Lots of Fish, But No Trophies....
Capt. Sal Tardella
August 2, 2012
Norwalk Islands - Saltwater Fishing Report
We've had several trips over the past two weeks. First we went out with Californians, Sean Murphy and his teen-aged son. They got more than a dozen stripers, some fluke, and a load of nice porgies up to 16″.
The following day our group was from Ohio; it included Kevin McCormick and his nephew, Matt Marshall, as well as friend, Steve Martin. The threesome enjoyed bringing in fluke, porgies and striped bass.
Last Tuesday's group was a trio from Ohio: Kevin McCormick and his nephew, Matt Marshall, as well as their friend, Steve Martin. The threesome enjoyed bringing in fluke, porgies and striped bass.
Wednesday's weather was perfect, and we took out Westport residents, John Foley and his 14-year-old son, Hugh. Their catch included porgies, fluke, and a keeper weakfish –the first we've seen in these parts for several years. I took this as an encouraging sign, hoping for their return to local waters after an overly-long hiatus. It brought back memories of fishing with my wife, Bonnie, and the two of us drifting among schools of large weakfish off of Peck's Ledge Light early in the morning. It was always a treat to observe these golden-bellied fish feeding near the surface, jumping out of the water with the rising sun illuminating their bright colors. Let's hope all of us will be able to enjoy that sight again in the near future.
We sailed at 8:30am Thursday with Brian Wilson of Hartford and his dad, Charlie, who's a resident of Danbury. We were hit with a brief thunderstorm just minutes after we left the dock, so we tucked into Wilson Cove to wait it out. When the skies began to clear we did some drifting and the father and son brought in several fluke and lots of porgies up to 15″. We then moved westward, and the Wilsons enjoyed top-water bluefish action while plugging along the shoreline.
We finished the day chunking in deep water, tallying 15 striped bass with three keepers among them.
Saturday was a very windy day, but we left the dock at 9am with Joe Farrina of New Fairfield and his son, Brendon, and daughter, Brittney, as well as Joe's cousin, Vinny Caruso. We got bounced around everywhere we went, but with lots of work and some strategic maneuvering to keep the boat intact, we were able to bring in a total of eight striped bass, 25 porgies up to 14.5", and one fluke. Eleven fish were kept for the table.
We closed the week on Sunday, July 29, with Norwalkers, Rit Reischer and his friend, Eric Miller. Working the Norwalk Islands we did well with half a dozen schoolie bass, some fluke, and about 15 porgies, keeping seven for the table.
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