Hello Compleat Angler friends! Many of our freshwater anglers are catching good numbers of Trout thanks to most local rivers and streams being stocked. Since water is low concentrating on the deeper pools will yield your best numbers until flows increase and spread fish out. Subsurface techniques have been the most effective, and a variety of nymphs and streamers are catching stocked fish. Another consideration is bringing Blue Winged Olive, Isonychia, and Tan Caddis dry flies. Fish will most likely be on Blue Winged Olives during the morning and afternoon, especially on the Housatonic River. Most of our rivers have seen an uptick in streamers fishing now that Brown trout are in their pre-spawn phase and will be more aggressive, just make sure to avoid fishing to spawning fish. There are a lot of great options now since many areas were stocked. In the saltwater we’re seeing improvements in Striper fishing this week both out east and in the Western Long Island Sound. The prevalent forage out east is Sand Eels, Bay Anchovies, and larger Peanut Bunker (4”-6”). In the Western Sound, we’re seeing similar forage with smaller Peanut Bunker (3”). The mouth of the Housatonic River, Weston and Fairfield Beaches, and the Norwalk Islands are seeing more busting schools during the morning hours. Some Albies and a few straggling Bonito are around Middleground to the Northshore of Long Island, and fishing for them has been a hit or miss in terms of finding cooperative schools.

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Hello Compleat Angler friends! Fall is underway with cooler air temperatures which means all rivers and streams have reached fishable temperatures no matter the time of day. All we are looking for now is more water, which will improve freshwater fishing. Regardless, the state Fall Stocking is underway, and so for the Mianus, Mill, Saugatuck, Housatonic, Naugatuck, Shetucket, Farmington, and many others were stocked with Trout. In addition, Atlantic Salmon were stocked on the Shetucket and look for future Atlantic stockings on the Naugatuck as well. Anglers are reporting good fishing once fish have settled after being thrown into the river, and they’re readily taking a variety of patterns. Woolly Buggers, Squirmies, Mop Flies, and your natural patterns will all be working. As fish settle and key in on natural forage/receive pressure we recommend switching over to your smaller and more imitative selections. These flies will be useful during these low flows as well, and a dry/dropper rig will come in handy. Hatches aren’t spectacular this time of year, but at any given time you may encounter fish rising on Blue Winged Olives, Caddis, Light Cahill, and Isonychia. We have some improvements on the Saltwater this week, as the Striper Migration is starting up out East, and we’re seeing schoolies in the Western Sound. Albies and Bonito have been a hit-or-miss, and some days anglers are finding schools up around Middleground and the South Shore of Long Island. It’s a similar tune out East, and many of the hardtails are still further offshore. We hope everyone has a great weekend, and good luck to our anglers participating in the Tighlined Slam!

Hello Compleat Angler friends! More improvements have happened on the freshwater scene this past week despite the lower-than-average flows. Local rivers and streams received some stockings, including the Mill River, Mianus, Housatonic, and Farmington. These stocked fish will be forgiving in terms of fly selection, so it’s time to break out the Wooly Buggers, Mops, and Squirmies until fish start to key in on naturals. In terms of hatches, you can expect Isonychia, Blue Winged Olives, and Light Cahills, however hatch activity can be a slower this time of year. Nymphing is going to be the best producer if no fish are rising, just be sure to use a stealthy approach to not spook fish during low and clear flows, and a longer leader will help when presenting dries and dry/dropper rigs. On the Delaware River fishing is starting to improve, both in the form of dry fly fishing and streamers, and smaller streamers are doing the trick during these low and clear flows. The Salmon run in Pulaski continues to be consistent on the Salmon River with fish slowly moving into and up the system but look for a bigger push in Salmon during the next higher water event. On the saltwater, we are still waiting for the Fall run to be epic, currently Albies have been difficult, and we’re not seeing large numbers yet. Some Bonito are in the Western Sound and into the beachfronts along Rhode Island, however they’re starting to taper off. Striper fishing in our end of the sound has been mainly some schoolie action, and can be found in their usual resident spots, meanwhile Bluefish have been the predominant topwater bite.

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