As fishers, we generally view the beginning of a new fishing season as a time when adjustments to annual fishing regulations are finally put to print. It’s a time we learn daily creel limits, reducing open seasons, and perhaps learning that certain fishing privileges have increased in cost. However, while those changes are the end result of efforts by fishery managers and various councils, countless meetings and debates take place on all levels leading up to those decisions.

There are public information documents that precede public hearings on all facets of recreation and commercial fishing. Meetings are held that involve both state and federal partners, in addition to regional collectives during which all aspects concerning the health of our fisheries are discussed and voted upon. Then, based on the best and most-accurate data available, decisions are made regarding fishing bycatch and how to control it thanks in part to advancements in technology, plus organizations like the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program.

Comprehensive discussions are held to determine which species are overfished and what regulations can be relaxed. Scup, fluke, black sea bass, and tautog are good examples. Attention is also given to what other species might need to be protected because they have become an unregulated target filling a void, as in the Jonah crab. The list goes on with attention to species, methods of fishing, target harvest, and recruitment. With today’s environmental changes, fish movement is another keen focus and now protecting the food chain is paramount when it comes to the migration of Atlantic menhaden and river herring, for example.

Remember that what’s evident in one region of the Atlantic may not represent the entire picture or a particular fishery’s sustainability. So, as we embark on another fishing season, think past the regulations as they are written and remember how and why they got there. It’s fish first, food second, and recreation third. Without a healthy fish population, we sacrifice all the rest.

On the Water

Well, the first Atlantic tropical disturbance of 2016 turned into Alex, a Category 1 hurricane. It was the first one recorded in January since 1938, the year of the infamous Storm of ‘38. Action in the Atlantic really shouldn’t come as a shock considering how unusually warm of a winter it’s been, although the rest of the country seems to be taking our share on the chin.

A certain amount of our weather can be assigned to El Niño, but for the most part, too much of it is being blamed on that system. Aside from creating warmer-than-normal Pacific currents and some related effects, El Niño gets overly credited with almost anything. In fact, #Blame El Niño has been trending on social media and so if your fishing is suffering, feel free to blame it. If you hang bottom, blame it. If your 4x4 gets stuck by the surf, blame El Niño again because, if it were not for the warm temperatures, the sand would be colder and firmer, right? Incidentally, if that should happen, try placing your floor mats under the drive wheels and then slowly edge out.

Early mornings are seeing some thin ice forming ponds. Just as quickly, though, the stiff winds that have been churning up Long Island Sound together with warm air temperatures have been breaking it up. So, for most ice anglers, setting up tipups is still a hopeful thought for the time being.

On the bright side, there are 79 days left until Connecticut’s opening day of trout season. Many anglers have not even taken a winter break and are still fishing the rivers and lakes. Check out the Trout Management Areas. There are some good rainbows, browns, and even brookies being caught on flies, lures, and bait. Some fishers are challenging Atlantic salmon, while others are trying their hand at perch, pike, carp, and catfish. Even the Sound and its tributaries are still giving up some striped bass amongst the leftover schools of menhaden. Certainly, there are more than a few good casts left.

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 fishing trips, 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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