lb flouro leader with an Albie Snax or Sea Rock Jig tied on the end. Remember, unlike Bluefish, Albies will feed in a much more orderly fashion (i.e. not splashing all over the place sideways and upside down). They will also more often than not, encircle bait, so there is no need to chase, just sit still and wait for them to come back to you. Good luck out there! Week of September 2nd-September 9th Become a "FAN" of our NEW FACEBOOK PAGE-Simply search for Westport Outfitters on Facebook so you can receive special fan deals, reports and much, much more! You do not want to miss the 2011 Saugatuck Cup to be held on October 8th, based out of Westport Outfitters. Any and all information can be found on the tournament’s website http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ or call /email the shop for more details; space is limited, so get in on a great local cause followed by a great party with great prizes and now a legendary raffle! Well folks, with Irene just a distant memory, we can now resume our focus on the fishing. Once again, despite the storm, the fishing has been quite good. Larger schools of blues have been all over mid sound hammering peanut bunker and silversides. The bass bite continues to red hot considering the time of year, falling for tubes, poppers, Hopkins, flies and bait. With the water temps still pretty mild, I am expecting this bite to even get better. In regards to adult bunker, I have seen none in the Western Sound which is too bad, but we will just have to work through it. The porgy fishing has been off the hook as well, in fact a customer and friend Sage N. landed one on a tube over the weekend that tipped the tape at just over 17 inches!! Although we are not expected to get a storm, we are going to get some pretty good swell from Katina, so if you don’t want to fish this weekend, go dust off your old surfboard and go hang ten instead! Steve Elliot was the first to check in with a late report that missed our posting from Friday. Steve and crew left the dock at Compo at 8:00 and headed towards Middle Ground. There were large schools of 5 lb blues throughout the slack tide. Once the tide started to move, Steve landed a nice 33 inch, 14lb bass. The breezes picked up, so they made the run back to Compo (see recent catches). Don Rossi checked in after a stellar morning on the water on Saturday. Despite the breezes, Don and company had blues to 11lbs as well as few keeper bass, caught mostly on the troll. Don recommends brighter color tubes with the stained water, so he swapped out the traditional Scarlet Snakes with Bubblegum, Orange and bright green. Eaton’s Neck made a good showing before they retreated back to Cockenoe. Nice stuff Don…don’t you hate it when you forget that your “spot” is zoomed in on your oversized chart plotter and you take a picture showing the whole world where your holes are…just sayin’…(see recent catches). Art Gravanis checked in after fishing in and around Frost Point with his son Teddy, where he said the porgy bite was on fire, too many to count and they took a few big keepers for the table. Bait of choice was clam strips. Steve Elliot checked in again as he took advantage of the extra day and headed back out Monday. Steve fished in the islands where once again he had blues crashing bait all over the surface. All the fish that were landed were spitting up silver sides and large sand eels. Danny checked in on Monday as well. Although the wind was blowing something fierce by the time he reached Sasco, as soon as the tide turned and began to flood in, he had a good sized bass blitz in the vicinity of Pine Creek that he eventually followed around Kensie Point. Crashing what seemed to be peanut bunker, he tied on some of the new little peanut imitations that we brought in and was tight in just a matter of minutes. The mini blitz continued for about 35 minutes. He said he swears there were not more than 30 fish in this school, all 26-32 inches and all on the fly rod, the school closed in on the beach and then eventually dispersed. Sage checked in on Tuesday with a solid report with bass up to 33 inches, mostly on top water. In addition, as was previously noted, he landed to slob porgies, at 17 and 15 inches on tubes no less. All fish were taken in less than 15 feet of water(see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers checked in to report of a choppy week on the water with east winds almost daily. Despite the weather, they managed to squeak a few big blues from around Sunken Island as well as a fluke to close out the season…now they sit praying for better weather. This weekend is looking pretty good from a weather standpoint although we may get the wind, which of course is par for the course at this time of year. Don’t forget about the Saugatuck Cup!! You can fill out applications here at the store or online at www.saugatuckcup.com, space is limited. Come support a great local cause, and participate in the summer’s best party and participate in the now legendary raffle. SIGN UP TODAY!! This weekend is also the rescheduled Bluefish Tournament, so if you are out there and not participating, keep an eye out. Week of August 25th-September 2nd IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! ATTENTION ALL SMART PHONE USERS INCLUDING I-PHONE & DROIDS!! Westport Outfitters has launched a FREE app for you to view our fishing reports from your phones. Our website will sniff which type of device you are logging on with. Simply go to westportoutfitters.com and follow instructions in the upper left hand banner. You do not want to miss the 2011 Saugatuck Cup to be held on October 8th, based out of Westport Outfitters. Any and all information can be found on the tournament’s website http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ or call /email the shop for more details; space is limited, so get in on a great local cause followed by a great party with great prizes and now a legendary raffle! WOW…that was a lot of water. I hope all of you are reading this utilizing electricity being supplied by one of the many local carriers, rather than by generator. If you are in the latter group, our thoughts are with you to get back up and running as soon as possible. Specifically, Hurricane Irene definitely did some damage, but what was strange was how the extent of damage varied so greatly almost from property to property. Houses falling into the water on Fairfield Beach Rd, yet low lying properties just 150 yards to the east, came up bone dry? Here at the shop, under what could be considered an act of God, not one drop of water, yet in the back showroom, nearly two feet of storm surge raced in Sunday A.M. Wherever you were or whatever you were doing, the storm disrupted it, but let’s get back to the topic at hand…FISHING! Be sure to search “WESTPORT OUTFITTERS” on Facebook and sign up to our NEW Facebook page! The weekend leading up to what occurred produced some stellar fishing. Friday/Saturday for those who were not hauling boats or adding extra dock lines had the western sound all to themselves, with busting fish all over the place. The larger schools of blues that have been hanging around Fairfield were easily being taken on top water plugs on Saturday evening, despite some pretty good swell. Blues in the 6-8 lb class were mixed in with the occasional gator. The biggest concern about the impact of Irene on the local fishing scene was to have her blow out all the bait. While wading through the back show room on Sunday in 2 feet of water, I joked with a friend as a small school of silver sides swam by inside the show room, “I guess maybe the storm did not blow out all the bait?” After the water receded on Sunday afternoon, we hopped into one of the work boats and toured the mouth of the Saugatuck. Some pretty serious damage up and down Saugatuck Shores, but despite 4-5 foot swells cranking up the river, we were spraying bait out of the water as we reached the crest of each swell. Steve Elliot checked in Friday afternoon prior to the storm as well where he worked several large bluefish blitzes off of Fairfield. After his arms got tired he decided to head out to Middleground and do some tubing, more blues, albeit bigger ones. After doing some tunoid reconnaissance during the slack tide, he returned to MG where the blitzes were epic at the beginning of the outgoing as far as the eye could see (see recent catches). Captain Blake also checked in prior to the blow and proclaimed that this August was the best he has had for bass, perhaps EVER! On charters as well as fishing personally, Captain Blake is a poster child for getting it done and getting it done early. The A.M. bite continues to be red hot and with the now much cooler air temps overnight and in the early A.M. hours, it is his feeling that things should continue to get even better. Lures of choice for bass up to 33 inches have been Smack Its as well as Crystal Minnows. Jim Micinilio checked in and was forced to come down to Westport on Wednesday since his home water boat ramp was destroyed during the storm and with any luck maybe it will be repaired by NEXT Labor Day! He headed out just before noon and marked fish, but they were very spread out. All in, they boated 31 stripers of varying shapes and sizes, with the biggest coming to the net at 39.5 inches and just about 20 lbs in 4.5 feet of water! Of course, the color of the trolling tubes that you are all using should be changed with the stained water left over from the storm. Their best luck was using yellow, pink and bright green tubes... Early Thursday, Captain Blake was at it again with an instructional trip. He and crew left the docks at 5:00 A.M. sharp and once again were into some good bass action with several just under 28 inches, one ne that got away and of course blues up to 8lbs. Well folks, that is it for what could be considered an abbreviated week. Be sure to get on Facebook and search “Westport Outfitters” and sign up for our NEW page! Despite our storm ravaged coastline, the fishing seems to be recovering well with still a good steady pick of bass and blues. With any luck, Irene hopefully pushed some bait in and perhaps even some tunoids…only time will tell, but delay no further, forget about the leaves and the trees, pick up your rods and get into some great late summer action this weekend. Be on the hunt for Albies and make sure you are armed with some SEA ROCKS! Week of Agust 19th-August 25th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! ATTENTION ALL SMART PHONE USERS INCLUDING I-PHONE & DROIDS!! Westport Outfitters has launched a FREE app for you to view our fishing reports from your phones. Our website will sniff which type of device you are logging on with. Simply go to westportoutfitters.com and follow instructions in the upper left hand banner. You do not want to miss the 2011 Saugatuck Cup to be held on October 8th, based out of Westport Outfitters. Any and all information can be found on the tournament’s website http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ or call /email the shop for more details; space is limited, so get in on a great local cause followed by a great party with great prizes and now a legendary raffle! Some interesting weather over the past week, some saturating rain, mornings in the 50s, earthquakes and an impending hurricane for this coming weekend…should be very interesting for the fishes, but let’s digress for a moment. Our charter operation, centered around Captain Blake, continues to put fish in the boat each and every morning that we went out this week with an even ratio of bass/blues. Of course we practice what we preach, leaving the dock no later than 5:00 A.M. and returning when most other local charter captains are heading out (shame on all of you). We can’t emphasis once again how imperative is to get out early if you want to still get into the bass. Of course if Fluke or Porgy fishing is your goal, you can afford to sleep in, but not for a shot at some consistent late summer striper action. Poppers continue to be the lure of choice triggering some very aggressive top water action. We also have been really getting into them as well on the long rods still. Surf Candies and some smaller mushies have been the ticket (don’t forget your bite guard). Now back to the weather, for those of you that remember I believe it was about 5 years ago, early September, Saturday if I do recall. We were forecasted to get the remnants of a hurricane that had taken the south by storm. The path of that depression is almost identical to one of the models I have seen with Irene. We still have really yet to see a strong showing of Bonito and Albies, very similar to that month 5 years back. Well as many of you know, what was supposed to be a little bit of low, turned into sustained winds of 65-75 MPH with a gusts over 90 MPH clocked at Westchester Airport. I remember it so well for I personally fished about 5 boats off of Canfield Island the next day, while the mooring field at Sprite Island was in utter disarray. History does have a tendency to repeat itself and after that day 5 years ago once all the boats were back on their hooks and the seas had cleared, the fishing picked up, so perhaps a little blow at this time of year is exactly what we need to get some bait pushed in and hopefully fish to follow. Don’t forget your SEA ROCK JIGS WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!! No doubt the cool mornings that we have had over the past 5 days can also only help the local fishing scene. Speaking of the local fishing scene, we just launched a specific Westport Outfitters Facebook page, in addition to the one we share with our friends at All Seasons Marine Works. This page will be very specific and allow us to use the whole premise of social networking to everyone’s advantage when it comes to fish notifications, special deals, sale items and much, much more. Therefore either search FB for “Westport Outfitters” or follow the link below. You have our word that the information stemming from this new site will be accurate, timely and always FRESH! http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Westport-Outfitters/250210011678545 So in summary, keep a close eye to the weather this weekend, although it may put a damper on the immediate weekend’s fishing, the long term benefits could be substantial….so onto the report. Prior to the monsoon last weekend, fishing remained strong. The Micinilio Brothers vacated their home waters and fished the Westport area and made a trip over to a few holes in Darien as well. Surprisingly, out of the 50 or so fish they trolled up, a majority were all taken in or near the mouth of Norwalk Harbor, where there are still signs of some small schools of bunker (see recent catches). Kevin L. fished the reef with the fly rod on Saturday A.M. and had just two fish, but both bass were over 29 inches, taken at first light on a silver side imitation. Prior to the rains coming on Sunday, Danny B. chunked off of Frost Point into the wee hours of the morning for 4 bass over 17 lbs. Monday, Will H. checked in fishing off of Darien where he landed a nice fat 10lb bass as well as a gator that tipped the scales at 14 lbs. Tuesday, the Micinilio Brothers were playing host to some youngsters who were not let down. They trolled up a host of bass in the 22-24 inch range, no keepers and a few small blues in the mix as well. Tuesday night it was Don Rossi who checked in with a blue that tipped the scales just under 11 lbs, chunking off of Eaton’s Neck. We are now beginning to take entry forms for the 2011 Saugatuck Cup, which will be held out of Westport Outfitters on October 8th. Any and all information can be found on the tournaments site at www.saugatuckcup.com or feel free to call or email the shop. For those of you that have fished this charity tournament for the past two years, you know the cause and the great time that is had by all. For that want in, do so soon before we sell it out as we have done for the past two years. Great cause, great prizes, raffle, party and bragging rights! Hope to see all of you here on October 8th!! Well folks, that is about it for this week. I know a lot of folks (like me) were on vacation last week, so fishing locally at least took a back seat. I was up in New Hampshire for 6 days and got some decent trout fishing in despite high water on the Sugar River, all fish were taken on wooly buggers. I also dusted off some of my old crank baits and had a bunch of large mouth bass to 4 lbs on a local pond also in New Hampshire. Be careful out there this weekend… Week of August 5th- August 12th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… ATTENTION ALL SMART PHONE USERS INCLUDING I-PHONE & DROIDS!! Westport Outfitters has launched a FREE app for you to view our fishing reports from your phones. Our website will sniff which type of device you are logging on with. Simply go to westportoutfitters.com and follow instructions in the upper left hand banner. Well something is reminding me of that annoying battery commercial with the bunny and the tag line that it keeps “going, going and going” for it’s how I personally feel about this season. Now before I make any sweeping statements that no doubt will spark plenty of debate, let’s look at a few negative things about what we have seen (or not seen) thus far in 2011. For starters, once again, the bunker has been a bit spotty throughout Fairfield County since the beginning. Although showing up quite early in places like right behind the shop, it was quickly thinned out (insert who you blame for this here). Luckily though there have been plenty of other bait sources to fill the void. With any luck over the next few weeks, we will see some peanuts while hopefully large pods of bay anchovies along with them to feed what should be a good run of falsies and bonito. Now back to the bunny…each week over the past say four, I have been anticipating writing something like this…”time to break out the T&W rigs and lead-core and cover some deep water” or “don’t leave the dock anytime before 1:00 A.M. armed with a cooler full of bait and set up on your favorite piece of structure and sit and spit until your reels start to sing.” Both great tactics to haul in some big fish, but normally committed when and only when the light tackle bite slows during the doldrums of summer (for me personally at least). Instead, what I have written and will continue to write this week is of epic top water bass blitzes while we watch the sun come up. Now for the local shore angler crowd, you may be cursing me right about now since no doubt from the immediate shoreline; things have slowed, with the exiting stage left of the sand eels. However, just offshore, things continue to be hot with a mix of snappers, silver sides, crabs and bay anchovies giving the bass exactly what they live for, an easy, low exertion meal. This past week, our own Captain Blake was at it hard almost every A.M. with and without clients and had almost all bass during that witching hour between say 4:45 and 6:30 A.M. before the blues showed up. Each fish all taken on either fly rods or poppers and up to 32 inches, all the while watching with a keen eye for some funny fish, which can’t be far behind. So, the moral, these fish keep “going, going and going.” Ask any seasoned local angler when the top water bass bite shuts down around the Western Sound and at latest they would say early July, but never into August. So, once again, if you want to experience this, you just need to do one thing and one thing only, get up and get up early. Heck two mornings this past week I left the dock at 4:15 and was back in time to open the shop up at 8:00 A.M. Our go to lures have still been Smack Its and until the blues show up some larger sluggos. On the fly rods, some larger bunker imitations and/or crab patterns seem to be doing the trick. Don’t listen to your neighbor who says the fishing has been slow, for it has not been and has instead kept going and going, so get on out there this weekend. First up this week to check in was Billy K. who fished hard Sunday A.M. and despite the weather that rolled through, chunked up several bass top 18 lbs just off of Frost Point. There was a large interclub bluefish tourney also on Sunday where several fellow members of the Westport Striped Bass Club participated, specifically Don Rossi who wrote in to tell of a few chompers to 12 lbs off of 11B. Darryl continues to hit the beaches at first light and although the bait in tight has been a bit scarce, he continues to hook into schoolie bass up to 26 inches on the fly rod. Smaller mushies in a gold/black pattern have been his go to fly. While scouting the north shore on Saturday for bones, Captain Blake had the A.M. off and personally fished and had blues up to 14 lbs along with a few bass to 28 inches all on top water plugs. No funny fish sightings, but he was armed with a bunch of Sea Rock jigs just in case they did show themselves….we will keep you all posted…(see recent catches). Tuesday we had a trip that left at first light and they were once again into bass to 30 inches on top water plugs. Once the sun came up, the blues took over to 11lbs on T-Man Swimmers (see recent catches). SEA ROCK JIGS ARE HERE-GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN!! Switching gears a bit, Danny emailed in a stellar report of Fluke from in and around Sunken Island. Drifting squid strips he and crew boated several Fluke to 23 inches during the mid day hour on Wednesday. The Micinilio Brothers also checked in on Wednesday but first told of a good bluefish bite near the marshes on the Housey over the weekend to 11 lbs in very shallow water. Wednesday they headed out of the Saugy and immediately witnessed silver sides getting crashed East of Compo and was into the first keeper bass of the day, unfortunately followed by nothing but the blues. He even tried live lining some snappers to no avail. Blue between 20-22 inches were all taken trolling T&W. I think the threat of afternoon storms kept a lot of folks off the water this week, but for those that rolled the dice they were rewarded with clear skies and good fishing. The weather over the weekend again looks picture perfect, with temps in the low 80s with a slight breeze. The snappers continue to grow bigger and bigger and we have all the gear to make a memorable outing for the entire family. Crabbing continues to improve daily and we (finally) secured a new vendor for some very durable crab traps, so come on down and get some pointers and hot spots and go get some crabs. That it for this week folks…see you on the water… Week of July 29th-August 5th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… ATTENTION ALL SMART PHONE USERS INCLUDING I-PHONE & DROIDS!! Westport Outfitters has launched a FREE app for you to view our fishing reports from your phones. Our website will sniff which type of device you are logging on with. Simply go to westportoutfitters.com and follow instructions in the upper left hand banner. Another week goes into the books for the 2011 Fishing Season and like all those prior, it was another good one. In my opinion this season is really shaping up and we just hit the half way mark, so there is so much more good fishing to be had. At this time of year, the local fishing scene is definitely one that is in transition. As certain bait sources like sand eels move out, crabs and silver sides have quickly moved in to make up the difference. As I mentioned last week, the snapper blues have started working their way into the mix as well and will grow rapidly, adding another source of nourishment for our local fish population. Speaking of food sources, did everyone get in on the cinder worm hatch last week that literally lasted into the mid day hours? We had a couple from North Carolina come in Saturday who were fish folks, but were in the area for a wedding and rented a few yaks to just explore the river. They popped into the shop after and said, “what the heck are all the worms all over the water…” Quite an epic sight for those that were looking for it and you didn’t even have to get up in the dead of night to witness it!! WE STILL LOVE OUR SLUGGOS, BUT COME HAVE A LOOK AT THE NEW SWALLOW STICK BAITS, PRE-RIGGED! Back to the transition comment, we also want to begin keeping our eyes peeled for our favorite little speedsters, “yes” Bonito and Falsies should be headed our way shortly, if they have not done so already. There have been spotty reports out towards Nantucket and the Vineyard of some action and I even got a report from a guide buddy in RI where he was chasing theme down on Tuesday. Last year, almost every one of these fish that were caught but shop staff and the “regulars” was done so using Sea Rock Jigs for the spinning rods and like last year, we just brought in a ton of these lures for the upcoming run. Based on your feedback, we filtered in some larger and heavier versions, with the same spot on coloring and shape to imitate small bay anchovies and silver sides. This will be the only order, so come on down while supplies last! Make sure you bring your favorite speedster rod in as well for some new line and a fresh fluorocarbon leader! Don Rossi checked in who had an epic weekend even after sleeping in, all of his action both Saturday and Sunday occurred after 8:00 A.M. He had bass up to 32 inches in less than 12 feet of water and on Sunday, located a huge pod of blues over by Eaton’s Neck up to 12 lbs! Over the weekend, the bigger blues seemed to be filtering into the Western Sound in greater numbers. Glen Katz, Darren, Ned and Danny B. all reported in big blues rolling on small bait out towards 11B with fish up to 12+ lbs. Most all fish were taken on top water, using either Smack Its, X-Raps or Bombers (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers checked in while they were out all weekend long as well. They fished from Cockenoe to Darien, trolling deep lip swimmers, Bombers and T&W. All in for Saturday they had over 40 fish with 6 keepers to 35 inches. Defying the text books once again, their biggest fish was taken at noon!! PRE-RIGGED LEADCORE T&W COMBOS ONLY $ 219.95! Sunday they were back at it again and the ruminants of the epic cinder worm hatch were everywhere. Mid day and the river behind the shop was loaded. Their first fish was a keeper that coughed up a mouthful of worms and then it shut down for a bit, no doubt probably because they had been gorging on these critters for three long days. Fish of the day was a 34.5 inch, 15lb bass taken off of Compo in 3.5 feet of water(see recent catches) Monday Cory C. and Sgt. Colonies headed east and ended up 10 miles south of Block Island in search of Makos and whatever else would swim by the boat out in the blue water. After setting up their slick they had sharks swarming. All fish were safely released with the exception of a nice Mahi that made its way home. All the sharks were taken on rigged balloons and bluefish and the Mahis fell for sluggos (see recent catches). Tuesday I headed out early with Captain Blake with an old friend who has been out west stalking trout since I last saw him, so the pressure was on to produce with everything against us. The fact that the local fish population had just gorged on worms for three days, the air temp was expected to be in the mid 90s and a steamy water temp as well. We left the dock at 4:45 A.M. (see, I am practicing what I am preaching) and were into the Norwalk Islands by 5:05 A.M. First 20 minutes you could hear a pin drop, no boats, no noise and…no bait….going to be a long morning. Then Captain Blake with his keen eyesight brought us around an island point and it was game on. Bass busting small peanuts and/or snappers all over the place. We were immediately in fish and over the course of about 90 minutes we brought about 15 fish to the boat up to 31 inches all on the fly rod or light spinning gear, with only one 11lb blue. Unreal morning…BTW, water clarity is still absolutely incredible. I sank a large white plug to the bottom in about 9 feet of water and could practically read the brand name off of it. BUNKER+NORTHBAR PLUGS=BIG BASS!! Johnny Kronic also took advantage of the worm hatch over the weekend and was into fish to 33 inches on the fly rod two nights in a row. We may need to change his nickname to the “night rider” after he stayed out all night stalking the beaches while these fished gorged themselves (see recent catches). Captain Blake could not get enough and returned to the spot on Wednesday that we fished the day before and was welcomed with the same blitzing fish crashing bait up against the shoreline. On the long rod he had one after the other up to 31 inches on a small white/yellow deceiver. The weather over the weekend is looking pretty good and we may even get a little reprieve from the heat. The snappers are getting bigger each week, so if you are looking to get the kids fishing, now is the time to do it. We have combos for under $30.00 so stop on down. While fishing in Southport Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, there was blue crabs free swimming on a high tide all over the place. We have all the gear and knowledge needed to get you into these critters as well. Be sure to keep your eye out for those speedsters since they could be here any day now and make sure you have a load of SEA ROCK jigs on hand to haul these fish in. We of course have a slew of tasty flies for them as well. See you on the water…. Week of July 22nd-July 29th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… ATTENTION ALL SMART PHONE USERS INCLUDING I-PHONE & DROIDS!! Westport Outfitters has launched a FREE app for you to view are fishing reports from your phones. Our website will sniff which type of device you are logging on with. Simply go to westportoutfitters.com and follow instructions in the upper left hand banner. Well I suppose I do not have to reiterate the weather report this week since it seems the mercury level has no plans on receding anytime soon. But despite the heat, the fishing remains quite strong, considering all of the other variables. It is this time of year that usually separates the fair weather fisherman/women from the hard core crew. If you want bass on a consistent basis, you must listen to that alarm clock and get your butts out of bed. The witching hour continues to get smaller and start earlier. In my opinion the difference from getting on the water at say 5:00 A.M. versus 6:00 A.M. is not a difference of 60 minutes but rather about 180. In fact I started using this analogy another way by comparing the one hour difference between 5 & 6 to the difference between an eight foot fly rod versus a nine footer. In this case as well, in my opinion, there is much more than a 12 inch difference. So, bottom line, 6 is not one hour after 5, so if you roll out of bed at 5:50, roll back over and go to sleep…we will be sure to save you some porgies… The weekend started off good with Captain Blake getting Vinny and company right into the fish (leaving the dock at 5:00 A.M. of course). Bass and blues crashing bait in tight on Smack It poppers and finesse jigs, moving into deeper water while the sun rose. A few keeper bass in the mix along with blues to 8 lbs (see recent catches). John checked in after a sweltering A.M. outing early Saturday. He followed yet another lead from a very friendly shop owner (hint, hint) and headed out of Compo and went directly to a point in Fairfield. After setting up some chunks, the water around the boat began to boil but he was unable to follow since the anchor was already down. He proceeded to toss Sluggos to breaking bass up to 29 inches for over an hour from a stationary position!!! Some blues stared to mix in so off came the Sluggos and on went the Smack Its. Biggest blue to the boat was 11lbs. DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW “FREE” APP TO VIEW OUR FISHING REPORTS!! Sage N. checked in after an early A.M. trip on Sunday to report in one serious top water blitz of bass and blues in less than 8 feet of water in Norwalk. It began (right on time) at approximately 4:45 A.M. and shut down at about 6:00. All in, he and crew had 8 bass to 31 inches as well 10 blues from 30-34 inches…mostly on Smack Its…GREAT STUFF! Good friend and shop customer Steve E. popped in first thing Sunday A.M. and picked up some eels and while drifting around some local structure was into the fish pretty good, taking one nice keeper home for table fair before calling it a day and back at the dock by noon before the sun started to bake things in once again (see recent catches). Although I personally don’t fish eels in daylight, no reason not to drop a few down during these early morning raids. If you have not tried it, stop on in and we can go over the preferred rigging methods to get you into some nice fish! The micinilio Brothers checked in early in the week after putting the hurtin’ on the Fluke again off of Fairfield. All told, nearly 28 fluke up to 17.5 inches, although they did admit that the fluking up around Penfield is starting to slow a bit as the sand eels schools begin to thin out. They took their A-game a little farther east the next day and fished around the mouth of the Housey for a few nice blues and 5 bass up to 41 inches all on tubes in less than 7 feet of water…”CAN YOU SAY WHAT DOLDRUMS?” All from the crew screwing up my theories of having to leave at the crack of dawn…all fish taken mid day with a high hot sun (see recent catches). BUNKER+NORTHBAR PLUGS=HUGE BASS & BLUES!! Matt Spengler checked in to report on a nice bass that fell for a blue flat-wing deceiver in the Norwalk Islands. Nice fish Matty! Speaking of Matt, he is the founder of the Ninth Floor Foundation who we work with and run the Saugatuck Cup from. This charity fishing tournament based at Westport Outfitters is open for all ages, boats and skill levels and all proceeds will go to support kids with specific types of cancer. For more information and to sign up, please log on to http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ for more information or call/email the shop. This year the tournament will be held on October 8th, hope to see you all here to support this great (and very local) cause. Captain Blake was back at it again as well on Tuesday night with a trip in the islands where he and crew had bass up to 28 inches. Mary R. after working way too hard for the first part of the summer, has vowed to get back dialed in to the fishing with Blake’s help Great stuff gentleman (see recent catches). Wednesday A.M. Captain Blake again had a trip with bass and blues breaking the surface at first light all on poppers with blues to 10 lbs and a few nice size bass to 32 inches. Well that’s about it folks. The weather for the weekend once again is looking a bit hot, but quite stable. The water clarity remains better than good so don’t forget your fluorocarbon. Lastly, the blue crabs continue to move in each tide and we have all the necessary gear to get you and the kids dialed in. All new batch of flies for the bait change over have also arrived! The snappers are here and getting bigger and bigger, so come on down this weekend and get those kids fishing!! Week of July 15th-July 22nd IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Well perhaps I was a bit premature last week by entitling the report ”SCORCHER,” but despite the heat, the fishing remains strong. In fact we got a late report from Wednesday night from some friends that headed east under the cover of darkness and had 4 fish over 40 lbs slinging eels in less than 14 feet of water within casting distance from shore…some doldrums… Back locally the fluke bite remains on fire with a fair share of sand eels still around from Fairfield through Norwalk. The silversides are starting to work their way in as well. In fact we can officially add yet another food source to the mix, snappers. I took the day off on Tuesday and went crabbing to try my luck and brought nine big blue crabs to the net with not one short. While tending to my lines and net, I witnessed snappers chasing small shiners all over the place. These feisty little blues will grow on average at about one inch per week so get your kids geared up and get them into some fishing. We have plenty of starter sets up for under $30.00, grab a $3.00 snapper popper and you will be secured hours of enjoyment for the kids while spending quality time outside. Speaking of quality time, we just loaded up on crabbing supplies as well, so stop in and we can point you in the right direction to dine on some tasty blue crabs. Another great way to spend the afternoon with the kids and you don’t even have to get up early!! NEW SMART PHONE W.O. APP TO BE LAUNCHED WITHIN A DAY OR SO…STAY TUNED! As we have been discussing over the past month or so, it’s that time of year when the time of day is more important than the tide in our opinion, so that means you need to be fishing that light change in the A.M. as well as the hour or so leading up to it. Of course if you do sleep in, still get out, but make sure you are managing your crew’s expectations… Cody, Jeff Smith and Kronic all traveled last week to points farther east, with Jeff fishing out of Niantic for a few days and Cody and John out towards Block Island again. Fishing both live and artificial baits, including tossing 12 inch sluggos to busting Tuna, they all had bass that were safely released over 41 lbs. Another job well done guys! (see recent catches). Back home, Blake and Jordan hit it hard on Sunday A.M. with blues up to 12 lbs and bass to 31 inches mostly on the 4 inch finesse plastics with a 3/8 oz jig head, Blake’s go to presentation for the past 3 months (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers, although struggling a bit, continue to substitute their bass fishing with the abundant fluke fishing occurring throughout the Fairfield County Coastline. Over the weekend while trolling in and around Penfield Reef, they tubed up three blues to 34 inches, some real monsters. The following day the fluke trip produced nearly 60 fish in the same area, no doormats, but all quality fish mostly on squid strips and spearing. Danny B. checked in after some chunking in shallow on Tuesday night around Kensie point on a tip from a local shop owner (hint, hint) and had bass up to 21 lbs until the tide stalled in less than 15 feet of water. Several members of the Westport Striped Bass Club also checked in with some decent chunking reports from within the islands for the better part of the week. Heading out nightly on the dropping tide they had fish between 18-20lbs and a lot of them, including a few big gator blues to 12 lbs mixed in. The fly guys and gals off of Compo are starting to dwindle down a bit at first light, partly due to the thinning out of the sand eel schools and most likely also do to the down right nasty heat. Hard to make the quick change from your waders into the suit and then on the 8:05 into Manhattan when its 85 degrees at 7:30 in the morning. Bust for those willing to show up, the fish are still cooperating. Jon checked in with bass up to 29 inches all on the fly rods both Tuesday and Wednesday A.M. all taken on crab patterns at first light Speaking of crab patterns, “yes” we brought in yet another large order of flies for the bait change over including the deadly BRUJA Crab Hochner tied on a size two hook. You need to have a few of these in your box. In addition, we reloaded on some larger mushy patterns in multiple colors in preparation of some more bunker, so come on down and have a look. BUNKER+NORTHBAR PLUGS=HUGE BASS & BLUES!! The Micinilio Brothers abandoned their home waters off of Black Rock and put in on the Saugatuck River on Wednesday, determined to get some decent bass fishing. In discussing with them the current conditions I did find out their one weakness when it comes to fishing…although I will forever be sworn to secrecy. Deep trolling tubes and swimmers, they took to the boat 46 bass with 8 keepers to 16 lbs. They fished the mouth of the Saugy all the way to Shipan Point in Stamford along the coast…now that’s covering some water. Blues were also taken to 13 lbs. Their best action was right up in tight against the rocks in super skinny water despite the high hot sun… Well that’s about it folks, the heat definitely seemed to keep some off the water this week, but for those who ventured out, they were rewarded. The weekend is looking steamey but clear, so this stretch of calm weather keeping the clarity in the water will remain, so don’t forget your fluorocarbon… To reiterate, the snappers are here so be sure to get those kids out this weekend, we have plenty of inexpensive combos to get them (and you) into the fish. Lastly, we are just a day or so away from launching a new app that will eliminate some issues with the new smart phones including the new I-Phones…we will let you know when it launches and of course “yes” it will be free. See you on the water…. Week of July 7th-July 15th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES Hey folks, similarly to the weather this week, the fishing remains scolding HOT. The early morning and late evening bites have been as good as ever drawing large numbers of healthy fish into skinny water for there daily snacking. Don’t be afraid to follow those big bass into shallow water as they continue to feast on sand eels and small silversides. That being said, fish are continually being caught mid-day, but the high, hot sun has begun to drive some of those species into refuge in deeper water with cooler temperatures. The schools of adult Menhaden (bunker) have been hanging around from Sherwood Point through Fairfield and even into the Norwalk Islands. These large schools of fish have been serving as a snack stand for bruiser bluefish which have moved in with fish tipping the scales close to 20lbs (see recent catches). Bass have been spotted tailing on every known flat from Norwalk to Fairfield and this means one of two things for those of you kicking yourself trying to figure out what there eating. These fish will be either scooping sand eels up out of the ground or gorging on the variety of crabs that roam our local flats, so be sure to change your patterns and presentations accordingly. BUNKER=NORTHBAR PLUGS=BIG BASS!! There is a lot to be said about the weather we have been experiencing which has been catering to great fishing action through July. These weather patterns have not been the typical reality in years past, (Knock on Wood) but our small corner of the LIS has been virtually free of fronts and that means a few important things for the local fishing. We have been experiencing few periods of high winds which has kept the smaller baitfish consistently in a few locations in the nearby area. This has been leading to reliability in not only finding bait, but finding fish as well. Speaking of finding fish, the lack of storms has also contributed to some of the best visibility we have seen all year…In some places 6-8 feet!! This translates to the idea that the fish we hunt can see our, flies, plugs, plastics and bait even better, let just hope they got the memo… Anyway the water clarity has been adding to some great outings in the last few weeks so get on out there this weekend! It’s confirmed, fish are around in numbers and the fluking is red HOT. The Micinilio Brothers, long time bass slayers have turned there sights on to a new species. That’s right folks, fluke. They had a phenomenal day early this week, boating almost 100 fish up to 24”. All along the coast we have been getting reports of these swimming welcome mats that have been bending sticks along the CT side. Now is the time to go after these flat fish while the getting is good! We have some choice sushi grade squid strips that have been getting it done for the bait folks. Cory from All Seasons and mutual friend to the shop, Glen Katz, got out early in the week to hammer some of these fish hanging around the Norwalk islands getting fat on a mix of silversides and adult bunker. There weapons of choice were X-raps and Smack-its to fool these eager fish with great results. They were into there share of bruiser greasers consistently from 10-20lbs. Not too shabby! Robert Enos and company ran out of Greenwich late last week in a search for big fish. They decided to soak some chunks along the shoreline as they headed down towards NY. This late afternoon hunt led some 10-12lb blues and numerous bass from 34-38’’ right into there haunches. Great job guys!! Capt. Blake has been getting it done all week long with too many cookie cutter bass to count, including some nicer fish up to 33”. Bass are not the only species that Blake is dialed into. He has been boating steadily high numbers of blues and has been finding his fair share of flat fish in the shallows that he is most commonly spotted in. Now is the time to reserve a spot with this talented Captain who will put YOU on the fish. Jeff Smith and crew decided to head east in search of some larger fish on Tuesday and it looks that it paid off… Jeff had 5 fish over 40” and seems to be dialed in to the live lining game. He will be out towards the CT River all week and we will continue to keep everyone updated on his success. Good fishing Jeff! (see recent catches). Cody Lapnow and crew have been leaving RI daily for the cool waters off of Block Island and while tossing some of the new Swallow plastics and Sluggos took a 45lber off of the “Block” yesterday A.M… Up and coming angler Stephen C emailed in a report where he was trolling around Beers rocks on Tuesday night and hooked into a slob of a bluefish that most definitely tipped the scales at 15lbs. Jerry C. from New Jersey popped in Thursday A.M. After recently discovering W.O., he has been up fishing the Fairfield County Coastline almost daily/nightly with the long rods. Fishing Sasco with both crab and sand eel patterns at first light, he has been into rolling fish each morning this week with bass tipping 34 inches and blues to 8 lbs! This weekend is looking good weather-wise and just to reiterate one last time, the water clarity is fantastic, so be sure to get that fluorocarbon on the spinning set ups and lengthen the leaders on the fly rod for better success. With the blues around, don’t forget your bite tippet as well. We prefer the stainless steel nylon coated American Wire. Don’t overlook the Fluke fishing either which continues to be red hot! I saw the first sign of some very large blue crabs behind the shop this week as well and if this season compares at all to last, it should be another epic one! Good luck out there…. Week of June 30th-July 7th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES Well folks, another week and the fishing remains HOT, HOT, HOT. Almost every morning this past week we had bass rolling on the surface in the shallows off of Westport and Fairfield gorging on sand eels. Although if you look at the past years, the sand eels should be beginning to thin out around this time, but as of late, they are showing no signs of doing so. Despite the water temps increasing, the mid morning bite (i.e. say after 9:00 A.M.) has also been very hot. Our own Captain Blake, who had trips all week, has been into the fish early, early and then again mid morning. Smack Its & Sluggos once again have been the lure of choice as well as clousers on the long rods. For the fly guys/gals, we just brought in yet another shipment of flies, specifically some crab patterns which will be key over the next month, so come on down and have a look. The fluke fishing too has been on fire, with no shortage of 22-24 inch fish almost at will and even more stories of these fish coming up to take flies in places like Pine Creek, the Mill Pond and areas off of Darien. I was at the Norwalk fireworks on Saturday and for those of you that were there, you know the tide was quite low. I wet waded out behind Sprite Island just for fun and in about 2 feet of water I could see a small crab on the bottom. The water clarity folks is unreal and that is a direct result of the fact that we have not a good blow in almost two weeks. Hopefully this holds up and until then, be sure to use fluorocarbon on all your leaders, for as the bait thins out, the fish will get more finicky and you will not have the luxury of concealment. The Micinilio Brothers have been on strike for they don’t feel the fishing is good enough fort them (joking), but did check in a few times this week. First to tell about a trip that began in Black Rock and finished in Stratford, where they had their fill of blues and bass gorging on sand eels. Lures of choice were small Smack Its, X-Raps and Yozuri Crystal Minnows. Bass up to 33 inches made for a great day along with the large pods of overly aggressive Fluke (see recent catches) Next up was Glenn Katz who although he caught some fish earlier in the week had a better story about the one that got away. After his cousin hooked up on a nice fish within the Norwalk Islands, a rather large battle ensued and when the fish finally came to the net in Glenn’s hand, he reached down to scoop a fish that was too big to even describe and upon lifting the entire net folded up like a cheap suit and the fish was gone…. Cory C. checked in after fishing a private pong over the holiday weekend using small jigs he landed and safely released what could possibly be a new state record for large mouth bass…great stuff Captain!! (see recent catches). Don Rossi checked in next who fished Saturday A.M. on the north shore of LI where he and his favorite live in fishing partner were into fish all morning long on T&W. Biggest fish of the outing was a 22 lb bass that measured nearly 38 inches along with a nice 11lb blue that fell for a chunk (see recent catches). Jim and Sue ventured back out again on Sunday with the idea of specifically targeting Fluke this trip and after Jim ran Sue through the fluke fishing drills, she was into he first fish at 19.5 inches followed by a 21 inch 4 lb flatty. All fish were taken off of Fairfield drifting some of Jimmy O’s finest sandworms (see recent catches). Tuesday A.M. Sage N. emailed in a nice pic of nearly a 40 inch fish taken on a Smack It at first light off of Fairfield. For those of you who feel you are getting up early enough and not getting fish, take a look at the pic and the light conditions below and compare it to the light you may be seeing and make the appropriate adjustments(see recent catches). Captain Blake was it again on Wednesday A.M. with a three person trip where