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Fishing Reports
LOOKING TO UP YOUR GAME OR FIND SOME NEW IDEAS TO TAKE YOUR FISHING TO THE NEXT LEVEL? CHECK OUT OUR COMPLEAT JOURNAL FOR TIPS, TRICKS, AND INFO FROM THE FIELD.
Northeast Fishing Report: 12/17/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Our trout fishing has settled into normal winter conditions with the fish hunkering down to ride out the cold. For those who hit the river now it's all a matter of stealthy subsurface tactics. In the great lakes we continue to see high water levels, which has been good for fish but tougher on anglers who have had to cope with less-than-ideal conditions. That said, many people are doing well with a little patience and some modified tactics. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 12/10/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Our saltwater fishing has largely come to a close for the year and a big thank you to all of you who contributed to this part of the report. The trout have settled into their winter behavior so picking windows and fishing nymphs will be the name of the game going forward. The Salmon river got another(!!) bump of water so anglers will likely want to wait until things drop a bit before hitting the water again to chase steelhead. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 12/3/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! As we head further into winter the fishing opportunities are indeed getting fewer and farther between. But in many fishers there are still pockets of opportunity to get out there and have a reasonable shot at fish. And at long last we are finally getting more reasonable flows up in the Great Lakes, giving anglers better conditions than they saw for virtually all of November. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 11/26/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers and Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you had some good downtime with friends and family yesterday. We have some modest changes to the report for this week. We are headed toward the final stages of the good fall run saltwater fishing as the action continues to shift south. As always this time of year you have to work a bit harder for fish as things wind down. The trout are transitioning into their winter behavior and the fishing opportunities are more concentrated, but you can still get fish if you have the right tactics. And the story in the lakes tributaries continues to be rain, rain, rain, which is great for pushing fish up the system, but not so good for angling conditions. That said, steelhead vets are definitely catching fish. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 11/19/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! We are seeing phenomenal saltwater fly fishing along the Northeastern Coast at the moment. The Striper Blitzes have been numerous and substantial. Anglers are reporting double digit days on a regular basis with some very large fish in the mix. It is safe to say that November is the new October. Any concerted effort to locate blitzing Bass by boat is almost guaranteed to pay off. There have been Bluefish around as well, and while most are smaller, gear-destroying Harbors, there are a few Gators lurking around so keep your eyes open. Shore-based fly anglers are doing well too, and while less predictable, there are definitely plenty of fish in reach. There are also some large Stripers in tight making them viable options too. The key for shore-based anglers is to move around quite a bit until fish are located. The freshwater fly fishing has been challenging of late. It starts to get tough this time of year as trout and other freshwater species begin to transition into wintering behavior and they become much more lethargic. Consequently and we should see the quality of fishing decline steadily from now on. The warmer days will see upticks in fish activity so if you're hunting trout, plan your outings accordingly. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 11/12/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! It is all about the Saltwater fly fishing right now. The fishing has been spectacular in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. The Fall Run is on and both shore-based and boat anglers are making the most of it. The Striped Bass have been Blitzing all day every day when the tides are good. This has been making for some very visual fly fishing. They are chasing Peanut Bunker or Anchovies so any fly that resembles these baitfish is getting hammered. There are some very large fish in the mix as well and Bass up to 40 pounds plus are not an uncommon sight right now, especially in Connecticut. The Blues are here too and some fish up to 12 pounds are being seen along the coast. The False Albacore refuse to leave as well. Off of Groton we are hearing of some of the best blitzes of the year. While the freshwater fishing has been tough the past week, that is ok with us as the saltwater side of things is about as good as it gets. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 11/5/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! After a tough few days last week, thing have improved across the Northeast. Both fresh and saltwater fly fishing have been very good of late and the forecast looks good for the weekend. Dropping temperatures and subsiding water levels mean that salmonids should be nice and happy. Our local small stream trout fishing should be very good in the coming week and recently stocked rivers have anglers all smiles lately with great flows across the board. Now is a great time to break out the 3 weights. Our larger rivers are a bit high, but they are on the way down. While the Housatonic is still unwadeable, drifting it should be great with a strong streamer bite in effect. The Farmington is a bit high as well, however streamers should take some nice fish there too. The Salmon River blew out in a big way last week. While the fishing was tough, the high water drove some of the last Salmon into the river and anglers were able to get on some of the last fresh fish of the season, which was a bright spot. It is still a bit high up there, but next week looks like we could see the water come down. Steelhead are definitely in the system too, and while it is a bit early, if conditions cooperate the fishing should be good in the near future. Saltwater fishing has been the highlight of the Northeast. The Striper fly fishing has been stellar and the Bass have been blitzing on bunker feverishly from Rhode Island to New York. They are slowly working West and South following bait and can be caught in a wide variety of locations. Big Bluefish are in the mix as well and offering up some great fly fishing opportunities. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 10/29/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! Well this weeks' fishing report is going to be a bit shorter than usual, given all of the rain and wind we've had in the Northeast. Not surprisingly, most of our trout rivers have been blow out from here all the way up to the Great Lakes. Check out those gauges below, which will tell you the story in an instant. With more rain in the forecast you'll want to keep an eye on those flows and we'll see how much things are able to settle over the weekend. Saltwater anglers haven't fared much better on account of the wind, and we've had few reports this week. A few intrepid souls have braved the conditions and managed a few fish for their efforts, but most anglers have been waiting things out until the wind dies down and the fish regroup a bit. Here are the details.
