Well spring started off with a bang in early April. Some herring moved in and a few (very few) got onto a hot upriver bite in early/mid April. Then it got cold, and wet. Really wet. 2 solid weeks of cold rain pretty much mid April. It’s been a cold spring. Sound familiar? JUST like last year.
What does this mean for the fishing? Well the water is still a few degrees behind average for this time of year. I hear from my Hudson friends that the bass up there havent spawned yet, which they do before they move into the sound or South Shore LI (we prefer the former option). A few degrees may not seem like much to humans but to fish it’s a big deal.
But, finally starting this last Saturday we had a week ish of consistent stabile weather patterns and warmth (aside from the temps in 30s coming early Saturday AM). I have been doing well fishing on the boat, catching consistently in a lot of different spots; mostly sandbars and eelgrass beds starting to fill in, all inner islands, mouth of the rivers and coves etc, as long as it’s got moving water. ‘Back bay’ fishing as they say in Joisey. No topwater bite for me yet, but a friend got a 34 incher the last Tuesday of April and again beginning of March on top🤷♂️. So things are looking up. Didn’t catch quite as many big fish in April as I would’ve liked but tons of 23-24 inchers the last week. Bunker is moving in too, mid sound and even inner islands. Methinks I’ll be targeting big fish from sunset onwards in coming weeks.
Tight lines, send your reports or comment below!
Norwalk Islands Fishing 