they had bass up to 28 inches all A.M. long between Compo and Frost Point along with several fluke in the 19 inch range. All fish were caught on 4 inch Finesse with a ½ jig head. Erik G. and wife Jennifer fished earlier in the week and for Jennifer this was here maiden fishing voyage. After Erik put her through some schooling she ended up with her first Fluke and it was a keeper! (see recent catches) Danny emailed in early Wednesday as well to tell of another great night off of Southport, where he had cocktail blues up to 6 lbs on Clouser Minnows. After his arm got tired he headed over towards Ash Creek where he was able to muster up two bass to 29 inches on a small white/blue deceiver. This weekend the weather is looking good with still no big blows in the forecast with maybe a passing shower, the fishing should remain better than good. If you are fly fishing in the low light hours, stop in and check out some of the new crab patterns. In addition to the sand eels, we witnessed some smaller crab hatches and like the sand eels, if the bass are keyed into these, you best have some of these patterns in your box or it will be a very frustrating outing. See you on the water… Week of June 24th-June 30th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES WOW…another great week of fishing was had by all. It did not seem to matter where you were fishing or with what, the fish were biting. From shore, boat, wading, kayak, wherever you were, using whatever, brought fish to the net. At the time of this writing I had a customer come in and simply say, “Where are they NOT catching fish?” That pretty much sums it up. This coming weekend marks the celebration of our independence and with that should bring another great weekend to get out and experience some of the action in our local waters. After being proven wrong one too many times in regards to the idea of fishing during fireworks displays, this year I am encouraging it. Despite the fact that it must feel like the world is ending above their heads, our local summer bass population apparently does not seem to care, as was once again proven by my good friend Danny J. who landed a 24lb bass during the grand finale last year during Westport’s fireworks….enough said… First to check in late last week was the W.O. crew including Johnny Kronic and Cody, who despite the great fishing locally, decided to pack up a boat and head to the Cape. Over the course of two days they had fish up to 28 lbs all on light tackle and flies and even had shot at some breaking tuna about 6 miles off. Sluggos were once again the lure of choice along with some plugs. They had nonstop action over the course of 48 hours. If you are headed up that way and want some pointers, stop in and chat these guys up from local launch ramps to cheap hotels to dive bars, they will have what you are looking for. As I pen this, they dragged another boat up to Point Judith to go rock Block Island so stay tuned for that report next week (see recent catches). Next up was Richard N., who after picking up some fresh W.O. bunker headed out on Saturday and had blues chomping until he ran out of bait. Biggest fish to the net was 13.5 lbs with a good mix of 10-13 lb fish in the mix as well. Headed back out to the same location and Sunday with similar results all on chunks with blues again to 12lbs and on Monday he let his arms rest (see recent catches). Sage N. checked in on Sunday as well where he was targeting fluke where he figured he and crew boated nearly 100 fish in total with about a 10:1 ratio of shorts to keepers. He covered water from Norwalk to Fairfield and deployed the tried and true tactic for locating fluke…that is when you find schools of sand eels, simply drop the lines down. I mentioned this a few weeks back, with all this bait in the water, go to your favorite piece of structure as a last resort, not your first…In between the fluke drops; he tubed up about a dozen bass to 35 inches as well… BUNKER IS AROUND-YOU NEED TO BE THROWING NORTHBAR PLUGS! Captain Blake was at it Monday after the crowds cleared, fishing off of Compo to bass rolling on sand eels with fish up to 34 inches all on light tackle. Finesses and Sluggos were the ticket (see recent catches). Cory C. from ASMW checked in after a trip to the Cape to fish a bluefin tourney and although the bluefin were hard to come by, the bass fishing was epic, with fish up to 30lbs and many stories of much larger fish blasting full sized tuna plugs clear out of the water(see recent catches). In between releasing bass they saw some breaching whales as well. He said the bait scene was incredible with butterfish, sand eels, bunker, mackerel and silver sides all in the mix! Captain Blake was back at it Tuesday with a father and son crew who were into fish before they even left the river. These 5:00 A.M. starts that we have implemented this year have really been paying off. We have had the water to ourselves for almost two hours before the late sleepers get up. Tossing sluggos and x-raps they had fish once again rolling on sand eels up to 31 inches. Compo is still hot, but this crew had just as much success pushing farther east towards Southport and Sunken Island. In fact they boated 6 fluke as well gorging on sand eels while bass fishing (see recent catches). Glen Katz checked in on Tuesday as well where he was greeted by a 2 mph south wind at 5:00 A.M….it does not get much better than that. He headed over to Eaton’s at dead low and was confronted by 8-10 lb blues until the tied turned and the bass started rolling in. He had his pick of fish up to 28 inches all on light tackle (see recent catches). A note from Mr. Katz and for those of you that follow these reports, Glenn is all about showing the kids a good time. He recommended for those who want to get their kids into some easy action, trying trolling an x-rap or shallow yozuri minnow back and fourth across Norwalk Harbor. Schoolie size bass with a few keepers in the mix as well as some ravenous fluke on the channel edges will keep the kids busy for hours. Tuesday night, Greg P. wrote in about a good sized striper blitz right of off Kensie Point with birds working hard. Fishing the long rod, he was barely able to reach them, but did manage a few fat 26-27 inch fish on a 3-4 inch blue over white deceiver. Wednesday A.M. was much of the same, however after a nice overnight T-Storm, the water was a bit stained, so for Ed and Tim, they worked some of the bigger points extending out for fish on poppers to 32 inches. With the rain we have been having, always a good start to not fish the estuaries, in addition to them being heavily stained, there is much fresh water intrusion scattering the bait. Smack Its are ideal for this type of situation. Last Saturday we held our last fly-fishing school with Lou Tabory and I know some of you were not able to make this date. Because of our long standing relationship with Mr. Tabory, he has offered to us one more school if the demand warrants it, so if you are interested, email me directly stating your interest and we will see if we can get one more date on the calendar. Well folks, here comes the big weekend and it looks like it will be a good one weather wise. Factor in numerous fireworks displays and a ton of boat traffic and it would seem the last place you would want to be is fishing, but I disagree. The fishing has been terrific thus far and with the continued strong bait presence it can only get better. There is no doubt that there will be boat traffic but many convert their fishing platforms this weekend to party barges to entertain incoming guests and revelers alike, leaving their rods on the dock or at home. In my opinion, although there will be a large number of additional boats on the water, I feel there will be fewer lines than past weekends due to the festivities, so don’t make up any excuses and get some fishing instead! We will be open July 4th from 6:00-4:00! Week of June 17th-June 24th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES Well folks, after spending the last 8 days luring in weary trout in some of the biggest water I have seen out in SW Montana, I am ready to get back dialed into the salt. Fishing a rising river flowing at 11,500 CFS is tuff work, so the calm serenity of LIS is a welcoming site. In my absence, we received quite a bit of moisture with more to come, but luckily our dense bait population has not seemed to mind it one bit. The sand eels are still in full force and if anything, seem to be spreading out a bit, becoming thicker in and around areas like Penfield Reef and South Pine Creek. The bunker schools are also becoming more condensed as the blues are growing bigger and bigger each day, corralling them up for the slaughtering that normally ensues and making them easier to find. Based on the reports that were sent in this week it seems that you could do no wrong. Despite what tactic you chose, everyone seemed to be into fish. Whether T&Wing on the north-shore, fly casting at the Mill Pond, throwing top water plugs in the islands or laying down some chunks after dark, all methods accounted for quality fish all the way around. First to check in was John Fiore who was fishing down in Greenwich. Using a custom hand tied W.O. clouser with all the fixings, John landed his best bass of the season on the fly rod in the local area (see recent catches). Mr. Katz continues to get it done tossing sluggos to hungry bass and of course never forgetting to bring his kids along for not only the ride, but for the fishing as well. He reports some slobs rolling on the surface as well over at Eatons where blues are in between the 7-10lb range and growing quickly. The boys even got to take one home for table fare (see recent catches). Mr. Katz also noted some great action on jigs in the deeper rips… Dick M. was next up and despite the crowds over the weekend at Compo and the adjoining Mill Beach, was able to land a nice bass in the 30+ range on the long rod that was safely released. Although I was in MT, I hear the crowds were hefty last weekend. What we can not deny folks is that the fishing has been better than good which in itself will attract anglers from all over, including out of state. After further investigation, I was informed that this past weekend an out of state fly fishing club that has been coming to fish each spring for over 20 years with sometimes over 20 anglers stopped in and gave Westport a visit. To each is own, but anytime I am personally in a crowded situation, especially in my home water, I do one of two things, call it an early day knowing that I can come appreciate what we have the next day while our vistors can not, or better yet, try to stand shoulder to shoulder and give them some tips on our local waters. The ongoing debate about spots sometimes gets the best of all of us. Compo and the Mill Pond are good spots; however there are way too many GREAT spots within a stones throw of these two areas that I have stuck more fish this year as opposed to the few nights I have fished Compo. My suggestions would be, pick up a chart, survey the water and unique coastline that we ALL have access to and find your own Compo Beach…you will be glad you did and when you hook that lunker, the only other person that will be watching will be me! The Micinilio Brothers were next to check in and believe it or not spoke of some slow fishing, but we all know that there definition of slow is an EPIC day for others. Fishing the Housey over the weekend, mainly towards the mouth, they were into a steady pick of bass trolling anywhere from 28-31 inches. Sunday they headed towards the Saugy and points in Darien and trolled up some bass but no keepers. Fish of the day was a 33.5 inch gator blue they hauled in behind Cockenoe (see recent catches). Captain Mike Platt finally decided it was time to go fishing and on a trip Sunday landed a ton of bass and blues all on Smack Its and Yozuri Crystal Minnows. Mike brings up a very valid point with all the sand eels in the water, sub surface offerings are competing with those thousands of sand eels, so its tuff to get a fish to look at an artificial. What to do? Stick to the surface where you can make a larger impression…enough said… Don Rossi, fresh off a trip to Boston Harbor, where he hooked up with our long lost friend Tom Leahy, who moved up that way a year ago. Tom, Don and Tom’s son had fish up to 22lbs on some of the lightest tackle around (see recent catches). Back home earlier in the week with dear old dad on board the Rossi crowd was ready to get into some fish and that is what they did. All fish were taken on T&W in and around the Norwalk Islands as well as off of Eaton’s Neck. They had blues up to 12lbs as well as bunch of bass up to 12 lbs all between 32-36 inches. Just when you thought there was enough bait for these fish to feed on, have a look at the recent catches section and see what some of these fish were spitting up prior to being released (see recent catches). Bill B. checked in fishing the Mill and Compo and guess what he got? Not one angler since he was the ONLY one there. Small blues forced him to abort his beloved sluggos as well as some schoolie bass were taken all on smaller spoons almost on every cast. Danny L. emailed in fishing Wednesday night from an undisclosed location near Sasco Beach in Fairfield with a fish that came to the boga grip just shy of 23 lbs taken on a sand eel pattern that was hand tied. He mentioned something to me that I had written about a few weeks back in regards to the size of your sand eel imitations. After tossing a line for nearly 30 minutes while the water was boiling with bait, he decided to trim his pattern down a bit to replicate the actual size of the sand eels that were surrounding him. Next few casts and his line goes tight…coincidence or adaptation…you decide, but know this, we just brought in some extra long surf candies for the fly rod that can be easily trimmed back as needed for this reason. Great fish Danny! The moisture looks like its going to continue for the next few days and into the weekend. Since it has not screwed up the bait situation yet, I am hopeful that it won’t this time around. It will no doubt cloud up the water a bit so you may want to give yourself some breathing room from the local estuaries. My focus would be on topwater and a good 10 or 15 count on the intermediate fly lines to get down into some clearer water. Sand eel patterns and start mixing in some crab/shrimplike creations as well on the long rods. As always be safe and keep an eye to the skies since these cells passing over head can develop very quickly….Tight Lines…. Week of June 3rd-June 10th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before the report…some housekeeping… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES Well folks, I can’t say too much other than it just keeps getting better. As most of you know, I am a big history buff, so more often than not I like to put everything into its historical perspective when and if I can. A few years back, we had an EPIC spring that was topped off by a large infestation of sand eels. Everywhere you would look, whether it be from shore, boat, from your waders, from the sky, where ever, you witnessed large schools of sand eels making their way throughout the sound. Of course if you really looked, you could see them being sprayed out of the water, as large pods of blues, bass and fluke had their way with them. When they left that year (although they did stay longer than normal), no real push of other baits took their place and it was a pretty dismal fall run for those of you that remember. Well dare I say then, that that was the best year for sand eels that I could remember in my tenure in the Western Sound. Well, I stand corrected…and although the story can not be closed just yet, I have never, I mean EVER seen this many sand eels in the water. In fact there seem to be two strains, some are about 1.5-2 inches long whereas the other class are pushing 3-4 inches. This is a great sign of course for the fishing since not only do bass and blues love chomping on these little critters, but they are also a main source of food for those overly aggressive Fluke at this time of year. In my opinion, if you are a light tackle or fly fishing enthusiast, this is an event you do not want to miss out on. Although these sand eels should stick around for quite some time, they no doubt will start to thin out over the next several weeks. Smaller profile flies such as surf candies, clousers, small body epoxies and slim deceivers should get the job done. On the light tackle rods…you guessed it…SLUGGOS…rig them weightless and weed less and if no luck, try a light jig head that won’t damper the performance so much like a 1/2 oz or 3/8 oz. Start with the smaller ones first and go larger only if necessary. Like other bait fish of this nature, don’t waste a lot of time looking for structure, your boat (if you are on one) will act as your structure. Find a school of these things shut the motor down and drift with it and avoid turning your motor on and off…let me know how that works for ya…onto the report… The weekend started off quite well for good friend, shop customer and fellow WSBC member Amy N. who emailed in a pic of her first bass of the season on Saturday A.M. that came to the net at 17lbs…knowing Amy, this surely will not be her last fish of the season either…great stuff! After taking a week off, the Micinilio Brothers and Sue checked in with another solid report. They fished Norwalk to Stamford on Sunday where even they had some difficulty finding some fish. Once things started to heat up with the tide, the tubed up a dozen or so bass with a few keepers in the mix to 32 inches. Monday, they were back at it again and fished Fairfield with another dozen or so fish and a few keepers in and around Pine Creek (see recent catches). Good friend Geoff Parr who has now taken up residency closer to Compo, in fact he told me that is why he moved here from Greenwich, to have better access to the water, just don’t tell his wife. Fishing one of Captain Gifford’s favorite patterns, he landed a nice keeper from shore and was lucky enough to have a passing boat snap a picture that was later emailed to him…got to love the camaraderie amongst anglers and who says that the boat guys and the shore don’t get along? Sunday night we had a charter and Captain Brad did not even leave the basin with bass up to 26 inches and blues to 4 lbs all on light tackle for a father and son who eventually just gave up with tired arms! Captain Blake was at it bright and early with another W.O. charter at first light on Monday…well it was supposed to be first light…but oh well. Upon getting out of the basin, the boat was surrounded by sand eels and hard splashes. They caught a bucket full of stripers that were all safely released as well as a good amount of 4-6 lb blues on light tackle. Biggest bass was 35 inches and fat, fat, fat on sand eels….Smack Its were the lure of choice. Tuesday, myself, Cody and Johnny Kronic, watched the sun come up from John’s boat off of Compo and never made it farther east than the west side of Frost Point. Sand eels were everywhere and so were the fish. A line of fly guys dotted the beach tossing vitals to rising bass crashing sand eels. The only thing more impressive than the sand eels were the size of some of the swirls and the gaping holes that followed. Funny how every time you cast off of one side of the boat, the swirl no doubt comes from the other side. Johnny was into a fat fish on the long rod almost immediately that tipped the scale at about 12 lbs and about 30 inches but super fat. The whole morning we were into them pretty good with some blues in the mix as well. Be sure to check out the underwater pics of the sand eels schools we took. Bill Beck checked in as he continues his fishing along the Mill and Compo at first light. His witching hours have been between 4:30-6:00 taking a host of keepers to 32 inches with a few other blistering run offs to no avail… Wednesday A.M. he emailed in another great report with his fare share of fish but none were as impressive as the 40 inch fish that tipped the scales at 25 lbs from a long rodder, who was fishing side by side with him. Southport Harbor continues to fish well with breaking bass just off the beach almost nightly. In another few weeks, we should get a push of shad in this area that will make the fishing there quite interesting if these sand eels stay in thick. Danny B. landed and released a 26 lb fish from the jetty on a chunk Tuesday night. Wednesday night Kronic and Cody were back at it with once again bass up to 31 inches, the best part of this trip was that only two rods were on board and they were both pushing nine feet. Cody, although having sluggo withdrawals, joined in the fun with the long rod where they sat in less than 18 inches of water landing too many fish to count all on the fly rods using some of Kronic’s clousers and various other sand eel patterns. All week, the dunkers also emailed in a host of reports of fish up to 20lbs on chunks amongst the islands. Even though the focus on bait has been sand eels, there are still plenty of schools of bunker around in our local rivers including the Saugy. What we need now is a little reprieve from the heat and cool temps to return with no rain. No moisture will insure that this bait stays in tight. The trout may hate for us it, but we are just having way too much fun on the salt right now. The weekend is looking good and it looks like it will cool off a bit for as I type this report the mercury is about to break 100… Be sure to look for the Montana report next week online…I will be heading out to the Complete Fly-Fisher once again this year in search of hungry trout feeding on Salmon Flies. The Big Hole River is just peeking after a record snow pack, so we will see what happens. Regardless of catch, it’s always a good time…. Week of May 26th-June 3rd IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Well, well, well looks like Summer decided to show up kicking spring’s ass along the way, telling it there is no place for her in New England for yet another year…let’s recap…miserable winter, rain, rain, rain 90 degrees! We will take it at this point, but perhaps we should move to a three season system Fall, Winter, Summer…enough said…some house keeping and then onto the report… The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFICE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES The Memorial Day Weekend kicked off with a bang with the mercury levels climbing each day. The water temps are thus rising as well and almost too quickly, but the fish did not seem to care one bit. Everywhere we looked this weekend, people were into fish. On the fly rods, in the local streams, out on the sound and from shore; location and technique did not seem to matter. The sand eels are really starting to make their presence felt whether they be in two feet of water off Compo Cove or 60 feet of water off of Eaton’s Neck. The fish are really starting to key in to them so be sure you have some smaller profile lures such as smaller Smack Its as poppers, soft plastics like Sluggos or Gulp and hard baits like X-Raps. Bunker schools are in thick in most of the harbors as well as in open water, with a larger concentration to the west around Stamford and Rye. When seeing schools, be careful, we had a customer call in from the water over the weekend that was spot on that he was coming up on a large bunker school when he realized at the last minute it was all cookie cutter bass up to 32 inches devouring sand eels in 50 feet of water… Our good friend and captain, Brad Berk checked in fishing with Cody Lapnow off of Stamford late Friday afternoon and into the evening, taking fish on both the fly rods, Smack Its, Sluggos and X-Raps with bass up to 31 inches along with a few fluke as well…a slow retrieve was key to make these fish take(see recent catches). Glen Katz checked in next where he continues to get his boys into the sport of fishing at a very young age and they seem to be enjoying it. You better slow down Glen or they will be out fishing you before you know it!! Most of the fish were taken on top water from Darien to Stamford on Friday A.M. (see recent catches). Saturday Captain Matt Gifford emailed in an epic night where he found fat 4-5 inch sliver sides getting worked hard against some of the islands. In fact, he wrote that he was in the exact same spot two nights in a row and the fish and silver sides showed up both nights like clockwork. Poppers and flies were the ticket with his largest bass coming to the net at 36 inches on the long rod…great stuff Matty! Ben Briggs checked in after witnessing a deer apparently swimming to Long Island. Now while many of us have seen deer hoping from island to island at low tide in Norwalk, this particular deer was over a mile from shore in open water. After redirecting the animal it was time for fishing. They set up at the Cows off of Stamford but nothing was going on so they headed back to the islands where the T&W rigs came out and they trolled up a ton of shorts and a few keepers to 34 inches. Jeff Smith and Brian J. headed out after first meeting up at one of our spring seminars, yet another good reason to attend the cool events that happen at W.O….finding new fish friends to split gas money with! After tapping the local haunts with poppers and sluggos, Brian hooked a healthy 32 inch fish on a popper on light tackle that was safely released along with a handful of blues (see recent catches) Great job guys! Good customer and friend Jack R. popped in the day before his report to say hello after being away down south for the long winter. After stocking up on some gear and relining his reels and reported in his first catch of the season from outside of the islands. While live lining a fresh bunker, he hauled in a 40 inch fish that tipped the scales at 32 lbs…not a bad start Jack…can’t wait for the ending (see recent catches)! Sage N. came out of his corporate hiding place to kick off the spring over the weekend as well. Although this was his first trip out, his boat has been waiting for him for quite some time. After stocking up, he headed out and did some trolling around the islands in between 5 and 15 F.O.W. where he landed and released a total of 10 bass with four keepers up to 33 inches as well. Sunday he and crew headed out to Smithtown Bay for some flat fish, dropping sand eels and squid strips(sushi grade of course from W.O.) and landed about 25 fish up 22 inches. According to Sage, who gets out more than most, he thought it was a bit slow but recognized that his skills may have been a bit rusty after his long hiatus…such an honest guy that Sage… Loyal customer and Ranger boat owner Robert K. reported in that the Mill Pond at first light over the weekend was red hot as well, with tailing bass hammering sand eels, unfortunately he could not get them to really commit to eat the fly but the sight alone was good enough for him to have just experienced it! He did walk away with one nice keeper and a handful of schoolies on the long rod. Glen Katz checked back in fishing Tuesday with a few big blues and a good share of bass where he and crew fished around Norwalk Islands and South West of Green’s Ledge. He found one gator blue hiding out in a school of bass that tipped the scales at well over 10 lbs (see recent catches). On the freshwater scene, the rivers locally are still holding a good share of water, while they continue to fish well. If these flows hold up, we should see good trout fishing well into June, which will be nice for a change. Nymphs have accounted for some larger fish locally; one customer came in to tell of a 19 inch brookie taken in New Canaan on a streamer, hell of a fish on a 4wt. We also heard of a 11+ lb brown taken from the reservoir on an artificial which is very impressive as well. Although the reservoir is a tuff fishing spot, diligence will be rewarded if you put your time in… The weekend the weather is looking decent and with what looks like temperatures that should be on top of us in August as opposed to June, the Sound will be a nice place to find reprieve for more than one reason. Make sure you are stocked on sand eel imitations including flies. Don’t forget the pre rigged sluggo kits as well…spend less time rigging and more time catching fish! Don’t forget to have some stainless steel knotable wire for those blue fish on the fly rod as well…see you on the water… One last thing…remember blue crab season last year…thought so….enough said… LAST CALL FOR LOU TABORY….SIGN UP TODAY!! Week of May 20th-26th IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN WEARING A PAIR OF THE NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FISH! COME HAVE A LOOK THIS WEEKEND! Before we get to the report this week folks, just a few housekeeping items…The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! NEED A NEW PAIR OF KICKS FOR THE BOAT AND OFFCIE? COME CHECK OUT THE NEW SIMMS MARINER SHOES Fly Fishing schools with Lou Tabory set for June 4th and June 25th…call the shop…sign up today… Well folks, it finally is starting to feel like spring with temperatures reaching 80 degrees this week and like my grass that is really starting to pop, so is our favorite spring bait, that’s right, sand eels. This warm weather, as we so accurately forecasted, was exactly what these little critters needed to get moving. Earlier in the week I was taking the scenic route home, which puts me on Beachside Avenue passing by Burial Hill Beach. Like all of you, when I drive on such roads, my attention is always on the water and not on the road…well, I took a look down the creek that flows into the main channel and saw quite a disturbance while I continued passed the entrance gate. At this point I was in a dilemma, either turn around now or be forced to head all the way to Southport since the Gold Cost does not take kindly to pulling around inside their gated homes. I had to make a quick decision, which I did, by pulling into the Green’s Farm Academy and turning around. On arrival to where I saw the disturbance, I found three fish all pushing 40 inches sideways in less than 8 inches of water, hammering sand eels. I frantically looked around in hopes of seeing someone that could appreciate this, but the typical dog walker had no interest. Things are happening folks, so get on out there this weekend. This week’s report starts off Larry C. fishing off of Penfield Reef, who was tossing sluggos and swim baits on top of the reef and working them back on the dropping tide over the weekend. This was his first trip out and unfortunately his first fish was a 10lb blue to kick off his season. He switched it up to a hard bait and proceeded to catch only bass up to 34 inches before the tide petered out. Good stuff Larry. Glenn Katz checked in fishing in and around Southport Harbor for a good pick of fish up to 30 inches on light tackle. (see recent catches). Meanwhile Cody and Johnny Kronic were tossing sluggos and flies to rising fish hammering Cinder Worms up on the salt ponds in RI. If you have never experienced this hatch locally or beyond, you should try it out. Unlike here locally, the cinder worm hatch in RI is water temperature driven, which means you don’t have to get up at some ungodly hour to fish it. In fact, they launched the boat at just 5 P.M. and fish into the night. Nothing huge, but as we know, there is a ton of competition in the water when these things go off, so fish up to 31 inches at will was totally acceptable for this crew. Back locally, Don Rossi continues to get it done sending in a nice pic of a 21 lb fish taken near Eaton’s Neck along with a porgy that was of course not being targeted yet, but nonetheless looked to be well into the 20 inch mark. Although it took Don to buy a new boat with a head to get her on the water more regularly, girlfriend Keri hauled in her share of feisty blues as well. Most fish were taken on the troll with T&W(see recent catches). Fellow members of the Westport Striped Bass Club have been making their way down to the west in search of the cows. This is a long trip and sometimes can be difficult if one can not find bait or the currents and tides are not just right, but George D. made the trip on Sunday with fish up to 25 lbs. Good friend and friendly competitor Jimmy O. checked in as well with a 26 lb fish from shore on a bomber. Nice catch Jimmy! Newcomer, returning to the area, John M. also checked in after loading up on some sluggos and swim baits and launched his yak in Southport with his share of schoolies as well, great fun and another testament to those damn plastic stick baits!! Farther to our east, our own Kurt D. has been hitting the beaches off Milford hard, where the bunker are in thick. Fishing in the dead of night, he and crew have brought to the net several fish in the 20 lb range all on fresh chunks this week(see recent catches). The shore report locally in Westport from Sam A. this week, despite the weather, was a decent one with fish from 29 to 35 inches on soft plastics and one very large fish lost. His preferred mode, dead of night when no one else was around using the lightening as his head lamp…go figure… The Micinilio Brothers of course were out despite the weather as well. They reported in that the Housey has been a bit slow, no doubt because of the raging water coming down it, but they were still able to get a few fish to the boat on Bombers as well as the larger X-Raps. Despite the tough conditions, they were able to get a handful of keepers to the boat (see recent catches). Bill Beck popped in prior to the report going live with several 30 plus inch fish from in and around Compo Cove from shore at first light, including a fish 35 inches plus on sluuggos and light rods. Lucky Bill has a day job or I think he would move into the Mill Pond for the Summer. BREAKING NEWS-About two minutes before this report was to go live, George D. from the WSBC landed a 48 inch fish that was pushing 50 lbs…Details are scant at best, but we were able to secure a photo...(see recent catches) Well, that is about it for this week folks. The weather over the weekend is looking great, so get on out there and get some fishing in. If you are not into the bait scene, small profile flies that match the sand eels will do the trick, surf candies, small mushies and slim jims. We recently had Johnny Kronic tie up some clouser like flies in a natural fiber with marabou…come have a taste. For the spinning rods, you guessed it, Sluggos, as well as the smaller X-Raps, Smack Its and tubes for covering larger areas of water. Happy Memorial Day to all, especially those enlisted, retired and others who have given the ultimate sacrifice within our armed services. Week of May 13th-May 20th ALL NEW SMITH ANGLING GLASSES IN STOCK...COME HAVE A LOOK! Before we get to the report this week folks, just a few housekeeping items…The first is a follow up to our seminar on the Norwalk Islands where we had nearly 100 people in attendance. We spent a significant amount of time discussing why we like and fish with sluggos so much and that the key to using these killer plastic stick baits, is to insure you rig them properly to get the desired action. Despite the simple 1,2,3,4 steps on some of the packaging, I am sure many of you will vouch, it is not that easy. Trouble is, if you don’t rig these just right, you will not catch fish. So we have taken the liberty, as we discussed, to put an assortment of these together for you all pre rigged, all you have to do is add water…and a line of course. Come check them out, you will be glad that you did… Does not every fly-fisherman and women long for an Abel fly reel that they can call their own? Of course we all do, but the trouble is, they are a lot of money and well, it would be like buying the new Maserati without getting a chance to drive it first? Well, now is the time to get your test ride…for free! We have worked closely with Abel and have come up with a new idea to get these reels onto your rods before you buy them and we are not talking about standing at the counter with one in your hands. Simply come in, sign one out that is already rigged with a choice RIO fly line and leader and fish it away! Drop it, kick it, and fish it, no worries. After you are done, fill out a three question form and get a free hat just for trying. Should you decide that an Abel reel is for you, order it within 30 days and get a FREE solid color and FREE laser engraving with name or initial or both!! This is over a $150.00 value!! Fly Fishing schools with Lou Tabory set for June 4th and June 25th…call the shop…sign up today… Onto the report…taking time away from building the W.O. Ark to float us away from all of this moisture, we did have some time to get some fishing in this past week and over the weekend. We had stated earlier that all we needed was a few good warm days and things would blow wide open and well…we were spot on (did you expect anything less?)! Bunker has pretty much invaded almost every harbor and deep estuary from Stamford to Bridgeport. These four days of rain will most likely push them down since traditionally these fish do not fancy freshwater…but tell Angus that from Bridgeport who stopped by the store with pics of four fat fish well into the 25lb mark that he and friend picked up chunking late Tuesday night in the harbor…so much for bunker disliking freshwater… Fellow WSBC member Matty Z. checked in after a decent Saturday A.M. tallying a host of fish on both T&W in and around Southport/Fairfield area. Although they were able to get some fresh bait, the chunk bite in some of the deeper holes turned up nothing besides a 7 lb bluefish…that’s right a bluefish. I always say there are no bluefish around until I catch one, but having Matty Z. catch one is just as good for me, so although they may not be here in mass just yet, get the bit guard and flouro out (see recent catches). They retreated to the shallows pulling two 18-20 lb fish out on T&W and one even fell for a handmade plug that Matt spun up over the winter…good stuff! By Sunday, the rain was threatening all day, but nothing really came of it. The Micinilios decided to venture from the Housey and stopped in via water to say hello and pick up some worms. Following a hot tip from yours truly they ended the day with 15 bass and 4 keepers to 35 inches. All fish were taken on the troll and one hog was lost live lining a fresh bunker…(see recent catches). Sunday, our own Cody L. and Johnny Kronic headed out to catch up after being away at school and were glad they did. Cody’s Maritime totally dialed in, had them fishing in and around the Cannons in ankle deep water with (you guessed it) Sluggos and Johnny on the long rod. They boated too many fish to count, nothing crazy with fish just shy of 28 inches, but all on light tackle and the fly rods=good fun! Clousers on the fly rod and sluggos on the spin set up. They spent the better half of their trip just doing reconnaissance and well, they were looking for one particular bait and they found them…and I am not talking about bunker…start loading up on the slim jims, surf candies and sluggos…our favorite hatch is about to go off… Danny L, reported in that Tuesday night was his night to go and despite the rain he headed out onto Todd’s Point with his favorite 9WT armed with a bushel of flies, but he only needed one. After fishing the SW corner for about an hour, he turned up a zero, so he switched it up to a 4 inch small mushy and game on. Only one fish for the night, but it tipped his hand scale at 19.5 lbs and was his first fish of the season on the long rod…persistence does pay off… Back on the freshwater side, the rivers and local streams are once again up, but if you think about it, the trout that were stocked prior to opening day and the again a few weeks back, have seen more high water than the normal flows experienced at this time of year. Conclusion…they don’t seem to mind, although weighted flies are still a must, having been displaced more than staying put, they actually seem to more aggressive. Keith stopped in with a few fantastic reports over this past week that included a 19.5 brookie on the Silvermine on a small spinner and several large tiger trout in the same vicinity. So much for the bite slowing down when the water rises… The “Soulman” continues to hit the Saugy with the long rod with also some good results, with still a steady pick of browns despite a lot of pressure in and around opening day, fishing nightly when it is not raining, with some dark Hendrickson flies for fish up to 16 inches. Back to the salt, we can now say that we have all the makings of a great spring bass run, with all of our favorite baits in the water. Something that I was discussing with who I feel is one of the finer fishermen in this area, who we will simply refer to as “Brown Dog,” was the steady pick of fish locally up to 30lbs over the past two weeks. If this report was say around June 20th, nothing would seem out of the ordinary, however it is May 20th and all signs are indicating that we are having a late start. The point is that the reports from down west, around areas like Hempstead, have been slow. Keep in mind, a majority of our larger fish emanate from the Hudson River, therefore, what happens to our west, traditionally will precede the fish we get here, but this year that seems off? Why so you ask? I have no clue, but it is something worth mentioning and should only add fuel to the fire in getting out on the water to experience some of this great spring fishing locally and you get to save a few bucks on fuel. Although the weather this weekend looks gray, it will not be a wash out and the low light conditions may just be in your favor. If the water is still stained, which it most likely will be, try bright colors deep on the troll with say an orange or bubble gum T-Man tube. For the spin guys/gals, smack its, smack its smack its…cause a disturbance and you will catch fish. For the fly guys/gals, weighted clousers or big heavy bunker patterns if you can toss them…remember…if it’s not white, its not right…see you on the water… VINEYARD VINES FOR CHEAP AND A GOOD CAUSE (READ BELOW) As many of you know, we are now in our third year with the Saugatuck Cup, an event that raises funding and awareness to support the further scientific research of Neurofibromatosis and other pediatric cancer and the development of programs that support the courageous families who battle childhood cancers and NF every day of their lives. To further help this event, there will be an reception on May 19th at the Vineyard Vines anchor store in downtown Westport from 5:00 P.M.-7P.M. All purchases will receive 10% off and Vineyard Vines will donate another 10 % of the purchase back to the 9th Floor Foundation (i.e. Saugatuck Cup). Come one come all…drinks and snacks will also be provided. Hope to see some of you there!! Week of May 6th-May 13th When Captain Mike and I gave our presentation on the Norwalk Islands, we highlighted the specific success we have consistently had with SMACK ITS. We just received our first of what will be many shipments throughout the 2011 season, come get them while they are in stock!! LOU TABORY FLY FISHING SCHOOLS UPCOMING ON JUNE 4th & JUNE 25th. SPACES ARE FILLING UP, CALL TO SECURE YOUR SPOT OR CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” TAB FOR ALL THE DETAILS…. Bunker, Herring and Silversides…OH MY! Hopefully this latest report has not caught you all asleep at the wheel. What I mean by this is that perhaps you have not prepped your vessels, sealed up your leaky waders, greased those reels or harassed your local boat yard to put your boat back in the water yet. If you are one of those that can’t answer “yes” to all of the above questions you need to get on it!! As we predicted a few weeks back, don’t wait for spring for it never happened. As I pen this report, we are in our third day of 70 degree weather as the water temps continue to rise into the low 50s. At this point, we have either seen or received reports that bunker have infiltrated most of our local harbors. Those harbors large enough are also acting as a traffic circle for loads of herring pushing their way up stream. Areas like the Mill Pond and Norwalk Harbor have loads of silver sides already, but no real signs of our favorite spring bait, sand eels, just yet. However, with this warm weather, they could just be popping out as we speak, so have a look out for them and be sure to have a nice small slender profile fly and/or a authentic plastic pattern for the spinning rod, for they should show up in mass any day now… The reports from points farther west where we know the schools of adult bunker have been for several weeks are starting to get hammered by large bass. We had Dave C. check in with a pick of 15-20 lb bass over the weekend, but locating and catching the fresh bait was more difficult than normal. We received another report from the west of a 35 lb fish taken on Saturday night and for once the reports of massive amount of boats down that way has been slim…for the time being… Back locally, the Housatonic continues to fish well both up and down, with herring being seen in large quantities throughout. Lures of choice, anything with a thicker profile, including Smack Its, Bombers and larger Slugos should get the job done. At the mouth on the fly rod, I would still be sticking to heavier weighted flies to cover the lower portion of the water column. Although most of the reports you hear from this area are of large quantities of fish but small in size, if you check in with the Audubon Society and get a key with a kind donation, you can have access to this sweet piece of water at night. At night the quality of fish getting picked up on the long rods will increase with several anglers emailing in a report of a 37 and 39 inch fish over the weekend. Speaking of the Housey, friends of the river staged a huge clean up on Saturday that we mentioned in last week’s report. Literally tons of garbage was removed so a big thanks to all who gave back to keep this river in good shape. Of course the Micinilio Brothers were right in the thick of it as usual and this time with no rods hanging off the boat (well maybe one), in fact their stealthy little craft put on a new face and acted as a garbage barge, transporting loads of junk from the river to a site on dry land to be brought to the dump (see recent catches). After the clean up, Jim hit the river on Monday totaling up nine keepers to 32 inches on Bombers and Storm Shads. Most of the fish were taken in 20 plus feet of water, but they did manage a few in the shallows as well (see recent catches). Another river seems to be heating up as well and this one may hurt a little for us Westport folks. We have several customers that come in daily for a box of worms, a lure etc. and for the most part (in my opinion) just like being outside more than fishing itself, so dropping a line in the water merely helps pass the time outside. For one individual who will remain nameless, Tuesday was his day and he landed a 40 inch bass at the turn off right here in our own backyard, while other individuals were on the North Shore burning gas looking for fish…The river also has been giving up a steady pick of 30 inch fish in and around the marinas and mouth of the river by Seymour’s. In fact we received a late report from one of our finest landing and releasing a 20 lb bass on the fly rod in the dead of night earlier this week (see recent catches). Bill Beck is firing his season up right doing some recon over by the Mill Pond where he reported back in a good amount of bait in the water, specifically 2-3 inch silver sides…won’t be long before the cove heats up! Ron L. reported in as well of some great action for a keeper on weighted soft plastics on the River, with a few other schoolies using the same technique. New Boat, new gear (cough, cough) and a renewed attitude to get some big fish in the boat this year, good friend and shop customer, Don Rossi, picked through the islands earlier this week with no luck, so he decided to air the new ride out a bit and headed for the north shore. In between bouncing off the rocks, Don landed a few nice keepers on the troll using T&W (see recent catches). Great start Don! Back on the freshwater side, our area rivers are finally starting to drop a bit, making the fishing and wading a bit more manageable. The nymph fishing remains strong, as well as signs of some Hendricksons coming off too. The second stocking of the local rivers occurred last week so get on out there while the flows and the fishing remain good! As many of you know, we are now in our third year with the Saugatuck Cup, an event that raises funding and awareness to support the further scientific research of Neurofibromatosis and other pediatric cancer and the development of programs that support the courageous families who battle childhood cancers and NF every day of their lives. To further help this event, there will be an reception on May 19th at the Vineyard Vines anchor store in downtown Westport from 5:00 P.M.