Striper Fishing In The Housatonic River

‘I am optimistic about the Sound’s striper population, ‘ said Captain Dixon Merkt, of Old Saybrook, Connecticut. ‘there is a strong nucleus of fish in the 18- to 32-inch range, and over the last several years we have done well with them. I think this year will be as good, if not better, than the last few years. What is thrilling about July stripers is that when you find them, you usually find them in numbers. You are not going to catch just one fish — you are going to catch six or more, particularly if they’re breaking along a rip or over a reef. ‘. (gameandfishmag.com)

Captain Frank, of The Frances Fleet in Narragansett, says that early winter cod season remains excellent, and shows no signs of slowing. Jigs and bait continue to both produce equally well, and finding big numbers of cod hasn’t been an issue. The size of the fish has varied largely from day to day, however the smaller fish days are producing good numbers of keepers. “bigger” fish days have seen good numbers of gaffable fish into the low 20-pound class, blended in with smaller keepers and shorts. Most trips are producing good numbers of bound-catches, as well as this past Monday; which saw the complete ship bound out. (fishinfactory3.com)

I was out there having some pretty good luck in january.  got skunked some times tho.  i was in my yak cruising around to find fish.  once you find the big schools i had good luck bouncing zoom flukes off the bottom but its hard to get them to bite.  have not been out there this month tho between the snow and the ice and work.  looks like every day off i have its snowing or ice raining. (stripersonline.com)

We located all seven striped bass before dusk, and all told the same story. The five-mile long body of stripers seen in December had contracted to become a concentrated aggregation at the head of the estuary. The surface waters were new and frigid, carrying ice chunks from the two rivers the Yantic and Shetucket that feed the major stem Thames. But under this inhospitable level was a tongue of the sea 42-degree, full-strength salt water, somewhat warmer than what we calculated downriver, and phenomenally nice to a not insignificant part of the Atlantic coast migratory striped bass stock. (nytimes.com)

The Housatonic is a distinctive and beautiful river. Where else can you catch trophy trout at the foot of the Berkshires, then travel an hour south to the river mouth at Stratford/Milford and catch striped bass all in the same day. The slide show covers fishing places on the lower Hous from the Ousatonic Dam in Derby to the ocean. It s one of the premiere salt water fly fishing places on the east coast. It s also one of a few of places which host winter-over striped bass. I ll cover river access points, fishing gear, flies/bait fish imitations, fishing methods, and an array of photos of successful fishermen. (cvtu.org)

You must know when the best times are to catch them. They don't like to move around in fast current. There are certain windows with moon phases when the tides are slower, and the lobster feed more, and big bass listen for that. It's a whole system that I've create. Now, I'm looking at the 1st quarter moon increasing. It’ll be dead high in the sky at sunset. If you could find a slack high tide at sunset with a 1st quarter moon, it's going to make the tide a slower one, the fish are going to feed longer, they're going to use the moon as a backdrop, it's going to create a frenzy, and fish are easier to fool if they're in frenzies. (gonewengland.about.com)

Joe Polaski of Agawam, Mass, is so hooked on Connecticut River striper fishing, he wants other anglers to share in his passion. This spring, Polaski launched his own Web page — Ctriverstripers. Com — and Netolicky, Krol and Elm Bait and Tackle in Enfield are the sponsors. When River’s End Bait and Tackle in Old Saybrook becomes a 4th sponsor this spring, Polaski’s Web page can offer Connecticut River striped bass reports from Enfield to Long Island Sound. (articles.courant.com)

After feeling a population collapse in the early 1980’s, the Atlantic striped bass population rebounded under rigorous management controls put in place by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission with the backing of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act of 1984. The stock was declared restored in 1995 and the species recuperation became a model for fisheries management. In 2013 east coast anglers caught over 10 million stripers and harvested more than 2 million fish while maintaining an adult female biomass of more than 120 million pounds. (stamfordadvocate.com)

Saydee is one of three canines from the EnCon K-9 unit that received special training in fish detection to help in the detection of fishing violations. The canines have been trained to detect certain species of sport fish that are usually caught in Connecticut, like trout and striped bass. The canines were trained to search on vessels, under rocks, along shorelines, and other places illegally taken fish may be hidden. (wtnh.com)

Weigh-in starts at 10 a. M. And ends quickly at 4:00 p. M. An awards ceremony will now follow Saturday’s Weigh-in, and will include food, music, venders and raffle prizes. Reminder: IF you’re fishing by ship and haven’t entered the river by Birdseye ship landing by 3:00 pm you won’t make the check in. It takes 50 mins no wake zone to reach Boardwalk Marina from the mouth of the Housatonic River.  . (Visit this website)