Here is another fish that, if prepared properly, is good to eat, especially the spiny, which is sometimes referred to as “rock salmon.” Dogfish are still prowling the depths and, unlike other shark species, don’t require an Highly Migratory Species permit to catch them in the Sound. Northern kingfish is another that has frequented the shoreline and one that also is friendly to the taste buds. A fish doesn’t have to look pretty to be tasty. If you haven’t filleted one up and tried it yet, give it a whirl. Sea robins are abundant and are even rising to take artificial bait. 1 with lackluster performance and will reopen on Monday, Oct. Connecticut’s blackfish (tautog) season ends on Thursday, Sept. Summer flounder catches are up both on the shoals and tidal rivers as more fish in excess of 24 inches are being caught. Sea bass remain strong with larger fish being caught offshore by either drifting or set up. Sizes are mixed, but there have been plenty of slabs caught. Porgies continue to be hot on mostly all reefs during the last of the flood and first of the ebb. They did respond to jigs during the day and, at times, deep water chunking, yet the night bite was best. Striped bass were still very cooperative during the night bite, especially when live eels were used. Not to sound presumptuous, but the fishing has been so good that one had plenty of opportunities to capitalize. Many were out just to catch fish, no matter the species. Still, not everyone by the water last weekend was tournament-bound. Some connoisseurs were looking to dress the table with harbor blues, while others were looking for the biggest, meanest prize winning alligator they could catch. Many fishers were out for the pure fun of battling these well-respected fighters. Capturing center stage this past weekend had to be the interest in catching bluefish. There has been no let up in the amount of forage around nor has there been a lack of feeders taking advantage of it. Nevertheless, fishing-or, let’s say, catching-has been the rule. Central Sound surface water temperatures hung in the mid-70s and waves fluctuated from mostly calm to the occasional small craft warning. Other than some wind and a few downpours that didn’t amount to much, fishing conditions have been ideal. Congratulations to all the weary-eyed folks who made this possible. For the overall top 15, New York finished with eight, while Connecticut had seven. The winner of Captain Morgan’s piggyback was Keith Staschke at 14.79. Captain Morgan’s port prize of $200 went to Joe Mancarella for his 14.89-pound fish. 28.Īt day’s end, the unofficial top winners (pending polygraphs) are Juan Marrero (18.52 pounds first place of $25,000) Paul Rescigno (16.93 second place of $10,000) and Justin Kuhl (16.52, third place of $2,500). They picked up with the flood tide as blues smashed the surface in the afternoon, leading up to a rush at the scales before closing at 5 p.m. Overall, the morning weigh-ins were light. Overnight weigh-ins were light, morning saw an ebb tide, and many fishers were keying on the coming flood of the afternoon, when hopes to clinch a money spot before the scales closed would be the highest.īy the morning high tide, there was the 18.52-pounder, eight 16-pounders, and six 15-pounders, with the lowest weight 15.18. Just like day one, day two started off pleasant with a slightly increasing breeze, although more boats converged east. Going into the second day, not much changed overnight, except that Connecticut gained a spot in the top 15, cutting New York’s lead to 8-7. At this point, there five 16-pounders following the first-place fish. By late morning, Connecticut edged up, bringing the standings to New York 9, Connecticut 6, with the 18.52-pounder still holding on to what some considered an insurmountable lead. 27, a blue weighing 18.52 pounds (that was around 14 years old) topped the scale at Jack’s of Westbrook, followed by a couple of 16-pound weigh-ins from New York. New York got the ball rolling by claiming 13 of the initial top 15 spots. It didn’t take long before early morning weigh-ins started getting logged. The fact that there was an inordinate amount of bait for those toothy critters to chow down on, along with a strong, steady bluefish run through the past few weeks, certainly had a favorable impact on those last-minute registrations. The general consensus was that the favorable weather was going to hold and, evidently, last-minute plans were finalized based on that assumption. Registration got out to a shaky start, but contestants eventually decided to converge en masse and register for the WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth. Keith Staschke of Guilford wins Captain Morgan’s Bluefish Contest with this 14.79-pound chopper.
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