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!


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