CTFishTalk.com: Housatonic River - Shelton 04/09 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

NWDarkcloud (aka Bob) and I fished the lower Housatonic River from the Sunnyside Boat Launch Facility in Shelton. When we arrived at Sunnyside, a crew was there to remove the huge stump from the parking lot and prepare the lot for expansion:

We were told that they would allow only three boat trailers to park in the lot that day and we were the second to arrive. Phew! Rolling Eyes

We got on the water at 8:25 am, exactly on the high tide. Low tide was at 3:18 pm. As the day went on, the air temperature quickly rose from the mid-40s to a high of 62 degrees. After a calm morning, the wind blew out of the northwest at a steady 16 miles per hour, with gusts up to 26 miles per hour. The water was murky and the water temperature ranged from 45 to 47 degrees. Immediately after we launched in my boat, The Other Woman, Too, we located some small schools of stripers in the channel next to the ramp:

Bob and I each boated a schoolie to start off our day of fishing with a double:

The fishing was fairly steady, although all of the schoolies we caught were small. We caught a dozen near the ramp before heading down to Wooster Island, where we caught three dozen more. Then we went down to the cove at Pine Rock Park, where we didn't get even a nibble. Confused

Finally, we headed to the upriver side of Two Mile Island, where we caught 58 more. The retrieve that worked best all day was pulling the jig off of the bottom with two to four fast cranks of the reel followed by a pause to let the jig fall back down to the bottom. My spinning reels retrieve 36 inches per crank, so the jig would quickly move six to 12 feet before suddenly pausing. I think that schoolies are like northern pike, in that they like to chase down their food before eating it. We caught only two schoolies that were over 20 inches long. I caught one of them with a seven inch Albino Shad Lunker City Fin-S Fish on a 3/4 ounce Kalin's Ultimate jig jighead and the other with a five inch Bubblegum Zoom Super Fluke on a 1/2 ounce Kalin's Ultimate Jig jighead:

However, most of our fish were caught with four inch Albino Zoom Flukes on 1/2 ounce Kalin's Ultimate Jig jigheads:

Toward the end of the day, I spotted this swimming in the water next to the boat:

I considered posting it in the Personal Worst thread, but I caught it with a net, not a hook. Is it a flounder or a fluke? I guess that it's both my Personal Worst and my Personal Best, since it's the only one I've ever caught. Laughing

Anyway, Bob and I got off of the water at 6:15 pm, after having boated 106 schoolie stripers.
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Jayman · Joined: 22 Mar 2014 Posts: 2

The flounder you scooped up is a hogchoker. Seen quite a few up there in recent years and even found bigger 6" ones in a couple stripers stomach

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

FoulhookedRook · Joined: 19 Feb 2011 Posts: 30

Im certain that the "hogchoker" can be caught at the local bar. The best hours for catching them are between happy hour and 2am. Smile

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

Yeah, what the heck is a hogchoker?
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fishfinder · Joined: 19 Jun 2011 Posts: 1672 Location: Naugatuck, Ct.

O know nothing about these but in the description of a Hog Choker it says the stripes on it distinguish it.

"The Hogchoker (Trinectes maculatus) is a small flatfish found along the coast of parts of North America. They prefer brackish water, and are abundant in many bays and estuaries north of the Carolinas (another similar species replaces it south of the Carolinas). It is a member of the American Sole family achiridae. They are usually brown to dark brown in color, and lighter on their "blind side" (side lacking an eye). The overall body color is often broken by a series of spots and thin stripes, which can be lighter or darker than the main body color. The fins and tail have fringed edges helping hide the fish from its prey. They mainly feed on small aquatic insects and invertebrates.

Distinguished from other species by an inter-brachial septum lacking a foramen. Also, Trinectes maculatus often has no (rarely one) ray(s) in its pectoral fin."
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There's a fine line between fishing....

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Crest Daddy · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 994

you can tell it's a hogchoker by it's face, or that's how i tell the diff...
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Hogchokers are right-eyed, like winter flounder. Even though the flatfish I caught didn't have distinct stripes, I'm convinced that it was a hogchoker.
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