Eastern Long Island Sound and Block Island Sound
Capt. Mark Anderson
May 13, 2001
Long Island Sound - Saltwater Fishing Report
This week’s report confirms my prediction from last week , that the fishing scene is breaking wide open ! Bass , Fluke , and schools of small blue’s are arriving in good numbers. School bass can be found in most estuaries , rivers , and shoreline reefs along N.Y., C.T., R.I.. Fluke have shown in force off Montuak along the Long Island south shore. Also, the first arriving bluefish are rounding the tip of Long Island .
Over the weekend , on a trip to Montauk , the Brochu party scored five dormat fluke in the 24 – 27 inch range (6-8lbs.) , plus eight more keepers and some throwbacks. The area around the radar tower was host to an armada of boats on Saturday 5/12/01. The most productive drifts were from 59 to 55 ft. of water. The bait of choice was sand eels with squid strips fished behind my homemade fluke rigs that are consistent producers. Some small bluefish were also boated on the fluke rigs as well as a few of those pesky skates. This hot bite of large fluke will not last for very long, so if you can get to this area soon , now is the time!
Closer to home the race (valient rock) is holding bass . During the week we scored on bass in the 32” range that were spitting up large squid. The bass eagerly hit the 3oz. Parachutes trolled in the 28-34 ft. depths. Bass were also taking bucktails on a three-way rig . Reports also tell of bass being caught at Bartletts reef off of Waterford , a 39 pounder was weighed in at Hillyers tackle shop from this spot at the beginning of the week.
The Thames river striped bass tournament last week was won by Sherwood Lincoln . The 1st place fish was forty one inches. Fishing was slow for a good number of anglers , the tube and worm was responsible for a good number of fish as well as chunked herring. We took fish on those two methods as well as with live herring and trolled plugs.
Striped bass fishing should improve every week with more and more hungry fish arriving daily. The Race , Plum Gut , Bartletts reef , Watch Hill reefs , and tidal rivers will all be excellent areas to find fresh linesiders. Fluke fishing looks like it is going to pick up right were it left off last year with plenty of fish to go around . Remember to check local regulations for size and bag limits (CT. 6 fish 17 “ ). Montauk should continue to produce as well as Gardiners Island , Isabella Beach , and Misquimicut beach .
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