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.

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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. 

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

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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!

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.

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!

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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.

<b>Week of Agust 19th-August 25th</b>

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…

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…

Another week goes into the books for the 2011 Fishing Sason 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 fromNorth Carolinacome 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 site for those that were looking for it and you didn’t even have to get up in the dead of night to witness it!!

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 towardsNantucketand 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 toDarien, 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 ofBlock Islandin 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 theNorwalkIslandsby 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+NORTBAR 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 inSouthportHarboron 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 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….