-7P.M. All purchases will receive 10% off and Vineyard Vines will donate another 10 % of the purchase back to the 9th Floor Foundation (i.e. Saugatuck Cup). Come one come all…drinks and snacks will also be provided. Hope to see some of you there!! Well that is it folks, the weekend is looking pretty good so dust off those rods and go get some fishing in! Week of April 28th-May 6th SPACES FOR LOU TABORY’S FLY FISHING SCHOOLS STILL AVAILABLE!! DON’T MISS OUT THIS SPRING TO LEARN FROM THE LEGEND-SIGN UP TODAY!! Well folks last week we concluded our 2011 Seminar Series with Captain Ryan Sansoucy of Hush Fishing. It’s hard to believe that we held a seminar for the past two months every Saturday…where has spring gone? Safe to say that this year’s events were the best attended to date since we launched them in 2005. It is in my best estimation that we had nearly 600-700 people pass through our doors to hear and learn from some of the best anglers in our state as well as areas in New York. The crowds were diverse with some overlap, but a lot of new faces as well. If you frequent the store, you know we are all about education, not rushing folks out the door or giving scant at best information about where the fish are or have been. At W.O., the information flows freely, with no prerequisite of having to buy something whose tally is directly correlated to the accuracy or thoroughness of the data you are receiving. Not here, never has and never will be our philosophy. But now that the seminars are over, you all should not stop learning, but rather continue to ask the tough questions, make game plans for the days in which you are on the water and never stop trying to become better more informed anglers. Onto the report… Our local waters continue to get close to the 50 degree mark, which is a good thing, but with a deluge of rain towards the end of this week, they will no doubt stall a bit. There was a few sightings of what could be some local sand eel activity over the weekend while a lot of folks took advantage of the weather to wet a line. From Fairfield to Greenwich, reports came in of a pretty consistent pick of fish, no great sizes, but nonetheless some steady action. Locally, Burial Hill gave up a few schoolies as did Southport Harbor to 28 inches on you guessed it…Slugos… Out in the boats, with many still prepping theirs to get into the mix, Don Rossi christened his new vessel with a few decent schoolies up to 24 inches. Although he had to travel all the way to Eaton’s Neck to do so, the new boat is now ready to go including getting the skunk off of it!! After tossing the kitchen sink at them, he ended up connecting while trolling T&W…good stuff Don. The Mighty Micinilio Brothers sent in a report from the Housey that they classified as a slow one. After fishing towards the mouth and noted that the water temps from just three days prior were seven degrees colder. They picked up 4 bass around the marsh on tubes and then decided to head up river a bit. In and around Shelton, they had a steady pick of fish trolling with 4 keepers from 31-35 inches (see recent catches) The local rivers and ponds continue to fish quite well with a lot of fish, as we mentioned last week, still being around after being spared on Opening Day a few weeks ago. Justin “The Soulman” Solis continues to chuck wooly buggers almost nightly on the Saugatuck River for fish up to 18 inches. I had Steven B. come in to show me a fish that we determined was at least 22 inches after measuring the net’s diameter in the shop and cross referencing it against the photo. Pat O., after once again pillaging my freshwater gear, was into wild brookies on the Mill up to 14 inches at will on blue/black wooly buggers. We may just turn this salt snob into a trout bum yet! With all this rain, it will probably make sense to stick with weighted flies until the flows calm… FYI….the state of CT finished their second stocking of our local rivers on Wednesday, so you should see an increase in your catches at least before the masses are made aware of this exciting news. Shop customer and friend Glenn Katz, while he patiently awaits his boat to be prepped, has been taking sons Dylan and Tyler to local ponds in Fairfield with a steady pick of trout and small bass. Nothing better than seeing a young kid smiling from ear to ear holding a 12 inch fish…oh if life could remain so simple(see recent catches). Back to the salt, we had some stellar flounder reports come into the shop on Sunday with fellow Westport Striped Bass Club members Jimmy Izzo and Dick Ritter sending in a crew mate to pick up an additional flat of sandworms after already loading up that A.M. Almost every drop at one point was producing keeper flounder. Chumming is key during this spring fishery and be sure to stay on those muddier darker bottoms where the water will warm more quickly. Before we close things out this week, I want to draw you attention to a very important local event that happens every spring on the Housatonic River. The clean up event will take place from 8:00-4:00 on Saturday May 7th. You are asked to meet at either Birdseye or Sunnyside boat ramps in Stratford and Shelton. You don’t need to stay the entire day, just come lend a hand for as little or as long as you can, your help will be greatly appreciated. Well that is it folks, the weather for the weekend is looking good, not great, but good, so get on out and wet that line or come on down and check out a ton of new gear, get some tips and tactics and stock up for the 2001 season! Week of April 22nd-April 28th Well folks, finally looks like Mother Nature might have woke up from her long winter’s nap and decided to turn the heat up a bit…and we all thank you for that. With temperatures in at least the low 60s for part of the day all week, the water temps have responded and have breached the 46 degree mark, which is a much needed sign. Farther to our west inside of areas like Little Neck Bay and Jamaica Bay, bunker is plentiful and moving this way. The Saugatuck has begun to get some fish, no doubt chasing some herring up it, but nothing of substantial size just yet. The Housey continues to fish well from both sides at the mouth with a steady pick of fish all weekend long. Biggest reported into us was about 38 inches. If you head up, bring your etiquette or your restraint since there has been a ton of folks out there and remember, don’t overlook the marsh at higher tides, which clearly does not get any pressure as compared to the main stem of the river. In efforts to reduce redundancy, review the “fishing ugly” tactic I described in last week’s report, deploy it and you will for sure get some more fish! In regards to the trout fishing locally, we were spot on with our prediction regarding what the high water did or rather did not do to the heavily stocked rivers leading up to opening day. With the water being so high, you really needed to know how to fish technically to get your offerings down into that heavy current. With not as many people familiar with this, many fish were free to swim another day. Past employee Pat O’Donnell stopped by to borrow my 6ft 2 WT and proceed to the upper Mill on Saturday and claims to have got every fish that swims in it with fish up to 18 inches, mostly on weighted black Woolly Buggers. The TMA on Ford Rd. despite a ton of pressure, stills has been fishing well. For whatever reason, white Woolly Buggers seem to be the fly of choice, along with some black stone fly nymphs. With the flows high, it seems like the bottom portion of this stretch is fishing better than the upper…just saying. We should start to see some decent hatches, but until this water drops a bit, tossing dries may be tough… Back to the salt, the spring flounder season is in full effect and despite the crummy weather and wind a handful of shop customers have loaded up with clam chum and sandworms and headed out to some shallower spots, where we know these fish will come sun themselves on darker muddier bottoms. Plenty of shorts but once on the right spot, a good pick of decent fish from 14-18 inches. Please note the regulations are two fish per angler and must measure at least 12 inches, season will close May 30th. I personally swung by Burial Hill on Monday to find some sea life moving around, looked to be smaller silver sides but perhaps even some sand eels. Of course I was not prepared and my hands were not quick enough to get a final determination. Either way boys & girls, the bait is coming soon and we know what will follow that! The Micinilio Brothers continue their conquest of the Housey, where the statement was simply, “we have not seen this many big fish in years.” In my opinion this is a true sign of the conservation that has occurred over the past 6-8 years. “Yes” there is always room for improvement, but if you recall from recent years past, everyone was complaining about the lack there of quality fish with an over abundance of cookie cutter bass in the 17-20 inch range…now we are seeing things hopefully coming full circle with the more dominant class of fish coming in at 26-34… Lures of choice this time of year folks should have a predominantly white body, for much of the young fingerling baits that will be targeted have this white under belly. I don’t really care if it’s a buck tail, popper, soft plastics or swim baits, just make sure its white! Stripers normally feed looking up and when they look up, they want to see white. Clousers on the fly rod especially with the high water will get the job done, but so will a host of other weighted flies that don’t relay on the barbell eye set up. We just took in a large selection of saltwater flies so be sure to pop in and reload. Other store news includes a larger selection of Simms waders and boots. For those that attended are event with Simms a few weeks back now is the time (with a true sense of urgency) to get rid of your felt soled boots. With didymo now present on the West Branch of the Farmington River, this story is now hit closer to home than most of us would like and its presence is directly tied to the use of felt soled boots and the transfer of evasive aquatic species from one location to the other. Act now before it’s too late. Simms new stream treads have been proven to grip just as well as felt if not better and all can accommodate their hard bite studs. Don’t forget this weekend “Shallow Water Bassin’-Fishing South County, R.I.-& Beyond”- Captain Ryan Sansoucy. Ryan will go into great detail about fishing the very productive salt ponds that dot the R.I. coast, best tides and times to fish them and the most productive flies and lures to increase your catch. Join Ryan, who continues to innovate the sport of fishing with his adrenaline pumping approach to doing it!! He will give you an inside look at the great flats fishing found in the Southern New England waters ranging from set back river flats for carp to stripers on tidal sand flats. This seminar will cover basic regional knowledge, gear, fly/lure selection and techniques used to catch shallow water game fish. The Q&A for this one you will not want to miss! LAST CALL for our kick off of this year’s fly-fishing schools with Lou Tabory and the crew from Westport Outfitters. The first class will be held on May 7th @ Compo Beach. These early season classes are not only a great resource, but we almost always get into fish, so sign up today, only a handful of spots left. More information on the course offerings can be found under our “NEWS” tab on the homepage. Look forward to seeing you all there! Well that’s about it folks, now is the time to come on down and get geared up, we are fully stocked with anything you could possibly need and maybe even some stuff that you don’t need but we will convince you that you do. We all complained about the long winter and now it’s finally over so let’s get out and do some fishing!! Week of April 15th-22nd Alright folks…we have been holding back to insure we give you our always detailed oriented reports packed full of useful content and we can’t wait any longer. Despite what seems to be a bad joke of miserable weather since the 2011 winter ended, which will ever be ingrained into our heads as one of the worst, there are some signs of spring creeping in. This past weekend was Opening Day for the freshwater crew and they were greeted with flows well above with some areas of the Saugatuck being 2 feet above normal for this time of year. Weighted flies were the ticket on the TMAs with the worm crew getting into some great action up and down the Norwalk as well. Biggest pic that was sent into me was a 23 inch Rainbow on the fly rod…nice fish Bill! Perhaps the high water was a blessing in disguise, since it made the fishing that much more technical. Maybe this was Mother Nature’s way of conserving some of the fish well into the spring and early summer. Back onto the salt, it looks like things are starting to make a long awaited turn. Places like the Hudson and Housey continue to heat up which will bring some fish down into our local waters any day. Alewives have been spotted up and down the river systems and creeks all along the coast of Connecticut, offering plenty of forage for hungry bass. Places like Short Beach and the adjacent Milford Point both were giving up fish all weekend long. Weighted Slugos and flies were the preferred choice with fish being taken anywhere from 6 inches to 39. If you decide to venture out to a place such as the Housey, here are two tips. Don’t overlook the marsh area on the Milford side at this time of year where the water will warm more quickly, heating things up, bringing the fish in tight to shore. Just be careful and approach quietly…like you were trout fishing. When fishing the main stem of the river do what I call “fishing ugly.” Whether with flies or soft plastics, cast as far as you can up current, insuring a very nice long drift, that will hopefully put your offering nearer to the bottom, where the fish will be holding where the current is less. Keep in contact with your lure/fly and slowly jerk/strip it back as your line runs out. More often than not, you will get a strike at the very end of the drift and hold on. The largest fish report that came into the shop this week was just under 40 inches and covered in sea lice. They say sea lice will only hold on a fish for less than 24-48 hours…so you can fill in the blank. Back closer to home; we have received reports coming in right from our own backyard from several customers hooking into some schoolie bass up river on sandworms as well as soft plastics. Again, because the river is cranking, you must weight your offerings to get them down deep. This time of year it always fascinates me since so many folks come into the store and ask “Are the fish here yet?” My response is always the same, “Why wait for someone else to tell you to go fishing?” Although they may not be jumping out of the water onto your hook just yet, there are fish around. As the water temps increase, pods of bait will move into the shallower water and it will be game on. If you are unclear on where some of the more productive spots are in the spring, stop in and we will point you in the right direction (as always)…free of charge! Flounder fishing, despite the lack of boats in the water just yet, is also off to a decent start. I know of four individuals who are already floating, that have been hitting it hard in between the rain and wind with better than average luck. A good stream of clam chum and some fresh W.O. sandworms have offered up a steady pick of 13-16 inch fish with a few shorts. Any report would not be thorough without mention of the Micinilio Brothers who have been on the Housey almost daily…the last report from earlier in the week reported in that the fishing remains strong. Trolling swimmers and tossing weighted baits toward the bottom have produced fish up to 39 inches for this crew (see recent catches). They continue to fish the deep holes but have had just as good of luck in tight near the shore, so for all of you shore anglers, dust those waders off and get on out there!! Please note that some of our regulations have changed this year and/or pending to change. For your convenience, I have secured a copy of this document which is attached to my email as well as posted under the “NEWS” section of our website. This document has yet to be printed, so please take advantage of it and become familiar with it as you see fit. Farther to our west areas like Little Neck Bay are starting to heat up, offering yet another sign that the fish will be in mass soon. There have been pods of bunker way up and in as well as some smaller baits like silver sides lingering around as well. Although it may be a bit too early to head all the way down for the night patrol, I would say that within another week it could be prime time….so we will keep you posted. The weather over the weekend is looking okay, I am sure many will have holiday plans, but if you can find some time, grab your rod and get on out to your favorite marsh like spot and take a few casts, you will be glad you did and “Oh…BTW…it’s time to go fishing!” April 30th @ 11:00 A.M.- Shallow Water Bassin’ in South County Rhode Island w/ Captain Ryan Sansoucy…Don’t miss this always adrenaline pumping presentation to kick your season off right!! Lou Tabory/ W.O. Fly-Fishing Schools start on May 7th with subsequent classes being held on June 4th and June 25th…spaces filling up, so sign up TODAY. All information can be found under our “NEWS” tab. MARCH 2011 Well folks, time to dust off the rods and reels and start organizing that tackle, tying those flies and greasing up those trailer bearings, for spring is finally here…or is it? Down here at the shop I am looking at a new Ranger that we just sold that was being prepped to be shipped to Atlanta to its new proud owner and it is now sitting uncovered with two inches of snow on it….where is spring? As I mentioned a few weeks back, one thing we can all count in is this, we are closer to the end than the beginning and that is a positive sign. Some of our local estuaries are heating up as our local trout streams begin to come back to life as the hatchery trucks make their rounds in anticipation of opening day. On the salt side, we always want to focus on fishing those darker muddy bottoms that will heat up first, which is why the Housey is always a good place to start come spring or should you want to travel a bit more, try the mighty Hudson. Our own Captain Mike Platt has already put his boat in to its spring home on the Hudson where he has been getting out a few times a week. He is also available for hire on this river, which can be a tremendous spring fishery, so give the shop a call if you want to get some fish time in. Keep in mind all applicable New York state licenses will apply. Back on the Housey if you are tired of bumping into folks on shore, we also have a local captain that will be specializing in some search and fish missions in an aluminum rig with a brand new Yamaha four stroke. This rig is perfect for the shallower spots and easily maneuverable out in the deeper water as well, but can also be easily dragged up on a point or bar for some wading. Soft plastics have been the ticket from Sullivan’s Island and down. The mouth around the gun club and across at the bird sanctuary will still need some more time before they heat up, but in my opinion, give these last two places another week or so before venturing out and swinging some closuers off the bottom for your first striper of the year on the fly rod… Back up river, the Micinilio Brothers have gotten off to a great start. The reality of it is, is that they have sent me already about four very productive reports that we did not post. This one comes in from just yesterday (3.23.11) where they had over 100 fish to the boat with a handful of keepers on small soft plastics, jigs and clousers. Fishing the river at this time of year is not necessarily difficult if you approach it in the right way and that is to fish like you are a surgeon…let me explain. These fish for the most part have been stacked like chord wood, moving in waves to different areas of the river in larger schools and then hunkering down for several tides or even days. You can not fish the Housey in the spring like say the Norwalk Islands in May. You can’t just hit the points, bars and other pieces of structure at will and expect to see a good pick of fish. Depth/Fish finders are key and more key is the understanding of the ins and outs of your particular unit. Knowing the difference between what is a log or a school of fish is critical…you laugh, but it happens more than you think. Once you have located the fish, leave your top water box in the bag, these fish are deep and for a good reason, the current is less and thus less energy is exerted to grab a small snack and then they return to their special place. The presentation of your lure should be with a softer tip rod with extreme sensitivity, these fish will hit very subtle and it is imperative that you feel this or they may not come back after they realized they just mouthed a piece of plastic or metal. Once hooked and reeled in, take extra special attention in releasing these fish, if at all possible, keep them in the water, although after the winter we all had, even a 18 inch schoolie will be exciting, but no need to hold it out of the water for five minutes to take a pic and jeopardize someone else catching it later. Lastly, be sure to have your updated saltwater license and depending on where you are fishing, you may need your freshwater one as well. If you follow some of these steps, your time on the Housey this spring may be more enjoyable and productive…now get on out there!! Don’t forget to sign up for Captain John McMurray next Saturday April 2nd @ 11:00 A.M. This seminar will not cost you a dime, not $100.00, not $75.00 not even $25.00 and we are happy to be able to do this with all of your support. RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com to hold your FREE space. FIRST DATE FOR LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL (MAY 7th) IS ALMOST SOLD OUT...RESERVE TODAY...FULL SCHEDULE POSTED UNDER THE "NEWS" TAB! April 9th we will hold our Outboard Tech Seminar with the crew from All Seasons Marine Works followed by our Annual Open House! Hope to see you all soon! February 2011 The fishing reports will commence shortly, in the interim, please log onto our "NEWS" section to view our line up for the 2011 Spring Seminar Series as well as our 2011 Fly-Fishing Schools with Lou Tabory!! Think SPRING!! January 2011 Had enough of this snow? Check out our winter fly tying class schedule which has now been posted under the "NEWS" tab. Space is limited, sign up today! Seminars will begin on March 5th, less than two months away...THINK SPRING!! DECEMBER 4th @ 4 P.M. SHARP! COME ONE; COME ALL FOR OUR ANNUAL HOLIDAY/CUSTOMER APPRECIATION PARTY...SEE BELOW FOR ALL THE DETAILS In lieu of a fishing report this week, we are simply reminding you all that our Annual Holiday/Customer Appreciation Party in conjunction with All Seasons Marine Works, will be held this Saturday, December 4th starting at 4 P.M. This will also mark the start of our annual sale where nearly everything in the store will be AT LEAST 20 % off, with the exception of some new stock. Come one; come all to take advantage of some great deals for some great gift ideas. Impress that special fisherman and women in your life! Gift Certificates will also be available. Since we will have the event catered, if you plan on attending, stopping by or bringing a bus load of people, please RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. If you already received an Evite and responded, not need to RSVP again. Keep in mind that the sale will run through the month of December. Hope to see you all on Saturday at 4 .M. sharp! Stay tuned next week for the “2010 Season Wrap Up,” where we will discuss the season, the good, the bad, the ugly and take a look at the “2011 Season.” Week of November 12th-November 19th WINTER HOURS ARE NOW IN EFFECT…CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR DETAILS. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 21st WE WILL BE CLOSING AT 12:00 P.M. TO ATTEND A TACKLE SHOW. Before we get to the report this week, one very important announcement…this year our Annual Holiday Party with the crew from All Seasons Marine Works will be held on Saturday December 4th and begin at 4 P.M. In addition to this being a great party overall, there is also even more benefits for those in attendance. The party will also serve as the official kick off of our annual sale at Westport Outfitters, where select items will be up to 50% off. Rods, reels, clothing and other items are all great gift ideas for that special fisherman or fisherwomen in your life so don’t miss this. Over at All Season Marine Works they are fully stocked with 2011 new boat inventory that can be viewed inside and outside on the premises. Do all of this while sharing some cheer inside the showroom where we have installed a 20,000 BTU wood burning stove. Throw in some good food, drink and friends and you will have the perfect night out. As always, kids & guests are welcome!! Please RSVP by emailing ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com so we can accurately get a head count for food and beverages. Look forward to seeing you all here on Saturday December 4th @ 4:00! Well folks there is still some great fishing to be had, but it is apparent from looking out at the service yard that a lot of boats have come out of the water, as the dates to be out of your slips being dictated by local marinas and clubs rapidly approaches. It is in my opinion (a somewhat professional one) that the migration of bass that we all look forward to each Fall happens when we are all two beverages in around Christmas Day. Of course at this time there are virtually no boats in the water, but there are a few that stick it out. One is a very good friend of mine who will remain anonymous as to not divulge his entire strategy. He swears that some of the best Fall fishing he experiences each year happens in December and I am not talking about fishing the Housatonic River, but rather places like 11B, 28C and Middle Ground. It is also in my opinion that the reason we never really here about such excursions is that everyone has checked out and focusing on planning winter getaways rather than what’s going on in the sound. So as you begin to rinse your gear off for the last time, perhaps you should put that favorite casting rod and reel aside, along with some of your favorite top water lures and try to make a mental note of that fellow fisherman who trailers a boat and is mechanically inclined enough to winterize his/her boat again after you head out. Give he or she a call about December 15th when the mercury is at an unseasonable 55 degrees (it always happens folks) and get back out there. If you do, I can assure you this, it will be hard for you to explain to others that were not present what you may experience….good luck! Back locally, the story of the week continues to be blackfish which will run through December 6th here in the Western Sound. As is expected at this time of year, they are definitely starting to migrate into deeper water so it may be time to change up your tactics a bit. However, I have been advising to at least make one quick stop at some of your shallow water haunts first to see if there are any stragglers before heading out deep. Just to be clear, deep in this context is say between 20 and 30 FOW and drop those greenies down. We had dan L. phone in news about a 11.5 pound tog taken just off of Penfield Reef this Monday on a green crab! Closer to home for us, we had a report from Tuesday where despite a decent breeze, Brad was into togs still in shallow at Frost Point where shorts were the word of the day, but he stuck with it and managed two nice fish up to 8 lbs jigging greenies. Some of you track the success of the Micinilio Brothers and if that is indeed the case, you would have noticed that they have been silent and that is because they have been chasing Peacock Bass in Brazil. All in all a slow week according to Jim, but they did manage a good pull of fish all on light tackle form 12 to 23lbs (see recent catches). Before the crew even got unpacked form the Brazil trip, they braved the 40 MPH winds on Wednesday and headed out on the Housey. Fishing the lower portion they managed about 24 fish all trolling tubes and swimmers in tight and did manage two fat keepers coming in at just under 35 inch range. Great job guys!(see recent catches) The jigging bite out at 11B continues to be good, but not great. A lot of fish, but not a lot of girth or size to them, but that should get better and better from here on in, as we had mentioned previously. When dropping the diamond jigs down at this time of year, it is imperative that you are using a teaser off some sort of three way set up. Whether that is a store bought one or a saltwater fly, just make sure you have something. Many of the jigging reports from locals that look forward to using this technique all year, will tell you that most of their fish almost 4:1 will be taken on the teaser rather than the jig. If you need assistance on rigging these, stop by the shop for some guidance. The inshore bite remains pretty consistent, while there are still small pods of bait working the coastline throughout Fairfield County. Tossing poppers would be your best bet or perhaps slow drifting some sandworms under a float in less than 10 FOW. There are plenty of fish beginning to push through and/or returning home. The schoolie action inside harbors lie Black Rock and Southport is non-stop and great fun for the kids and the light tackle rods. As the blues begin to push out, it is safe to break out the soft plastics again in tight. Also a great time to tie on a small clouser with the fly rods and stick some fish. Daryl N. reported in that all Thursday A.M. he must have had at least 50 schoolies up to 24 inches just outside of Black Rock and also found some fish up inside of Ash Creek before the tide flushed out using the same technique. Back to the freshwater, don’t overlook the quality of trout fishing that occurs locally here in the Fall. The streams have plenty of water in them and freshly stocked fish. The wild trout management areas that don’t receive any stocking have been on fire. Farther to our north, the Farmington continues to fish quite well. We sent a newcomer who is no stranger to big river fishing having earned his stripes out west and after some guidance from Kurt D., he landed 9 fish up to 22 inches all on the fly rod this week. Not a bad day on the Farmy! Locally, the leaves are down, so that has cleared things up a bit, but still wade with caution. I personally had a decent A.M. on the Saugatuck on Tuesday. Fishing nymphs I hooked and landed half a dozen fish up to 18 inches, but still great fun on the long rod. Well folks, that’s about it for this week. Please don’t forget to mark your calendars and come on down for the party on December 4th. Good food, friends, drink and fishing and boating stuff! RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. ALL ARE WELCOME! Week of November 5th-November 12th Well folks, don’t give up hope just yet, this coming weekend they say the temperatures may even breach the 60 degree mark, so break out some gloves and some layers and get some fishing in. The trout stocking in our local rivers and streams seems to have been a good one. The WTMAs have produced some beautiful fish on the Mill River specifically. The TMAs that were heavily stocked continue to produce fish up to 22 inches. With the recent winds almost daily, if your constitution allows, I would stick with some streamers and nymphs, only because it has been very difficult to actually track a dry fly with all of the foliage in the water. If you find some clear water, try a few BWOs or perhaps even a Muddler Minnow, but fish it dry with some floatant and slowly retrieve it back towards you. Back on the salt the reports continue to come in, although getting more sporadic, which is normal for this time of year. The fish are really starting to move, some into local estuaries, some out and some just passing through. Now more important than ever during this time of year is simply putting your time in, it will really start to be a percentages game, so if you have the time, wet a line. With the water temperatures the way they are, the blues are still around. Local Westport Striped Bass Club Members Jim C. and Sam B. had blues up to 14 lbs at will earlier in the week out at 11B with just a few other boats around. Jigging although seemingly a simplistic way to catch fish is indeed an art with real technique needed, so be sure to swing by before you head out and we can give you some pointers to increase your catch ratio. Having a moving tide is critical and being on the right side of the structure is equally critical, so don’t over look these variables. Leave the spinning rods stowed and break out some stiffer conventional set ups…say 15-30 lb rigs and drop the silver down and hold on! Back in tight, Burial Hill this week definitely produced if you could stand the wind. NNW you would think would be okay but it seemed to shift as the day went on, almost turning out of the east. I found sanctuary at Kensie Point, where after about an hour of fishing, I had 3 good sized bass up to 30 inches on the fly rod. Just to the left of me closer to Pine Creek I witnessed a man who was chunking who landed what seemed to be at least a 20lb fish that he safely released. The reports from the Housey from both the fly, spin and bait crowd are really starting to heat up as well. It does not seem to matter where, whether at the mouth, near Birdseye and/or above, the fish are around and in good numbers. The lower portion of the river is still loaded with 12-14 lb blues in shallow water up tight against the reeds, so try tossing a crease fly and/or small popper and hold on. Dave L. reported in three fish from shore that topped 14 lbs on Wednesday A.M. on the dropping tide, all on poppers near the mouth. Back to the West, the Tog bite continues to be better than good if the darn wind cooperates. Although this may be redundant, what separates a good day of blackfishing from a good one could be inches, not feet, so the wind can really reap havoc on fall anglers targeting Togs. Load up on some green crabs and get to your local rock pile and drop them down. Much like Porgy fishing, if you are not getting a bite in a short period of time, readjust immediately. Readjusting on Tuesday with a decent breeze, found local Ned trying 4 locations off of Westport before settling in around the vicinity off of George’s Rock where he limited out within two hours and tossed back at least 20 fish that were keepers in most boats. Biggest fish to the rail was 8.5 lbs. The bass, as we all know, begin to move at this time of year which can be frustrating after you hear a report that claimed they were jumping in the boat to only return the next day and not even sniff a fish, but this boys and girls is fishing and that scenario plays itself out all season long. There is however something you can do to combat this, spent as much time as possible on the water when you can and I promise you, you will all get into some nice fall bass. A crew of three, captained by good friend Ed, headed out on Wednesday from Westport, taking advantage of the holiday and were greeted with a chilly, but beautiful sunrise. Lines were in the water by 7:45 A.M. as they worked the jetty off of Southport for their share of schoolie bass up to 21 inches on light tackle and fly rods. As the tide really started to drop they were still able to sneak up inside and were rewarded with a fat 17.5 lb bass (see recent catches). Later they moved off of Penfield for some top water blue action to 12 lbs and back to the dock and at the Black Duck for lunch by 1:00 P.M….not a bad day off boyz. Further to our west, the coastline of Darien continues to heat up as well. Coming put of the river, Darren had his share of bass just after first light in tight on Tuesday. He noted that finally, there was some decent bird activity, giving the location of these fish up right away. Nothing huge, but stout fish up to 30 inches all on light tackle and poppers. Well folks, that’s about it, this weekend is looking great from a weather standpoint so whether you choose to fish in the salt or take a hike up in the woods for some wild trout, the main point is that you get out. The fishing remains strong and you will thank me for motivating you when it’s February 18th and it’s negative 6 outside. So whether it be jigging, togging, troutin’(my friend Dave says this) or bassin, you won’t have too many more opportunities, to do so, so get on out and ENJOY! Week of October 29th-November 5th Well folks, a tough week this week, with a lot of wind, rain and some temps kicking off our mornings in the 30 degree mark, but have no fear, this is just what the doctor may have ordered. As I mentioned last week, the cold weather is at this point is inevitable, it’s not a matter of if, but rather when. The water temps are still above 60 degrees and there is a ton of bait around, so now what we need is a little kick start to get these fish moving, specifically the stripers. What this little cold snap will do is give the fish a reality dose that they too need to prepare for winter and that means eating and swimming. Therefore, although the air temp may be hard on a set of hands attached to a cold piece of a stainless steal, driving out to 11B or Middle Ground on a picture perfect fall morning, it’s time to knuckle up boys and girls and get some fishing in. After all, that’s why you have the $45.00 pair of gloves stuffed into the bottom of your console or tackle bag with the tags still hanging on them…onto the report. We received a late report from Ron L. last week who reported in some great top water action off of Westport with one bass coming in at 36 inches with several others wailing his Stillwater Poppers that were just as big if not bigger! In between some bigger fish, he had schoolies up to 20+ inches on the same lures. Sage N. continues to be a hurtin’ on the togs, still fishing between 5-15 FOW, up to 10 plus pounds. One point for the tog crowd out there. Don’t rely on your experience in years past about when to move into deeper water to target these fish. I know it was not that long ago, but we had a very hot summer and the water temps are still reflecting this. Therefore, my best advice is keep hitting the shallow stuff until you stop catching fish. Based on what our man Sage is doing, they are still in shallow and I mean very shallow (see recent catches). We had Morgan come in to tell us about a trip out the bumps off of 11B on a rather large Hatteras this week. I am not trying to impress anyone with the size of the boat, but rather tell you that the electronics package on this thing cost more than many of the center consoles in the area. Point being, they can see a lure hanging out of a stripers mouth in 200 feet of water. He reported in just a whole mess of bait all over out there as well as a good push of fish starting to stack up. They threw the jigs down and in all flavors with a few fish, but nothing as compared to what the units were showing. AHHHHHH jigging in the fall, sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s not, but we appreciate the shear intel from Morgan. Glenn Katz checked in a few times this week, but the first was from over the weekend where he too has been doing very well on the Togs. Glenn was fishing with his father on some local wrecks and structure and brought a host of Togs to the rail up to 7 lbs. along with some large blues. Green crabs were the bait of choice… (see recent catches). If any of you were out on Sunday it was downright nasty, but I am sure you know who did not stay at the dock, that is right, the Micinilio Brothers. Mind you their craft is not one with much freeboard, but so be it. They fished off of Penfield Reef and Black Rock Harbor. They had 4-5 rollers coming over the reef, which would have been better for surfing than fishing. After getting pounded all afternoon, they caught 2 nice blues up to 34" and 14lbs and a host of bass up to 33" (see recent catches). Glenn Katz was back at it again Wednesday A.M. and after his hands thawed out was able to drop me an email about their excursion. They left the dock and it was just 35 degrees. He started to throw some plugs in and around the islands but was unsuccessful and switched over to plastic swim baits. The top water bite was dead, but the soft plastic swim bait did the trick for the striped bass and blues. Glenn called it at around 8:00 A.M. when the sun started to come up but brought to the rail a few bass up to 30 inches along with some 3-4 lb blues and back to work he went… Farther to our east around the Housatonic, I have received multiple reports of some great fishing taking place out at Middle Ground…if you can get there of course. At the right tide, dropping down weighted slugos accounted for bass up to 30 lbs earlier in the week, with some very high aspirations of the days and weeks to come of some bigger fish from this one local captain. Back in shore, the Housey is starting to heat back up as the water temps start to cool down. It’s an interesting fishery at this time of year since any angler will have shots at the fish that are leaving as well as those that are returning. It can be frustrating at times, but if you put your time in, you will connect with a nice fish on this river at this time of year! Just ask Kurt D. who continues to fish it hard at night with bass up to 27lbs on live eels and Slugos. A brief look to the trout streams that have all been recently stocked and filled with some moisture, will show us some great fall trout fishing. If you can get a day that has no wind, which will prevent foliage from ruining your line of sight, you should be able to entertain some dry flies, perhaps some BWOs. Be careful wading as well, as I mentioned last week, since residents dumping leaves into local rivers can create a sense of a false bottom, walk softly and carry a wading stick! Well folks that is about it for this week, the fishing remains strong and this weekend looks pretty decent. No rain in the forecast with some milder air temperatures, so bundle up and get on out there. I still love using medium sized poppers at this time of year or swim baits of the blues are not around, but I have yet to see that. If you have never tog fished, stop in and we can get you dialed in, its great fun and a great eating fish if that’s what you desire. Week of October 22nd-October 29th At the time of this writing, the mercury was on the rise to top out near 75 degrees today. No, it’s not spring again, but it sure does feel like it. Although the air temps are supposed to moderate back into the low 60s over the weekend, we really enjoyed some great weather this week. Despite some rain, the air temps remained mild instead of that bitter fall rain feeling we often experience at this time of year. The fishing remains better than good for this time of year. Every day more and more boats come out of the water and it just seems plain wrong, but for those that are still in and still keeping their waders wet, it’s time to go fishing. My feeling is this; no doubt we will get some cold weather over the next month, perhaps even one week of temps dipping into the 30s, like we always do. However, like it also always does, we get a warm snap, towards the end of November and everyone comes in the store and says, “I can’t believe I took my boat already.” Fact, not fiction, is most boat anglers don’t even own a pair of waders, so they are truly stuck unless they maybe do a bit of trout fishing off the salt. Although I mentioned before, it’s worth a mention again. We have not seen the amount of small bait around in our home waters in years, with a majority of it concentrating in the shallow areas closer to shore. This means good things for boaters since you don’t have to run and even better things for shore anglers since you will have the fish at your feet. Only thing else to do is for both groups to get out and start enjoying it. Use a personal day, a vacation day or heck, just don’t show up and go fishing! The Micinilio Brothers kick off the report this week with some intel from around the Housey. They first went out Saturday and fished Black Rock again and were greeted with nasty winds that prevented them from moving around. It was slow all day until they went in the back of the harbor. They caught about 45 small bass on soft plastic jigs, great fun on light tackle. Sunday they were back at it and fished the mouth of the Housatonic. It was hard to fish the mouth because of the bad east wind and the outgoing tide but they managed to get 20 small stripers. The fish of the day was a monster 35" 13lb blue they caught in one of the channels in the marsh. It had a huge bulge in his stomach where they could actually feel another fish in there folded up in half, probably a small striper (see recent catches). On Monday Michael Seo checked in where they fished Frost Point and it was on fire. With an abundance of peanut bunker in tight, David Rina was also able to take advantage of some good fishing from his kayak. Michael said that 10 lb blues were the norm. David on the other hand was apparently hooked into a monster and once he got the beast up to his kayak it was mauled by an even bigger fish and he was left with the mere head of the fish that was on his line initially. Great job guys! (see recent catches) The black fish bite continues to be on fire, albeit in pretty shallow water, less than 16 FOW. I have yet to hear one report or experience myself of substantial togs being taken in anything deep. As the season continues, these fish will move onto some deeper structure, but not just yet. Remember to try the jigging that we spoke of a few weeks back; it’s a much better way to keep in constant contact with your line and if done properly, should definitely increase your catches. Thursday A.M. we had a report of a full on bass blitz at the mouth of the Saugatuck with some bigger fish in the mix, but predominantly fish from 22-28 inches. This action went on for over an hour with only two boats into the mix! To leave the local scene briefly, Montauk continues to fish quite well, but the good days versus bad days are getting fewer and far between. Cory C. from the ASMW Crew headed out on Sunday loaded for bear and although they caught a few fish, there was more birds just working schools of bait with nothing pushing them from underneath. Wednesday with the seas relatively calm and balmy out, the point was back to “normal” with some larger schools of fish working pods of bait hard with some nice fish up to 36 inches. If you have the time, it’s definitely worth making a shot out there; if possible give yourselves a two day window; just in case it gets sketchy you will have another day. Back home, the blues are not giving any indication of letting up. Middle Ground in addition to producing some great tog action from the Shelton Crew has also been loaded with big blues up to 16lbs. Catching a 10-12 lb blue is good fun, but once you cross over into the 16-18 lb fish, it seems a lot more than just 3 or 4 lbs. Get on out there, catch one, and you will understand what I mean. Technically with water temps getting close to falling below 58 degrees, these chompers should move out, at least that is what the text book says, although with all of this bait around, their plans just may be altered. Well folks, that is about it, the message still remains clear, there is a ton of fishing still to get done. Should the boat be out, try tossing a few small size 22 BWO into the Saugatuck and hold on. All of our local rivers have been recently stocked, so get out and enjoy some great fall fishing. One word of caution, now that the leaves are starting to fall. Leaves hung up on fallen branches create a false bottom in a river or small stream. Add to this the fact that sometimes landowners whose property abuts rivers toss some of their leaves into the river. I personally have gone over my head several times thinking the bottom was staring me in the face when it was nothing more than a pile of leaves. Be careful out there…see you on the water! Week of October 14th-October 22nd Another week that brings us unfortunately closer to the end, but don’t count the 2010 fishing season out just yet. I felt that what I am about to say next was a known fact, but for those not familiar, please read on. Striped Bass are a migratory fish, i.e. they come up in the spring as their prime mating grounds warm and then turn around in the fall seeking warmer waters in and around points farther south then our home water of LIS. When these fish start to push through from points to our north in the months to come, they are faced with a major decision as they come around areas like Cape Cod. Do they continue in a south-south westerly direction around Montauk or do they hook a right and bank hard into Long Island Sound. For some, this decision is hard wired as they return to wintering hold over areas such as the Thames, Housatonic and Hudson Rivers, but for others, there are a few key variables that will influence them; the most influential being the presence of small bait, to which they can feed on prior to their long swim south. Let’s digress, for the past three years there has been a huge shortage of small bait inshore when these fish come through in the fall. That means that A. These fish decide to go around Montauk or B. They pass through the sound so quickly, with nothing to keep them here, that most anglers never even get a shot. Large quantities of smaller bait including baby bunker, silver sides, anchovies, mullet and butterfish are abundant along our local shorelines from Westerly to Westport. So what does this mean? Hopefully that these fish will be lured into the sound where they will have much reason to stick around and gorge for a bit, which means good things for the fishing upcoming and even better things from a shore angler’s perspective. The time is now, the forecasts are fair over the weekend and the seas will be calm, so take a stab at the fish of a lifetime this fall. Keep in mind that as others begin to haul their boats, there will be less boat traffic, which means less pressure, which means, you got it, BETTER FISHING!! Learning more and/or becoming more familiar on how these fish move, think, feed etc. will only help your success rate when it’s game on. To that point, how about an early plug for our educational seminars that are already in the planning stages beginning in March, stay tuned on www.westportoutfitters.com for all the information. As previously mentioned, the local fishing scene remains strong. We will start off the report about the amazing kick off to this year’s black fish season. Green crabs have been the bait of choice and have accounted for fish locally up to 12lbs. Some notables have been Glenn Katz, George D. Jr, Sage N., Matt Z., Travis H. and a host of others that have really been putting a hurtin’ on these powerful reef dogs all with fish on or close to 10lbs this past week. If you choose to head out for these gorillas, braid may be your best option to hold up against their rocky abodes where you will be battling them from. Keeping in constant contact with your bait will be key to hooking these fish, since the initial take from to is a very subtle one. If you are unsuccessful with the more traditional set ups, try dropping down some jigs, colored, plain, whatever. Try jigging these around your targeted area as well as taking a walk around your