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!”

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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).

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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…

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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.

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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)

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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…

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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)

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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).

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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!!


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
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