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Northeast Fishing Report: 10/22/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! It's been another great week for fly anglers across the Northeast as both fresh and saltwater fisheries are on fire! We are seeing some of the best fishing of the year in most areas so now is the time to get out on the water. Saltwater has been nothing short of spectacular in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. Long Island Sound is experiencing some phenomenal Striper fly fishing, and the bite has been fantastic no matter where you are. False Albacore have been thinning out pretty much everywhere, but that is being more than made up for by the Bass and Blues. There are also some very large fish in the mix and Stripers up to 40 pounds and Blues up to 15 are fairly common at this point. On the freshwater side, the trout fishing has been great as well. Our smaller streams have been stocked and most anglers are reporting very willing fish. The Catskills (many rivers previously closed) are fishing about as well as you could hope for. Good water levels and temperatures have the fish actively feeding and even still taking dries. The Beaverkill has been especially good with some really nice rainbows caught recently. The Salmon run is still going as well too. While likely on its final week, there are still plenty of Kings and Silvers up higher in the tributaries of Lake Ontario. The next 2 weeks will be some of best fishing all year. Cooling temperatures and beautiful Fall foliage make this a perfect time to get some late season fishing in before Winter takes hold. Read on for more...
Northeast Fishing Report: 10/15/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! It's good news all around for fly anglers in the Northeast as the fishing has been solid for both fresh and saltwater. Our trout streams have been cooling off and while the water has been a tad high, conditions are trending in the right direction. The smaller streams have benefited from recent rains and water levels are good. Stockings in these rivers have kept rods bent and we expect the fishing to only get better in the coming weeks. The Naugatuck and Shetucket have even received their first stocking of Atlantic Salmon! Saltwater fly fishing has been great as well. It can still be a little unpredictable on certain days but when anglers hit, they've been hitting it big. False Albacore have moved into the Western Long Island Sound in strong numbers and the Stripers are becoming more active as well. Blitzing Bass have been numerous off Rhode Island and Montauk and they are beginning to show up in the Sound as well. The Salmon run in the Lake Ontario Tribs is in full swing and with only a few weeks left, now is time get up there. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 10/8/21
Greetings Compleat Anglers! This past weekend was the 2021 Tightlined Slam Tournament in Western Long Island Sound. Team Compleat Angler took the Striper on Fly division for another consecutive podium finish. Congratulations guys! The saltwater fishing has been very good across the board. Albies are still out East in good numbers and heading West. Rhode Island seems to be the epicenter of the action with Albies on both sides in strong numbers. Montauk has seen flurries of actively as well though a slower season so far compared to a normal year. The Stripers have been making a big showing recently as well and there lots of fish around in a range of sizes. They can be found on beaches, rock piles, blitzing on bait or in the back estuaries. The Striper fishing is heating up for sure. The Blues have been hit-or-miss but areas like Plum Gut have plenty of fish around. The trout fishing is trending well too, with cooler water, some rain, and recent stockings causing many trout anglers to breathe a sigh of relief. The Catskills, for example, are fishing very well and things are looking up across the board. Read on for more...
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Northeast Fishing Report: 10/01/21
The saltwater fly fishing has been a bit tougher as of late. We are seeing sporadic activity across the board and from Massachusetts down to New York, the fish are spread out and tough to pin down. The early season mayhem has certainly dissipated and yet, things do seem to be trending in the right direction. Cooler temperatures and quiet skies are allowing things to stabilize. The water is clearing up, the wind has been light, and the bait is balling back up. I suspect this weekend will see glimmers of the Fall Run materializing in blitzing Bass, Blues, and Hardtails. The rivers are slowly coming down after blowing out last weekend. Some fisheries are in better shape than others. For example, the Salmon River Salmon run is in full swing and anglers are reporting double digit days on Kings and Silvers with some giant Browns and good sized Steelhead in the mix. We are in prime-time for the Salmon River. The rain last week/weekend pushed a ton of fish into the river and now is the time to seriously consider getting up there. Read on for more...
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