boat. What can separate a good day from a bad day of tog fishing can be inches, not feet, so be sure to cover some area. The blues are still around in mass and most likely will continue to be until the water temperatures bump below 60 degrees. The thermal niche for these choppers is above 58 degrees, so once our temps start to really get down, they will no doubt push these blues out too. That being said, poppers in shallow water have been key. Our own Cody Lapnow stopped in during his fall break to report some hefty fish on both the fly rods and Stillwater Poppers up to 11lbs on Sunday. Cory C. made another trip out to Montauk early in the week and along with his first mate Sean, they had their lines in at 8:00 A.M. sharp but just to be entertained by small schools of bass and the occasional albie blitz, that was quickly invaded by no less than 40 boats…time for plan B. They headed over to the race and fished Valiant Rock for some choppers up to 14lbs. His finder was lit up with bait and fish, only issue was that they were yanking these fish out of as much as 160 FOW. No problem for most, but for Sean, who does not get to the gym as much as Cory, he was having some difficulty as the pictures will show, constantly complaining how bad his arms hurt the whole time (see recent catches). Brad and Brooks Rhine, second place finishers at the Second Annual Saugatuck Cup, have been working the shoreline hard with the light tackle set ups and fly rods for their share of schoolie bass and the occasional keepers in the mix. Nothing better than getting a young angler interested in this sport, check him out lipping some of these bass like a true professional(see recent catches) Glenn Katz taking advantage of some splendid weather early in the wee had been getting the tri-fecta almost daily. Tuesday he reported in big Stripers, Bigger Black fish and fiesty Blues in and around Norwalk Islands. Almost all of his keeper bass fell for a small popper….hmmmm….just thought I would remind you all of our recommendations from two weeks back… They finished the day jigging up some blues suspended at 28C up to 12lbs. Togs tipped the scale at 6.5lbs. Great stuff Glenn (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers checked in as well where they have been fopcusing on fishing a small area around Black Rock and Penfield. Despite the wind they spent most of the day trolling and with the wind it surely complicated things. Ahhhhhhh Fall fishing in LIS. They had their share of blues and bass up to 35 inches and 16lbs, most of them caught in just 2.5 feet of water (see recent catches). Back on dry land, Ned L. emailed in a report of a 21 lb bass that fell for a live eel off of Kensie point Tuesday night! Wednesday the Micinilio Brothers checked in once again with a great day. They were out all day and fished Black Rock Harbor to Sunken Island. Praticaly no wind and very little wave activity. Fishing was slow most of the day, but things picked up right before sunset. They ended up with 23 bass, 6 keepers up to 35" 15 lbs, 3 nice 33" that gave great battles, 8 blues up to 33", and 1 fat 15" porgy. All caught on tube and worms.Good stuff as always guys. Well that is about it folks for this week and as the report indicates, there is still a ton of fishing to be had. This coming weekend is looking pretty good, with Saturday being the best day, so get on out there. Don’t worry, tell the Mrs. the leaves have not fallen yet and that she is really just seeing things on the yard…that should surely get you a few hours out of the house…maybe even more than you wanted…See you on the water. Week of October 8th-October 14th Well folks, before we get to the report, a few quick items. I just received word from the DEP that the stocking of our local rivers has begun including the Saugatuck River right here in Westport. The hold up of course was the fact that all of these rivers were running below 10 CFS prior to the recent rains that we had. Now that the water is up, the trout will have some place to go. Please keep in mind the fly fishing only rules in our TMAs as you head out. I have heard rumor that the DEP will be a lot more visible this fall checking licenses and making sure those fishing are following the rules, so in brief, let your conscious be your guide. Second, since a lot of this report will be consumed by the very successful Saugatuck Cup we held on Saturday, let me give those that may be impatient a brief summary. Albies are still in and in full force as recent as Thursday. In fact we had a report of a school that stretched nearly a mile earlier in the week off of Westport. The bass bite as the water temps continue to cool is picking up, along with the jigging out at 11B and 28C. Back inshore, the tog fishing continues to get better and better. Green crabs used amongst various rock piles such as Sunken Island, Bedfords, Cockenoe as well as around local wrecks like the Celtic should get the job done. If you don’t have anyone to give your blackfish filets to, please stop by the shop. Locally, the bluefish bite has also remained strong. In fact, at the time of this report, I had an email of a 14.5 lb fish taken Wednesday night off of Westport. This weekend is looking a bit dicey, but if the past is indicative of future results, the weatherman has about an 80 % chance in my book to get these storms wrong. Therefore, be on your toes since I am sure there will be plenty of windows to get some fishing in. If you cant out, folow Kurt'D to the coastline where he and crew continue to hammer fish on live eels and sluggos up to 27 lbs on Wednesday night near Milford. If the salt-side fails, go stick a few trout! As I am sure you all know, over the weekend we held the second annual Saugatuck Cup here on site at Westport Outfitters in conjunction with the crew from ASMW. This charity fishing tournament benefits (in brief) kids with cancer, with all proceeds being donated to the cancer wing at Sloan Kettering for research and the like. The event this year drew nearly 100 anglers who took to the sound for the fish of a lifetime. Since this is a catch and release tournament, we worked off of a point system to insure the fish were returned without harm as quickly as possible. More points were rewarded for larger fish in each slot with the highest points being rewarded for Albies/Bonito. Boats ranged from a 16 foot flats boats captained by the man, the myth, the legend, our good friend Lou Tabory, to a 31 foot sport fish and everything in between. The winds were moderate, seas calm and the fishing was game on. From Milford to New Rochelle we had participants catch up their share of blues and bass on tubes, swim baits, poppers etc., you name it and someone in search of the cup was using it. Lines were out of the water at 3:30 and check in back at the shop had to be made prior to 5:00 P.M. to count. All in I would say over 80 % of the boats that fished it submitted a fish. As we counted up the results, the other quests began to arrive to listen to some live music from local artist P.J. Pacifico and indulge in some great food and beverages. Before we knew it we were announcing the winners to a crowded room of nearly 200 people by best guess. Newcomer to the cup Taylor Ingraham took top honors in the spin division, topping his total points with a nice Albie, the only won caught in the competition. Second and third place went to Team All Seasons with Cory C. taking second and Clay Persinger rounding it out in third place. For the fly division we had Trey Whipple taking first, Brad Rhine taking third and Dean Morris finishing things off in third. Congrats to all! For those looking to see visually what they really missed and perhaps get you on board for next year for this great event, stay tuned on www.saugatuckcup.com for pictures and more! In closing I must say this. It is in my opinion that when you hold events like these, you can gauge the success based on the composition of the crowd. What I mean when I say this is that the diversity should really be there, which in my opinion crosses over personal preference or varying opinions. Looking around the room the entire night, I saw friends, customers, men in the armed forces, retirees, children, 20 somethings, 30 somethings and all the way up the line. This is what makes a charity so rewarding, it is cross-generational, cross-profession, with varied socio economic backgrounds. This to me is success, to have this many unaffiliated persons brought together under one roof for the support of a common cause and to that, on behalf of myself and Westport Outfitters, the Spengler Family and all those who lent a hand to make this great event happen, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts and look forward to seeing you all next year! On the fund raising front, all signs are indicating we topped last year’s numbers, but we are still doing some reconciliation and will give you an update next week. Some other reports from this past week of course come in from the Micinilio Brothers. They fished on Friday despite the wind and fished around the islands and the mouth of the Saugatuck where they saw some albies blowing up SE of Cockenoe, but never stayed up long enough to cast to them. They ended up the day with 27 bass and 7 blues mostly trolling T&W. Blues were up to 35” & 13lbs in Cockenoe Bay. Saturday they fished around Fairfield where they had some good action around Penfield, 5 keepers up to 33.5" and ended up with 26 bass and 5 blues. The capper was the 37" 16.5" bass we took at the end of the day at the mouth of Ash Creek in heavy current, great fight. Well folks, that is about it for this week. There is still a ton of fishing to get done, so watch out for those weather breaks over the weekend and get it done! Week of October 1st-October 8th Well folks, it looks like our over abundance of bait survived the storm over the weekend. Winds blew pretty hard directly from the south which in my opinion contributed to the local forage from being displaced. As recent as Wednesday afternoon, I had a solid report from one of our captains of some down right intense Albie action right inside Wilson Cove. This coming weekend is looking very fall like, ex the wind, so it should be ideal for sticking some fish using your preferred method. But before we get to the report, one brief mention, this Saturday, October 9th we will be holding the 2nd Annual Saugatuck Cup to help raise money for kids with cancer. This charity tournament rose over $25,000 last year and we are on track to top this on Saturday…with all of your help of course. We have nearly reached our goal of 30 boats which is almost double from last year. The raffle table will get both fisherman and fisherwomen or folks with no fishing interest at all, excited. We have items ranging from a night at the Delamar in Southport, gift certificates from Mitchell's Of Westport, waders from Simms to a host of fly rods and reels from Albright, Ross and Echo and much more! Should you not be available to fish, but would still like to attend the festivities, feel free to come by at 4:30 P.M. and make a contribution of $75.00/pp to the foundation and enjoy the live music, awards ceremony, food and of course this year’s presentation of the Saugatuck Cup! For all those signed up, please note that there will be a mandatory Captain’s Meeting on Friday night at 7:45 P.M. at Westport Outfitters; pizza and cocktails will be served. For all those that can’t make it, you will be surely missing out on attending a great event, but we will hopefully look forward to seeing next year. Back to the report… I hate to break this to everyone, but with our tournament taking place on Saturday, no doubt some of the areas finest anglers will be on the water so they just may scoop up all the fish! The water right now really could not get any better. At a cool temp of around 67 degrees, it is holding fish here and the bait is only making it easier for them to stick around. There are still huge schools of bunker farther to our West while back locally we continue to have a random school of adult bunker here and there with larger and more identifiable schools of peanut bunker, large silver sides and bay anchovies. This is exactly the kind of bait we need in the fall to get these bass to stick around and we have not seen it in at least three years. One barometer to look at in the fall to gauge how good (or bad) the fishing may be, is to simply look at the catches of the shore guys/gals. Shore fishing is anything but easy around Fairfield County for more than one reason. Factors like access, parking, good water etc. are only the tip of the iceberg. Once you are in the “right spot” and doing everything right, perhaps the tide is not cooperating or the worst variable ever, there is no bait around. If you have ever spent much time speaking with Kurt D. here at the store, once you get over his “saltiness” you find that there is a man with a wealth of knowledge and a lot of that has to do with fishing from shore. This week folks. Kurt and his crew had fish once again up to 27 lbs from shore. They are fishing in and around Milford Point mostly with live eels, but Kurt actually took a majority of his fish, including the one that topped 27 lbs, on a 9 inch Sluggo! (see recent catches) Nicholas N. also checked in, fishing an undisclosed piece of water somewhere around Glen Cove N.Y., he was into some great fish on light tackle and the fly rod just shy of keepers on Saturday evening. No doubt he was filtering through huge schools of bay anchovies that have invaded the North Shore of Long Island as well (see recent catches). I always enjoy getting pics of kids fishing, especially from right here in Fairfield County. As a kid growing up on the banks of the CT River, I can’t remember a free moment that was not spent fishing. With the busy lives we all lead, sometimes it’s tuff to make time. For Brooks Rhine, son of friend and customer Brad Rhine, he clearly knows what he likes to do with his free time and that’s fish. Out on Saturday afternoon, fishing the shoreline in Westport, young Brooks (age 6) made the cast, hooked the fish, fought it, and eventually landed and released a feisty 12 lb blue! Job well done Brooks and kudos to you Brad for getting him out! (see recent catches) These fish are hungry, try tossing Stillwater Plugs for some mind boggling takes! Out on Wednesday Captain Mike Platt had some good and bad things to report on. I need to state up front that Captain Mike is one of the most honest fishermen I know. He has, like many, a personal bone to pick with Mr. Albie and Mr. Bonito and he has been fishing for them hard, almost daily when he does not have a trip. His results have been mixed, but he in summary has been hooking a ton more fish than he has been landing and let us say he is just down right p***ed off! Wednesday was no different, when he and crew were into them thick off of Rowayton. They had at least 6 hook ups, blistering runs and POP! Albie fishing can be quite frustrating at times and Captain Mike has had it, so steer clear if you see him, he may just try and hook you. Flies of choice were small chovy patterns, Sea Rocks on the spinning rods and small Crystal Minnows. Farther to our East, Steve Thomas also fishing from shore chalked up his second albie from the surf on the fly rod on Sunday while being surrounded by bay anchovies… Back locally, Sgt Colonies and “Buzz” were out Wednesday night off of Westport, casting crippled unfinished looking plugs to feeding bass. Before the night was over they had 12 fish to the boat up to 34 inches all on light tackle! Great job guys! Thursday A.M., the action at the Mill Pond according to Bill B. was better than good. Lots of small bait and some larger snappers no doubt feeding some aggressive juvenile bass. Tossing a Hopkins spoon with a fly teaser, he landed and released a half a dozen fish or so, a mix of bass and blues to 22 inches. As I mentioned last week, Blackfish season opened on October 1st and once the seas calmed down and the water cleared up from the weekend blow, the tog hunters were out. We had one customer who will remain nameless, that had 39 fish in just over an hour the first day out with 8 keepers to 7 lbs, all on W.O. green crab! Good friend Travis H. headed out twice on Wednesday and had a minimum of two keepers on each brief trip. All fish were taken right off the bottom with a mix of Asian and green crabs. Don’t forget trying to jig for these fish, stop in and we can get you dialed in; it is a proven technique that can increase your catches dramatically. That’s about it folks, don’t forget the festivities on Saturday, swing on by and support this great cause. The snappers are still holding on, so it’s not too late to get the kids out and enjoy these nice warm fall days…they won’t last forever! Week of September 24th-October 1st Before we get to the report this week, just one big, huge housekeeping item. Many of you have verbally committed for what will be the greatest fishing tournament of the year, The Saugatuck Cup. However, we have yet to receive many of the entry forms and payment, which makes our planning that much more difficult. If you want in, please get those entry forms to the shop sooner than later so you don’t loose your space. THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ DON’T FORGET BUSINESS OWNERS…SAUGATUCK CUP 2010! BE A PART OF IT ON AND OFF THE WATER WITH A CORPORATE DONATION (TAX DEDUCTABLE)! Consider this; when the W.O. crew isn’t out on the water setting hooks on Albies and Stripers we’re regularly browsing the web and staying in touch with the fishy world we love. We’re fans of videos, useful links and articles, stuff that’s different and pertinent, it’s off the beat and path – we like that too. One of the sites we pay attention to is a local creation - WesternSoundFly.com Loaded with a mix of local and regional flavor it’s a site created by local fly fisherman, shore guide and longtime friend of the shop, Pat O’Donnell. Be sure to check it out over the course of this fall fishing season. Well folks at the time of this writing, the clouds are socked in, it’s absolutely pouring and there are forecasted winds coming off at 60+ M.P.H. So what is the man/women fish person to do? Gear UP! This front will push through just as quickly as it came leaving way for what is supposed to be a great weekend. From a condition standpoint, perhaps the wind and rain will bring with it some cooler water which will no doubt just help fire things up on the fishing front. The winds and their direction at least on the surface should have no affect in blowing the over abundance of bait out of the sound. The only thing I would do is back it up a bit from some of our estuaries, meaning that the salinity count will be lower and this will most likely push some bait into a little deeper water…remember…adjust your tactics for the conditions. The peanut bunker are still plentiful, along with snappers and a host of small minnows/silversides, if that was not enough, there is another bait that just showed up that we will get to in the report. The Bonito/Albie report is one that is very inconsistent. You will see a few pics taken off of Darien this past week but what you can’t see is the fact that I received two emails from two boats that were as the crow flies no more than 2 miles from one another, both experienced anglers and more important, experienced at catching these fish. One reported fish everywhere, blitzing/feeding hard, too may hook ups to count but not one landed? Here was the other report…”Eric, this albie fishing is unreal, in fact I think it rivals the run we had two years ago, more fish hooked and landed then I can remember.” What a difference two miles can make. I have heard a lot, as well as experienced, some pretty frustrating times with these fish this fall and the only accurate analogy I can put forth relates back to freshwater fly fishing. He who changes his flies most and often for the right reasons usually wins the day on the stream. A lot of times with trout and albies/bonito as well, you need to switch it up, for in reality we as humans can have a real difficult time in identifying what these fish are feeding in. In addition, hook size can be critical, not only for hooking purposes, but also for presentation purposes. Therefore, have several size flies in the same pattern, large deadly dicks, small ones, short ones etc. and don’t get caught in the heat of battle, switch it up or better yet, if you have several rods, string one up with varying sizes of hooks. Don’t forget the fluorocarbon and follow these few tips and you may begin to experience some higher hook up/catch ratios… Despite the rain at the beginning of rthe week, the fishing remained strong; blues up to 12 lbs are being taken at will from areas in and around Penfield Reef on anything from live bunker, Bombers and swim baits. A little farther off, legal sized porgies accounted for a 34 lb fish on Sunday afternoon. Dale L. who emailed in the report said the bass hit so hard he almost lost his new Lamiglas rod! This is a great way to catch big bass but you must heed the regulations on scup which need to be at least 10.5 inches. Once you have a few of those, hold on… The Micinilio Crew checked in after a decent weekend fishing, keep in mind that what they consider a bad day or an alright day is more or less a banner day for other area anglers. They fished around Milford and caught some scary monster blues near the bunker schools. Real brutes up to 34-35" & 12-13 lbs on live bunker. Action was short lived with the wind plaguing them most of the day. Caught a few small stripers on the way in at the mouth of the Housey before gearing up and heading out again on Sunday. Sunday they fished around Fairfield and Black Rock and caught about 40 bass on tubes, soft plastics and small yozuris all up to 30 inches (see recent catches). Steve checked in as well and only confirmed what the Micinilio Crew wrote in, which was the gator blues hanging around all over the Housey. Steve was out with his fly rod both mornings and fished in and around Charles Island using variations of small silver side patterns including surf candies and had some monster blues to 14 lbs on the fly rod…pound for pound folks; I don’t think there is a better fight on the long rod….maybe a tarpon…but it’s up for debate. Next up was Don Rossi who checked in to tell us how the wedding or party was…wrong report…sorry, but Don, you need to get back out on the water! Captain Mike Platt on his mission to land and release as many bones as possible, once again had a fair amount of shots in and around Middle Passage at these fish Monday and Tuesday before the wind kicked up. Hooked a few on Sea Rock Jogs and Deadly Dicks but the elusive fish refused to be tamed and they broke off prior to reaching the boat. Keep The Faith Captain! David K. and brother Geoff were out fishing around Green’s Ledge and were into the albies thick on Sunday, in fact, David is the angler who had emailed in about the fishing being off the hook. They had a bunch of fish all on LARGE Deadly Dicks, funny, for the anglers fishing to the east were only getting them on the smaller Sea Rock Jigs…I am sure you get the point. Out of 14 boats in the immediate area, David and Geoff were the only ones hooking up!(see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers were at it again on Tuesday and proclaimed even by their standards, they had a good day. They started out in the Housy and then went to Milford and caught a nice chomper at 13 lbs 35" on a live bunker. It was such a nice day on the water with no wind or waves so they decided to head out to Middle Ground. As soon as they started trolling around the light house they hooked up and had a host of keeper bass and large blues for the rest of the afternoon. They also witnessed a massive crab hatch out there; millions of tiny 1/2" crabs were drifting everywhere…add yet another bait to the mix. Every time they started trolling a bunker it got hammered. They caught the blues on tubes, live bunker, chunks and got a nice 35" on a big Salmo Swimmer. It got a little crowded out there and the fishing slowed down, so they motored to Black Rock and caught a bunch of small/medium size bass on tubes, small yozuris and soft plastics (see recent catches). Glenn Katz checked in yesterday and reiterated how nice it was on the water, no wind, no rain. He fished with his good friend Gary, a freshwater professional. They began diamond jigging the normal spots, then bang! A school of big blues rolled through on top chasing a school of bunker. They had blues doubled up on diamond jigs and teasers, then they had big blues coming behind smaller blues like sharks busting them up. Blood stained water around boat. Glenn was jigging and throwing plugs at the same time and actually watched a 10-12lb blue come up behind a struggling 3-4lb blue on a jig and it just smoked it right in half. They fished 2hrs before and after the low tide and had a blast. Glenn has a ton of energy already, but reading his report pretty much put me on the boat with these guys, great stuff gentleman! As we have been discussing over the past several weeks, the inshore bite, because of all the small bait, is definitely starting to pick up. Incoming or outgoing, does not seem to matter. This is staging to be the type of set up that shore anglers literally would die for in years past, so don’t delay. Outside of this bit of weather we are currently experiencing, the weekend looks picture perfect with calm seas, cool nights and dry days. Some believe it or not have yanked their boats so boat traffic should be less as well. This is it folks, my last communication about the 2010 Saugatuck Cup, if you wanted in, hopefully you signed up and got your checks to us, since it is virtually sold out. For those of you that waited until the last minute, I am sorry, you know doubt will be missing one of the best fishing events of the year in the western sound, but we hope to see you next year! Week of September 17th-September 24th Before we get to the report this week, just one big, huge housekeeping item. Many of you have verbally committed for what will be the greatest fishing tournament of the year, The Saugatuck Cup. However, we have yet to receive many of the entry forms and payment, which makes our planning that much more difficult. If you want in, please get those entry forms to the shop sooner than later so you don’t loose your space. THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ DON’T FORGET BUSINESS OWNERS…SAUGATUCK CUP 2010! BE A PART OF IT ON AND OFF THE WATER WITH A CORPORATE DONATION (TAX DEDUCTABLE)! Consider this; when the W.O. crew isn’t out on the water setting hooks on Albies and Stripers we’re regularly browsing the web and staying in touch with the fishy world we love. We’re fans of videos, useful links and articles, stuff that’s different and pertinent, it’s off the beat and path – we like that too. One of the sites we pay attention to is a local creation - WesternSoundFly.com Loaded with a mix of local and regional flavor it’s a site created by local fly fisherman, shore guide and longtime friend of the shop, Pat O’Donnell. Be sure to check it out over the course of this fall fishing season. Well…these reports in my opinion keep getting better. As we have been mentioning over the past month or so, the bait situation remains very strong, with a diverse selection of small critters for hungry bass, blues, albies and bones to feed on. Some of these would include adult and peanut sized bunkers, large silver sides, bay anchovies and snappers. I still think fishing small poppers this time of year be them on either a fly rod or spinning rod in my opinion can be equally productive at finding fish. The bass in our area are now in a feeding frame of mind and these little annoying poppers can lure a strike just about anytime. A lot of questions have come in via the proper bonito and albie rigs and although I am sure many of you already know this, let me make a brief mention on how we set up for targeting these fish. First off and most important, you must have a designated rod to target these fish with. They will show themselves too quickly to try and drop everything and re-rig an existing rod. Therefore, once you have the rod, the rig is quite simple; pick up a pack of titanium Spro barrel swivels, a spool of 20-25 fluorocarbon and your favorite jig/lure. I tie approximately 4 feet of flouro to the swivel and then direct to the lure jig. That’s it, don’t make catching these already complicated fish more complicated with some complex rig. For the fly guys/gals, I personally run a packaged 15-22 lb leader but have at times added some flouro for concealment purposes. With the warm air temps, the water has not really cleared up that much considering that we are in late September, so flouro on the fly rods probably is not necessary, however, if you have and can tie the knots, use it. So onto the report folks…but before we begin, a few points. Thousands of people read this blog/report on a weekly basis. Some even shy from it, since they feel I offer up too much information. I as the gatekeeper of all the information ultimately am responsible. Over the years I feel we have disseminated enough of the information we get and presented it in a manner that helps our area anglers with what is biting. Flat out I don’t believe in “spots” so I am never reluctant to mention one area or another, for Mr. Bass no doubt will not be in the "spot" the next night or day for that matter. However, there are sometimes where an angler’s request must be respected, as it always is here. Lastly, I get inundated with reports on a daily basis and sometimes it is determined that the information is duplicate and sometimes even far fetched, so I can use my literary right and not use the information at all. So, where is all this going? It's going to a very good place and that is, that this past week we had some local anglers really hammer fish from Greenwich to New Haven and all mostly from shore. In fact, our own Kurt Daniello and Derrick K. slung eels and plugs for bass up to 28 lbs (see recent catches). Now although you can be somewhat envious, let’s not over analyze things and instead let’s get out there this weekend and get some fishing in, since all signs are indicating that the top is about to blow off on the local fishing scene. Kurt’s reports were only duplicated by well over a dozen anglers this week throughout the county, only reiterating it’s time… Glenn Katz kicks this report of fishing into the weekend with some of his freshwater pro guys from upstate. Well, at the end of the day, Glenn swears he witnessed them tossing their Shaw Grigsby signature rods into the dumpster and replacing them with some saltwater gear. They were fishing fresh bunker and dropping diamond jigs. Pretty much getting a hit every time a fresh chunk hit the water. Sometimes they were rat blues to 2 to 3l bs and then sometimes the big boys would blow through and they were between 10 to 12lbs. Their efforts focused on fishing in and around 28C, 11B and the normal adjacent spots. Some bass mixed in as well reported Glenn (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers checked in with a solid report for most, but perhaps not that stellar for them…They fished the Milford marsh and the Housatonic breakwater over the weekend and caught 9 bass, 1 small keeper, not a great day. They then went over towards Milford and found some nice bunker, but nothing was on them. They continued to troll live bunker near Charles Island and caught 3 nice blues up to 33". Sunday they fished and caught 2 small blues and 31 stripers, 3 keepers. Our biggest fish was a 34 1/2" and were caught on a live bunker (see recent catches). Glen checked back on Wednesday with a brief, but informative report…and I quote…”Here is a picture for your site. It’s a big blue being held by my 5yr old son Tyler. Kid has no fear. My fishing report is...there are tons of fish everywhere!! Good time of year. I am going fishing.” The Micinilios checked in again as well on Wednesday where they started out in the Housy and struck out. They decided to give Milford a shot but the waves and wind were horrendous. There were some bunker around Milford but nothing pushing them. They pulled the boat out and went to Black Rock and fished the shore all the way to Southport Harbor. They caught 15 stripers up to 27" and 5 18" blues. They noted how amazing it was to catch so many stripers that had healed horrible wounds on them, presumably from big blues… Danny L. emailed in on Wednesday night that despite some wind, he was able to pick up a nice 34 inch striper on the fly off of Sasco Beach, a great spot this time of year in my opinion on a green gurgler! Also on Wednesday, Captain Mike had a charter where they were into some decent sized blues but were also almost being boarded by Bonito that were all over the place, a few shots but no hook ups. After he got back to the dock, a quick sandwich and back out to see if he could find them again…NADA! Over the weekend, the Bonito did seem to pop a bit, we literally had three customers being in the actual fish which of course can be fine dining if prepared properly. These fish specifically, were all taken on the fly in the Westport area. We just tied up some new smaller patterns based on some refusals that we are calling the “Bonecrusher.” Come have a look before you head out. BTW-MONTAUK IS STILL ON FIRE!!! Well folks that is about it…I can’t believe I made it through the whole report without mentioning the Saugatuck Cup…deadlines are rapidly approaching while spaces fill up. If you want in to this great local charity tournament, get those applications and entry fees in. More complete information at http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ or call the shop at 203.3441.9490. The weather this weekend looks pretty decent so be sure to take advantage of some great Fall/Summer like weather. The snappers are still around so it’s yet another great opportunity to get the kids out fishing as well…see you on the water! Week of September 10th-September 17th Before we get to the report this week, just one big, huge housekeeping item. Many of you have verbally committed for what will be the greatest fishing tournament of the year, The Saugatuck Cup. However, we have yet to receive many of the entry forms and payment, which makes our planning that much more difficult. If you want in, please get those entry forms to the shop sooner than later so you don’t loose your space. THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ DON’T FORGET BUSINESS OWNERS…SAUGATUCK CUP 2010! BE A PART OF IT ON AND OFF THE WATER WITH A CORPORATE DONATION (TAX DEDUCTABLE)! Consider this; when the W.O. crew isn’t out on the water setting hooks on Albies and Stripers we’re regularly browsing the web and staying in touch with the fishy world we love. We’re fans of videos, useful links and articles, stuff that’s different and pertinent, it’s off the beat and path – we like that too. One of the sites we pay attention to is a local creation - WesternSoundFly.com Loaded with a mix of local and regional flavor it’s a site created by local fly fisherman, shore guide and longtime friend of the shop, Pat O’Donnell. Be sure to check it out over the course of this fall fishing season. Another week that started a bit slow but surely finished strong. The kids are back to school and most of the part timers have started making calls to their marina of choice to begin hauling their boats. Trust me folks, I know it sounds crazy, but the guys in the back at All Seasons already have a few boats wrapped up and put to bed for the winter season. To this point, the more space I have out there, the better! For those of you that have chosen wisely and decided to keep your boats in the water for what could be the best three months of the fishing season, kudos to you! The water temperatures have continued to slide all week long. We had air temperatures in the early A.M. hours in the high 40s and low 50s. Although these temps may make it more difficult to get out of bed, it is doing nothing but good things for the fishing. Don’t worry, no migration yet, just a ton of fish feeding hard in preparation for a long swim south. At this time of year, I love tossing small poppers and almost use them as a fish finder. I can rapid fire a small plug like a Stillwater and cover so much water in every direction to hopefully find a hungry fish and the fact that they ARE hungry is key to this technique. In say late spring, I find that fish are less apt to really go out of their way to feed, so blind casting small plugs or other baits may not be as effective. Consequently in the fall, these fish have one thing on their mind and one thing only, food and thus are willing to move out of their comfort zone if you will to get it. Once I find feeding fish with my plug, I can change it up to any other type of lure, or even better yet, start tossing some flies at them. Try it…you may like it… Before we get to the local report, which is a good one, I briefly wanted to touch on what is happening out in Montauk. Each fall the legendary run of blitzing bass, blues, albies and bonito tear up the point out east and well, its game on. I have been receiving reports and pics daily from guide friends of mine out east as well as some customers from the store that have been making the trek out there in their own boats. To each is own, but if you have a trailer, it’s highly recommended that you trailer to say the Niantic area and make the short 35 minute run across as opposed to running the whole way there, which is over 78 miles. The weather can turn at anytime and the difference between 1.5 foot seas and 3 foot seas can mean a 2.5 hour drive back after a long day of fishing can turn into a 6 hour one. The bass have been feeding hard and the albie bite seems to be only rivaled by the epic blue crab season…The pics will speak for themselves, but one notable is Cory C. from All Seasons who made the run out on both Saturday and Monday, both days were off the hook, landing well over 20 albies each time with a majority of those on flies. As usual when this starts happening, you are almost trying not to catch bass, which Cory and crew were unsuccessful at, landing bass anywhere from 28 to 36 inches at will. Double hook ups on albies using the Sea Rock Jigs on spinning gear were too many to mention. If you can get out there folks do it, it’s an amazing place that many local anglers have never even ventured to. If you need some guidance, give the shop a call or email me directly (see recent catches). Back locally, the bait is still in thick with a combination of silver sides, bay anchovies, peanut bunker and some scattered schools of bunker in the mix as well. I surely don’t want to jinx it but the bait situation is better than good…I will leave it at that. Shop customer Glenn Katz reported in that the bite at first light has been hot at 11B. Saturday morning he and crew were on the northwest side of the ledge and found bass/blues feeding hard on peanut bunker. Decent sized blues up to 10lbs and some smaller stripers were mixed in. He noted that there were a few boats also anchored in the area in the 50ft to 70ft of water getting into some bigger blues chunking. He recommended diamond jigging when they were ripping through the chunked baits. Glenn said the fish were not holding in the rips for very long. It would be like a feeding frenzy for 45 minutes and then they would shut down or move off. Some great intelligence here from Glenn, now go fish and apply it folks! The Micinilio Brothers checked in over the weekend where the reported they had to go all the way to Stamford to catch some fish. Trolling tubes and deep lip swimmers they ended up with 26 bass up to 26" and three blues. The only thing crashing bait were the snappers. The highlight of the day was a nice 32" blue they caught on a tube in Darien. While the water temps are dropping, shore anglers once again can have shots at some quality. The usual haunts locally have been hit or miss, but Grey’s is starting to produce at night and early A.M. again on the dropping tide. Dan L. had a few nice fish that topped the 30 inch mark on smaller mushies on Wednesday night. The crew from Southport who likes to remain nameless, claims that the chunk bite at night due south of the harbor is beginning to heat up again as well. Fishing Tuesday night, they had fish up to 20 lbs, all on chunks and a few big blues to 10 lbs mixed in. These are some great fall fish and these fish are in shore and if the small bait sticks around, they should remain that way. Okay, I hope all of you are still listening because this is going to come quick…Bonito, Westport, Sea Rock Jigs…if you want out on a charter, give the shop a call (see recent catches) Wednesday the Micinilio Brothers were back at it and had this to report. They went out in the wind and chop and Jim joked that he had to wear his wet suit for most of the day. He found some scattered bunker schools in Bridgeport Harbor that were hard to snag and nothing was working them. Struck out into the deeper water, but had some luck off Fairfield in 8-11feet of water. All in they had 3 big blues up to 34" trolling live bunker and 3 smaller blues on tubes. Ended up with over 20 bass including 3 keepers including a 31.5" 13lb, and 35.5" 16 lb toad on tubes (see recent catches). Well folks, that is about it for this week. I love the fall even though it indefinitely leads to winter, but oh well. The water seems cleaner, the air fresher and the fishing even better. There is still a good push of snappers around as well as blue crabs so even though the kids are back to school, take them outside and get some fishingin. For the adults, the strong presence of bait should lead to a great fall so get on out, but before you do, don’t forget to send your entry form in for the Saugatuck Cup!! Week of September 3rd-September 10th THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ DON’T FORGET BUSINESS OWNERS…SAUGATUCK CUP 2010! BE A PART OF IT ON AND OFF THE WATER WITH A CORPORATE DONATION (TAX DEDUCTABLE)! FISHERMAN/WOMEN THE TOURNEY WILL SELL OUT, SO IF YOU WANT IN, PLEASE GET THOSE APPLICATIONS IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO YOU DO NOT GET SHUT OUT! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks I surely hope you all survived Hurricane Earl and all that came with him. After luckily battening down the hatches here at the store and shuffling a few boats around we were ready. On top of the building it blew a steady 2 knots with terrible gusts to 3.5 knots. Wave heights almost broke 8 inches and Compo Beach was just nearly spared. For some of us at the shop, there is an old saying that the calm before the storm is always ideal for fishing. Fish obviously feel pressure, even if it is weak pressure. Once feeling it, it traditionally will trigger a bit of a feeding frenzy, so what better place to be than on the water beofre the storm? We fished until 11:00P.M. with bass up to 34 inches Friday night near frost point, but as the old saying goes, these fish were hammering baits like it was to be their last meal here on this great earth…perhaps the fish believed the weatherman as well. So by now hopefully all of you get the point, Hurricane Earl was about as scary as my neighbor’s poodle and that in the big scheme of things is not a bad thing. We did get some wind the following days and still with a northeasterly circulation, if anything, this helped keep the bait in the sound. The sound was not churned up too bad and if anything cleared up a bit with the big ocean flushes that occurred. Saturday morning with the college kids long gone, I had to step up and open the store. I got here at about 5:30 A.M. Still dark, I headed out back and could hear bait popping everywhere. As the sun came up and the store needed to be opened, I headed back inside, that is until I witnessed a rather large bass jump right out of the water, all from my office window. I gave chase to the bait room and retrieved one of my sticks, three casts later, a 12-15 lb bass on my line that was landed and safely released. Let me just say, I was in the parking lot! With the water temperatures now moving back down, the striper bite continues to improve. Baits of choice should be anything resembling a peanut bunker, large silver side or bay anchovy. Try Montauk Mikes Baby Bunker imitations or the Smack Its for the top water fans. Keep in mind, we love our fish finders but this time of year, use your nose to help you find bait, if you know what they smell like, you should be able to smell a school of bay anchovies a half mile away…Over the weekend, once everyone realized that is was beautiful out, the reports started coming in and all signs indicated that the “storm” helped the local fish situation rather than hurt it. We received a report from the east that there were some smaller schools of adult bunker inside of Black Rock Harbor. Someone else also called in about a rather large school out by Middle Ground, not showing on the surface, but nonetheless still there. A little farther to the east, a report from good friend Lawrence who fishes out of the Housey, said that he was nailing large blues to 12 lbs and a few bass to 35 inches on fresh chunks near the mouth and outside around Charles Island on Sunday. Sage N. was at it on Monday where he fished the outgoing at first light. He started off throwing top water on the South side of the Norwalk Islands where he felt the bait was a bit sparser than before the big “storm” They had a handful of small bass and blues, but nothing too exciting. They then moved on to Fairfield/Penfield and ran into terns working the surface along the reef and some large splashes underneath. Fish were spread-out, moving fast and tough to target so they started dragging some tubes. Good action for a couple hours...20+ blues to 34" and 7 small stripers to 27". On the way back to Norwalk they stopped off at Cockonoe for a bunch of porgies to 15" and a bonus 16" sea bass. Monday, good friend Karl E. headed out and managed 4 decent stripers all on T&W off of Goose Island in 10-15 FOW. He also took a few decent blues with Deadly Dicks under some birds. Tuesday the winds decided to blow like they were supposed to on Friday. I was fishing along Sasco Beach, taking casts in between waves breaking clear over my head and the eastern sea wall. I walked all the way out towards Kensie Point; my efforts with the fly rod produced one small chomper. It happens to the best of us... Captain Mike Platt meanwhile was out on the water facing sloppy sets of 3s and 4s with even a bit of lightening. After it cleared he picked up 4 bass with the biggest about 14 lbs and one blue 9 lbs. All fish were caught on Smack Its. We mention these lures a lot in the reports and perhaps we don’t give you enough information on them. To put it bluntly, I don’t think there is a captain, guide or employee that is affliated with W.O. that does not have one of these rigged each and every time we go out, anytime of the year…enough said. Captain Mike did say he spotted some albies but no shots at them just outside of the islands. He reported in small scattered pods in close with larger pods of birds to the west with sporadic action underneath. Have those rods rigged folks, they have to be here in numbers soon, they just have to! Wednesday, Tom T. was out despite some snotty weather as well and fished east outside of Bridgeport Harbor in approximately 40 feet of water. He set up some chunks and as the tide came in he had 8 bass to 17 lbs. On the way back into the dock, he came across some blitzing blues and unloaded a few poppers on them and had his fill of 6-10 lb chompers on light tackle before calling it a day. Total time on the water…2 hours. A quick report from the streams where 6 year old Charlie Maloney of Fairfield landed his best catch to date out of Sasco Brook, a beautiful brown trout…the look on his face says it all(see recent catches). Well folks, that is about it this week. The report seems a bit light and is probably a direct result of the weather folks putting the fear of God in us not to go out. Back to the textbook reference from a few weeks back; be sure to adjust the weather report sometimes as well and take a good look yourself before some weather channel employee in Chicago ruins your weekend on the water… DON’T FORGET BUSINESS OWNERS…SAUGATUCK CUP 2010! BE A PART OF IT ON AND OFF THE WATER WITH A CORPORATE DONATION (TAX DEDUCTABLE)! FISHERMAN/WOMEN THE TOURNEY WILL SELL OUT, SO IF YOU WANT IN, PLEASE GET THOSE APPLICATIONS IN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO YOU DO NOT GET SHUT OUT! Week of August 27th-September 3rd THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING BUSINESS DONATIONS OF ANY GOOD OR SERVICE (FISHING RELATED OR NOT) FOR THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP. CONTACT ERIC IN THE SHOP FOR MORE DETAILS! PESCA MAYA TRIP DETAILS UNDER THE “NEWS” TAB! