June 21st

Some fantastic summer fishing is now upon us. The shoreline bite for both stripers and bluefish is really heating up and the fluke bite just gets better and better. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are moving into their summer patterns and river channel catfish are being quite aggressive, defending their nests while they spawn. And, most of the states trout rivers are holding their levels well providing for some great summertime trout action.

Rivers & Streams – Reports of stripers in the Connecticut River have really slowed to a crawl. Meanwhile, reports of large catfish have been on the rise with multiple reports of channel cats over ten pounds. Northern pike and largemouth bass fishing is quite productive on the river now, with Gary Brummett and Mike Perciballi of Connecticut Outfitters boating around ten bass a piece plus a half dozen pike on an afternoon outing using spinnerbaits in one of the local coves. Trout fishing remains good on the smaller rivers throughout the state. Mealworms, Powerbait and flies have proved most productive in rivers such as the Housatonic River, Farmington River and the Salmon River.

Lakes & Ponds – Trout fishing has been very productive on lakes such as Squantz Pond, Candlewood Lake and Crystal Lake. Fish have been hitting lures and bait at depths of 20 – 40 feet down. Bass fishing seems to be moving into summertime patterns with quality fish being found both shallow and deep. Lakes containing very clear waters or supporting lots of daytime boat traffic can often be fickle in the summer. Try fishing in depths over 15 feet or focus your angling efforts on after dark hours for increased success.

Marine District – The striper fishing continues to get better and better out on the near shore reefs. The numbers of fish are increasing as well as the average size of the fish. Fluke fishing appears to be improving across the Connecticut shoreline with multiple reports of fish up to eight pounds. Productive baits have been cut or whole squid, spearing, sand eels and fresh bluefish strips.