Sometimes It's Good To Get The Blues....
Capt. Sal Tardella
June 26, 2008
Norwalk Islands - Saltwater Fishing Report
Saturday's excursion started out with a whimper...with close to two hours passing before we found the fish in Westport off of Burying Hill. Aboard were four newcomers, including John Vanderstrict of New Canaan, James Foley of South Salem NY, and brothers Corbin and "Pumpy" Woodhall of Pound Ridge NY. Although the four buddies had to wait a bit before getting into heavy action, nobody complained, and they took home lots of filets for an evening barbecue.
Sunday's trip was also disappointing to some degree. We had two fathers and sons from Fairfield--David & Tristan Brandt and Fred & Charlie Kieffer, belatedly celebrating Father's Day. We managed a few blues and some short striped bass. Charlie hooked the largest fish on the day--probably a keeper striper--but it got away after a brief a tug-of-war. There were several other hits and misses, but not a banner day for any of us.
For the past several days we've seen tons of bait as we travel from spot to spot in pursuit of blues and striped bass, but these predators have been very elusive around the Norwalk Islands and Westport. So, on Wednesday morning I bit the bullet and headed for the Long Island side of the Sound. As soon as we were nearing the shoreline we saw birds working the surface. Our passengers, Wilton residents, Dave & MaryEllen Basile and two of their sons--Andrew and Matt--cast into the moving water, using artificial sand eels, and were instantly rewarded with bluefish in the 3-5 pound range. The action was fairly steady throughout the trip--and included two fluke that were lost at the boat. Most of the fish were returned to the water, with just enough filets kept for the dinner table.
On Thursday afternoon--with Robert and Daniel Remin of White Plains, and Daniel's cousins from East Hartford--Josh and Tanya--we tried Copp's, where we plugged up just one blue. Then based, on the experience of our previous day's trip, we headed for Long Island, even though there was a threat of thunderstorms for the area. As soon as we arrived at Northport we got into immediate action--catching bluefish along the shoreline with imitation sand eels. Our anglers wanted to try some top-water plugs, and their efforts were equally successful. Even the youngest of our group--six and seven year olds--did a great job reeling 'em in. We also tried drifting for fluke, but the voracious blues kept attacking the fluke rigs as soon as they sunk beneath the surface. All the blues came in at around five pounds; ten were kept for the table--with twice that many being released. The storms never materialized, and everyone had a great day.
It looks like we'll have to be making the cross-Sound trip for at least the next few charters, but we're hoping for action closer to home very soon.
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