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Wow…what a strange week. A ton of personal reports from here at the shop as well as from customers all weekend long and into the week. The summary, some are ready to hang the poles up for the season while others went home sore. What does this mean for you; time to get on out there folks, for the majority of the reports are really starting to heat up. Of course over the weekend was the WICC Tourney, so there was a good amount of pressure, but that did not seem to bother the fish at all. The winning fish came from the west as is customary and was just shy of 16 lbs. Congrats to all the winners! Many participants were once again disappointed, for all of their efforts only produced the wrong species of fish. Despite being all leadered up, a good friend of mine landed a 42 lb bass off of Stamford in the middle of the day on Saturday. Seems sort of ironic based on the theme of the report last week which was be careful about relying solely on the textbook when determining your tactics. Of course the textbook would say that catching this bass in August, with a black steal leader in the middle of the day would be virtually impossible, well, guess again. The water temps were still dropping before this heat wave, so we will see what happens with this impending front as well. Speaking of fronts, no doubt you have all heard the news about Hurricane Earl ripping up the coast. Hard to say what the exact track will be, but it looks like the most of us will be spared, with Montauk feeling the brunt of it (sorry Dave). Hurricane force winds will only emanate approximately 60-80 miles outside of the center of the eye. Given that, we will definitely get some wind and some surge, but hopefully it won’t screw up the tremendous amount of bait that is currently in our local waters. Whatever the case, if you are out on the water, be sure to keep an eye to the sky… As mentioned previously, the striper fishing continues to improve day by day. In fact, our own Kurt Daniello bailed a nice 25 lb fish from the surf on Wednesday on a Northbar plug. Kurt gets it done regardless of what the fishing forecast is and he would be the first to admit that taking this fish from shore is a great sign (see recent catches). To kick things off this week we had Scott Maxwell and crew land and release a nice 12lb blue on some sweet light tackle rods we hooked him up with a few weeks back (see recent catches). Sage N. was back at it after a few weeks of lake fishing and his record did not skip a beat. Fishing both Saturday and Sunday during the outgoing tide, he had about 6 bass each day over 30 inches doing a bit of trolling as well as tossing top water plugs, with some smaller fish mixed in along with a few big blues. Largest bass was 38 inches followed by a 36 inch bass respectively. All fish were taken in water between 3 and 15 feet (see recent catches). Don Rossi and crew wrote in summarizing his weekend on the water fishing the tourney as better than good with a lot of big blues to the boat. One point of interest, while everyone else was running around looking for fresh bunker that was in shortage, he loaded up with mackerel and he was glad he did. The blues under his vessel wanted nothing to do with the bunker and instead were only hitting the chunked mackerel. Once again his girlfriend Kerri Kulesza brought more fish to the rail than Don…(see recent catches). Recent shop customers Ethan, Benny and mother Anna stopped in for some guidance about fishing in and around Penfield Reef. We set them up with a few poppers and they proceeded to have many catches over the course of two days this weekend. Their most impressive catch was a monster Sea Robin on a snapper popper! Great job boys (& mom too!)(see recent catches) The Micinilio Brothers reported in that they too had some luck over the weekend, but for their fishing appetites, it was too slow. On Saturday they fished from Westport to Stamford and caught fish right off the bat at Cockenoe. They continued west and caught a bunch of blues on some of the rocky points off Stamford on the outgoing tide. In total they had 25 bass up to 30" & 5 blues up to 31". Sunday they stayed close to home in the Housey, with only 4 small bass and 5 small blues, dodging what they said was an extraordinary amount of boat traffic on the river. Farther down in the sound we heard from Eric G. who fishing outside of Penfield Reef on Tuesday with bass up to 37 inches again in the middle of the day, mostly using bunker heads until they lost the tide. As a side note, the larger blues all week long have not been acting like larger blues. With a ton of surface bait on the water, you would expect to see more of those traditional blitzes, crashing the small bait…this has not been the case. Therefore, be careful, try and get those lures down a bit and do a lot more blind casting, you will like the results. The Micinilio Brothers checked back in Wednesday evening after a long afternoon on the water. They fished the Fairfield area hard, marking a ton of bait, but nothing really pushing it. They even ventured out into deeper water and dropped some live bunker for minimal results. I can’t believe I just used the word minimal and Micinilio in the same paragraph. Well that is why they call it fishing…not to be outdone they did manage to scrape up a nice 36 inch bass and a big blue near Sunken Island, so all was not in vain. Way to keep the determination and focus boys (see recent catches). The bones and albies, although not elusive, are definitely being a bit finicky. Our own Captain Mike Platt on two separate charters this past week was on top of them, but there was not even enough time to dump a cast. Pat Ashe emailed in a report that he spotted them off of Chimon, while Sage N. also had them in the islands as well. These are all accomplished fisherman and no doubt these fish were not mistaken. My only suggestion folks is just to have a rod rigged and ready to go with a Sea Rock Jig and some flouro, that way you will be prepared. Although the impending Earl may be seen as a hindrance, it may just push these fish and more bait farther up and into the sound, but I will let you know if that comes true on Sunday. The snapper fishing remains strong up and down the coastline so once this front pushes through on Friday, it is supposed to be a great weekend, so get on out there. This weekend also marks the unofficial close to the 2010 Summer Season and I reiterate "unofficial.” In fact, I know a handful of anglers that don’t even start fishing until this holiday passes, so don’t hang up the rods just yet; there is still a ton of great fishing! Week of August 20th-August 27th THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING BUSINESS DONATIONS OF ANY GOOD OR SERVICE (FISHING RELATED OR NOT) FOR THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP. CONTACT ERIC IN THE SHOP FOR MORE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Another week goes by and the fishing remains very strong. Before the report this week, a reminder that this weekend is the annual WICC Bluefish Tournament. Some of you will steer as far as you can from Long Island Sound while others will jump into the mix for the elusive $25,000 purse for the biggest chomper! Although our hours will remain the same, we will have on hand a ton of extra bait and fresh bunker for all those participating, so be sure to come by and gear up. If you are one of the folks that look down upon this kill tourney, there is a silver lining; no one on the water will be targeting bass so you should have the whole place to yourself. Despite how you feel about this competition, the weekend is looking picture perfect and looking back at the history, this is the first in three years for the tournament that the weather will actually be cooperating, so get on out there and enjoy!! The albie and bonito reports continue to come in. Not so many hook ups, but plenty of sightings from the north shore of LI as well as back over on this side. As recent as the writing of this report, I received a call from Sgt. Colonies who had them off of Cockenoe in fishable numbers all morning. Bill B. reported in that he too witnessed some albie and bonito activity in and around Burial Hill Beach. This is a great sign folks and to even make it better, we witnessed massive schools of peanut bunker in and around the Saugy on Sunday. All these factors combined with some steamy water temperatures and these speedsters should stick around for awhile. Lures of choice as we have been mentioning are the Sea Rock Jigs. These are a spitting image of the smaller baits these fish are chasing and easily cast on a 7’ medium light spinning set up rigged with at least 200 yds. of line/braid. For flies, there are too many to mention, but come have a look at our shop tied albie !^%$, Cotton Candy and Tunny Bunnies. We also brought in a slew of flies from Umpqua for these fish, as well as for the fall run, so stop on down. Onto the report… The weather, as previously mentioned, is forecasted to be beautiful. Lower humidity, very little wind and bone dry. Despite the forecasts for last weekend and this week, there was still much fishing to be had. I ventured out Tuesday at the mouth of Sasco Creek and had fish up to 27 inches all on the long rod fishing these new silver side patterns that we just brought in. With the overcast skies, I left them biting at 10:00 A.M… Sunday Kurt D. from the shop took some clients up to the Farmington where the water was flowing about 120 CFS. Despite the low water, his father and son crew had a blast. Tricos in the A.M., along with some PMDs, followed by some size 18 or so tan Caddis in the afternoon. If you are looking to experience this blue ribbon river with a guide who knows it better than the fish that swim in it, give the shop a call and ask for Kurt. Back in the salt, Steve R. reported in some massive schools of blues off of Southport on Tuesday afternoon after the rain stopped. They were being cautious with the weather, but were able to toss some Hopkins at them for 4 fish well over 12 lbs before ducking back into Southport Harbor. Eldon C., Jim C. and our own Captain Mike Platt have all had very similar experiences in the early A.M. as well as later in the evening hours in and around the Norwalk Islands. Since it’s the first time in a long time we have had all this small bait around in the late summer it is not traditional to have huge bass rolling at first light on small baits. This tactic of throwing smaller surface plugs have accounted for at least 50 fish this past week, all taken on the top and up to 39 inches! Sometimes it does not pay off to listed to the pundits about August fishing, if you got the time, get on out there, there is still plenty of great fishing to be had! The Micinilio Brothers and crew (or Sue) were at it all weekend long. They first hit up the Housey on Saturday where they tubed up a bunch of bass up to 26" in the marshes and around the lighthouse. They then motored over to Black Rock and found some bunker and started trolling them and immediately hooked up with some nice blues. At the end of the day they had 22 big blues with some awesome battles. The blues were between 30"-35". Sunday they fished around Black Rock Harbor. Sloppy conditions prevented them from trying other spots, but they did get 26 nice blues trolling live bunker (see recent catches) The snapper fishing along the entire Fairfield County Coastline is on fire from Milford to Greenwich. This is a great activity of rthe kids and/or the whole family. We have starter set up for just $20.00. Add a small popper or a piece of spearing and you will be into fish all day long! THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ One last thing, fellow local business, Earth Place, is having a fund raiser featuring up and coming artist Trevor Hall. See the details below, the whole crew from W.O. will be in attendance. Hope to see some of you there. Currently opening for Jimmy Cliff, Born in South Carolina and raised in California, Trevor Hall developed an affinity for summery acoustic music, from the beachside ambiance of Jack Johnson to the leisurely stroll of Bob Marley. Having spent his teenage years at a boarding school for the arts, Hall dedicated his life to music upon his high-school graduation. He self-released Lace Up Your Shoes in 2004; two years later, the Hall prepared for his major-label debut with Geffen Records. The Rascals Have Returned, an introductory EP produced by John Alagía, featured a soothing mix of reggae, folk, and roots rock. Hall continued to tour, performing shows alongside the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Ben Harper, Ziggy Marley, Matisyahu, and the Wailers. He also returned to the studio to record a self-titled sophomore album, which emphasized the artist's reggae influences upon its release in 2009 and topped out in the Billboard 200. Week of August 12th-August 20th THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! If you read our reports on a regular basis, like many, you know that we always speak the truth, no matter how good or bad the truth may actually be. The truth be known that the past week was a slow one. Steamy days, steamy water temps and lethargic fish meant for a rough one experienced by all. Despite the not so ideal conditions, many local anglers did get it done. Our first angler defies all the odds and landed a monster on Saturday in the high hot sun from Sherwood Point. Eric M. while drifting sandworms landed and released a 51 inch bass at approximately 2:00 P.M. I saw the pic on his phone when he came back in to reload on worms and this thing was a hog. Kudos to Eric as well for just landing this slob, surely not a very easy task from shore, on the rocks with a fish of that size…Congrats! The bait situation remains okay and looking back, ten times better than it was this same time last year. Silversides and small anchovies are just about everywhere you look inshore. Bunker schools have been worked up tight and have found some refuge deep into places like Black Rock Harbor albeit way up and in above the marinas and near the bridges. Pleasure Beach, Norwalk Harbor and Southport have been holding a good amount of bait until Mr.Gill Netter gets there and does who knows what with all of the bait he will never use…sorry…I digress. As we have been discussing over the past three to four weeks, there is no question that when the water temps bump up, as they always do in August, the fishing has a tendency to slow. To reiterate though, don’t stop fishing, just adjust. Get out earlier and stay out later, change baits constantly, adjust weights to insure the right drift or lack there of it, cover a lot of water and focus on solid pieces of structure when fishing in tight. Above all, be impatient, that’s right, I said it. Move, move, move…you get the picture. Trolling T&W can be very productive at this time of year and we have pre-packaged combos to get you going! As Eric M’s fish proves, these fish are still around, you just need to find them and then, you need to entice them to eat! The blues are pillaging the schools of bunker and the snappers are in full force along the coastline. Rick D. reported in of some nice 12-13 lb blues taken from underneath some bunker schools in Bridgeport on Sunday. Also on Sunday Glenn Katz reported in of a nice haul of chompers up to about 12 lbs with his son Ty nailing one all by himself on a diamond jig. All fish were in deep water.(see recent catches) Lastly on Sunday our good friends over at Saugatuck Harbor Yacht Club held a kids outing where the entire crew was into porgies all afternoon long. Great stuff and a true reiteration how much fun it is to get the kids out on the water for 100 % pure fun! Speaking of the kids, the snappers are here and can provide hours of fun for those shore bound anglers. A few $2.00 lures, bag of frozen spearing and a few extra hours and you will have the kids laughing all afternoon long. We have starter kits starting at just $19.99 so come on down. What you have all been waiting for…the albie/bonito report. To summarize, the first fish that a shop employee spotted and hooked but broke off was two weeks ago. Although none of us have hooked up since, we have all had shots at catchable numbers of fish on the north shore as well as on this side. In fact, this week we spotted a school off of Southport in the middle of the day. For flies we are tossing the albie bunnies and tunny bunnies that are hand tied here at W.O. We also just took delivery of a host of other anchovy patterns that no doubt will get the job down. For the spinning gear, we have once again stocked up on the Sea Rock Jigs that we hammered fish on last year, so be sure to come in and fill your quiver before they are gone. These fish, based on the water temperatures & bait that is present should explode any day. Further to our east, albeit in places farther to the south like Nantucket, the Vineyard and B.I. have had them in thick so it’s just a matter of time. Even on the north shore of L.I., I have seen at least a dozen fish caught by one local angler who will remain nameless…all on the fly rod as well! We all know the game when it comes to these fish, but to reiterate, slow down, be patient and keep the darn motor off and you will be rewarded… Dan D. phoned in a report from Sasco Beach on Tuesday night where he fished the eastern edge at dark on a incoming tide along the grass line with the smaller Smack Its for 4 bass up to 32 inches, all on top water plugs. After finishing up some crabbing on Monday night at Tide Mill in Southport, I swung down to the Harbor before calling it a night, really just to check out the water and stuck a few casts with a large Kastmaster towards the “pipe” and minutes later was releasing a fat 28 inch bass that was just absolutely loaded with bait or eels…. Speaking of crabbing, it remains quite strong. Sort of funny watching so many people giving this great activity a try without a tremendous amount of overall experience at it. I witnessed an entire family chase a three inch blue claw across the street, trying to get it back into the net so it could be released. Since I went back to one of my favorite spots Tuesday and it was totally blown up that I could not even get one line in the water, I am done talking about “spots.” I will however tell you all this, these critters like brackish water (i.e. part salt, part fresh). Find any estuary and you will find them. Find a nice bridge with brackish water flowing under it and you will have the perfect staging platform to launch an all out attack. As long as we don’t get a ton of freshwater, these guys should stick around for at least another month. Well folks, that is about it for this week. Although things may be slowing a bit, all the variables are in place for a great fall run, with a ton of bait and a good strong push of fish. The albies and bones should light up any day, so be sure to have one rod set aside with a piece of 4 foot fluorocarbon and a Sea Rock Jig and/or a 9wt with one of Johnny Chronic’s “Cotton Candy” flies ready to go…see you on the water… One last thing, fellow local business,Earth Place, is having a fund raiser featuring up and coming artist Trevor Hall. See the details below, the whole crew from W.O. will be in attendance. Hope to see some of you there. Currently opening for Jimmy Cliff, Born in South Carolina and raised in California, Trevor Hall developed an affinity for summery acoustic music, from the beachside ambiance of Jack Johnson to the leisurely stroll of Bob Marley. Having spent his teenage years at a boarding school for the arts, Hall dedicated his life to music upon his high-school graduation. He self-released Lace Up Your Shoes in 2004; two years later, the Hall prepared for his major-label debut with Geffen Records. The Rascals Have Returned, an introductory EP produced by John Alagía, featured a soothing mix of reggae, folk, and roots rock. Hall continued to tour, performing shows alongside the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Ben Harper, Ziggy Marley, Matisyahu, and the Wailers. He also returned to the studio to record a self-titled sophomore album, which emphasized the artist's reggae influences upon its release in 2009 and topped out in the Billboard 200. VIP Tickets can be purchased at www.earthplace.org To Benefit Earthplace in Westport, CT GA tickets are available at www.ticketleap.com Week of August 6th-August 12th THE 2010 SAUGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT! http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks, another steamy week continues to keep the water temperatures hovering in the mid seventies. As I mentioned last week, this clearly, as it always does, puts a bit of a dampering on the fishing and no doubt as this heat continues, the fishing is slower than normal, but there are still fish to be had as is supported by some of our customers that continue to get things done. Low light or rather no light conditions will produce the best for striped bass. Now is a great time to really get dialed in on your sounder which hopefully has a water temperatute sensor. If it does, you can find some cooler pockets of water where there should be fish holding. If you are not willing, there is plenty of water to our east around RI that are still fishing off the hook, so don’t be afraid to travel via water or trailer. A group from the shop just spent a few days fishing in and around Block Island for fish up to 40 plus pounds, which we will get to in a minute!! Outside of the bass fishing, the blue fishing remains quite strong. Locally we weighed in a 14 lb fish for a local club member on Tuesday. Speaking of blues, that’s right, the snappers are beginning to show themselves, being caught at higher tides from just about every beach in the county. This is a perfect time to get the kids into fishing. We have starter set ups for under $30.00. Add a few simple lures and you and the kids will have hours of fun. Before we get to the meat of this week’s report, I must give one more call to action in regards to the crabbing. As I mentioned last week, this year will go down as one of the best blue crab seasons in the last 15 years. I spoke with an old timer the other day and he confirmed this by stating it is the best he as seen…EVER!! I took some time off on Tuesday, dusted off my nets and stopped by the local butcher for some chicken parts. I set up shop in Southport and dropped some lines down and one trap and let me just say the trap got picked clean every time, since it was all I could do just to man the two lines. One single scoop yielded four keepers on one chicken leg. Over the course of less than three hours, I must have landed well over 100 blue claws and kept a dozen for the table. These things were so aggressive; they were knocking each other off the chicken! Like snapper fishing, this favorite pastime can bring hours of enjoyment for the whole family. We have all the gear you will need and the insight on where to point you, so come on down. Onto the report…one word folks…BONES, that is right, it’s confirmed, although we did not land it, one of us hooked and dropped a fat Bonito this past week on the long rods while fishing off of Eaton’s Neck. Farther to the east, we have also received other reports of some fishable numbers and with the water temperatures where they are; hopefully these fish will continue to filter through. The schools that we witnessed were a mix of both albies and bonito. We just received our shipment of Sea Rock Jigs and they won’t last long. Keep in mind that nearly every fish taken by our customers and us last year on spinning gear was done so on these jigs, that are a spitting image of the small bay anchovies that these fish love! Keep in mind that when fishing for these fish to relax. Don’t run and gun them, but rather wait for them. Don’t mistake them as a school of bluefish and run up on them or they will surely go down and most likely will not come back up. On the long rods, the shop has hand tied several patterns that have been tried & tested, so be sure to come down and have a look at those as well. The report this week starts off with the Micinilio Brothers once again getting it down despite some adverse conditions. Over the weekend they fished from Westport to Stamford and really had to look for the fish. They ended up with 7 keeper bass to 32", 9 blues to 31", and one big porgy. Sunday Jim went out with his first mate Sue in the Black Rock Area and worked their butts off to get six bass to the boat. The blues were a different story, where they landed fish up to 35 inches in shallow water (see recent catches). Wednesday they were back it at again albeit reporting a slower day. Fishing again from Westport to Stamford it seems that the only fish benefiting from the over abundance of small baitfish are the snapper blues. They ended up the day with 30 bass 3 keepers up to 32" and 3 blues up to 28". They too reported seeing many blue claw crabs and the porgies were merciless on thier worms. Tuesday, after crabbing, I decided to stick with it and fished the dropping tide at Ash Creek for two bass to 30 inches and a monster blue that had to have been every bit of 34 inches on the fly rod. While I was getting it done with the crabs, shop employees Johnny J. and Cody Lapnow made their way back up to Block Island, this time deciding the trailer route rather than getting pounded for 5.5 hours on the water. They fished for 2.5 days and used anything from Sluggos, T&W, live eels, flies etc. This crew is surely a whatever it takes bunch and their ability to adjust their tactics and offerings is a true testament to their overall skill as fisherman. Everyone was into fish in deep water, shallow water, in tight, in the rocks, you name it and they did it. The biggest fish they had was just over 40 lbs with plenty of 30lb and 20lb fish over the course of the excursion (see recent catches). Great job guys! Back locally, the Fluke fishing remains strong with many anglers limiting out in no time at all. Another great species to target if you get up late and miss the bass bite! Daryl and company took a 25 inch fluke on a fluke ball tipped with a W.O. spearing on Wednesday, just off of Goose Island. No doubt that the bass bite is a bit slow, but if you get up or stay out late, you will surely be rewarded. A lot of folks locally are on vacation this month so we have seen a severe decline (which is a good thing) when it comes to boat traffic or lack there of it. So get on out there and take advantage of some great fishing. I mentioned last week that this time of year presents an area angler many choices of fish to target, so I would encourage all of you to stop reading the headlines and instead move on to the whole story. Yes the bass fishing may be slowing, but it always does this time of year, so instead of sitting on the dock, get on out and get after all of the other great species our water has to offer! Saugatuck Cup-Saugatuck Cup-Saugatuck Cup-Saugatuck Cup-Saugatuck Cup-SIGN UP TODAY!! www.saugatuckcup.com FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of July 30th-August 6th THE LAST DATE FOR THE W.O. /LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL IS THIS SATURDAY AUGUST 7th…ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT! THE 2010 SAGATUCK CUP IS SET FOR OCTOBER 9th, DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS GREAT EVENT. http://www.saugatuckcup.com/ ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Before the report this week, a brief apology for not posting a report last week. Without getting into all the details, I was called out of town for a family emergency, but all is good now so let's get back to the fishing… The weather continues to be…well…oppressive, to say the least and it looks like there will not be a break in sight for the upcoming weekend. With the water temps hovering near 75 degrees, it is a good time to utilize those fancy depth units to find some cooler water. When you do, it will usually mean good things. Although this time of year can sometimes be a bit more difficult to find fish, I like it for another reason. That reason is choice. There are a ton of choices when it comes to fishing at this time of year. The bait continues to cooperate and there have been more and more sightings of peanut bunker, so that is a great sign. Larger schools of bunker are in areas like Greenwich and farther to our east near Bridgeport, but be careful. Don’t solely rely on what you may have heard or read on some site that never gets updated. Although everyone will say, go to Greenwich, Bridgeport, Darien etc., be aware that in between with a good nose and a decent sonar, you may just be able to find your own schools of bunker. Case in point, this past Wednesday, we had a report of a rather large school just cruising right off of Compo. If you were to have left Longshore and decided to just run all the way to Bridgeport because that is what your buddy said, you would have run right over this school…just saying… Back to the choices…the snappers have begun to show up which means hours of fun for the kids. The Scup fishing has also been great and if you get one of the legal size, try live lining it. Although the bass fishing in mid day may be a bit slow, early A.M. and late at night it continues to produce some great fish which you will see in a moment. The blues are getting bigger and bigger each day as they continue to feed on large schools of adult menhaden and peanuts. Target them with some sub surface hard baits such as Trophy spoons or Hopkins with the tube tails for best results. Last but surely not least, we have our favorite tuna species no doubt staging a little farther to our east. As I mentioned two weeks back, an old friend who fishes out of Niantic spotted a few small schools in pretty tight, so with any luck, based on the heavy small bait that is currently in our area, things on this front should blow up any day. Lure of choice: SEA ROCK JIGS! Those of you that fished these last year know the success that we all had on the bones with these lures, so be sure to come by…our order should be here any day…on to the report… Just a brief recap of those that had sent in some impressive catches that were not recognized due to us not being able to post last week. Our own Captain Mike Platt continues to get it done and had shop customer Paul A. into some nice top water fish up to 15 lbs (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers, with a guest, continued to get it done while I was away, spotting huge schools of 3 inch silversides in and around Norwalk. They were able to bring to the boat several nice fish to 33 inched and several large blues (see recent catches). Dylan G. of Westport fishing off of Compo while I was away nailed a nice 35 inch fish just one hour after dead low tide from shore (see recent catches). Lastly to catch up from last week, we had Don Rossi, bringing to the net a nice 34 inch bass that was safely released caught on T&W (see recent catches). Back on track we had a great week despite the high hot sun and threatening skies in the evening. Although this is a “fishing” report, the crabbing has been off the hook and surely is worth mentioning. Getting bored with the fish, go get some crabs. These favorite striper baits are all over in the brackish water outflows and are easily targeted with just a net and a piece of string and bait. We can guide you to the spots that have been producing and have the gear you need here. Captain Matt Gifford confirmed that the crabbing has been off the charts for the past 2 weeks, keepers in larger numbers and more frequent than I have seen since he was a little kid. On the fishing front he writes in that there are small bluefish everywhere, especially in the harbor and on the north shore. The inshore bass have been around at dawn/dusk but in lower numbers with the warmer water. There is still fish; you just have to work a bit harder for them. On Tuesday Tom Schimenti checked in after getting some worms and reported back shortly after with a nice fat 32 inch bass taken on T&W. As we mentioned several weeks back, we have pre rigged lead core combos specifically for trolling that all you need to do is add water. This is a fool proof method to get you into bass during these warmer months when the fish are down deep. Come on down and give it a try! The Micinilio Brothers once again were out mid week, focusing a bit closer to home in and around Fairfield. They admit that the inshore bite is slowing down a bit, but there is still fish to be had. They have mainly been fishing Black Rock, Ash Creek to Sunken Island. Lots of small bait that is a combination of silversides and tiny bunker. They reported in that Black Rock still has a lot of adult bunker, but almost never is something harassing them (see recent catches). Kevin L. reported in that at first light at Southport Beach on Wednesday, there were stripers pounding small bait with fish on the long rods to 27 inches. Flies of choice were surf candies and some of our own shop tied clousers. As soon as the sun came up, things shut down. It makes sense; I personally was scouting out a local outflow in Southport just after first light and saw fish crashing what seemed to be peanut bunker up against the tidal wall…quite a sight. So that’s about it folks, keep the reports coming, it’s this time of year when the more information we can share with one another, the better results we will all have. The weekend looks good so get on out there. If you can swing it, try to rise early and get that light change when the water is still cool from the night sky. If you sleep in, try trolling some tubes or deep lip swimmers to get down to that cooler water and is all else fails, grab some rancid chicken parts and go crabbing with the kids! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-LAST ONE!!! August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of July 15th-July 23rd CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! I AM CONDUCTING A KIDS FLY FISHING SCHOOL NEXT SATURDAY, JULY 31st AT PEQUOT LIBRARY IN FAIRFIELD FROM 11:00-2:00. DROP ME AN EMAIL OR CALL IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN LENDING A HAND. THANKS FOR THE CONSIDERATION. THE NEXT DATE FOR THE W.O. /LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL IS JULY 31st…ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT! PESCA MAYA TRIP MOVED TO JANUARY. CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” SECTION FOR ALL THE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks can you remember in years past a summer with so much consistent heat and so little rain? With the exception of almost nightly downpours mixed in with a few twisters and you have the summer of 2010 at a glance in and around Fairfield County. Water temperatures are hovering around 74 degrees on the surface but are surprisingly quite cool below. Early morning and deep into the night are going to be your best bet for some good fish, however the high hot mid day sun fishing has also produced some quality fish as well. Let me digress…there is a lot of emphasis put on fishing in high light conditions and the lack of success, do to higher water temps during these hours equaling less oxygen etc. A good friend of mine is a guide in R.I., some of you may know him, his name is Ryan Sansoucy. Ryan is a dear friend a great fisherman and focuses his fishing efforts on the South County Ponds. These ponds, although getting a nice flush daily, get very warm in the months to come, some even reaching nearly 80 degrees. So what is one to do when this happens based on what we know in regards to higher water temperatures? GO FISH! Striped Bass are one of the most opportunistic feeders in the ocean. Although picky at times, their ferocious diets rule their day to day operations. In the ponds in R.I. it is not out of the ordinary to see 40 inch fish cruising in the middle of the day in less than a foot of water that is very, very warm? Why are they their? FOOD! Crabs, sand worms, sand eels, shrimp, you name it. So basically the moral of this story, be aware of your variables including but not limited to, bottom contour and consistency, available food sources, tides, time of day, lure/bait selection and of course water temperatures, but don’t for one second think that it’s the most important variable, food is and lucky for us the food sources this summer have been better than good. One often overlooked bait/lure at this time of year is crabs. Calicos and Blue Crabs as well as Green Crabs have been everywhere and the fish are all over them. To my previous point, crabs in general are in shallow warmer water and we have witnessed 20 plus pound fish hammering them right here in Westport this past week. Try the CW Crab lures as well as the Gulp imitations to get this done. On the long rods, we have some sweet crab patters as well to get it done, so get on out there and try filtering these lures/patterns into the mix…you will be glad you did. The Micinilio Brothers were at it once again and believe it or not wrote in that even they felt the fishing was a bit tuff over the weekend. After working the Bridgeport area they retreated towards Stratford and were able to tube up a few nice fish up to 32 inches (see recent catches). Recent W.O. convert Don Rossi continues to make fishing his new favorite hobby, however there is one thing he has yet to accomplish and that is to convert his girlfriend. Without this happening, we all know the end game, so Don headed out Sunday and fished mid sound where he got her into her first fish, so the rest should now be history. Kerri Kulesza, successfully hooked, landed and released her first fish, a healthy 24 inch striper (see recent catches). Monday I fished the outgoing at Ash Creek with some crab patterns on the long rod and only to reiterate what I stated above, had two nice fish up to 29 inches. The pattern was one of the Kung Fu crab patterns we sell here at the shop. Rick phoned in a report from Tuesday where he had a pretty good bass blitz just offshore of Sasco Beach that could have been easily targeted from shore. They were on small baits with no blues in the mix at all. The fish were up for approximately 25 minutes with the largest fish falling for a Montauk Mikes that came to the nest at 34 inches. Before the storms on Wednesday the Micinilio Brothers were out doing what they do best and had a host of bass with 15 keepers in the mix up to 32.5" and 9 blues and one monster 15" porgy that almost got eaten by a striper as they reeled it in. Also before the storms on Wednesday Cody and Taylor Lapnow were getting their fix before a family trip to Wisconsin this coming weekend. They scouted out the Westport coastline while keeping a close look to the skies and ended up just off of Slates where they were greeted by blitzing fish spraying bait out of the water…but what was it…silver sides…no…sand eels…no…Peanut Bunker…YES! That’s right folks our first confirmed sighting of our second favorite bait. This is a great sign to come… Well folks, after the storms this week, we may just get a day or two of reprieve from the heat, but it will be back with us for the weekend. The fishing remains strong just be sure to either get out early or stay out late. If you choose to fish the high hot sun, be sure to not to overlook some of the shallower spots where we continue to do quite well in the middle of the day. This is also a great time to start focusing on trolling T&W. We have some ready to go combos that we built here that are rigged with lead core and perfect for covering water to find the big girls. I heard a report from an old friend who personally witnessed some tuna species bouncing about off of the Niantic coastline this week…but we will save the ending of that story for another day…tight lines. 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of July 9th-July 15th THE NEXT DATE FOR THE W.O. /LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL IS JULY 31st…ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT! PESCA MAYA TRIP MOVED TO JANUARY. CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” SECTION FOR ALL THE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks another hot and steamy week and some great is fishing still to be had. Despite the air temperatures, the water temperatures remain quite cool, all things considered, coming in on Wednesday A.M. at just above 72 degrees on the surface. The bait situation and the presence of bunker are good. As usual, Black Rock Harbor is still packed with bait. I witnessed a boat load up with bait just off of Black Rock Yacht Club on Monday night in about 20 minutes. Back locally, large schools can be found from Darien to Fairfield. A few words of caution, bunker despises two things, freshwater and like other fish, pressure changes. After our report last week we had some folks call in and ask where did all the bunker go that we had referenced in the report? The Answer: DOWN! Keep in mind the multiple pressure changes we experienced over the weekend and that should answer this question. In regards to freshwater, this favorite bait fish hates it, therefore when we get the type of rain that we did over the past two days, fishing the estuaries may night be the right tactic. Any concentration in some of our larger outflows of bait no doubt would have found refuge in deeper water with higher salinity counts. These are just two points to keep in mind this weekend to help you adjust your tactics to get more fish to the net. Good friend and shop customer Sage N. was the first to check in after taking out some staffers for a little bit of entertaining. After loading up with bait, Sage and crew headed over to the north shore to try for some Fluke. Throughout the day they boated nearly 100 fish with non-stop action in 10-25 feet of water on a combination of sand eels, squid and spearing. Problem was they only had 10 fish from 19 to 20.75 inches, so no keepers, but surely plenty of bent rods to keep the crew happy. The captain’s only regret was to have maybe tried a bit deeper water… To seal the day they dragged some tubes outside of Westport and had a pick of 20 bass, 6 keepers to 36 inches and 17 lbs…Great day guys! The Micinilio Brothers once again checked in with a strong report. They fished from Norwalk to Darien on Saturday and then closer to Bridgeport on Sunday. The seas were flat, while everyone else stayed home, perhaps frightened off by the forecasted thunderstorms and showers which never really showed up. Regardless, they endured the vast loneliness and ended up with well over 50 fish to the boat, 27 keeper bass, 6 blues and a big 14" plate sized porgie, all on tube and worm. 19 of the bass were keepers, including a drag screaming rage cage beast measuring in at 39", 20lbs. They lost 2 other massive stripers which, after giving deep, full wood rod bends and burning drag, soon dove into the rocks, cutting their tough braid like worn sewing thread. They had good success fishing skinny water during the lower portion of the tide close to the rock piles and shoreline. This week seemed to be a travel week for the crew here at the shop. Cody and Cory attempted to make it to the Cape for some Tuna fishing on Monday and were diverted off course do to the weather and decided to put in the Mystic area and ended up fishing Fisher’s Island for some great light tackle action. In fact, Cory C. hooked into a 12 lb blue on his fist cast on a 6wt! (see recent catches). Later in the week Cody jumped on board with Johnny J. and they headed from Westport out to the Block (island that is). They had smooth sailing out where they were greeted with breaking fish around Black Rock and some bass on soft plastics out near Southwest Ledge to 23 lbs. After nearly throwing his arm off and everything he had in his fly box, Johnny J. succumbed, knowing that they guys with the spinning/conventional tackle had him beat. On the way home with a monster tide and some breeze on the nose, they punched through 4-5 footers and finally landed back at the dock in Westport after a 5 hour !@# whoopin’. Way to go guys, that is a true sign of addiction...(see Cody kissing dock upon their return for full affect)... Back home on the same day, the Micinilio Brothers were at it again fishing closer to home in Fairfield in and around Sunken Island where they were able to troll up three nice bass but almost not worth mentioning based on the numbers these guys have putting up. On the way back home they came across a huge school of bunker and had their fun with some gator blues up to 34 inches (see recent catches). Wade fishing the Fairfield Beaches including Jennings and Penfield have been pretty decent with the light change and the sun coming up. Smaller baits are around in mass, so for the fly guys, try trimming back some of those sand eel patterns, you will be glad you did. These fish on the beach are acting more like trout in my opinion than bass. This weekend is looking pretty good with the occasional passing storm, but not enough pressure to make a difference. At the time of this report, the water clarity remains a bit murky, stay clear of estuaries dumping this stained water out and go seek out a piece of structure in open water. Sluggos, Stillwater Poppers, Montauk Mikes Jigs and X-raps for the spin guys/gals. We just received some big boy bunker patterns as well so come on by and have a look at these flies along with a host of others!! Now is also a great time too start breaking out the tubes. We have once again assembled Captain Elser’s T&W rod/reel combos with lead core, designed to take the guess work out of where your tube is below the service. These set ups have everything including the leader, just snap on a tube and go get some fish for only $219.99! THE MONTAUK REPORT Captain Dean on board the wet decks of the “TEASER” in Montauk, NY reports that the offshore season is in full swing with yellowfin tuna at 50 fathoms, while the bluefin bite is red hot just south of Block Island. Back Inshore, the striped bass fishing is excellent and locally the size of these fish is getting bigger and bigger. In fact Chris Miller of West Lake Marina brought up a 62 pound fish taken while free diving…quite a catch! The fluke fishing is steady, but you have to work at it for the keepers.21 ½ inch’s in New York waters with most of the action still north and east of the point. And, there are some nice seabass mixed in with them as well. Should you want to book a trip with Captain Dean, please feel free to call the shop or Dean directly at 203.556.3361. 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of July 2nd-July 9th THE NEXT DATE FOR THE W.O. /LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL IS JULY 17th…ONLY A FEW SPOTS LEFT! PESCA MAYA TRIP MOVED TO JANUARY. CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” SECTION FOR ALL THE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! The word of the week folks is simply Menhaden otherwise known as “BUNKER.” Never in my tenure in the western sound have I heard of and/or received more reports from customers and friends in regards to the large quantities of bunker in our area. A lot of fish folks over look the simple dynamic between the presence of bunker in our waters as it relates to the size and quality of the fish we are treated with when these larger baits stick around. Dare we recall last year at this time….I would rather not; instead I will be looking forward to what sometimes are the doldrums of July/August with open eyes. Traditionally these are some slower months, traditionally because of the lack of bait. During years past there has been much speculation on where it all goes, the dolphins, commercial netting in the waters to our south, recreational gill netting etc. Regardless of what school of thought you choose to follow, one thing should remain constant. Treat this valuable bait resource as a friend and not a foe. Shorten up on your gill nets if need be to limit the catch to only what you will need. Unlike cast netting, once these fish are in the net, there is usually no going back in the water, so be careful not to let it sit for too long. Above all, get on out there and experience some great fishing. The bass bite continues to be hot in the A.M. and while to sun rises above head, the blues have been on fire. Large plugs, Stillwater Poppers and Montauk Mikes have been the lures of choice from Bridgeport to Greenwich with bass to 40 inches this past week and blues to over 18 lbs! For the bait guys/gals, snagging bunker and sending them back out on a single hook has been the preferred the method. Shop employees John J. and Cody even teased a ton of fish up using a hook less wooden swimmer on Wednesday. As soon as these beasts were in striking distance, they pulled the plugs out of the water and presented the fly and then held on while they had their fill of 10-14lb blues all afternoon in the middle of the day!! The north shore of L.I. was the spot to be. Before we get to the local report, we have had many local anglers hauling their boats out and making the run up to Cape Cod for some epic inshore tuna fishing on spinning gear. Lures of choice have been larger plus and Hogy style and Slugos in the 24 inch version. Be sure to check your hooks, while some favor rigging their own hooks with heavier gauge wire up to 90 lbs. We posted a few pics of some nice tuna that have been coming on board, some being caught within a stone’s throw from shore. If you have the means and the rig to get your boat up there, don’t loose out! Onto the report… First off was Cody and crew that despite all of the fireworks displays all weekend long continue to get it done with the bass. Their lure of choice remains the Smack It! Jrs in the bunker color. Their trips over the holiday weekend accounted for about 15 keepers up to 15 lbs all on top water…and one seagull (see recent catches). Captain Mike Platt was out early in the week and had a school of bunker on the north shore to himself and his client. They had blues up to 18.5lbs and were forced to use single hook storm shads to retrieve their baits after the blues destroyed their ground tackle in about 1.5 hrs. Did I mention it was 102 degrees, in the middle of the day with the highest sun possible and not one other boat around…To get into some of this action, give the shop a call and ask to get out on the water with Captain Platt on board his brand new 23 Parker! Up the coast, Derrick and Kurt D. continue to pound the coastline, focusing on some uncharted waters in and around Niantic. What many fail to recognize often is the diverse shore fishery that sits east of New Haven in areas like Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Essex, Waterford and Niantic. If you need some guidance how to better fish these areas just an hour up the line, stop on in, you will be greeted with cooler waters, better shore access points and for the most part, some bigger fish. While slinging eels from shore on Monday night, they nailed a nice 22 lb fish that was safely released (see recent catches). On Sunday I plugged Fairfield Beach (in between refreshments) for my share of blues up to 10 lbs form shore on Smack Its! Big blues were crashing large schools of sand eels 12 feet from the beach. The water was such a boil; some unsuspecting revelers had no idea what was going on, a pretty funny site to say the least as they stayed clear of the water until things subsided. Captain Brad Berk scanning the waters from Peck’s Ledge to Southport reported in to say that the schools of bunker that covered the area was the largest he has ever seen!! Big blues on top, bigger bass beneath them and no one single boat on them… Wednesday the Micinilio Brothers were back it, fishing some deeper water off the BH buoy in Bridgeport. Changing things up a bit, they fished, live bunker and a few chunks. At the end of the day they had 16 bass to the boat and 11 blues. The biggest bass was just under 37 inches and 18lbs (see recent catches) Captain Mike Platt was back it on Thursday with a father and two children on board. Fishing plugs, they caught fish in less than 3 feet of water all morning with only bass coming to the rail, which were all safely released. The biggest was only 31 inches, but great fun on the light tackle rods and even better to see the smiles on the kids faces! (see recent catches). So here it is folks, another weekend that looks pretty good with a chance of threatening skies, so keep a look out above. If you want to get into this awesome action from a bait standpoint, search out some nervous water and launch a few snaggers into the mix. Poppers at this point are a sure bet as well for the spinning guys/gals. For flies, don’t forget your bite tippets. Filter in a selection of crabs while you are in shallow water at this time of year as well, we just received in some sweet new Kungfu crabs, so come on down and have a look. If this bait sticks around, perhaps our traditional summer doldrums will never arrive… 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of June 25th-July 2nd THE NEXT DATE FOR THE W.O./LOU TABORY FLY-FISHING SCHOOL IS JULY 17th…SIGN UP TODAY! PESCA MAYA TRIP MOVED TO JANUARY. CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” SECTION FOR ALL THE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Another warm week that continues to crank up our local water temperatures, however with the passing showers almost daily, they still are struggling to get above the 70 degree mark. I was on the water Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and was really taken back on how clear the water still is despite it being July. This all means good things for the fishing, but you may have to adjust your tactics a bit. For the fly guys/gals, you may want to rotate in a grain line to get to that deeper cooler water for the bi girls and if you slept in and got out a bit later than you would have liked. For the spinning rods, we often use fluorocarbon to protect our lures from those toothy bluefish. But with the water still very clear, you may want to add 4-6 feet of fluorocarbon to insure a good catch ratio. You may be surprised what a difference this little adjustment can make. As the water temperatures increase it is also around this time of year that I personally switch my way of thinking. In the early spring months, I focus on tides more than time of day as a rule of thumb; however come mid July I will reverse this and focus on time of day rather than tides. Of course no one wants a dead low or flood tide for fishing, but it is in my opinion that getting out early or staying up late is more critical at this time of year as apposed to spring…just saying… Our first report comes from the east where Steve Thomas has been fishing Milford for fish up to 40 inches all on the fly rod in less than 3 feet of water in his waders!! His fly of choice, a sparsely tied grey and white clouser with a little extra buck tail rounding the fly out at 2 inches in length (see recent catches). With the full moon you know who came to town last week and there were thousands of them. The little red cinder worms were just about everywhere where there was a soft bottom along our coastline. Kronic fished hard with some VIP guests from a video series that no doubt many of you have watched for years. They had some nice fish up to 31 inches all on worm patterns on the fly rods in and around Westport…keep you eyes peeled in a year or so for this video to air in a theatre near you. Captain Mike Platt was fully booked last week and the trips he had were into fish. Lures of choice were Stillwater Poppers and Mike’s “Special Sauce” clousers, that both accounted for fish up to 33 inches. There is still some really good crab activity, mostly calicos so if you are looking to toss some fly patterns at them, stop on in; we just received some sweet new patterns. On the spinning rods, look to use some of the CW Crab Lures in the suspending version. Robert Enos checked in from Greenwich where he had some great action off of Cos Cob in 60 feet of water. Using chunks during the last hour of the outgoing tide he had five bass from 37-39 inches as well as a steady pick of 8-10lb blues (see recent catches). Steve Eliot checked in and he had some great news about one of his good friends. Steve is a great fisherman, but even so, the angler in this case had to know a thing or two considering they tubed up a 27 lb bass that was 42 inches long outside of Westport. The icing on the cake was this fish was the angler’s first keeper!