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09/12/2015 12:00 AMCrisp, early morning, 50-degree air clashed with the starting bell of the 2015 WICC 600 Bluefish Tournament, a stark contrast to the previous day, when air temperatures were in the 80s. For the past few weeks, there was concern about concentrations of blues—where they were and if any jumbos were around. Except for a good run of the spring choppers, summer catches were inconsistent. In fact, in some cases, there were no catches at all.
It’s no secret that there has been an abundance of bait, especially menhaden. There’s also been a greater number of dogfish in the Sound. This certainly has an impact on how both predator and forage fish react, thereby impacting fishing and strategies. Recent overall bluefish activity has been off, leading many participants to wonder.
However, there was feeding during the first night with six fish logged from 11.70 to 16.72 pounds. Five of the six were from Connecticut. Early on, a 17.16-pound Connecticut fish moved into first. Throughout the day, the leaders remained constant, but the rest of the pack did some shuffling. Scales were slow to moderate as the day progressed with Connecticut claiming 10 of the 15 spots.
The second morning saw some movement in the top five as 16-pounders joined the 17.16. Fourteen- and 15-pound fish rounded out the field. Choppy sea conditions complicated things, though the afternoon ebb tide was thought to favor central and eastern Sound contestants. By 9 a.m., Connecticut led New York 8-7. Ultimately, the leaderboard had only 15- through 17-pounders listed. When it was done, Connecticut had secured 10 of the 15 spots, including the top three, and New York had five. Total Connecticut pounds weighed was 160.24 versus New York’s 80.62.
The unofficial tally is: Wayne Disharoon in first place at 17.16 pounds for $25,000; Tony DeFelice in second at 16.72 pounds for $10,000; Timothy Jogensen in third at 16.72 pounds for $2,500; Sheldon Bajan in fourth at 16.72 pounds for $500; and George Raynor in fifth place with 16.61 pounds for $500. The Captain Morgan’s port prize went to Carl Anderson at 14.65 pounds for $200. The winner of Captain Morgan’s shop contest (bluefish Penn rod/reel combo) and winner of eighth place overall was Frank Corsini with 15.96 pounds for $200. The tiebreakers were determined by time and date stamp.
This year’s tournament wasn’t without challenges due in part to a smaller competitive field of 15 winning spots, down from the traditional 20. Usually, obstacles involve weather and hoards of smaller bluefish, but this year it was the abundance of bait in the Sound that drove this tourney and was responsible for contestants changing plans and strategies. As a result, this tournament was ratcheted up. What will next year bring?
On the Water
Water temperatures in the Sound dipped to 71 degrees, reacting to a cold northerly front, while the days eventually warmed into the 80s. If one thought the Big Pond was loaded with bait before, this week really exploded with more peanuts, adult bunker, silversides, and juvenile squid. In fact, bait balls even surrounded a few surprised swimmers.
For anglers crying about where the blues are: They are here. True, they’ve been a challenge to catch, but that’s only because of the bait supply and its movement. The same holds true for the striped bass, although there are considerably fewer cows around lately. Most of those have been caught near Block Island and Montauk.
Recently, several tidal rivers have seen never-ending schools of peanut bunker vacating them. August’s Full Sturgeon Moon had a lot to do with that as the extreme high tides have been flushing them down river. We are also seeing a lot more in the way of young sea bass, scup, sea robins, sand sharks, spearing, and squid. It’s no wonder that in some instances, fishing was more prevalent than catching. Slim bait supplies enhances catchability, whereas an abundance of bait has the opposite reaction.
Snapper blues have been offering some excitement, in addition to porgies (some to 18 inches) that have been adept at stealing bait. There are more bonito and albies hitting the Sound and anglers are finding doormat fluke in 100 feet with smaller fish tighter to shore chasing the snappers. Sea robins continue to be an easy catch, along with dogfish. Hickory catches are up in the rivers, as are blue crabs. Picking your tides will produce some sizable jimmies.
A quick peek at the freshwater scene tells us that the bass, pike, and catfish bites are good. Panfish remain excellent, while trout catches are variable due to the August heat and typical flows.
Connecticut Regulations
As of Sept. 1, blackfish (tautog) season has closed and the black sea bass daily limit increases to five.
Note: Email us pics of your catches to share with our USA and international fishing friends who keep up with the latest fishing news and frequent social media.
For all things fishy including licenses, swing by the shop (203-245-8665) open seven days located at 21 Boston Post Road, Madison. Until next time from your Connecticut shoreline’s full-service fishing outfitter, where we don’t make the fisherman, we make the fisherman better...
Tight Lines,
Captain Morgan
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