CTFishTalk.com: 6/20 Cockenoe Shoal - Connecticut Saltwater Reports ( CT Saltwater Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

Steak And Eggs · Joined: 17 Apr 2012 Posts: 38

Spent the morning at Cockenoe Shoal of off Cockenoe Island in Norwalk. Had sandworms on the bottom and I tried various bucktails but only ended up with 1 pretty decent sized searobin on a sandworm.

There was also some kind of bandit under the water, and no matter what I did he kept stealing my bait. After about 2 minutes of my bait sitting on the bottom, I would get a really fast tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap-tap, and then no bait. I would normally chalk that up to crabs, but the taps were too hard to be that and most of the searobins I catch just chomp my bait and sit there waiting for me to reel em up so I doubt it's that either.

I tried everything: smaller hooks, doubled hooks, treble hooks, bigger hooks, setting the hook on the first tap, letting him eat it then set it, and I just couldn't get him.

Any ideas what I coulda had down there and/or what I could've done differently?

jimbojonez · Joined: 04 Feb 2012 Posts: 295 Location: Berlin/Kensington

cunner. the champion of all bait stealers. anywhere in long island sound where there's fairly shallow water and rocks there are cunner. they look like a young blackfish with a longer dorsal fin and protruding teeth. very small mouths and they can chew right around a hook. catching them is a fine art you can learn when nothing else is biting lol. i hear live lining them is a favorite technique of jumbo fluke targeters

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi,

You beat me to it -> Yup! Cunner for sure. Laughing

SeaDog1

Steak And Eggs · Joined: 17 Apr 2012 Posts: 38

and here I was thinking I knew of all the species of fish in LI Sound. Thanks guys! I'll have to go back and catch him for spite.