(see recent catches). Fellow Westport Striped Bass Club member Jimmy Izzo accompanied by his trusty first mate Dick Ritter stopped in on Sunday to weigh in a 30 lb bass that fell for a chunk off of Westport, qualifying him as the second place finisher in the Annual Calcutta. Nice fish Jimmy! The Micinillio Brothers checked in with yet another banner day. They have been focusing on fishing from Rowayton to Darien Harbor, trolling tubes in 4-10 feet of water over rock piles and tight to the shoreline especially the points, on both sides of the tide. All fish were taken on tube and worm. One of the high points of their day occurred towards the end of the day when they boated a "Brokeback" striper (see attached photo). Even with such handicaps as kyphosis of the spine -- also called "hunchback", most likely the result of trauma from an earlier injury -- and only a partial tail fin, the fish fought like an absolute monster! They closed out the day with 26 keepers up to 20lbs. They reported that they feel there is a definite shortage of smaller fish this year in their opinion (and they fish a ton). Though they didn't see any bunker or sand eels during the day, we did witness schools of 1" - 2" silversides holding tight to the rock piles. The crew was back at it on Wednesday bass between Norwalk and Darien. On board with the brothers was Charlie Walsh who is fishing column writer from the CT Post. They fished both sides of the tide and ended the day with a nice pull of fish with 14 keepers. 5 of the 14 keepers were were huge, 37" 20lbs, 39" 22lbs, 42.5" 32lbs, 43.5" 32lbs and a 46" 40lbs behemoth which ran out line so fast they actually had to chase it down. All keepers were released, unharmed. All fish were caught on tube and worm. Fish were tight to the rock piles and points, all were taken in 6 - 12 feet of water(see recent catches). The fishing remains strong as the small bait continues to stage up in tight in the shallows offering wade fisherman/women some great action as well as those boaters that can fish skinny. The bunker with some of this rain has moved out a bit into deeper water, but as this dry spell continues I would anticipate they will move in a bit tighter into some of our harbors and estuaries again. With the impending July 4th weekend there will be no shortage of boats on the water that will maybe put down some fish, but keep in mind the revelers won’t be out until the evening so get out of bed and go stick some fish this weekend! An old theory I had always stood strong on was the lack there of good fishing during and after the fireworks displays that invade LIS on our Independence Day. Well, let me just say that one of the biggest fish I personally witnessed last season was taken at the height of the Norwalk display in 20 feet of water last year….with that said, have a great holiday weekend everyone! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of June 18th- June 25th TWO SPOTS LEFT FOR THIS WEEKEND'S FLYFISHING SCHOOL WITH W.O. & LOU TABORY. DON’T MISS OUT!! PESCA MAYA TRIP MOVED TO JANUARY. CHECK UNDER THE “NEWS” SECTION FOR ALL THE DETAILS! ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks, first off, I hope you all enjoyed the video we took from Montana. As those of you know who have visited this great state, there is still some technology that is lacking and thus we could not post the hard update. I know the guys back at the shop were fishing all week, so hopefully you stopped in to get the full report. As a recap of our annual pilgrimage to Montana, we once again were greeted with some very interesting weather patterns. The week started off throwing micro caddis to hungry trout, some streamers when the cloud cover came over and ended with some nymping when the rains came. Tuesday we were fishing in the rain all day on some ranch lands that were fed by spring creeks to form several large ponds where we were sight casting size 26 pink scuds to monster browns from 24-27 inches. In the middle of the week we escaped some very high water and fished the legendary Beaverhead River for once again a great day with some monster bows in the mix to 26 inches. Friday, unfortunately, the Big Hole River was flowing at just under 9,000 CFS and looked like a dark cup of coffee. Streamers were the method of choice and the fish were very hard to come by, but at least it was not raining on us. All in all another great week at the Complete Fly Fisher in Wise River Montana. If you want in on this trip for next year, contact me directly. We have plenty of room! www.completeflyfisher.com. Back locally the fishing has remained strong despite some pretty consistent high temperatures as well as almost on cue, a passing cell or two of some boomers in the afternoon. The water temps are hovering right around 68-70 degrees, but keep in mind these are surface temps, so don’t get too scared. Bunker schools are just about everywhere you would expect them to be, while the sand eels are still all over the place, concentrating in areas like Compo Cove, Kensie Point, Cove Park and Compo. I am always looking forward, but I must reflect and just say remember this time last year? Enough said… The blues it is safe to say are here, despite me being in denial. It seems as if each day the size of these monsters coming to the net gets bigger and bigger. If you don’t want them on the end of your line, try focusing on low light conditions or better yet, no light. A lot of what these fish east they have to see and if they can’t see your fly/lure, chances are you will catch more bass! On a quirky sort of note, I can not remember the last time we saw more keeper fluke being taken untraditionally, (i.e. without bait). We have been taking these fish along with a host of customers on flies, rattle traps, x-raps and even slugos! Regardless what the ultimate fate is for theses fish once you get them to the boat/net, they are a great fight on light tackle that many have never experienced. The Micinillio Brothers continue to get it done (imagine that) fishing in tight on Saturday they totaled up 14 keepers up to 35 inches trolling T&W(see recent catches). They focused around fishing the Norwalk Islands where it was tuff as 12-14 inch blues were just hammering sand eels leaving nothing for the bass. They readjusted to a little bit deeper water and it was game on. Bill Beck reported in from Compo Beach and the good news is there were fish on the flats throughout the weekend. Seems like the Bluefish have moved in and taken over the early A.M. bass hotspots in Bill’s opinion. After the first 2 casts hooking small blues and shredding slugos he switched over to a crippled herring spoon and caught fish non stop for about 30 minutes until the sun started to come up and the action slowed @ about 6:30 A.M. It’s almost time to start preaching “the early bird gets the worm” adage…. We had Vinny E. report in from down Stamford way with some cool information. He witnessed a massive sand eel hatch with an almost equally massive school of small blues chasing them. Awesome fishing but its impossible that this will have a somewhat adverse effect on striper fishing. Vinny is right, but traditionally if you move off some of these flats, the stripers be waiting where as the blues camped out in tight. This particular hatch was so thick the water in the marina looked like it was crawling and you could reach in and pick up bunches by hand. Pretty cool stuff!! Thanks for sharing Vinny! Ever day this week representatives from the shop have been out at day break and man has it been worth it. Cody and Johnny J. have been hitting it hard with the fly rods all week. Getting out on the water at about 4:30 A.M. each morning, they have both taken their fill of 26-31 inch fish on the long rods. Flies of choice have been our own Captain Mike Platt’s “Secret Sauce” and Pepto Clousers. Johnny J. has also thrown some of his talents into the mix by adding a bit of Marabou….come on by and have a look. Johnny J. reported in that the morning bass bite has been in less than feet water. Make sure your strips are slow; many of these fish are feeding on small calico crabs that move slowly, so don’t be afraid to throw some crab patterns as well...our tactics thus far have accounted for fly rod fish up to 31 inches over the past four days(see recent catches). Wednesday A.M. fellow WSBC members Sam A. and Kevin S. brought to the net a 31 lb bass…bait of choice…undisclosed…location…”local.” (see recent catches). The weekend is looking good folks so be sure to stop in and check us out. We still have two spots available for this Saturday’s Lou Tabory Fly Fishing School that will begin at 6:00 A.M. at Compo Beach. The next session is set for July 11th. Don’t miss the chance to fish with Lou and the crew from W.O. Sand eels will be the lure/fly selection of choice. However, don’t be afraid to throw something out of the ordinary to get a strike. Try weighted lures/flies to get down through schools of blues if they are around. But above all, get out there and experience some great late spring/early summer action! Don’t forget the next date with Lou Tabory is June 26th and slots are filling up fast. If you want in, be sure to give the shop all to hold your spot. 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of June 4th- June 11th ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! Next Lou Tabory Class is June 26th-SIGN UP TODAY! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! The fishing folks remains strong as the bait situation continues to go from good to better. The sand eels are really starting to pop from Milford to Greenwich, while there is a fare share of silver sides in the mix as well. As for bunker, they are spotty, but when you find them, it is usually a strong showing. Surprisingly, we have received a host of reports last week that included some weakfish. This species, although can be caught all year around, must be at least 16 inches to keep with a minimum of 1 fish per angler. Weakfish are a great eating fish but their presence is in the western sound is still declining, so please think about releasing. A quick service announcement before we get to the main report. Over the past month, my inbox has been inundated with emails from new as well as existing customers who were singing the praises of our weekly videos and online fishing reports. In fact, as we track our weekly hits to our website, they have spiked dramatically with thousands of visits per day over the past two months. All I can say is if you like the reports, you will really enjoy the store as well. We are here to help, help with bait choices, lure selection, hot spots, gear questions, knot tying, fly tying, rod application, you name it, we can make it happen. So next time you are in the area, swing by and introduce yourself, you will be glad you did. Let’s go fishing…. This week we will start the report out with a little fishing excursion by yours truly. Good friend and Captain, Mike Platt and I headed out on a whim on Friday A.M. of last week at approximately 10:30 A.M. After setting up a drift off of Cockenoe we were soon being almost attacked by stripers on the flats, floating the boat in less than 2 feet of water. Now we have all heard the stories of sight fishing for stripers and we all know the truth about some of those(or lack there of). However on this morning the fish Gods were shining down on us while for three hours we probably saw well over 100 fish, landed 4, lost 2 hefty ones and lined at least 20 fish. Flies of choice were small crab patterns and Platt’s natural color clouser with red flash…all in all a great day on the water experiencing something right here in our backyard that many will never get the chance to see in a lifetime. Over across the way on the same morning, our own Cody Lapnow continued to do what he does best…charity work. After arriving at the Mill Pond quite early, he was into fish on Sluggos before he noticed Gaston “The Gear Crusher” Catta wading out. Gaston is primarily a shore guy so Cody invited him to come on board, he slipped off his waders and the mayhem began. According to Cody they had about 10 fish all on the fly rod, using various patterns including clousers and some of Ian Rangel’s bunker imitations which we have here at the store as well as some of Eric Peterson’s flat wing deceivers. Farther to our east, the boyz from Shelton continue to send down reports from outside of the Housatonic River where the dusk/night bite has been on fire. They fished Friday afternoon and into evening for fish up to 39 inches on chunks with most between 34-36 inches fat and full of bunker. (see recent catches) Back on the flats, Captain Mike Platt got it done again on Saturday fishing in less than 2 feet of water, he and crew were into some nice fish between 9-12 lbs all on the fly rod and all caught on Platt’s natural color clouser with red flash( see recent catches). The Micinillio Brothers checked in with a great report from over the weekend. They fished Saturday from Black Rock Harbor/Penfield Reef area out to Sunken Island. They ended the day with fish up to 34" and 15lbs, 8 bluefish up to 32" and a lone 19 3/4" fluke. Saturday was especially worthy of note in that they smashed their best single day keeper bass record with a total of 25 bass 28" or better. They took the majority of the keepers in 8-12 feet of water. All fish were taken on tube and worm. (see recent catches) Many of the blues they caught regurgitated 3" sand eels on their way to the boat, and the fluke had some fresh silver sides in the mouth as well, all good signs of strong bait presence. In addition, they spied multiple large schools of bunker towards the end of the day moving through the area with only sporadic harassment. Speaking of Fluke, Dick Ritter continues to report in a consistent pick of keeper fluke on both sides of the pond, mostly on fresh cut squid, with fish up to 23 inches on the last outing before departing to Block. Back locally, the week started off quite well for Captain Mike Platt where he had a trip on Monday that yielded some nice fish in shallow water all on poppers, specifically Stillwater Smack Its!(see recent catches) With the middle of the week came some serious pressure changes brought in by a strong cold front…can we say June-u-ary? This definitely put a damper on the fishing…where Wednesday the skunk was present on the boat after working the shoreline hard from Fairfield to Norwalk with just one meager tap…what a difference a day can make, but we will be back out tomorrow. Kurt D. reported in that the bunker that was in mass around Charles Island has dispersed for the time being, partly do to a good flow of freshwater coming down the river. Despite this, the smaller baits have stuck around and fish to 32 inches from shore are still being taken. There was also a rumor of a worm hatch prior to the storms on Wednesday, but no doubt the weather most likely put that down as well. Thursday we had yet another charter which despite the weather pulled through and after some good guidance from Captain Platt were into some decent bass to 31 inches staying in tight around the islands due to the threatening weather. Lures of choice were Smack Its and slash baits. The fly rod produced on smaller darker colored clousers. This coming weekend is looking good with the occasional afternoon boomer, so keep a close eye to the skies. There is bait, there is fish and there is some steady daytime weather so get on out. I spoke with some friends who are in the Biology business while attending a party over the weekend up near the CT River where I grew up. My buddy Ken told me that the numbers coming in throughout the state on shad and herring runs up our rivers and streams from border to border is one of the best they have seen in quite some time and perhaps ever!! This means great things folks for the fishing, so be sure to take advantage of it. With the water clarity a bit sketchy with the recent rain, try with poppers and/or other agitator type baits to trigger some in shore strikes! On Saturday I will be heading out to Montana for my annual pilgrimage and to hopefully run right into the legendary Salmon Fly Hatch on the Big Hole River. If all goes my way, we will be tossing size 4 and size 2 dry flies to ravenous brown trout…if we are successful…you will be able to view some HD video on our website, so be sure to check back early next week…until then…tight lines! Don’t forget the next date with Lou Tabory is June 26th and slots are filling up fast. If you want in, be sure to give the shop all to hold your spot. 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of May 28th-June 4th ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! Next Lou Tabory Class is June 26th-SIGN UP TODAY! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Just when you thought it could not get any better…it did. Despite a hoard of boats that took to the water over the Memorial Day Weekend, the holiday marked the beginning stages of what will hopefully be another great year for sand eels. From Fairfield to Darien and everywhere in between, our favorite spring bait started to pop in mass this week. Those that were fishing were able to scare up quite a few keepers as well as a host of smaller fish. While attending a BBQ on Monday, I too witnessed some great bait activity off of Fairfield Beach. These critters, as most of you know, are actually a bait fish and not an eel at all, that emerges from the sandy warm bottoms during daylight hours and then retreats again at night. Best baits to fool hungry fish when they are keyed into this forage are the smaller darker colored Sluggos, stick baits, darker poppers and of course some of our sweet sand eel imitations by Eric Peterson, Ian Rangel and Johnny J. The water temperatures at this time of this report were still just a degree from the 60 degree mark. This will mean good things moving foward. Although the holiday weekend and week to follow produced some great catches as we will discuss shortly, the overall tide situation was pretty miserable all weekend with dead low happening at the early A.M. light change. This will change this week, so get on out when the sun comes up and the eels have awoken! This week’s report starts off a little farther to our east, now this one angler is not a fan of our reports, but nonetheless he is customer and fan of the store in general. The “Tooth Doctor” emailed in a nice pic of a fish taken off of Newport R.I. on Friday afternoon dead dropping sand worms. A fat 31 inch 15 lb fish came to the net and was safely released. It’s no tuna Doctor, but it will have to do for now! (see recent catches). Next up was good friend Nicholas Naylor-Leyland, otherwise known as the traveling angler. He had heard some good reports from the north shore over the past week and decided to make run. Nicholas is a shore guy, so he drove over and fished in and around the Bayville Beach area. Tossing varying sand eels imitations, he landed 10 fish up to 31 inches. A good point from this excursion, don’t be afraid to travel, heading over to the other side takes a little over an hour and the fishing has been better than good. There are a ton of shore access points that we can point you towards to get your fill (see recent catches). Captain Mike Platt was at it again on Saturday with a father/son charter and they were not disappointed. All had fish and dad landed a fat 32 inch bass on a white Smack It! (see recent catches). Cory C, checked in on Sunday and switched it up a bit, dropping his fly rod and trading it in for a deep lip 30+ Rapala on Cody’s recommendation to land a nice fish at dusk off of Rowayton (see recent catches). Young Max Kantor emailed me shortly after leaving the shop on Sunday where they used their boat solely as a means to get to a quite spot on Cockenoe. After hoofing it around the front side, Max noticed some tailing bass in 3 feet of water…dead low tide with dusk approaching; he was rewarded with a stout bass that fell for a 7.5 inch popper(see recent catches). While fishing alongside Cory C. from the ASMW crew, fellow ASMW family member Bobby decides to make his mark with a 43 inch fish that tipped the scales at 41 pounds on a bunker!(see recent catches) And “yes” Cory was jealous! Howie Lipper on Monday decided to get shop faithful Matt Spengler into the action…only catch was that he had to leave his fly rod on the dock. They made it out at first light Monday morning. Bunker schools were all over and they had most of the school to themselves. They didn't have a lot of time to fish because of family stuff, but after live-lining some bunker, Matt hooked into a nice 15 lb bass, way to go Matty but don’t forget about the long rods!(see recent catches). Good friends Brian Cilento and Captain Brad Berk, made the run over to the north shore with the long rods and were not let down. Fishing bunker patterns Brian landed a few nice keepers(see recent catches) The Micinilio Brothers were “yes” fishing again and on Monday decided to stay local and fish the Fairfield Beach area. They had 10 fish up to 33 inches all on tubes and you guessed it, deep lip swimmers (see recent catches). Our next report comes from good friend Patrick O’Donnell who had the long rods out and was tossing a multitude of our sand eel patterns this week. I am going to go ahead and let his words be spoken here so you all get the full gist of this next report…and I quote…”Went out at dusk and wandered into a minefield of aggressive stripers and sand eels. Stood and watched one nervous wake of bait produce a boil – then I watched as one boil turned into seven or eight simultaneous crashes… then all hell broke loose. 45 minutes of bass chasing and harassing sandeels, pushing bait in the air, stripers jumping out of the water, boils next to me, behind me, in front of me, on both sides of me, it was *&^%$ sick. Managed to get my camera out finally – 2 fish pics – one skinny 28’’ and a 32’’ – both taken in about 5 ft of water. Both fought like hell. Lots of 22’’-25’’ bass released. Location will remain nameless – but it was by far and away one of most intense, if not the best, dusk bites I’ve fished around here ever!! Big fish were in close, lots of bait around – and the best part… nobody else in the water. It couldn’t have been any better.” (see recent catches) Here come the big girls…Glenn Katz who has clearly been getting it done for the past several weeks once again showed his skill. Fishing in 40 feet of water, Glenn retrieved a big swim plug and 10 feet from the boat, this slob hit…enough said (see recent catches) Another big fish was taken over the weekend by Matthew Zygmant who fished off of Fairfield over the long weekend for a slew of fish with the biggest coming to the net at 43 inches. All fish were caught chunking freshly snagged bait. Good job Matty! Well folks although I have many more fish catches to recant, enough is enough and I have to go and get back on the water. The long awaited sand eels are here so be sure to stack up on your favorite sluggo patterns. On the fly side, Eric Peterson’s flat wings are working very well. Ian Rangel who is now also available for shore trips, recently dropped off some sweet bunker patterns so be sure and come down and snatch some of those up too. Don’t forget the next date with Lou Tabory is June 26th and slots are filling up fast. If you want in, be sure to give the shop all to hold your spot. 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of May 21st-May 28th ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! Next Lou Tabory Class is June 26th-SIGN UP TODAY! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks here we go…the official kick off to the Summer of 2010 being marked by Memorial Day Weekend. Although this holiday gets the warm weather months underway, it of course holds much more significance. To all the men and women in uniform and to those who have given the ultimate sacrifice, we thank you. The weather over the weekend looks pretty good with the mercury staying in the low 70s with little wind and no rain, well, at least this is what the weather report says, let us wait and see what actually happens. Pending the meteorologists are correct, it looks like we are in store for a great weekend. The warmer days earlier in the week have bumped the water temps up, but they have still not breached the 60 degree mark. The bait situation remains strong with a good share of bunker around many of the harbors including Black Rock, Norwalk and Stamford. In between and around some of the estuaries, spotty schools can also be found although you will really need to have your fish finder dialed in since they are being unmolested at this point. The fluking traditionally will get strong once their favorite bait shows up. Although we have seen some small hatches of sand eels locally, nothing compared to what will hopefully go off any day now. Over on the north shore, the sand eels have moved in from Port Jefferson through the Golf Course and in and around Huntington. If you want to be assured of a good flat fish bite, making the run could be worth it, just ask Dick Ritter and Jimmy Izzo… Back on our side, the silver sides seemed to have jumped right over the sand eels. Traditionally the silversides will follow the sand eels but not this year. Herring…yes, we are still talking about herring and that is fine with us since they offer a nice meal for a hungry spring striper. I personally walked up a local river on Monday, beginning at the sound and basically ended my journey 4 miles up it deep into the woods spotting pods of herring all along the way. These fish will continue to make their run and eventually turn around and head back out, so I know where I will be in a week or so. This pattern, for the record, is happening up and down the coast, so if you know that your favorite estuary holds a herring run, be sure to be prepared and check back always and often over the next several weeks. Get some big flies (we have plenty) and some swim baits and go stick some fish. Back on the water our charters did quite well over the weekend. Capt. Mike Platt had a trip on Saturday and despite a bit of wind, he was able to duck inside of the Norwalk Islands for a few nice fat fish up to 29 inches right up on some of the islands on Sluggos…”yes” pink and white ones… Good friend Tom Leahy checked in after getting some tips from an undisclosed source and fished areas near Eaton’s Neck with newcomer Don Rossi, a recent W.O. convert. They fished all weekend with fish up 34 inches all on T&W (see recent catches). Back too our east on the Housey, the Micinillio Brothers once again got it done. Although things are definitely slowing down on the river, they were still able to nail 5 bass up to 33 inches trolling tubes and deep lip swimmers. There was still a bunch of herring around and after the deluge of boats that invaded the Housey all spring, they also got a little bonus after retrieving about $75.00 worth of lures on the banks now that the river is receding a bit (see recent catches). Steve Thomas reported in on some decent bluefish action in shallow water at the mouth of the river as well on the fly rods up to 10 or so pounds. You may not like them, but catching these fish in shallow water on a fly is quite intense considering that once hooked, they really only have one place to go and it’s not down… Speaking of Milford, our own Kurt D. has taken up his usual residence on the Charles Island Sand Bar and areas in and around Gulf Beach. His tally for the week was a good one but the top catches were a few 20lb fish on buck tails. His action was directly correlated with some larger schools of bunker passing over the bar with even larger schools of bass giving chase. Jim M. decided to stay close to home on Sunday where he landed 4 keepers in the Saugy up to 34 inches in what you will see is in very shallow water. Unfortunately some choppers were also in the mix. T&W was the preferred method (see recent catches). World traveler Bill B. kicked off his weekend home with some fishing. He reported in that the biggest bass came in at 31 inches. Fishing the outflow at the Mill Pond with weighted plastics Bill had a host of fish up to 28 inches as well. The bite was an early one for Bill with a frenzy taking place during the low lights hours and slowing down a bit as the sun came up. Next up was Glenn Katz who defied all the myths, specifically that you can’t catch big bass during the middle of the day with a high hot sun overhead. He and crew Ken Muro fished out towards 11B using jigs reminiscent of fall and landed 9 bass between 30 and 43 inches and one 12lb blue. Great fish guys (see recent catches). Wednesday we had another trip and this time with the fly rods. Catching the dropping tide, Captain Mike Platt had Max K. were into some fish within minutes of leaving our docks. Part of this trip was to further develop Max’s casting stroke and there was almost not enough time for that. They were into some stout fish up to 28 inches all on the fly in less than 4 feet of water. Fly of choice was a larger bunker/deceiver pattern (see recent catches). Farther to our east, it was Steve E. who fished areas off Bridgeport on the incoming tide with chunks but the bite was just not on. After putting in his time he was rewarded once the tide changed with a nice 31 inch bass that he was able to tube up on his way in. Also on Wednesday night it was good friends Howie Lipper and Matt Spengler getting their fill. In between Howie explaining to Matt how to play better defense on the ice they were able to snag some fresh bunker around the islands and land a few nice fish with the biggest coming to the net at 20lbs! (see recent catches) Well folks that will about do it. Thursday A.M. I fished a small outflow in Southport before work and after getting all the dust off one of my 9 wts, I was able to take 3 fish up to 27 inches before having to go and open up the shop. I was fishing one of Eric Peterson’s flat wings that we have here at the store and it surely got the job done. Based on this report you can see that the number of catches this past week is increasing and more importantly using almost every technique possible. Whether it is chunks, flies, swim baits, T&W or sluggos, the fish are hungry so get out there. Come the weekend we will have a huge selection of the new Stillwater Lures. If you have not fished these hard baits, you truly are missing out so come have a look. One last word of caution, with Memorial Day Weekend will also come a hoard of boats into our area. Try and get out early to avoid the masses and if you sleep in, be careful out there! Our charter option is in full swing and I would like to welcome two local captains that know how to get it done. Captain Mike Platt and Captain Brad Berk. Captain Mike runs a brand new 23 foot Parker and can get you into fish in either one foot of water or drifting the deeper rips on the north shore. Captain Brad has two vessels for you to choose from, both built by Yellowfin, Brad fishes locally out of a 24 foot bay boat and offshore in a 36 foot Yellowfin with triple Verados in the rear. Please call the shop to set up a trip of a lifetime with these veteran captains. Welcome aboard guys! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of May 14th-May 21st Before we get to the report this week folks I want to quote a local angler who has fished these waters for many, many, many years. Although his name will remain nameless, I think you will all get the point…and I quote…”I have never caught this many keeper fish at this point in the season ever before. (It's crazy...they just keep changing what they are biting so drastically almost every tide. One day it is top water, the next day it is sluggos, next day it is jigs or bombers. I have a 50lb tackle bag with me because we never know what they are going to be hitting!” Okay folks, not that I did not mean it before, but if you consider yourself a fisherman or fisherwomen and you live in the Western Sound or beyond, you need to get out there and experience some fantastic spring fishing. Growing up on the banks of the CT River, I still have a ton of contacts up in the eastern sound. Factoring in my tenure here in the western sound and points reaching all the way to Jamaica Bay, it’s safe to say that when you read these reports, they are far reaching and very extensive in the amount of water that they cover…here comes the sweeping statement…I can not remember in my time as a fisherman fishing throughout New England, a better start to the spring fishing scene in all capacities than this year. That’s right, I said it! As early as March we had keeper bass coming in with a strong run of bait to feed these aggressive fish. In fact, this applies to both fresh and saltwater. Of course locally we have been spoiled with a healthy stocking of some stout fish in rivers such as the Saugatuck, but even in some of the smaller less traveled waters, the trout fishing as been better than good with distinct hatches to make your fly selection that much easier. Back on the salt, we have a smorgasbord of bait including bunker, alewives, herring, silver sides and sand eels. What is your preferred method to get to these fish? It really has not mattered one bit. Shore anglers continue to pound the local beaches on foot with their pick of keeper bass on top water plugs and swimmers, while the kayak anglers trolling tubes, casting soft plastics and flies continue to get their fill as well. Many of those with boats in the water have decided to make the traditional run west to areas in and around Hempstead and have been rewarded with a steady pick of bass feeding on large bunker schools with a few 50lb fish getting brought to the net, but I have to tell you, locally we have seen some monsters in the high 40lb range without having to make the trip west. So what does all this mean? GO FISH!! The time is now, not when the kids get out of school or when the air temperatures heat up, but NOW! Onto the report… This week’s report starts off with a ton of keepers in the mix from the crew up in Shelton. Good friend Rob Darby reports that despite what some may think, the Housey is still on fire with a good push of herring still working up inside the river. They have been fishing darker colored Bombers at night and pencil poppers during the day with fish up to 40 inches! Working the outside of the mouth with bait, his crew experienced similar success with once again the largest fish coming to the boat at about 40 inches (see recent catches). Next up was Tom Kaste coming up to fish the county from PA on Saturday. After running into another group of anglers from PA all armed with the long rods and a fresh selection of W.O. flies, they settled into Burial Hill Beach for the incoming tide. With the tide unfortunately came some small blues, not necessarily what they were looking for, but some good fun on light tackle. I will digress, these rats are not here yet until I catch one and so far that has not happened, so don’t put your steal leaders and/or bite guard on just yet! Speaking of Saturday…May 15th marked the opening day for Fluke in the stat of CT with the new regulations taking effect immediately. They are 3 fish per angler with a minimum length of 19.5 inches. Bait of choice should be frozen sand eels, squid and a healthy supply of chum. Fellow Westport Striped Bass Club members Dick Ritter and Jimmy Izzo reported in about 75 boats off of Port Jefferson but were still able to take their limit…but remember folks…these guys are professionals! On the topic of Long Island, there has been a steady pick of fish all over the North Shore. Buzz Pugh and Sgt. Colonies had their fill on two occasions over the weekend with the biggest fish coming in just shy of 36 inches on x-raps. They were using an assortment of soft plastics as well and crystal minnows, but let us say, you had to be there to experience what they did. Back on this side of the pond, Steve E. reported in some epic blitzing of bass earlier in the week off of Fairfield, that was also experienced by some out of state anglers from NJ that were bound to the reef. The fish were no doubt on some bunker and both Steve and the crew from the reef were able to manage a ton of fish up to 31 inches on bombers and soft plastics. The Micinilio Brothers reported in as well and claimed the fishing to be a bit slow…keep in mind that these guys are over achievers… They fished the Housy Saturday afternoon with high dirty water. They got 7 fish with 3 keepers including one with 1/2 a tail, trolling tubes and deep lip swimmers. Sunday they fished the mouth of the Saugatuck and around Cockenoe. They boated 17 fish in total with 4 keepers including a toad by Cedar Point Yacht Club that went 38" 20lbs that fell for a tube. (see recent catches) Cory C. from the ASMW crew reported in where he fished just outside of Eaton’s Neck where there were some larger schools of bait, tossing a large 12 inch bunker pattern, he was able to land a nice fish as the sun set on his 10 wt that just tipped 28 inches (see recent catches. Shop employee Cody Lapnow once again headed west to fish with Big George D. mid week and after locating some bait outside of Hempstead, were into a steady pick of 20-25lb fish with the biggest coming to the boat at 27 lbs (see recent catches). Our good friend Sage N. reported in the catch of the weekend was off of Rye that fell for a chunk and weighed 28 lbs…way to nail a nice fish on the first outing Sage! Despite the fact that our pal Pat O’Donnell finally has a “real” job, it has not prevented him form getting out to toss the long rod. Earlier in the week Pat found/landed a good number of fish wading far out off of Burying Hill towards Frost Point. Fish started showing at the start of the incoming. Although he was not sure what they were eating, they were pretty picky, it took him 7-8 fly changes to hook up. Lots of action, a few good fish mixed in on the 8wt up to 30 inches. Sunday night there was big bait in Southport Harbor but no hook ups…could they be…Herring? Shad? Pat brings up a good point and it is not to get lazy out there fly girls/guys. Make sure your box is full at this time of year, a slight change in color, shape or profile could be the difference between coming home with the skunk or a few nice fish under your wading belt. Eric Peterson as well as Ian Rangel have both stopped in to replenish some sweet bunker patterns as well as some new jiggies, so be sure to stop in and reload! Coming in late Wednesday night was shop faithful Stephen Sennett who reportde some great action off of sveral Westport beaches. To start jhis report he commented, "Eric you sir, are two for two with the recommendations!" Steve took three hefty fish on weightless/weedless rigged sluggos and then the action started! Fish were pushing what he thought were silversides out of the water - nope - bunker! He then switched up to the bomber where he took another three and lost two. No pics from Stephen but instead a nice shot of the always nice STRIPER THUMBS! (see recent catches) Before I close this out, just a reminder of our new consignment program. No EBay, no commissions! Just bring in what you want to sell and we will make it happen, only catch is that all proceeds received will need to be spent in the store, so bring your old gear down and turn it into to new stuff! Next fly fishing school with Lou Tabory is set for June 26th…SIGN UP TODAY! Details below… Well that is at folks, a great week and some even better catches. There is a ton of fish around and whether you prefer trolling, casting, flies, swim baits, bait…whatever…it’s GAME ON! Be sure to send your pics and reports to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com to be included in the weekly report! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of May 7th-May 14th Why do I feel like the beginning of this report is going to sound almost identical to last week? Well that may be because that this week is closing out to be rainy and cold, not good for the fisherman and women, but the fish don’t seem to mind it. With the water temps above 50 degrees, the fish are on the move for sure. The bait scene could not get any better…bunker…herring…alewives…silver sides…you name it, and it’s around. Reports from the Housey, all the way down to Norwalk have consistently reported large schools of bunker hanging around most if not all of our estuaries and outflows. Right here in our backyard, the usual haunts like the Mill Pond outflow are giving up some real nice fish that have been feeding on silver sides and some spotty schools of sand eels. The bait of choice should be 3-5 inch Arkansas shiner colored slugos fished on offset weedless/weightless hook. For the daring, the Gulp! Sand Eel imitations fished on a slightly weighted jig head will get it done. For the fly anglers, we have recently commissioned Ian Rangel local fly guy extraordinaire who has just delivered some of the sweetest sand eel imitations I have seen in quite sometime. Thrown into the mix, he spun up some equally appetizing bunker patterns. Finish this meal off with some of Eric Peterson’s flat wing deceivers and you should be ready to do battle with any game fish that LIS has to offer. First report comes in from the far east where the Shelton crew continues to hit it hard, fishing mostly at night in and around the Derby Dam. Charlie Fowler reports that the area is still loaded with Herring with bass up to 32 inches at will. Further down river at the mouth where it produced a nice fish for a an avid spin caster that came in at nearly 40 inches from the Stratford side over the weekend. The pic of this fish did not do it justice, but the thing was fat, fat, fat with herring. Okay, don’t get scared, for if you are like me, the bluefish are not technically here until I catch one and I have not as of yet. For Matt White of Saltwater Sportsmen and local resident/angler, the blues are indeed here…unfortunately. Fishing with an associate over the weekend they worked the islands and had a pick of bass up to 24 inches before the chompers showed up. They had a host of blues between 24-27 inches and at least for the time being, they had some fun before the mass infestation occurs. Josh Feil, had another run it at later in the weekend after the sun fell where they had schoolies up top 28 inches crashing silver sides flooding out of the gates. Little did he know that just steps from was Dale H. tossing some larger silver side patterns on the fly ride where he hooked 4 fish and landed two to 34 inches on a 9wt! Great job Dale. Fellow Westport Striped Bass Club members Sam B. and Jim C. continue to make the run to the west with some decent luck. After hearing our report of a 50 + lb fish being taken off of Rye, they tried their luck on Sunday and had a steady pick of fish all within the 12-16 lb range on chunks and live lining bunker. Speaking of West, our good friend Tommy from Norwalk early Monday A.M. for a few run offs and one fish to 25 lbs that was safely released in Hempstead Harbor to swim another day. Earlier this week good friend George DiScala and shop employee Cody Lapnow, packed the boat up and they too headed down west on Tuesday night to fish through the night. After hearing of a fish that keeps growing bigger and bigger by the day, they were loaded for bear to see what they could get into. Fishing just outside of Hempstead, they found bunker schools where they chose to anchor up. Over the course of 6 hours they landed 4 20 plus pound fish with a host of smaller ones as well. Their method for the evening was chunking in approximately 50 feet of water (see recent catches). Wednesday, despite the chilly temps, The Micinillio Brothers decided to find some cover in the Housey and it paid off. After only fishing a few hours they tallied 27 fish with 12 keepers in the mix to 34 inches and about 14 lbs and the rest between 25-27.5 inches. Thier prefered method was some deep lip swimmers and trolling T&W(see recent catches) Back in tight we had Rob Cap stop in for a report of some better than decent action in and around Sasco Beach where he fished exclusively 7.5 inch pink Slugos using some custom molded jig heads from his Kayak with fish well into the 33-34 inch range with some bigger ones hooked, but not landed. Great job Rob…and Good Luck this weekend at the Jamaica Bay Kayak Tourney! With the recent moisture, the trout streams continue to fish quite well locally with both the Mianus , Norwalk and Saugatuck fishing strong. It has not been out of the ordinary especially during the week when there is less pressure, to stick a dozen or so fish. The hatches are definitely changing so be aware. Emergers were the fly of the week, specifically olive caddis emergers in size 14 & 16. Also try tossing some Hendrickson dries when the sun is out is both a light and dark color variation, size 16 & 18 seem to be doing the trick. Josh was out a few times this week and reported back in some great fish including a 21 inch brown. The next report comes in from the crew that includes Gaston “the Gear Crusher” and Ian Rangel. Now there was a time that these guys really added a lot of value to some of our reports. As of late, they have lost their tongues so all I can say is this. These guys have been into a ton of fish and good sizes for that matter fishing from the Housey all the way down to Cove Island all on the fly rods…I wish I had more from these guys, but that is all they were willing to give up… Well folks, the weather for the weekend is looking better than good with air temps both days well into the seventies. We should have a full supply of fresh bunker as well as eels. If you are looking for the bi girls, this will be the baits of choice. As previously mentioned, we have some of the sweetest custom flies around top match the hatch on both fresh and saltwater, so be sure to come by. Lastly, don’t forget our newly introduced consignment program where you can bring your expired or unwanted gear down to sell for no charge!! No commissions, no EBAY! