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!!



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.

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