[imsafanct]

Yep, it finally happened. Bill and I hit the CT River yesterday and caught nothing.

We launched at Wethersfield Cove around 6:30AM and headed North up to the trash to energy plant in the South end of Hartford. We started fishing within the small cove at the plant and Bill got hit right away by a pike, right at the boat on a black spinnerbait. But, typical of Bill's year, the fish immediately came off.

We drifted all the way back down to Wethersfield Cove, fishing the Western shore, and finished up somewhere around 12:30PM. I had one follow/bump by a larger bass after my Magic Swimmer 165 and one lighter whack by a smaller bass using the Johnson Silver Minnow. That's all the action we saw.

Truth be told, I know better than to fish the CT River the day after a significant rain storm like we had on Saturday. I could only see a shiniest of lures 2-3 feet down before it disappeared in the dirty, churned up water. But my desire to work for river pike got the best of me. Oh well, it was still a beautiful day to be on the water. I'll get 'em next time!

-Eric

[Redneckangler]

I put in at Haddam. Fished from before sunrise until 8:00pm. It was a long day with not much catching. Now I don't feel so bad. I had planned to fish pike, carp and catfish. I caught a couple of bass, blues and small cats. I was wondering if I should have put in at Rocky Hill to run north for pike. I picked up a couple of small bass and a catfish early in the am. As the tide started out, I went down to the mouth and snagged some bunker for fresh bait, and caught a few small blues on a Zoom Fluke. I let a few of the snagged bunker swim around, but no stripers or big blues underneath them. Went back up river to Portland in the afternoon. Caught a lone catfish south of Middletown, and a few more just after dark back down in Haddam. Still, a beautiful day to be on the water.
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[imsafanct]

RNA,

Do you use soft plastics for pike?

I like the Keitech Swing Impact Fat and I've been throwing it into the grass/thick stuff and the edges a bunch this year. I've caught some bass on it and I want to believe they would be good for pike too.

I'm just getting into throwing soft plastic jerkbaits as well. I have some 5" and 7" Zoom super flukes in white pearl and some 9" Houdini shads in silver and black/purple. I have yet to catch anything with them but in jerking them around in the salad, they look pretty good. I've also read that Slug-Gos and larger YUM Dingers catch pike as well.

Any suggestion on color for the river? The bubblegum color looks ridiculous but it seems to catch fish. How about black?

Thanks.

-Eric

[Redneckangler]

I've caught them on the White Zoom SF and the Houdini Shad. I like the dark Houdini shad, as I catch most of my pike just before or after sunset, or similar low, light conditions. I also fish a ton of stick baits (Bomber A-Salts, Daiwa SPs etc.), big swimmers and large spinners . I probably fish more of these than soft plastics. Go BIG! As to other colors, I usually pick something with pearl or white during the day, or natural colors of the forage fish around (golden, perch pattern, etc.). All this said, they hammer things like red and white Dardevle spoons. While they are ambush predators, they love to tease us by stalking a lure back to the boat, only to strike when you go to pick it up and thus the miss. I've tried the muskie figure 8, but found what also works is a quick lift up to the surface perhaps a bit sooner than normal, but not yanking the bait right out and away from the fish. I will be out there chasing them until ice forces me off the river!
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Facebook @ TheRedneckangler
Weekly reports from around CT, the LIS and beyond.

[imsafanct]

You made my day. Bill thinks I'm nuts when l show him the newest giant lure I've just bought.

When you say big swimmers, do you mean hard or soft? I've got a couple 7" Revo Shads, the big LiveTarget blueback herring and two of the Magic Swimmer 165's. On the spinner front, I just picked up a Mepps double-blade Musky Marabou that I love seeing thunder through the water. I just shy away from throwing them because I even think they're probably too big to catch anything with. I've got a Daiwa SP Minnow and a Bomber Magnum Long A as well. I guess they're not just for stripers anymore.

Thank you for the info.

-Eric

[Redneckangler]

I'm talking about the hard bait swimmers such as the Revo Shads, Sebille, etc. 7" lures are nothing. They crush 12" live baits. I've had a few smaller ones this season, but no big fall monsters yet. Can't wait!
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Facebook @ TheRedneckangler
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[Michael]

Pike also like bright colors, so on days when the water is murky, colors such as firetiger are excellent. 1 natural color is brown trout. Members of the pike family love feeding on trout, esp the common brown trout.

Some swimbaits I'd recommend are Storm Swimmin Stick, Rapala X-Rap Jointed Shad, Rapala Super Shad Rap, and Sebile Magic Swimmer. Lipless crankbaits 3" and larger wouldn't hurt also. Larger sub surface walk the dog lures are known to be deadly pike lures, such as a Rapala X-Rap Subwalk. Heavy duty minnow plugs would be Bomber Magnum, Bomber A-Salt, Storm Flat Stick, Storm Giant Thunder Stick, Rapala X-Rap, and Rapala Clackin Minnow. Sizes 4" to 10" are pike lures.

[imsafanct]

Michael,

I've seen the Super Shad Rap and the X-Rap Sub Walk praised in some stuff I've read. I had a perch Super Shad Rap in my shopping cart at Cabela's on Sunday and decided against it at the last minute. I'm gonna see what I can do with the perch Sebile I bought instead.

-Eric

[Michael]