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of April 30th-May 7th ALL NEW SMITH/ACTION OPTICS ANGLING SUNGLASSES HAVE ARRIVED!! May 15th Class With Lou Tabory-Final Call! SEND YOUR REPORTS AND PICS VIA EMAIL TO ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! BRING YOUR RODS & REELS IN FOR SERVICING TODAY! Okay folks, I mentioned this last week in our video update, but the time is now! Get out and start fishing. Many of you have been waiting for a concrete reason to kick your 2010 fishing season off, so treat this report as your alarm clock! As we have been mentioning for over a month now, the fishing to both our east and west on rivers such as the Housey and Hudson has been better than good. However, those fisheries as they always eventually do at this time of year are beginning to slow. This past weekend was exactly what we were looking for. After almost a week of rain and colder temperatures, things broke wide open on Saturday with temps in the 70s, Sunday was a repeat with the mercury climbing even a bit more. The reports really started to flow in on Sunday afternoon with the fish of the weekend being taken off of Fairfield, weighing a whopping 23 lbs on the fly rod, before it was safely released. And why are we driving to Hempstead again? Speaking of the west, Scott C. reported in on Sunday after spending Saturday afternoon fishing the Hempstead area where he threw the kitchen sink at them, sluggos, flies, Rapalas, umbrella rigs and everything in between with no luck. Only about six boats on a few schools of bunker with none having much success. Fellow Westport Striped Bass Club member Jim C. was able to get some fresh bait locally and head downtown as well on Saturday evening. Loaded for bear they worked areas in and around Manhasset Bay with about 10 bass all on fresh chunks with the biggest fishing coming in at 12lbs. They reported back in that the water temps were about 55 degrees and in their estimation, they said they feel it is still about a week or so off before things light up. Back inside Patrick G. continues to fish the far Western Sound hard from his yak, including all the way down to Jamaica Bay. Keep in mind that although you may have no desire or demand to fish areas like Manhasset, still take note, for what happens there is a sign of what will eventually come our way. Pat fished the back of the bay and caught 5 stripers during the incoming on the mudflats on flies and plugs up to 34 inches. The back of the bay is LOADED with bunker - probably the most he has seen in years… At this time of year, as it is most of the season, we rely on an influx of bait to get the fish moving. This of course is directly correlated with the water temp, which is directly correlated to the air temperature. At the time of this report, the air temperatures are on our side and on the way up. Although there have been large schools of bunker in a majority of the estuaries and beyond for well over two weeks, we had yet to really see strong signs of the smaller baits that spring bass love. This would include alewives, silver sides and sand eels, as well as an assortment of small krill and crabs. On Saturday, this is exactly what shop customer and friend Josh F. found at the Mill Pond. A ton of grass shrimp and silver sides getting crashed in the broad daylight. He and partner had several stout fish just shy of keepers and a few keepers in the mix as well. Lures of choice were crocodile spoons! (see recent catches). Also on Sunday, the SNBC held its annual flounder tourney. With some great weather, all the anglers brought to the rail some really nice fish, but none as nice as fellow Westport Striped Bass Club members Jimmy Izzo and Dick Ritter who took yet another first place finish in a local tourney. Congrats guys for a great showing. Back up to the Housey Gaston “The Gear Crusher” Catta continues to get it done. Fishing the mouth he landed a fat striper that almost came in at keeper size on a deceiver…I can’t believe Gaston you did not break the rod! (see recent catches). The Micinilio Brothers checked in last late on Sunday where they fished the river behind the shop trolling tubes and deep lip swimmers for 15 fish up rto 28 inches... With all of this moisture as of late, the trout streams are holding up quite well. The Saugatuck TMA probably experiencing the most pressure continues to give up 20-24 inch fish almost daily. The hatches are changing however. Caddis emergers in size 12-16 seem to be in the sweet spot with an olive or green color. If you are feeling adventurous, try some of our flash back caddis emergers…you will be glad you did… This weekend is looking okay with the chance of some rain, but not storms, so get geared up and get out there. Things are really starting to shape up for the better. There is a ton of bait now in the water which will continue to improve day by day. Stick with lures/flies that are predominantly white, for this is the color of the underside of most of our bait fish now, before the pigment in their flesh begins to spread out and they darken. Swim baits, buck tails tipped with small plastics and spoons will get the job done. For the bait guys/gals, sandworms rigged on buck tails and straight up no doubt will get you some fish! Last but not least, SLUGGOS. We like them rigged weightless and weed less at this time of year and are more than happy top show you how to rig them properly. Flies should be sand eelish…surf candies, silver minnows, and clousers still tied sparse. We also just took delivery of some sweet sand eel patterns tied on a flat wing by Eric Peterson, so come on down and have a look and we can get you into the fish!! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of April 23rd-April 30th Before the report this week, please visit our “NEWS” section and view the trip we have put together to go fish legendary Pesca Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula this June. All the details are there, but this is trip you will not want to miss. Should you have any specific questions, please call or email the shop. Onto the report… May 8th Class With Lou Tabory-Last Call! BRING YOUR RODS & REELS IN FOR SERVICING TODAY! Not a very good week with a ton of rain and not a lot of mercury on the rise throughout Fairfield County. In fact, it was very reminiscent of fall, driving wind and rain topped with a good dose of wind in the 12-15 knot range. As the guys out back continue to push through it, getting boats back in the water so area anglers can start to take advantage of what has thus far been a good month or so of some early spring fishing. The Housey continues to fish well, but is definitely starting to slow a bit. Our good friend Rob Darby reported in that indeed it has been slowing up that way. He has really been trying to target some bigger fish in the upper stretches near Fire Island and the dam. There have been a few big bass caught but they seem to be few and far between or really late at night. He continues to catch a lot of schoolies on every version of shad body, sluggo, and bomber available, but no keepers in a while. He heard a guy got a 40 inch bass at the dam on Wednesday and saw another 34 in caught right in front of his kayak on a large popper ripping through the current at low tide. Another guy caught a 30 in 12lb sea run at the dam last week also. He closed it out by stating that Herring are still everywhere! I mentioned in our video report that since things seemed to start a bit earlier on the river this year, they will no doubt slow a bit earlier as well. Of course, the Housey will always fish well throughout the year, but this non-stop spring action is great fun on the light tackle and fly rods and will surely be missed. The Mighty Micinilio Brothers reported in too that the fish seem to be moving out of the river. They were however able to dig up a few 31 inch fish trolling some deeper lip swimmers and Crystal Minnows, albeit in very shallow water at about mid river(see recent catches). I hate to say it folks but you know I am always looking to points farther south to get a read on what my soon be in our backyard. Well, Christian B. who fishes in NJ and then heads up here on most weekend, reported in that he had blues form 8-12 lbs at well off the beach. I quickly told him to stay in NJ and keep those fish there until further notice… Back locally, I swear once again that the river behind the shop may just be holding some schools bunker. I have seen them on the fish finder and the smell at certain tides is unmistakable…it will just be a matter of time before the fish to key in on these. No need to recall the quality of fish that were taken in the Saugey just steps from our docks last year in the 20lb range in the month of May… Speaking of bunker, I had a good shop customer tell me that they set the net the other night and were very surprised to find it quite full in less than a hour…enough said… Early in the week we had Black C. and company put a hurting on some bass up to 28 inches on some W.O. worms on the residential side of Sherwood Island. Blake’s son Spencer even managed to land his first striper ever!! Dan reported in that the striper bite on worms as well off the pier at Calf Pasture Beach has been better than good, with the dropping sun with a constant take of fish up to 27 inches with an occasional keeper in the mix well. The fly rod crew locally continues to work the points and outflows with a steady pick of fish to 28 inches on weighted clousers and jiggies as well as smaller mushies. We have not seen any real sand eel activity which is not surprising with the lack of sunlight and water temperature, but have received numerous reports of either herring and/or silversides. The water temps that were making a good attempt to bust through the 50 degree mark have stalled with the cooler weather we have been having, but with this weekend looking steamy, we can hopefully continue to rise. Grays Creek is even giving up some fish to the fly guys, an always true sign of spring! Soft plastics at this time of year can be deadly and of course we like an un-weighted slugo on an offset hook, rigged weed less. If you don’t know how to rig these properly, please stop in so we can get you dialed in. If you want to stick with the hard baits, try the Yozuri Minnows in various sizes and/or the River 2 Sea swimmers with a slow retrieve, I am sure you will like the results! On the freshwater side, the Saugy continues to fish well. Wooly Buggers seem to be the fly of choice in white, green or blue. Tommy L. finally landed a nice 22 inch fish on Tuesday on a bean head stone fly nymph. Others have shared in the success with Dan landing one of the lunkers as well early Wednesday afternoon that tipped the tape just shy of 24 inhes! Before we close out the report I wanted to implement a new value added service to all of our fans and customers. Many have asked if you could bring in unwanted gear to sell. This of course is a bit of a conflict of interest with current inventory, but we feel we have come to the right conclusion. Starting immediately, should you have any rods/reels that you are looking to part with, bring them in, we can assist you in determining a fair price and then display them in a designated area of the store where they will be “For Sale.” When the items sell, you will receive a full store credit equal to the price that the items sold for to apply to new purchases. May 8th, 2010 will kick off the W.O.-Lou Tabory Fly Fishing Schools. If you ever wanted to try saltwater fly-fishing, this is your opportunity. We still have a few spots open for this inaugural class so contact the shop as soon as you can to reserve your seat! Speaking of Lou, don’t forget this weekend's FREE seminar, May 1st-Lou Tabory-Come spend a few hours with the legendary Lou Tabory who has been an innovator in the fishing industry for more than 30 years. His presentation will go over how to better read the water locally, his favorite lures and flies for the Western Sound as well as some of his favorite shore spots and when and how to fish them effectively. If you are a shore angler, you need to be at this one to drastically improve your success right before things really HEAT UP!! DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of April 16th-April 23rd Before the report this week, please visit our “NEWS” section and view the trip we have put together to go fish legendary Pesca Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula this June. All the details are there, but this is trip you will not want to miss. Should you have any specific questions, please call or email the shop. Onto the report… Almost there… We have had a consistent stretch of decent weather with daily air temps from the past week averaging right around 60 degrees. Although we will need a bit more mercury to really heat things up, the water temps have continued to rise ever so slightly which is a good sign. At this time of year everything is so directly correlated. Ultimately we want fish, but before they come, we need bait and before the bait comes we need water temps to bump up and of course in order for that to happen we need some sun…and we will leave the meteorologists out of the equation. Despite all of this we will start once again with the Housey which continues to give up some really nice fish. It is safe to say that the herring are in their full, all the way up to the Derby Dam. Over the weekend we had reports from both sides of the mouth as well as from Sikorsky up. Deep diving Rapalas and Crytsal Minnows either cast or trolled from the boat accounted for a host of fish up to 34 inches. Peter L. reported in that the mouth was a bit slower than usual with a lot of pressure, but managed 4 fish with one keeper that was 32 inches all on clousers on the fly rod. He said the spin guys were having decent luck on weighted alewive colored sluggos, which would make sense with the Herring that are swimming up. A little farther up Jim Micinilio was at it again with too many fish to count trolling Rapalas and heavily weighted T&W rigs with a few nice fish to 34 inches and his gal caught her first stripers as well, of which one was a keeper…not a bad start! (see recent catches). Sunday afternoon into evening, “The Bridge Crew” here on the Saugatuck River had 4 fish over 29 inches all on sandworms. I actually personally questioned this report but then went out back early Monday morning and let me just say the river stank…and most of you will know what that means…enough said. Moving back over towards Fairfield, the bottom of the Mill River where it flows into Southport Harbor also accounted for a few fat 28 inch fish on Sandworms where John P. said that he only had an hour on Sunday afternoon but it was indeed a good one, as he fished the incoming tide. To this point, I know a lot of folks are holding off since things really have not totally fired up yet. I have gotten the question at least 50 times already which is, “When do you think the fish will be here Eric?” My response will continue to be, “hopefully any day or perhaps even today!” Don’t rely on what you may hear but rather if you have the time, go wet a line, if nothing else you can dust off that cast so you are ready when things blow up! Our good friend Bill Beck emailed in to tell us of small fingerling bait around the Mill Pond area on Monday that were about 3-4 inches in length with a greenish tint, no doubt either some small herring or alewives, but whatever they were, a great sign. Captain Mike Platt continues to fish the Hudson and is available for charter before he moves his boat back down to Norwalk. Fishing the mighty Hudson can sometimes be frustrating due to its shear mass, unlike the Housey. Fish my hide for a week or so before resurfacing. Sluggos and small swimmers have been the ticket last week with a few fish in the 18 lb range in less than four feet of water. Most of his fish are being taken south of the Tappenzee Bridge. If you want some of this action, give the shop a call since his boat will only be there for another week. Jim Micinilio was back at it on Wednesday where the air temps were quite cold on the Housey, but that did not stop Jim from heading out or the fish from biting. In addition to catching a few Tiger Trout, they stuck 4 keepers with the biggest coming to the net at 32 inches (see recent catches). For those poking around locally, we had reports of some fish from 22-24 inches off of Burial Hill as we as the backside of Compo. We even heard a rumor of a 19 lb bass taken from Norwalk but the source was spotty at best… On the freshwater scene, of course last Saturday marked the ever popular Opening Day throughout the state of CT. There is still a lot of controversy surrounding this day, although it is a great family event that can be looked forward to year over year. The Saugatuck River again looked more like Pulaski, but all reports were that everyone behaved. We had a report from Ron that everyone had a blast on the fly rods chucking wooly buggers, larger size 12 & 14 bead head nymphs, as well as a few takes on size 18 elk hair caddis with fish from 12 inches up to 24! Jason B. and Steve decided to hold off until Sunday to head out with the long rods on the Saugy in search of some of the lunkers that were stocked a few weeks back. He landed two to 15 inches but missed at least 6 fish that according to him were part of the second stocking…all on our crystal bead head white wooly buggers… Back to the salt for a moment…we all know that the Far western sound heats up first but outside of some of my contacts who live in the area on the North Shore of LI, I am not aware of any anglers really starting to head down consistently yet. I did however receive a report on Wednesday from Rob C. who was anxious to air out his boat if nothing else and decided to head down He was in the area from 6AM to 4PM. He started all the way up in the bay and fished out to Pickets Rock and adjacent shoreline towards Execution Rocks. He scoured the Glen Cove side and out to buoy 21. He did not find/mark any bunker, and no fish were taken, but his FF was lit up a few times but he could not get them to eat. All in all a good day of “fishing” and it was great to be back out there. Well folks that will be about it for this week, but we had to save the best for last, Pete Bartush of Trumbull, landed a 27 inch bow over the weekend that tipped the scales at over 9lbs. The fish was taken on an atlantic salmon pattern on a 2 wt!!(see recent catches). Congrats to Pete for a fish of a lifetime in our local waters. Don’t forget that this Saturday, April 24th at 11:00 A.M.-Captain Ryan Sansoucy will be presenting on “Fishing South County, R.I.-& Beyond -Captain Sansoucy will cover in depth sight fishing tactics covering the N.E. Coastline as well as techniques for shallow water/light tackle/fly fishing for Southern New England’s favorite game fish. Join Ryan, who continues to innovate the sport of fishing with his adrenaline pumping approach to doing it!! He will give you an inside look at the great flats fishing found in the Southern New England waters ranging from set back river flats for carp to stripers on tidal sand flats. This seminar will cover basic regional knowledge, gear, fly/lure selection and techniques used to catch shallow water game fish that can be applied also to our home waters. The first 25 people in the door will receive a package of Ryan’s favorite soft plastics from Hogy Lure Company! The Q&A for this one you will not want to miss! Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of April 9th-April 16th BREAKING NEWS: Late yesterday afternoon, shortly after 5:45 p.m., the state Senate voted 36 to 0 to approve a bill that reduces 47 different hunting and fishing fees! Included in this was the lowering of the freshwater license fee to $28.00, from $40.00!! Just in time for opening day...so onto the report... Well, another week into April and it looks like we may have put on the breaks slightly. Although I don’t think anyone is going to argue with 80 degree days in April, but the reality is that well, it’s not reality. Temperatures in the low to mid sixties would be more the norm for this time of year. Regardless of how the weather pattern sets up this spring, one thing is for certain, this past week really gave us a good jump on the fishing front. The reports from the Housey continue to be strong with keeper bass being taken all the way from the dam in Derby to the mouth on both sides, whether it be Short Beach or the Bird Sanctuary. Clousers once again tied sparsely to get down deep seem to be the ticket; however I have received reports of some larger deceivers also working quite well too. Now that the Herring have really started to run, larger presentations will draw more strikes. Larger jointed Bombers, T-Man’s Swimmers and Crystal Minnows for the spin guys/gals have been the most effective, accounting for fish well into the 30 inch range. Dale reported in over the weekend that Milford Point still is fishing well, but the word is out with enough people on the point that would make it reminiscent of Pulaski! Despite the crowds they were able to land and release 12 fish on Saturday evening with the biggest one coming in at 34 inches but fat! The Micinillio Brothers continue their fishing and reported in that they had a stellar day on the Housey from the boat on Saturday as well where they trolled soft plastics and larger lip Rapalas for too many fish to count and a few keepers to 30 inches (see recent catches). Back locally, things are still heating up. I have received reports as well as fished personally for some bass up to 24 inches in the usual haunts. My favorite fly as of late has been a heavvily wieghted jiggy. At the time of this report, we have still yet to see any fish in the river, but I am guessing any day now, so we will keep you posted. Water temps with this cooler spell have stabilized at around 47 degrees. The thermal niche for striped bass is 55-68 degrees, so we are still in need of some warming temps to really kick things off and hopefully get some bait moving. We were fortunate enough to have the co-host of Northeast Angling stop by and give us a presentation on fishing the western sound last Saturday. Rich Teniero gave us a lot to think about as well as a snippet on what he is currently seeing down his way around areas like Hempstead, Manhasset and Little Neck Bay. It was in his opinion that a lot of the fish being caught really are just resident fish to LIS and thus have been feeding for weeks already. Add in the fact that there have been a host of reports of bunker already in that area and things down west should light up any day. Back home, we also received a report from Wednesday A.M. off of Calf Pasture Beach, where Steve L. had 4 fish with the last one being 29 inches on sandworms, all fish were safely released. To that point, these early season fish can sometimes be a bit more delicate, so be sure to use extra caution when letting them swim for another day. One of the largest causes of death is do to a poor release. This coming weekend on Saturday April 17th, the State of CT will declare its annual Opening Day for all of its public rivers, lakes and streams. This can be a great day to get the kids out and experience some true camaraderie that can be repeated each and every year to come. Only downside is that you will not be alone. Opening day in some locations can be almost dangerous (you fill in the blank), so be courteous and cautious at the same time. We will have everything you need for getting the big one including trout worms and live shiners and everything in between, so stop on down to get geared up! With that folks, I will sign off; there is some great early season action underway for both the saltwater and freshwater angler so be sure to get out this weekend. Should you not want to fish or perhaps got an early start, come on down to the shop at 11:00 A.M. for a presentation by Captain John Tondra, who will speak about fishing in and around Montauk. If you have ever wanted to fish the “End,” here is a great chance to hear everything there is to know from one of Montauk’s finest guides. Nest weekend’s speaker will be Captain Ryan Sansoucy who will discuss fishing some of the more productive salt ponds of South County Rhode Island. Ryan has quickly established himself as the go to source for fishing the R.I. coastline and near shore waters. His unique approach to the sport and adrenaline pumping presentation should not be missed by any avid angler. Presentation will begin promptly at 11:00 A.M. Please RSVP via email at ejohnson@wesportoutfitters.com Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of April 2nd-April 9th Well, well, well…it just may be spring! At the time of this writing, we are pushing nearly 85 degrees here at the shop, even with the cool breeze blowing off the Saugatuck River which as of yesterday was still in the mid to high 40s. We had a report of some sand eel spottings at Compo Cove from Sal R. Wednesday A.M. This next week or so is always an interesting time and with the winter we all had it will be even more interesting. As the air temps heat up, there is a direct correlation to these few words ever-increasing day by day…”when is my damn boat going to be back in the water.” With our affiliation with the guys from ASMW out back, I can assure you all that they are hard at work prepping boats to get all of you who store with them back in the water. I can also tell you that although this report will speak to many, many fish being already caught, that we still have a week or so before things really start to pick up. To that point, no doubt this warm spell we are dealing with will surely act as a catalyst to what will come. Back on the trout streams, the water continues to recede leaving some hungry trout. I mentioned last week (jokingly) about the fact that with all of this high water, many trout were swept down river into the salt to meet their next fate. Although I am not swaying from this thought, an overwhelming majority definitely have survived. There are many deeper pools in the Saugy and the Mill than you may know that these fish could hunker down into, as well as finding refuge amongst the many boulder gardens that have been built over the years. The reports this past week from the Saugy have been better than good with everyone having a run at it with the biggest fish coming to the net at 22 inches on you guessed it, a white crystal flash bead head wooly bugger (and yes we have a ton). The Mianus continues to fish well albeit some smaller fish, not having the heavy stocking of larger trout that they Saugy did. Up to our north, there were reports this week of some Hendrickson coming off as well and although not in great numbers, a welcome sign for both the Farmington and Upper Housatonic Rivers If streamers are not working, tungsten flash nymphs in smaller sizes say 22-24 should do the trick. The streams should hopefully be down to their normal flows by the weekend, so get out there and experience some great local trout fishing in our TMAs! Back to the salt, we will start with the Hudson, where our good friend Captain Mike Platt continues to hit it hard in and around the Tappenzee Bridge. Fishing with soft plastics and weighted flies, his daily tally have been in the 40 fish range with all being safely released and up to 34 inches. Should you want to get a chance at this early season action, Captain Mike is available daily for charter trips, all NY state licensing will apply. I always say that what happens to our west in the spring should be of the utmost interest to all those recreational anglers that fish our home waters here in the western sound, as goes the far west, usually goes here. We all know that Hempstead and the adjoining bays and rips normally heat up first, but even before that is the shallow inshore stuff as well…say around Little Neck Bay. Our good friend Patrick Gallagher reports in from the past week while fishing the bay from his yak... Over the past week Patrick was out often with fish up to 33 inches. Most of the fish were schoolies, with some rats mixed in, but he did catch 3 fish over 28" on a clouser, a 30" and a 33" on a Yozuri Crystal Minnow. The 33" fish had an adult bunker stuck in his throat!! Our friend Captain Matt Gifford continues to work the Housey hard from shore all the way from Sullivan’s Island and down to the The Sanctuary. Working both soft plastics mostly un-weighted with a painfully slow retrieve, as well as with the fly rod with olive/white clousers, he had fish well into the 34 inch range with a majority of his catch being schoolies to 22 inches…all good fun on light tackle. Dan Laffin also checked into to report a great day on the Housey as well on Monday. He and crew had a good pick of fish up to 30 inches. Dan was fishing the upper portion of the water column with a flat wing deceiver and landed a nice nearly keeper bass on the fly rod with the sun setting behind him (see recent catches). What could be better? Cody L. also reported in some action a bit more local right here in Westport where he was able to pick up a few bass in the 16-18 range on the fly rod at Burial Beach on Tuesday night on the incoming tide! Are own Captain Ed Riley not to be outdone was into fish from the boat on the lower Housey this past week where they had bass up to 19 inches on clousers. Fishing the river at this time of year is always fun since you never really know what you are going to catch This was supported in the report last week of a salmon, striped bass and a large mouth all being taken from the same location. Although down river, Captain Ed managed a nice salmon as well that was nearly 24 inches (see recent catches). Great stuff Ed! Well that will be about it folks for this week. Not on fire yet, but plenty of action to be had on both sides of the sound as well as in some of our larger rivers such as the Housey. Keep in mind that water temps are not above 50 degrees which can mean bad things if you go in, so regardless of the air temperature, be sure to be extra careful out there! Don’t forget, this Saturday, April 10th at 11:00 A.M. sharp we will be hosting Captain Rich Tenreiro where he will discuss “Fishing the Far Western Sound.” Captain Rich is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain who has fished the Far Western Sound and beyond for his entire life and is the host of the ever popular fishing show Northeast Angling. He is an accomplished tournament angler, seminar speaker, and has been featured extensively in print and on TV, in such publications as Saltwater Sportsman and On The Water magazines. You will not want to miss this one so be sure to RSVP by emailing ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. NEXT WEEK's FREE SEMINAR ON APRIL 17th at 11:00 A.M.-Captain John Tondra-"Fishing The End(Montauk)" For 20 years Captain John Tondra has fished the inshore and offshore waters in and around Montauk, NY. All tackle, lures/flies, techniques will be covered as well as some bait rigging tips. If you have been yearning to go to “The End” but did not know where to start, this is a must see presentation! Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of March 26th-April 2nd Well, just when you thought the sure signs of spring were here, stripers beginning to swim towards open water, trout stockings in our local streams and rivers, seminars at Westport Outfitters and the closing of the month of March…not so fast… At the time of this writing the Saugatuck River has started to recede from encroaching well up into the parking lot here at Westport Outfitters for the fourth time in two days. Sorry boys and girls, no blow out sale on all of the damaged inventory. Although we saw a lot of water, it did not get in, so we are good to go. Once all the totals are in, it is possible that some local towns received well over 5 inches of water over the course of three days. So now the healing begins. Did this storm, like the last, take the few remaining trout that were stocked and introduce them to the saltwater? Will the activity that we witnessed last week at the mouth of the Housey as well as on the mid Hudson, be non existent for the next few weeks? There is only one way to know, get out and fish! Thursday, April 1st, 2010 will mark the beginning of the much anticipated Winter Flounder Season with some rule changes, so please be advised. The season will run through May 30th. Two fish per angler with a 12 inch minimum. On the subject of flat fish, I received an email from a contact at the CT DEP and expect new rule changes as well with Fluke. Their exact wording to me was to expect some “relaxation in regulations for 2010.” As the sun hopefully starts to show itself, try drifting some clams or buck tails with worms on some darker muddy bottoms for Flounder. We have a huge selection of various rigs and hooks for targeting these species, so come on down. Back to the bass, we continued to experience and receive reports all weekend despite some colder air temps that the stripers were still moving around at the mouth of the Housey. Soft plastics for the spin guys/gals while the fly folks were weighing in some sparse clousers off the bottom for fish up to 30 inches. We had a report from Rob D. who claims he has been having better luck at dusk and then into the night. Chicken Scratch Bombers accounted for several fish up to 32 inches. One positive attributed to the rain, Rob also reported in a salmon as well as a 21 inch large mouth bass standing in the same location that he took the stripers from! Back up on the Mighty Hudson where the water is bigger and burlier, the fishing no doubt will take some added time to recover with all the tributaries that feed it, but keep the faith. The freshwater streams really took a beating. I am fortunate enough to see the Mill River from the front step of my house and it looks more like a lake than a stream, showing no signs of receding anytime soon. Like the Saugatuck, the Mill does have some decent structure as well as deep holes where hopefully some of these fish were able to find refuge. Until things lighten up, I would stick to throwing metal, some heavily weighted nymps and/or stone flies should get it done should you have the opportunity to get out this Easter Weekend. Before the rains the Micinillio Brothers have kicked off their season with a few nice bass from the Housey as well as a beautiful 21 inch rainbow on the long rods (see recent catches). With that folks I will sign off, nothing to convincing yet, but as this report as well as the few previous have shown, fish are definitely on the move, some being forced to move, others finding some calm and continuing to feed. One thing is certain, these two recent storms are definitely going to be a game changer, let’s hope it’s for the better!! Don’t forget this weekend, April 3rd @ 11:00 A.M. we will be hoisting another FREE seminar with the CT DEP. We will have two of the states top Fisheries Biologists here at the store to give us an update on the overall condition of the sound, some of the programs that are currently in place to make things better and a ton of time to ask all pertinent questions. You won’t want to miss this one! NEXT WEEK’S FREE SEMINAR- April 10th- 11:00-A.M. Captain Rich Tenreiro-Fishing the Far Western Sound- Captain Rich is a U.S. Coast Guard Licensed Captain who has fished the Far Western Sound and beyond for his entire life and is the host of the ever popular fishing show Northeast Angling. Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!! May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of March 19th-26th GAME ON or FALSE START? Well folks, it’s been a long winter for us folk that walk on two legs and with the recent stretch of warm weather really threw some of us for quite a loop. In fact, it may have just done the same thing for our fishy friends who too, have experienced the same cold winter. Although none of us in Fairfield County want to relive the massive wind/rain storm that tore this place up for nearly 24 hours recently, that bit of weather in my opinion surely has affected the fishing. On the freshwater side it has no doubt swept all the recently stocked trout downstream and since downstream is not that far until they reach the saltwater estuaries, a majority of these fish may be gone for good. On the saltwater side in places like the Housatonic and the Mighty Hudson, resident striped bass did and continue to feel a ton of pressure from run off and the recent rain storms, shaking them away from their winter homes, perhaps sooner then they would have liked. In my tenure in the Western Sound I have no record of the fishing at the mouth of the Housey turning on so soon, especially after the cold, cold winter that we have had. In fact, I had been telling a few customers to hold off on trying places further south near the mouth of the Housey like Milford Point and Short Beach on the west side. Fortunately for a few good friends last weekend, they chose not to heed my advice and went anyway. Stephen S. on literally his first cast landed a keeper that came in at 32 inches on an Excalibur soft bait. This was followed up with a host of bass from 18-26 inches on a consistent basis before they called it quits. Gaston C., not to be outdone put his licks on with the fly rod as well with some decent fish up to 24 inches but good fun. So here is the catch (no pun intended), are these fish in Milford so early simply because of the rush of water that may have dislodged them a week ago or are they really beginning to move out of the Housey which would be the first inning of GAME ON? Whatever the case, we have continued to receive reports farther north near the Derby Dam of consistent keepers on both the fly rods and spinning, with fish falling for sparsely tied clousers off the bottom, larger herring patterns, as well as some shallow water Bomber swimmers. Locally, I have made mental notes every time I drive home along the coast with lots of bird activity on every point. Out back of the shop last week we noticed the river bottom eerily moving. Upon further investigation, it was thousands of small krill. We even witnessed some smaller sand worms as well which is also a great sign. This week we even heard rumblings here in the shop of someone seeing bunker in you guessed it…Hempstead! Back to the East, we have been fortunate enough to have our good friend and local Captain Mike Platt funneling in reports all week from the mid Hudson River. Captain Mike is always on the move and has his boat is currently docked on the Hudson where he has been fishing all week long with a ton of success…here comes a bit of shameless marketing. If you want to get in on some serious and consistent spring striper action, call the shop and get a trip lined up with Captain Mike. This is some of the shallowest action you will find on the river. This week Mike had some 50 plus fish days (but who is counting) in less than two feet of water. X-raps, Crystal Minnows, Clousers and Storm shads did the trick with fish up to 35 inches. (see recent catches). Mike is available for trips daily, but please note all New York State licensing requirements will apply. Back on the freshwater side, the TMAs continue to produce some great action. Black Stones both on the top and emerging as well as just about any type of nymph will get the job done. No luck, chuck some metal, we have a full selection of weighted buggers that will get those fish to take! As we mentioned last week, we have fully restocked and added more than 75 patterns to our freshwater fly assortment. If they are eating it, we will have it. A local conservation organization recently deposited a selection of 18-23 inch fish into the Saugy TMA, after the storm, so with any luck these fish are here to stay, so get on out there! So with that, we will close out, but don’t forget this Saturday’s seminar @ 11:00 A.M. with Captain Pat Renna (a.k.a. The T-Man) where you can learn all there is to know about light tackle trolling using his Quick Change Tube/Keel System. We will have all the new colors and sizes on hand! Please RSVP by emailing ejohnson@westportouutfitters.com. In conclusion, to answer the never ending question…is it GAME ON or a FALSE START? Heck, who cares, as long as there is fish to catch and it’s not snowing, we are all happy people! Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!!  May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of March 12th-19th At the time of this writing, many of you may be shakin’ off a little Irish, but me, I am just getting back from some scouting. Today marks the third day with the mercury breaking the 60 degree mark. The storm that ripped through Fairfield County over the weekend brought with it some serious damage and a ton of moisture. Unfortunately, the local Trout Management Areas were stocked on the previous Monday, so at this point; most of our trout are probably striper bait. However these little gems can be pretty resilient so don’t give up on swimming some nymphs or winter caddis through some of the TMAs, you will be glad you did. To this point, we recently totally restocked our fresh water fly selection with all new patterns and sizes, so be sure to stop in and reload. In regards to the stocking, a few years back, a very similar scenario occurred, with a tremendous amount of rain that followed the local stockings. The state turned around and did a second stocking, so some way, some how, you will be able to get your trout fix! Back on the salt side…I know a lot of you guys/gals are getting anxious with this warm weather. However, keep in mind that it’s a bait game at this point, which is directly correlated with water temp, which is directly influenced by air temp. So, outside of fishing the Housey which is defiantly starting to heat up, with a strong push of herring working their way up towards Sullivan’s Island. Sooner than later these fish will turn and swim south out of the river where anglers will then want to target areas such as the Bird Sanctuary on the east side of the river and Short Beach on the west side. The fish at this time of year will be holding the bottom where the current is weaker and thus less energy can be exerted. For the fly rod, sparse clousers should do the job. You will want to fish these weighted flies almost like you are fishing a trout stream with a dry fly, casting up current and letting them drift down, offering in a few small strips along the way to give the fly some life and hold on. Although a majority of these fish will be around the 28 inch mark, there are a host of 35 inch fish that could be caught. Back here locally, I continue to get reports from friends that are commercial fisherman that continue to report in quite a bit of herring in our local waters for the time being. This means good things, but by the time the water temps bump up and our fish get moving, unfortunately these fish may be long gone. As I mentioned, I went scouting a bit this A.M. checking into Old Mill Beach, Pine Creek and the ramp right here on the Saugatuck River. Interesting enough there were three rigs in the ramp parking lot all with boat trailers? Maybe these guys know something that we don’t, but my guess is a day off, sun above and some impatient anglers just looking for anything! God bless them! I confirmed what a good friend noted to me the other day which was some sandworms beginning to show themselves over at the Mill as well as at Pine Creek. It’s possible these things just got knocked from their home with the strong storm surge that we experienced, but nonetheless a welcoming sign. Early season baits should include some worms as well as the very fruitful sand eels. There is no indication that this won’t soon be the case again, so come on down and check out some new patterns and hard baits to get you into the fish. The weather looks decent upcoming, so it’s just a matter of days at this point and no longer weeks…so to that point….WE MADE IT boys and girls, we all survived the dreadful winter of 2010 so now let’s focus on the upcoming fishing season!! More gear is arriving daily from Simms, SAGE, Shimano, HATCH and many other vendors, including Shimano’s new Baitrunner, a host of new freshwater fly patterns and much, much more! T-MAN TROLLING SEMINAR IS NEXT SATURDAY, MARCH 27th @ 11:00 A.M. SHARP-RSVP BY EMAILING ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon. DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!!  May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Week of March 5th Well folks, at the time of this writing, the mercury, for almost the fourth day straight, has broken the 50 degree mark!! Could it be, just maybe, perhaps, that spring may actually be upon us? Fishing on the Housey, now that all the ice has dissipated, continues to produce some nice fish. You don’t’ have to tell the Micinillio Brothers what time it is, they fished the Housey on Sunday. It started out really slow with the water being quite cold. They ended up with 26 fish for the day, with nothing bigger than 23", all caught trolling deep on soft plastic paddle tails. Lots of fish on the depth finder including what seemed to be some very large schools of herring as well. I got another report from D. Curtis on Tuesday night of some steady action just south of Sullivan’s Island up to 26 inches on soft plastics and Gulp imitations. Kurt D. and Derrick Kirkpatrick fishing from shore late Monday night with the fly rods were surrounded by anglers in the general vicinity of the island as well. Split between half fly rods and have spin guys, everyone seemed to be hooking up on a consistent basis. In fact, although the fish popped the hook right when it was being landed, Derrick felt he had at least a hefty 35-40 inch fish on the line. Great stuff! The flies and lures of choice will be larger herring patterns as well as larger soft plastics. As we mentioned last week, the herring seem to be abundant just about everywhere. Scattered throughout the Norwalk and Westport area and continuing up the coast towards the Housey. I also received a report from a client that some nice fish have been taken from Northport Harbor and with another journey over this afternoon, we will keep you posted. These shallower muddier areas of course have a tendency to heat up first attracting bait and thus fish normally will follow. One good indication from a timing standpoint is to look south and west to see what may be coming up the pipe. The Hudson has yet to really turn on and points south have been quiet as well. Most of these fish being caught in places like Northport are no doubt hold over’s, but nonetheless provide some great early season action. If these temps remain consistent, things may blow wide open sooner than we think. Let’s hope that this warm stretch is not our “January Thaw” just 2 months late! On the freshwater side, it seems as if we may have had some of our local TMAs stocked recently. Justin “the Soul-Man” Solis, reported in of some nice catches in our local streams up to 15 inches drifting some small black stone fly nymphs, as well as ripping a few streamers through the current lines. When fishing in our local TMAs at this time of year, be extra quiet when approaching these fish. They are still very skittish, considering they were in a hatchery less than 24 hours at the time of this report. In regards to flies, we mentioned last week, that we have made an extra special commitment to giving you the most diverse selection of freshwater bugs in the area. I personally unwrapped about 200 dozen additional flies over the past week. Come on down and have a look. If you can make some time rather than stopping in right before you go out, we can explain some of the patterns that we chose and why for our local waters and beyond and how to properly present these tasty offerings to rising trout! There has been much debate about the recent introduction of a saltwater license. As of right now, the fee has been brought back down to $10.00 for the marine license. Regardless, there are still a few bills pending. I highly encourage all of you that if you are not satisfied with the current laws that are on the books, for you to write your state reps. For your convenience I have attached below four bills that have been proposed on the house floor to lower the current fee structure. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/2010SB-00115-R00-SB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/2010HB-05038-R00-HB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/2010SB-00082-R00-SB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/2010HB-05080-R00-HB.htm More gear is arriving daily from Simms, Shimano HATCH and many other vendors, including Shimano’s new Baitrunner, a host of new freshwater patterns and much, much more! With that folks, I will sign off, but it won’t be long now. It’s been a long winter, so don’t get caught once things turn. Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon! DON’T FORGET to click onto the “NEWS” tab for our complete list of upcoming FREE seminars! 2010 Lou Tabory/W.O. Fly Fishing Schools-SIGN UP TODAY!!  May 8th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  May 15th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  June 26th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 17th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  July 31st @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT  August 7th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 Spring Update-2010 Although it’s not spring just yet, I wanted to reach out to all of you and keep you updated of some upcoming events, regulations, as well as some fishing information before we kick off the 2010 fishing season. For starters, there has been much debate, as most of you are well aware of, in regards to the fishing license fees for both fresh and saltwater. Unfortunately, most of this regulation was voted on last year when we were busy fishing throughout the summer. However it’s not too late for your opinion and voices to be heard. I highly encourage all of you that if you are not satisfied with the current laws that are on the books, for you to write your state reps. For your convenience I have attached below four bills that have been proposed on the house floor to lower the current fee structure. If you are in agreement with any or all of these, be sure to write your state representatives to make this happen. We as a group must act together if we are to alter this. I have been very involved with this and thus am available anytime should you have any questions. