CTFishTalk.com: July 4th = Personal Best Striper - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

RobO · Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 285 Location: South Windsor

So on July 3rd, myself and three friends got together and went out on a chartered boat for Fluke and then some night time striper fishing.

We headed out of New London at around 5pm in hopes of a cooler full of tasty fluke... Well we hit a few spots near Milstone but the fish just were biting. Between the four of us we caught 2 keepers, some shorties, a few sea robins, and a dog fish. It was my first time seeing the naughty dog fish up close. Well it was more or less an uneventful 3.5 hours fluking. I did however catch a nice keeper.

So as evening set in, the Captain headed out towards the Race for some night time striper fishing. When we got to the Race the water was definitely moving. There weren't too many boats in the area at the time. There were birds working all over the place so that was promising.

Well we started drifting eels and I immediately caught a decent size blue. Then the darkness moved in and so did about 20 other boats. The bite basically shut down for a good two hours. We kept an eye on the other boats and they seemed to be struggling as well. We saw the Sunbeam and the Blackhawk and a bunch of smaller boats all trying to get some fish over the rail.

Then at about 11:30pm my buddy Erek gets a strong hit and brings in a 32 inch striper. He was ecstatic as this was his fist striper ever. Then Bob brings in a 30 inch striper about two drifts later. Then all goes quiet for an hour. The captain moves the boat to a different drift where there are no other boats fishing. After about 3 drifts Bob catches another striper and this one was 33 inches. I was getting anxious and started praying to Ju Ju to let me catch a keeper striper (I have only caught 3 keeper striper in my life and two of them were earlier this year). Well Ju Ju decided to be good to me and a few minutes after 1am he guided my eel into a striper's mouth.

The fish instantly started pulling drag and I fought him for about 5 minutes. Just as the fish was nearing the surface my buddy (Rob) says, I think I either have a fish on or I am tangled with your line. I was like sh*t!!!! Please don't be tangled. Well he was and as soon as the captain saw we were tangle and the line was near the outboard he cut my buddies line so it wouldn't tangle in the prop and we hopefully wouldn't lose the fish.

Well I get the fish to the surface and the captain nets it and I just sat down and was in amazement at the size. It was 42.5 inches and was thick. We didn't weigh it but the captain figures it was about 40lbs. I weigh 260lbs and you can see the size of the fish in the picture. Now please understand that I do not own a boat and do not get out as often as some of you, so to me this fish is huge.

A few drifts later and my pal Erek catches another keeper and we end up calling it a night. The captain kept us out longer than usual because one guy (Rob) did not catch a fish at all on the trip. The captain really wanted Rob to catch a fish.

Well by the end of the trip I was exhausted, This was one of the best fishing trips I have ever had with great friends, a great captain, and a great new personal best striper. Oh and I didn't chum either.
Laughing

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Redneckangler · Joined: 05 May 2012 Posts: 851 Location: Meriden, CT

Nice fish! That's a great way to celebrate the 4th. Despite some of the tough day fishing, the nights have been productive in the Race. Who were you out with? If you liked your trip, give a shout out to that boat! Very Happy

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RobO · Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 285 Location: South Windsor

Normally I would, but the Captain wants to keep a low profile as he works as a full time mate on another boat, but moonlights with his boat.
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Crest Daddy · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 994

That fish is HUGE
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Contender23 · Joined: 27 Jun 2013 Posts: 31

That's a nice bass. I'm hoping to get out to the race when the tide is a outgoing at night. Maybe on the weekend.

FishOn860 · Joined: 04 May 2012 Posts: 64 Location: Hartford, CT

Congrats on your new PB thats a beast. hoping to reel in one of those myself this summer
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Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Awesome cow!

Hendy Spinner · Joined: 10 Jun 2013 Posts: 4

nice trip!

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

Nice fish man!!!!!! Thats a nice fish no matter how often you get out or not but remember boat fish dont count! LOL
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DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice fish!! Congrats!

Jeff · Joined: 06 Jul 2012 Posts: 167

Congrats on the catch!