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…


Eric C. Johnson
Westport Outfitters, LLC
609 Riverside Ave.
Westport, CT
06880
www.westportoutfitters.com
www.allseasonsmarineworks.com
p-203.341.9490
f-203.341.9423
ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com
TAKE THE FAMILY FISHINGTM