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/2010SB-00115-R00-SB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/2010HB-05038-R00-HB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/S/2010SB-00082-R00-SB.htm http://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/TOB/H/2010HB-05080-R00-HB.htm The trout stockings that occur around the state should happen within the next few weeks and we will be sure to keep you posted and make you aware as soon as we hear anything. This year we have almost tripled our freshwater fly selction, so have no fear, we will have the go to pattern when you need it! On the salt side, we have recently received reports of some massive schools of herring in the Housatonic River. Once we get a solid week of 45-50 degree weather, this river, as it always does in the spring, should light up, so be ready! Our fly tying classes have been well attended despite conflicts with school vacation and the like. Because of this, we are offering a make up night for anyone who missed a class in any of the sections, which has been scheduled for this coming Wednesday, March 10th and will run from 6:00-8:30, with instructor Captain Matt Gifford. Please drop me an email if you plan on attending. We are also looking for feedback on holding one last class at a more advanced level, if this is of interest, please email me as well and we will see if we can get some dates on the calendar. Our seminars series will kick off next week with our good friend John McMurray coming up from NYC on March 13th at 11:00. McMurray was recently nominated by the Governor of New York and then appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to represent New York on the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council. His presentation will not want to be missed by any light tackle/fly fishing enthusiast alike. After discussing the tips, tactics & techniques that apply to fishing this very unique body of water, encompassing approximately 10,000 acres of salt marsh, John will briefly touch on some regional as well as some national conservation issues. John is truly a steward when it comes to our great sport, be sure not to miss this one! Lots of cross over to where John fishes as compared to our local waters, so be sure to stop down. RSVP by emailing ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. More gear is arriving daily from Simms, Shimano and many other vendors, including Shimano’s new Baitrunner, a host of new freshwater patters and much, much more! With that folks, I will sign off, but it won’t be long now. It’s been a long winter, so don’t get caught once things turn. Bring your rods/reels down for servicing before the fish arrive. Look forward to seeing you all soon! Winter 2009-2010 The fishing on both the upper and lower Housey has been on fire, while the jigging out deep remains modest at best, but this could change with any tide. Locally the trout fishing is heating up as the water temps drop and we continue to get some moisture. So despite some cold and dreary weather there is still much fishing to be had. Should you not want to go fish, come to the party this Saturday...considering it is being held in your honor! As the bulk of our fishing slows, we will do our best to update the site frequently when the reportts warrant it. Should you be looking for specific information about where to wet a line this winter, please do not hesitate to email ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com or call the shop directly for the most up to date reports at 203.341.9490! Week of November 13th-November 20th Before the report, please note our new winter hours. CUSTOMER APPRECIATION/HOLDAY PARTY IS SET FOR DECEMBER 5TH @ 3:00 sharp. In conjunction with All Seasons Marine this will be an event you will not want to miss. 20% off everything in the store (some restrictions apply), refreshments, kid’s games, prizes and the best food around! RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Greetings ladies and gentleman, time for another installment of the W.O. fishing report brought to you today by crew-sergeant and trusty backup - report - author Patrick O’Donnell. It’s a chilly Thursday at the writing of this report and I just got off the phone with W.O. staff sergeant Kurt Daniello. After punching plugs into the wind along the Rhode Island coast late last night Kurt made it safely home where he is resting his bones…but only to ensure that he can get back out on the water this afternoon to work on quenching his trout fix. I hate to belabor the obvious but get out there while the weather is decent and the fish are eating… fresh and salt alike, because it won’t be long before the baits gone, the streams freeze and snow blankets the ground…meaning heavy doses of YouTube fishing videos and time at the fly-bench are in the foreseeable future. Just so we’re all clear there is some genuinely fine winter fishing in Connecticut…the Housatonic bass, Naugatuck salmon and Farmington trout come to mind. But really folks what I’m trying to say is… who doesn’t want to sit down for Thanksgiving with striper-thumb…I know I do. I’m almost really positive Kurt wants year-round striper-thumb and I know Eric craves trout-thumb, if there is such a thing. I can promise this report will be exceptionally accurate on two fronts today. First, there are still stripped bass and blues lurking and eating with confirmed reports of bass being brought to rail from Milford to Fairfield. Some are cookie-cutter 27” bass, others are the obese 36” variety. Secondly, at the writing of this report by this time next week you and I will be getting ready to chow-down on some delectable Thanksgiving fare. That’s a safe bet. Call me crazy Carl, but the mental image of the two notions I just touched on, of a striped bass gobbling down on a fly/lure/tube/chunk coupled with the thoughts of sitting down for Thanksgiving grub in all of its glory, well…if that doesn’t make you want to crack your knuckles and go earn your keep-er, (as mouths collectively salivate)… and get up and go…lets be honest go consult a healthcare professional if your not mentally drooling, because Thanksgiving and striped bass are about as good as it gets. Fish talk… The striped bass bite has remained hot near 28C and 11B with the dropping tides seeming to produce the best this past week for diamond jigging the edges. Blues are mixed in as well, most of which have been in the 8lb-10lb class. Nice fighting fish. Bass and blues are still being pulled from inshore spots, with chunks and plugs fooling bass at Sherwood Island throughout the week. Burying Hill and Frost Point are good bets too, and throughout the week we’ve had reports of blues pinning bait against the shore at these spots. In the coming weeks keep your eyes peeled for more surface activity near Compo and Sherwood Island, those of you wading should also check out South Pine Creek…good things. The Housatonic River and neighboring Long Beach in Stratford are both yielding consistent bass and blues for those tossin’ flies and throwing top water plugs. Again, the dropping tide has been a good bet, with mostly cookie-cutter bass. However, working inside the river has been productive and is a known avenue for shots at monster bass. Often overlooked, the wintering habitat for big-ocean run striped bass happens to be the Housatonic, and as a result every year well after Thanksgiving a handful of anglers land lots of really nice fish on bulky deceivers, Rattle-traps, Storm Shad and bullet-head bucktail jigs. Just recently I spent an afternoon on the Housatonic with Captain Chris Elser and while we didn’t hook up with any record breaking fish, we had our fill of consistent rod bending 22”-27” bass on deceivers and bunny flies. While we couldn’t determine exactly what bait was holding in the river, I can tell you when it was all said and done we had brought well over a dozen fish to the rail, all without venturing to far from the launch. Like I was saying, Captain Elser is one of those fishermen who will pull big bass from the Housatonic long after many lesser fishermen have retired their rods to the shed. Just something to think about; Long Beach will usually foster the wandering bass from the river and is an easy wade at low tide. Just an idea for a sunny day in December… The blackfish are still being caught fast and furious. The worms and crabs are both working equally well on these feisty, tasty fish. Spots of interest and consistent action have been Buds Reef, Great Reef and the humps south of Greens Ledge. Middle Ground has productive as well, especially for the bigger togs – some reports of togs there pushing 12lbs. I don’t get to say this often but when I do it makes me smile. That’s a Big Tog. Also, Middle Ground is starting to hold butterfish…get out there while there still around because bass love butterfish. Butterfish do not love bass. Well, that about does it for this week. Good luck on the water wherever it is you chose to wet a line. Have a nice Thanksgiving from all of us at W.O. and don’t forget to mark your calendar for the customer appreciation/open house fiesta on December 5th. I’m going to be in Spain for Thanksgiving visiting my sister; so probably no striper-thumb for me but I’m still going to wet a line in the Mediterranean. Tight lines! "I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance. Now I like fishing because it's the one thing I can think of that probably doesn't” – John Gierach Week of November 5th- November 13th PLEASE CHECK UNDER THE "NEWS" TAB FOR OUR FALL/WINTER HOURS! CUSTOMER APPRECIATION/HOLIDAY PARTY IS SET FOR DECEMBER 5TH @ 3:00 sharp. In conjunction with All Seasons Marine this will be an event you will not want to miss. 20% off everything in the store (some restrictions apply), refreshments, prizes and the best food and company around! RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com! Well folks, we are still at it despite the fact that each and every day we are pulling more boats out of the water which clearly is an indication that guy/gals throughout the Western Sound are hanging up the rods and breaking out the vices to tie some flies or getting the neoprene’s ready for points north for some trout, salmon and steelhead fishing. Staying consistent with the past few reports, the fish are on the move. I personally feel we still have not seen the bigger waves of fish that will hopefully push through. As mentioned also over the past few weeks, you need to be in it to win it, meaning that if you are limited by weather and other duties, you may just miss out. Locally, the stripers and bluefish are still around in our waters with positive reports coming from those hardcore guys lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. Migrating fish don’t stay in one place for too long of a time so bouncing around from one favorite spot to another is the strategy to use this time of year. Recent intel from Montauk indicates some solid action on school size bass and monster blues reports Brian Cilento, with quite a mix of baitfish being regurgitated including sand eels, silversides and peanuts. Kurt did well on Sunday jigging at 11B with blues up to 11lbs. Reliable sources in Rhode Island report some good bass in the 30 pound range being caught from Newport to Point Judith on top water plugs. Finally some big bass to chase!! That’s good news for us because, with any luck some of those big girls will move through our neck of the woods soon. As long as there are still blues and bass to our east then the potential for good fishing here should remain fairly strong. The blackfish bite is still hot with green grabs and jigging for these fish as well. We had a report on Monday when the weather was picture perfect of a haul of fish off of Green’s Ledge that produced some 9lb togs. Great stuff guys! Looking back at our season reminds me that we really started out with a bang in the spring with some of the best early season action that we have seen in a number of years. The abundance of sand eels and the unprecedented amount of time that they hung around helped that situation tremendously. The middle season was pretty good to great depending on your fishing methods with the tube and worm guys really hitting it pretty hard. The adult bunker situation was pretty disconcerting this year with schools being few and far between. A limited number of schools of big bunker were hanging around Milford, Bridgeport and Fairfield for several weeks over the summer offering some good shots at big blues and bass but not enough for my liking. All in all though not a bad season and we still have good potential for more late season action on bluefish and with any luck some giant bass to go out with the same kind of bang that we started with. Now I know that this may be all pretty grim but here at the shop we are still hitting it hard. If your boat is out, check out the many beaches locally. With unfettered access, you are sure to find fish somewhere and don’t be afraid to be impatient. At this time of year it is acceptable! We are already putting the spring seminar series together which will be better than ever. With the overwhelming success of our fly fishing schools with Lou Tabory this past season, we have decided to take it to the next level and I am personally working with Lou to get the calendar set, but as of right now we are looking at 8 classes!! Nowhere will you find this level of commitment, flexibility in dates and convenience. These will be posted to the site over the next few weeks in time for the holidays since these classes will make great gift ideas. Don’t forget that our Annual Customer Appreciation/Holiday Party will be held on December 5th here at the shop and spill over into the back. We are holding it this year in conjunction with the guys from All Seasons Marine Works, so be sure to RSVP to ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com. Lastly, our fly tying classes with Captain Matt Gifford are almost done so stay tuned for that. We will also be holding a few open nights where you can just bring a vice and some cool new ideas and share with other anglers. With that folks we will sign off for this week but keep the faith, there is still much fishing to be had. If you are already checked out, come on down and lounge on the couch and watch some cool fishing videos to hold you over. Week of October 30th-November 5th PLEASE CHECK UNDER THE "NEWS" TAB FOR OUR FALL/WINTER HOURS! Before the report this week we want to make you all aware that we are stocking live eels, so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candies, come on down! GOT FLIES? WE DO!! We have just completely restocked are saltwater fly case with the most productive fall patterns, so come on down and restock your boxes and don’t forget to get the new W.O. stickers for your fly box, stripping baskets, bumpers and anywhere else you deem worthy. Holiday/Customer Appreciation Party/SALE is set for December 5th @ 3:00 P.M. Please email ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com to RSVP! Salutations everyone, W.O. crew member Patrick O’Donnell at the helm for another installment of the fishing report. Well November has arrived and besides the football hoopla there’s clearly something else that could influence your weekend plans, and so I would be foolish not to start the report with a brief overview of the pending weather conditions. Thursday is calling for rain and Friday is looking to be pretty gusty, you can get out early when the weather hasn’t picked up. Regardless, we’re on an enjoyable collision course for a sunny weekend with highs in the upper 50’s. The marine forecast is calling for west winds and a warm front, I’m calling for striped bass and bent rods… you’ll see why… Let’s be honest folks. Saturday, Sunday and the beginning of next week are looking like near-perfect fall fishing days, the kind we here at W.O. drool over. Nonetheless, I know some of you still doubt that this fall will shape-up, rightly so based on the following October grumblings... “C’mon, nor’easters?…inshore is dead- no bait…the bass left town,” or “Pat… this fall season has been slow, snotty weather and no blitzes…” Yeah, we were all left scratching our heads; we know the weather downright stunk through much of October. The inshore fishing wasn’t anything to write home about. We’ve been there and done that, I’m here to squash the gloom. Actually…the baits here to squash it, but you get what I mean. Well sure enough, ‘these times they are a changing’…and believe-you-me, peanut bunker on the move, from outflows to rips, mean striped bass are putting the feed bag on. I repeat, Feed- Bag -On! Reports are coming in hot and heavy as of Wednesday of bass at Burying Hill, blitzes in Southport, bait and swirls off of Compo and our trusty old pal Penfield is starting to consistently produce blues, with bass at low-light. The All Seasons crew for which Eric pinch-hits is hauling boats and doing daily reconnaissance, reporting birds and bait around Cockenoe and Sprite Island. With activity close to shore along Compo and Sherwood; swirls, diving birds, spraying bait the whole gamut. Nicky from All Seasons reported activity at the mouth of the Saugatuck while John reported seeing feeding frenzies between Cockenoe and Copps Rocks. These are October type sightings and yet due to Mother Nature - things have been backed up a bit. Remember how long the June fishing lasted? Remember why? Weather was brutal. You see where I’m headed. A recap is in order. Heading into this past weekend Captain Michael reported slammer blues in skinny water behind Goose Island and birds working on feeding teeth at Eaton’s neck. Cruising fish were being picked off here and there with no real regularity by patient fisher people. Thus far the deep water jigging has been steady for big blues and bass, 28C has been producing the best it seems, with white buck tails working as well. Live eels have been working in rocky edges and peanut bunker in Norwalk harbor was the talk of the town, so moving into this week… Flies and light tackle plugs are really starting to get it done in low-light, and bottle darter plugs are getting hammered from Westport up to Stratford when slung from jetties and rock piles. Reports are trickling in about bass looming outside Short beach waiting for the light change. October is in the rear view mirror, so is the average fishing. Think I’m exaggerating? Shame on you – the report! Shop customer Gianfranco Zaffina was just in Wednesday reloading his arsenal after he spent Tuesday at Burying Hill being the-boss to the-bass. After he spotted balled schools of peanut bunker pinned against the beach at high tide during the day, (and subsequently hooked numerous schoolies), he returned at dusk and got it done…W.O. style; with some topwater plugs that yielded some robust keeper bass up to 31”. “Bait everywhere” is how Mr. Zaffina put it. Roger that. Wednesday night he came into the shop to obtain and soon there after begin slinging’ eels at a local bass watering-hole, now that’s time on the water! Gianfranco didn’t shy away from telling me that some blues were mixed in on Tuesday, and a fellow angler near him landed several couple 8lbs. blues into the night. Rest assured Gianfranco is headed back… and it gets better… A shop regular, Pete Callahan was in browsing on Wednesday and reported a terrific day from the kayak on Tuesday. Lure of choice was a Storm Shad and fishing in Norwalk harbor he caught over a dozen bass, many of which hit right next to the yak in relatively shallow water. Way to go Pete! Fly tosser and shop customer Andy Vigneron reported he was fishing around Penfield early Wednesday morning where he was greeted by a rising sun and bluefish eagerly eating the fly. As the hooked quarry came to shore Andy noted that in curious pursuit of his catch were some above-average sized striped bass. Guess where Andy will be at dusk… Around lunch time on Wednesday Captain Steve Tiffinger came in off the water to report hoards of peanut bunker outside Southport harbor and on the adjacent flats off Southport beach. Copious amounts of striped bass up to 27” fell at his hand, and some feisty blues were mixed in for good measure. Captain Steve will be back at it tomorrow morning…rain or shine folks, rain or shine. It was stated in an earlier report that the blackfish season this fall was taking a turn towards epic-town. Yeah well, now the blackfish have started a housing development in the county of Epic. George DiCostanzo and a friend went out Sunday morning with five dozen worms and three dozen green crabs, when I spoke with George on Wednesday he reported that they caught so many fish at Buds Reef that they ran out of bait. That gives you a sense of what the blackfish are up to…they’re eating! Well ladies and gents, that’s about it for this week. The fishing is finally showing some signs of consistency, peanut bunker and silver sides are starting to get pinned on structure and bass and blues are in the midst of ambush mode. But make no mistake about it; the people catching fish these days are the ones who are putting their time in on the water. That’s not to say you can’t cash in on schoolies ravaging bait at Compo during the day, but if you want a shot at a big-boy-fall-keeper-grab’n-grin-photo-slob-bass you need to fish the low-light and find the bait, which requires time! Get out there, the weather this weekend should be perfect, we have good tides for fishing and I think the bait will remain fairly concentrated. Get out there and enjoy the beautiful autumn fishing because there’s no better time to be on the Sound. Tight lines – we’ll see you out there! "Something to think about: If you fish the wrong fly long and hard enough, it will sooner or later become the right fly." -- John Gierach Now go set SOME!! Week of October 23th-October 30th Before the report this week we want to make you all aware that we are stocking live eels, so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candies, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of SEA ROCK JIGS...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long…and the Albies won’t be here much longer either, so come on down! GOT FLIES? WE DO!! We have just completely restocked are saltwater fly case with the most productive fall patterns, so come on down and restock your boxes and don’t forget to get the new W.O. stickers for your fly box, stripping baskets, bumpers and anywhere else you deem worthy. The weather has finally broken at least for the time being. We have spent a lot of time on the water this week from New Rochelle to the shop here getting boats picked up. Although windy and rainy, we consistently have been seeing a ton of bird activity along the coastline, so get on out there before the snow flies. Where are the fish? A question asked throughout the season and usually answered with confidence based on personal catches and reliable reports from trustworthy friends and customers. During our spring run the question was easily answered with “they’re in all the usual places” but now in what should be the height of the fall migration the reports are few as are the personal catches. So where are the fish anyway? I’m afraid the answer may lye in a can of worms that I’m not ready to open and wrap my head around yet but let me just say that we should all cherish the fish we catch (including bluefish) and go above and beyond to release our fish with no harm when possible. Fishing is always a gamble, like a pull on the slot machine or buying a couple of lottery tickets you never know what you are going to get until you play. During the fall run you need to buy a lot of tickets. The fish are on the move and you need to be on the water in order to intercept a few. You will end up doing more fishing than catching (as usual) but that is the name of our beloved pastime and it’s what we do. The general consensus about the remainder of the striper and bluefish season is by many very, very optimistic. We all feel that some good fish should move through our waters over the next two weeks with resident Housie fish offering the same consistent action that they often do over the next few months. The best advice that I could give you to put yourself on some blues and bass this month is to keep your eyes and ears open, fish where you know fish have been recently, if they are not there when you try for them move to the south a bit and try again. The river mouths, harbor entrances and other outflows with rocks near by are good bets. Some places I would try right now would be the mouth of Milford Harbor, Charles Island, the mouth of the Housie and Penfield Reef. Most importantly keep a line in the water as often as possible as long as possible, fish with confidence, and have fun. Orlando continues his reign and stopped in to tell us about a 10 plus pound tog he had this past week off of Greens Ledge in Norwalk. The guys fishing some of the structure off of Bridgeport have reported in that the haul on blackfish has been even better than last year with fish consistently pushing the 7lb mark. Steve Elliot fished over the weekend and was able to jig up some nice blues in the 10-11lb range out by 28c. After moving in tight he had schools of blues in the 5-6lb range that would only take soft plastics. Coming back closer to home he was able to tube up a few bass in the river to 29 inches. Good getting out Steve!! Cory C. from the ASMW crew stopped in to say the jigging out towards 28C was good for him too, including two keeper bass to 33 inches and blues to 15lbs! Dave called in a report from Monday of this week where there were birds working off of Southport Beach and with the long roods was able to stick two bass just shy of 28 inches. Jumping over to freshwater where the action there is picking up almost daily. Many opportunities to angle exist in our state this time of year with shots at some beautiful fish. The local rivers are holding some really nice trout right now as are the big two up-state. Don’t neglect the W.T.M.A.s throughout the state that offer solitude and some real gems with fins. The Saugatuck Reservoir offers some dynamite walleye and seeforellen fishing through Nov.and Dec.with chances for double-digit fish. Big pike are on the prowl in the CT River coves, the brood stock salmon are waiting for you on the Naugy this time of year as well, and ice fishing is just around the corner. In fact there is not a day that passes in our state where we couldn’t be wetting a line and catching a fish or two, so if fishing is your thing, bundle up and enjoy some of the great fishing over the rest of the cold weather season. Chris Doeberl reports in that after Saturday’s rain it left both the Housatonic and the Farmington high and difficult to wade. The Houssy was just about 1000 cfs and the Farmington was 650 cfs. . Sunday there was some serious insect activity with a large olive hatch in the afternoon but no rising fish. All of the fish he caught was sub surface on Prince Nymphs and pheasant tails I imagine that the water will drop by mid week and the fishing will be excellent. On the plus side with the rain, the near by brooks and streams are fishing well. Well folks that is about it and to be honest with you, the reports are starting to dwindle as some folks begin to pack it in, however here at the shop, we are busy restringing reels and tying flies for what is yet to come and believe me, there is plenty of great fishing left, so come on down and get out there!! Week of October 16th-October 23th Before the report this week we want to make you all aware that we are stocking live eels, so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candies, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of SEA ROCK JIGS...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long…and the Albies won’t be here much longer either, so come on down! Our Lou Tabory event scheduled for October 24th has been SOLD OUT! Please get on our email distribution list, if you are not already, so you will be the first to know when we launch these ever-increasing schools in the spring, as well as our seminar series. GOT FLIES? WE DO!! We have just completely restocked are saltwater fly case with the most productive fall patterns, so come on down and restock your boxes and don’t forget to get the new W.O. stickers for your fly box, stripping baskets, bumpers and anywhere else you deem worthy. Well hello there everyone, W.O. crew member Patrick O’Donnell doing the writing of the report today on yet another beautiful late-October day. With fingers crossed it looks as if the next week should welcome in some relatively stable weather, (which means the absence of a nor’easter or two) and respectable temperatures in the mid 50’s to low 60’s. The past few days we have seen early morning cloud cover, followed by blue skies and a mild southwest wind. Ahhh…. all the ingredients for an enjoyable day on the water in the pursuit of big fish!! Without getting all weatherman-like; these days of stable conditions should set in motion a push of striped bass and blues eating through the weekend and into next week. Also the lack of gusty wind means spotting albies, slurping bass and blitzing blues is exceedingly more possible. (Yes, albies are still popping up). So while Saturday is calling for rain… warm temperatures during the day and a south-blow means that you hardcore guys and gals can don a rubber coat and hit the beaches and reefs. Lou Tabory and I will be at Compo with the W.O. fly-school braving the elements and punching flies into the wind for shots at feeding bass. Remember…fish will eat in the rain!! After Saturday the rest of the week is shaping up to be a partly cloudy to mostly sunny smorgasbord, so without further a due, the fish talk… Even though it was noted that the small bait has been scattered to some extent (thanks to the nor’easters this past weekend), we here at W.O. are preaching patience. The weather patterns aren’t dumping north-east winds on us, and improving water clarity and salinity will surely usher the table fare of Mr. & Mrs. Striped Bass back into our local inshore haunts. Just today I’ve spoken with one of our Captains and two customers who reported quantities of small bait inside Old Mill, Frost Point at the tip of Penfield Reef and the backside of Cockenoe Island. Further up the road, Long Beach in Stratford and the mouth of the Housatonic are both starting to yield big-boy fish with noticeable consistency to patient fly-tossers and bait-dunkers. Flies of choice have been olive clousers, epoxy imitations, Skok Mushies and black deceivers. Just the other night I tagged a 31’’ bass near the Costal Center, only after making what felt like 20,000 casts. Mi amigo Kurt Daniello has been fishin’ his tail off all over Milford, and has been rewarded handsomely using assorted large plugs, our new bottle darters in particular. On the boat scene, deep water diamond jigging has surrendered some hefty bluefish, with striped bass sprinkled in for good measure. One customer who was just in inquiring about albies told me how yesterday he spent the afternoon doing the tango with 10+lbs. blues at 11B. Persistence at 11B, 28C and Greens Ledge has been paying off with reports of bass over 38” and alligator blues eating chunks, tubes and jigs. Speaking of eating… (the table-fare variety) blackfish season is shaping up to be the best in recent memory… If you haven’t tried for blackfish your missing out… some green crabs (we got em’)…and a medium-heavy setup to lift them from the depths is all you need. Green’s Ledge, Great Reef and Cockenoe Reef have been consistent for the Togs, just search for rock piles, get your bait on em’ and wait for a subtle take… the crew at W.O. supports catch and release… but blackfish make for a good meal every now and then, give it a shot! Around the islands Micinilio Brothers were out on Wednesday and tubed up a host of bass all just shy of being keepers. Matt Ellethal over the weekend despite the stiff breezes also ventured out and hooked into a train on a Stillwater popper that eventually hunkered down and the plug pulled…but no teeth marks!! Farther to our north Kurt D. and Chris D. have been hitting some of the rivers such as the Housatonic that have also been fishing quite well with the fly rods. Some hefty browns as well as bows coming to the net on the long rods.(see recent catches) Therefore if it blows on the salt side, head inland with the long rods for some refuge and some great fishing! Father to our east around R.I. things are also starting to heat up, which may be a good sign that some fish will start to push through. Kurt and Derrick fished on Tuesday night near the mouth of the CT river and landed a few nice bass including a fat 35 inch fish!(see recent catches). Well folks, the end of the season is now closer than the beginning so take every opportunity to get on out there. As the bass begin to migrate, it will be a time in kind of game, not timing, therefore those that get out and log some hours will surely be rewarded. Stay tuned for upcoming winter fly tying classes as well as our now famous holiday sale/customer appreciation party!!! See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign Week of October 9th-October 16th Before the report this week, we want to make you all aware that we are now stocking live eels so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candy, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of SEA ROCK JIGS...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long…and the Albies won’t be here much longer either, so come on down! Our Lou Tabory event scheduled for October 24th has been SOLD OUT! Please get on our email distribution list, if you are not already, so you will be the first to know when we launch these ever-increasing schools in the spring as well as our seminar series. GOT FLIES? WE DO!! We have just completely restocked are saltwater fly case with the most productive fall patterns, so come on down and restock your boxes and don’t forget to get the new W.O. stickers for FREE! Well folks, at the time of this writing, I have just come in from spending pretty much the entire day on the water. Those that have followed our reports over the years know that come fall, as well as in the spring, we are busy putting in and then taking out boats. This affords us two things; sometimes to carry along with us a rod just in case something pops up and equally important, time on the water to view our surroundings. This may include and is not limited to, water clarity, water temperature, signs of bait, breaking fish etc., from Greenwich to Bridgeport. Now although this is not supposed to sound like a prospectus, sometimes having the ability to do some serious scouting prior to fishing is critical in the final results for us and our customers and we understand that on those choice days, often, the time necessary is lacking. So…here is what we found today…with the approaching Nor’ Easter, the seas were a bit lumpy, but fishable. We noticed small signs of bait inside of the islands, most likely Peanut Bunker. Despite the wind and what evolved into a wind driven rain, off Cockenoe, way out past the reef, we did see some birds working. The water clarity I noticed the other day in Southport, just turned like that for the better. Running by Southport Harbor I could see the bottom in a place I know is at least 6 feet deep. Now the storm will no doubt churn things up, but the lack of growth taking oxygen from the water is definitely playing a role. While water temps remain in the low 60s, no sign of any migration has yet to be seen by me or anyone else who calls W.O. home. This oncoming storm is definitely going to affect the water, but I am confident that we will still be on track for what should hopefully be a good fall run. With any luck, it will stay in tight too with all this small bait, giving the shore anglers a nice shot at some big fall bass! We had a late report last week from Robert Darby fishing the Housatonic River area. Although we received the report on Friday afternoon, the fishing actually occurred Thursday night and if they caught schoolies, I would not be writing this. Instead he reported in a host of fish ranging from 32 inches to 38 inches. The fish of the night was 44 inches and tipped the scales at 40lbs (see recent catches). Great stuff guys! Sunday we received a shore report from our good friend Elliot Gudis who had just got back from some blue fishing in Greenwich where he landed a few 10lb blues on his new Lamiglas set up. He reported a school of what looked like were albies cruising off of Compo Beach with birds working. Apparently they were out of reach since young Elliot reported no catching, just spotting. Come on Elliot, rule number one, never go to Compo Beach without your fishing rod! Despite the long Columbus Day Weekend, the fishing was a bit slow, being hampered once again by a fall wind. We did have Jim K, report in that despite the wind, he plugged off of Fairfield Beach, for a few blues on small Stillwater poppers, with small pods of peanuts and what looked like bay anchovies. Steve Tiffinger out on Tuesday was into some small schools of bass as well up to 26 inches and even picked out a few on the long rod on some small anchovy patters. Speaking of anchovies, we have totally restocked our flies, so if you are fishing here or even out east, come on down and have a look. The Micinilio Brothers, not letting the wind change their plans, were out here in Westport as well as off of Milford. Some nice fish off of Compo to 29 inches that came in at 11 lbs and a few nice blues up to 30 inches in Milford (see recent catches). Sam. B. came in on Thursday as well with nearly a 13lb blue caught at an undisclosed location of course. No doubt vying his way into the Calcutta standings at the Westport Striped Bass Club. We have mentioned Cory C from the ASMW team who fished his head off and his brother in law Sean B. does pretty much the same. I had mentioned their fishing excursion last week but here is a full report before we wrap it up locally. Over four days of fishing Cory, Sean and Bonnie had everything from kingfish to 20#, skipjack tuna (one on 12wt), cudas, silky sharks, amberjacks, almaco jacks, blue runners, bar jacks, swordfish and blackfin tuna. Notice Cory C. always sportimng the W.O. gear! I will let the pics speak for themselves…great job folks! No doubt as this front pushes through it will turn up the water. Hopefully it may even push some bait in, but regardless of outcomes, there is still plenty of time for our waters to recover, pending another front, so that we may enjoy a strong fall fishing season. Although the schools of adult bunker are spotty, there are tons of smaller baits around. IN fact, on Wednesday, we had a customer who will remain nameless catch a 15 lb bass on a small fly off of Fairfield, where he reported small bait everywhere!! I can not say with any confidence that this weekend may be a great fish weekend, but as you know, we speak the truth and with the good, sometimes comes the bad. Come on down, have a cup of coffee and at least we can talk fishing and plan our next move!! THE MONTAUK REPORT Our good friend Captain Dean Kardamis reports in from “The End” that the last few weeks have been great for the light tackle and fly fisherman. The fish are here but high winds and tough weather has kept a lot of us on the dock. As far as the fishing is concerned, the bass fishing couldn’t be much better, with plenty of fish and some very nice ones, like the 58 pounder that Frank Schultz caught on the HERLS GIRL this past week. They are being caught trolling with the chutes or on live eels, with some bluefish around but not enough to get in the way of the great bass fishing. The Falsies are around but as always they are moving very fast…To book a trip with Dean, call the shop or him directly at 203.556.3361 INTRO TO FLY FISHING To all of our local Westport customers, if you always wanted to learn about the wonderful sport of fly-fishing, I will personally be teaching a class through the town’s continuing education department later this month. This class is open to residents as well as non-residents. Sign up at http://www.westportcontinuinged.com/ Week of October 2nd-October 9th Before the report this week, we want to make you all aware that we are now stocking live eels so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candy, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of SEA ROCK JIGS...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long…and the Albies won’t be here much longer either, so come on down! Our Lou Tabory event scheduled for October 24th has been SOLD OUT! Please get on our email distribution list, if you are not already, so you will be the first to know when we launch these ever-increasing schools in the spring as well as our seminar series. GOT FLIES? WE DO!! We have just completely restocked are saltwater fly case with the most productive fall patterns, so come on down and restock your boxes and don’t forget to get the new W.O. stickers for FREE! This past weekend was a good weekend for many reasons, although the weather was spotty, despite some adverse events, we pushed forward with the Inaugural Saugatuck Cup and it was a huge success. Nearly everyone caught fish and some even witnessed albies on the North Shore of L.I. All proceeds will go to fund The Children’s Tumor Foundation at Sloan Kettering. All told, although all the numbers are not in yet, we raised somewhere between 8K -10k, which is a huge number with everything that was going on. A big congratulations goes out to Capt. Ed Riley, a shop customer, Ranger Boat owner and close friend who took home top honors winning the first place trophy! On behalf of Westport Outfitters, All Seasons Marine Works, The 9th Floor Foundation and most importantly the Spengler Family, we thank you all for your support, to those who fished the event as well as to those customers and friends that made generous donations simply to support the cause. We are already thinking about next year’s event while incorporating your ever so valuable feedback. Stay tuned of all the events photos at http://www.saugatuckcup.com/. Once again…THANK YOU ALL!! Fall is no doubt here, the leaves are falling and those darn winds have been blowing almost daily, in fact as recent as the day before the writing of this report, there was 52 mile an hour gusts in Westport!! Not good for the fishing…or is it? East winds have caused many a bad day in fishing, but sometimes they can blow the bait in and fish can be at your feet. Add a bit of southerly breezes and sometimes it will trap bait in areas like Copps, the Mill Pond, Penfield and Southport Harbor. Therefore, surely don’t jeopardize your safety or anyone else’s for that matter, but as Sunday was a testament to, you can always find a place to hide. Shore anglers up and down the Fairfield County Coastline can always find a lee, whether that be Pine Creek, Black Rock or Charles Island. Should you need any guidance, always feel free to stop in, call or email and we can help you with finding some calm water. Emmett Ryan kicks off this week’s report with a few nice fish he picked up trolling in and around Calf Pasture. He ran a pink tube with gulp bloodworms along the edge from the east end of Calf Pasture to the inlet for Shorehaven on Thursday and got a fish on every pass. Stripers from 25 to 29 inches (2 keepers and 6 shorts) and the last fish was a gator 10lb blue. Perfect example of what I was discussing, the winds were howling and Emmett has a smaller boat but he was able to find refuge and fish!! Our next story is a good one, local angler Chris Koehler has really been putting his time in from shore since we first met about two years ago. He has had some nice fish on the fly rod but the next stuff is for real. On Thursday he lands his first keeper bass on the fly rod using a dark purple/black deceiver that nearly tipped 30 inches on a Sage 9 WT. For Chris though, this was not enough. He returned on Friday to top his catch and landed and released a 20lb fish on the fly rod on the east side of Penfield Reef, this time the fly of choice was a yellow five inch deceiver. The fish had Chris down to the last 25 % of his backing before he succumbed, was landed and let go. Great stuff Chris, you deserve it!! Rob Cap continues to get it done fishing from his yak and literally should be a pro-staffer for Lordship Lures where over the weekend despite winds, he ventured out and added a few more keepers to his quiver this year using theses plugs.(see recent catches). Monday and Tuesday were close to being wash outs with wind, but Dan emailed in a report from out at 11B where they jigged up some gator blues to 12lbs and a few 27 inch stripers. It’s getting to that time to bust out the metal. Be sure to have yours rigged with some fly teasers. We just brought in a ton of larger flies just for this reason. Bring your jigs in and we will set them up for you. Wednesday Kurt D. and company fished farther to our West in and around Milford where there are signs of some bunker and had big blues to 10lbs with a few hefty stripers up to 15lbs all from shore, live lining bunker. Locally I heard a report today of a 40 inch plus fish that was taken from the Westport shoreline as well so the shore angling continues to improve day by day…. Although the Albie reports are dwindling, we still are getting a few here and there so don’t give up. Have a rod rigged and ready to go. A boat not fishing in Saturday’s tourney had a few casts at them in mid sound with no hooks ups, but the schools were still plentiful… This weekend’s weather is looking pretty good and now that it’s past October 1st, that means its TOG season. We have received reports from a few die hards locally that it has been came on with fish over 8lbs on many of our local rock piles. Yes, Orlando (a.k.a. Ground Fishing King) is one of those people and he could not be happier. Try jigging a grab instead of using a traditional hook for better results. Come by and we can show you how. We will have green grabs from here on in and they are the most… let us say…cost effective ones around…. Well as I mentioned previously, fall is in the air and although we may need to dodge some wind here and there, there are still months of fishing left. The snappers are still around in mass so take advantage of this and take the kids out on Monday that no doubt they will have the day off from school with the holiday. We have kits starting at $29.99 fully set up. Cory C. and company, putting his first fish on his new AVET Raptor, reported in some nice catches and we will hold off on the full report from a sunnier climate until he returns but see recent catches for a few teasers…. INTRO TO FLY FISHING To all of our local Westport customers, if you always wanted to learn about the wonderful sport of fly-fishing, I will personally be teaching a class through the town’s continuing education department later this month. Sign up at http://www.westportcontinuinged.com/ See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events. FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY! http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376 WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign Week of September 25th-October 2nd Before the report this week, we want to make you all aware that we are now stocking live eels so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candy, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of SEA ROCK JIGS...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long… Our Lou Tabory event scheduled for October 24th has been SOLD OUT! Please get on our email distribution list, if you are not already, so you will be the first to know when we launch these ever-increasing schools in the spring! The Inaugural Saugatuck Cup is scheduled for this coming Saturday, October 3rd. This charity fishing event will benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation at Sloan Kettering. We are anticipating a great weekend and special thanks goes out to all that plan on participating. The fishing over the past week has really started to heat up as the water temperatures begin to drop. Some larger schools of bunker have been spotted in Bridgeport, Milford and even some scant sightings in Norwalk Harbor. There are still plenty of peanuts around as well as silversides and we even had a report of some herring locally. This combined with the water temperatures means good things for the fishing, specifically those fishing from shore. Friday afternoon we had a report of a nice 24 lb bass taken on a surface plug just off of Burial Hill Beach on the Sherwood Island side of the rip. There was bait getting pounded on by both bass and blues. A little farther to our east, battling 2-4 footers Captain Elser was out on a trip and fished East of Milford in tight trolling some tubes. They hammered bass up to 30 lbs with the biggest coming in at 43 inches!(see recent catches) Saturday the impending poor weather held off and despite a stiff breeze, anglers locally were able to cash in on some great fall fishing. Those of you that frequent the shop know that we normally don’t put jigging on the top of our list during the early season and into summer. However, at this time of year, jigging the bumps off of 11B and 28C can be very productive, at least as far as numbers of fish go. Saturday was a testament to this where Steve had blues consistently almost on every drop up to 9 lbs. Occasionally a bass was taken up to 24 inches but that bite should pick up soon. Sunday was….as you all know….a complete wash out…or was it. Can’t say many folks ventured out on Sunday but in the A.M. we got a visit from Greg Henry and his son Kai. Now these guy are pretty hard core (did I mention Kai is like 3?). So in any event they head on out fully geared up to make it happed despite the weather. Fishing off the island they troll up 7 nice bass to 26 inches and a nice 9lb blue that tipped 31 inches. Way to go guys (see recent catches). Jim Koutas checked in after a long hiatus with some decent bass action off of Pine Creek. This is a favorite fall spot of ours and looks li