It sure seems as though mother nature can’t make up her mind this fall. We are experiencing some un-seasonably warm weather this year, it has felt more like muggy August weather then October a few times in the last week. The water temperatures are fluctuating accordingly. We have had numerous dips into the 65 degree range, and surface temperatures are in the 70s for the last few weeks. Bass are responding better to ‘low and slow’ then to topwater the last week, for the most part.
The albie fishing was absolutely lights-out on Friday, there were reports of the fish breaking just about everywhere from Fairfield to Stamford. There were some epic bass and blue blitzes as well, with fish in a feeding frenzy, eating snapper bluefish in the rips around the islands. Just in time for the weekend warriors, things died down on Saturday. In fact, Saturday morning was terribly slow all around, with the exception of the bottom fish. I’ll chalk that up to the east wind. In the afternoon, things turned around. Despite some ‘sporty’, ‘nautical’ conditions, the albies showed up on the outgoing tide, and the bassing turned on too. Sunday was also a nasty day weather-wise, though the water and air was still very warm. The bass and some chopper blues were feeding, although certainly not aggressively.
The bottom line is, we need a consistent temperature drop to turn things on for the bass and blues. You always have a shot at albies despite the warm weather, and likely will for a few more weeks. Be prepared. They can be anywhere from mid sound, to tight on the beaches. Anglers have to be willing to really cover some ground (and burn some gas) to get them consistently. The local albie sharpies are having no problem getting good numbers of fish on a daily basis…
Opening day of blackfish is off to an excellent start. The tog don’t seem to mind the balmy weather. I have reports of fish chewing well in 15 ft of water on asian crabs.
Tight lines..
James
Norwalk Islands Fishing 