CTFishTalk.com: Housatonic River - Shelton 12/27 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

I fished the lower Housatonic River with wchan (aka Bill), today. Bill is the father of asianfisher (aka Billy). Sunrise was at 7:18 am, high tide at 6:51 am and low tide at 1:54 pm. As usual, we launched in my boat, The Other Woman, Too, from the Sunnyside Boat Launch Facility in Shelton. We were only the second trailer in the lot and got on the water at 7:10 am. The air temperature was still below freezing, but there was very little wind. The water temperature hovered around 34 degrees. While we were launching the boat, a couple of boats motored downriver past us. I assumed that they had launched at derby and hadn't located any schools of fish upriver, so we followed them downriver. As soon as we passed the marina next to the ramp, we began breaking through skim ice. I took this photo later, but this is how the patches of ice appeared:

To make a long story short, we wandered downriver all the way past the Washington Bridge (aka the Route 1 bridge) without marking a single fish with the fish finder. Mad

When we motored back upriver, we saw several boats in the cove at Pine Rock Park, but we hadn't marked any fish there on our way downriver and didn't mark any when we did a quick circle on the way back upriver, so we continued all the way upriver to the cove at Two Mile Island. When we arrived there at 8:30 am, there were no other boats in sight, but we finally, finally Rolling Eyes

marked some fish. We began throwing fluke jigs and I quickly hooked into what I told Bill would either be the largest striped bass I've ever caught or a foul-hooked schoolie. Yeap, it was the latter. Crying or Very sad

Although we had marked a solid school of fish, they were finicky and would not bite. Confused

It wasn't until 9:05 am that I boated the first one:

Bill got his first one 20 minutes later:

The bite was so slow that Bill tried throwing a Kastmaster for a while, but all it got him was a tail-snagged schoolie. I had to get home early, so we planned to get off of the water at 2:00 pm. Although we stayed on top of massive to decent sized schools of fish from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm, we managed to boat only 27 schoolies up to only 20-1/2 inches in length, and get only one double:

The fish wanted only smaller lures, today. Bill got most of his with an Alewife four inch Lunker City Slug-Go on a 3/8 ounce round jighead, while I got most of mine with an Albino Zoom Fluke, which is also four inches long, on 3/8 ounce round and 1/2 ounce bullet jigheads. And for the first time this season, I saw a shore fisherman between the ramp at Sunnyside and Two Mile Island actually land a schoolie.

I'll be back with DirtyDawg10 (aka Derek) to try again, tomorrow. I really hope that the fish get their appetites back, tonight. Wink

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Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

I've been hearing the best fishing has been just south of O'Sullivans to Sunnyside with some occasional schools by Sikorsky. Not much happening south of the Merritt anymore.

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

I know how you feel Phil but at least you are on a boat! Seen as how hard it is for you to find fish why were you busting my chops asking me if I was posting disinformation!!!!!!! You are on a boat with a fishfinder and can barely find and catch fish just imagine being from shore trying to get a bite from these finicky or non existent fish depending on where you are. I went to 8 spots last night between 7pm and 2 am and hit some of those spots twice being once on outgoing and once on incoming and never got a bite. I threw everything in my plug bags including various size and color zooms, different color and size storm shads, a few sluggos, and a few plugs. I think until summer comes back around I might be better off trying during the day?????
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There's a fine line between fishing....

and standing on the shore like an idiot!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

I had to bring my waders in today phil. They were frozen up all crumpled up in my trunk from Friday night. That is truth but honestly if you have good waders and wear some clothes under them its not cold at all. If it wernt for my guides freezing up every 3 casts and having to use mono it wouldnt be bad at all, well that and the fact that the fish shut off and or go hide out where I cant get to by shore. Aftrr the last few keepers I caught in the last 2 weeks I can see where Michael would rather catch schoolies as they gave about 2 little tugs and then came in like a yellow perch in its dead roll. Michael, I asure you when you catch bigger fish in the warmer months it is not like that, if it were I would probably be targeting the smaller fish also!
_________________
There's a fine line between fishing....

and standing on the shore like an idiot!