This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

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Week of July 24th…Peanuts….

Before the report this week, we want to make you all aware that we are now stocking live eels and shiners…so for those of you that participate in drifting these favorite striper candy, come on down! Also, we just received a new shipment of Bill Hurley Sand Eels...you want them, we got them, but they won’t last long…

Lastly, we booked one more date for this fall with Lou Tabory on October 24th, be sure to read all the details following the report and call/email the shop to reserve today. Cooler water temps, fall breezes and big stripers on the long rods! Sign up today!

Well, if there was any remaining doubt, this past week surely reiterates that summer is finally here, with steamy 80+ degree days, afternoon storms and everything that goes along with it in between. But despite the weather, the fishing remains quite strong all things considered. In previous reports I had always placed more emphasis on tide than time of day earlier in the spring and now until further notice, I will reverse my recommendation and say that time of day will superseded tide at this point. Although we still want the water to be moving, the time of day is more important. Low light hours are where you will all want to log your time. If possible, no light hours (i.e. early, early in the A.M. or late at night, which in essence is the same time at the end of the day. Should your other responsibilities not allow you to do this, focus on some deeper water structure where fish may be holding during the day. T&W is always an effective tactic for targeting these fish and we have just the combos rigged with lead core to get you going.

This coming weekend we have some decent tides that would allow you to get a dropping flood tide on a change of light, which traditionally are two very good variables that will be in your favor on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. Therefore, get the yard work done in the day and head for the beach or boat in the evening. The next change in bait that we have been discussing over the past several weeks has been the dispersing of the sand eels and the (hopefully) arrival of peanut bunker. Adam S. was in earlier in the week who normally fishes the first light and reported indeed there was peanut bunker spotted and pretty thick in and around the shoals. Like trout that take a day or two to key into a new hatch, the same rule applies to our bass population locally. He reported that all of the fish were continuing to work smaller schools of sand eels in tight, while the peanuts swam unmolested. Adam double confirmed since he was able to get right up on them with his trolling motor that these were not silver sides! Sgt Colonies from next door backed up the validity of this report reporting in that they were all over the flats off of Compo as well. Try out Montauk Mikes Peanut Bunker imitations for the spinning gear next time you are in.

We mentioned last week of the nice cinder worm hatch and apparently they stuck around longer than normal. Captain Steve was out Friday A.M. and had bass still sipping these tasty treats off of Sherwood Point. Throwing his 7wt he had fish up to 31 inches and a few blues to 6 lbs once the sun started coming up.

Saturday despite a high hot sun some very large bluefish were reported into the shop. Fishing alongside his father Ed and friend Francis, young angler Max Iannone stopped by for some fresh Westport Outfitters worms and had his fill of porgies, a monster sand shark as well as a gator blue that tipped the scales at 10lbs (see recent catches).

Saturday the shop was a buzz after hearing that a customer that we set up with a few spots and some fresh squid who proceeded to go out and land an 8lb FLUKE!! We have been mentioning this in the reports as of late and the fluke fishing really is just on fire. If you fish, you have the gear already to get this done, so just come on down to the shop and we can get you the rigs, the right bait and the right spots to catch a doormat!

Sunday Teddy P. from Stamford broke in his new Shimano rod on a hefty large mouth in a local pond before getting it salty with 3-5lb blues in mass from shore on Sunday afternoon.

Monday I fished at dusk on the dropping tide inside of Pine Creek and am still amazed with the life back in there. On no more than 24 casts I caught a nice size fluke at about 17 inches, a porgie and bass that was just shy of 28 inches all on a clouser.

Monday, Captain Chris also checked into report that the sand eel activity was definitely slowing off of Milford but there was plenty of silver sides. He fished some large deceivers on the fly rod for two keeper bass up to 344 inches and was back home by 9:00 A.M. Not a bad start to the morning.

Monday night our own Kurt D. and Derrick fished from shore in Milford with some of Ron Dicostanza’s Lordship Lures and they two reported in a few good sized keepers in the mid 30 inch range all on surface plugs and swimmers. Now is again a good time to start trying some of T-Man’s Swimmers as well!

Tuesday night it was George Discala, Jr. and Justin Solis drifting worms and eels outside of the islands for a pick of about 12 fish, 4 being keepers in the mid 30 inch range. George stated that the fish, not even the blues wanted much to do with the eels this night.

Tuesday night again off of Milford in some deeper water, Captain Chris, along with daughter decided to change it up a bit and since the porgy fishing has been so red hot, they decided to drop a few down and were rewarded with a 40 inch as well as a 42 inch bass. These are great baits, but they still need to be at least 10.5 inches to use, so be sure to follow the rules.

THE MONTAUK REPORT
Our good friend Captain Dean reports in from the wet decks of the “Teaser” in Montauk, that the shark fishing remains steady, with most boats releasing a half dozen or so bluesharks each run, with some catching makos and a very occasional thresher. Most of the sharking seems to have moved further east along with most of the bluesharks.

Out at the canyons there is a steady pick of small yellowfins ranging from just keeper size up to 60 pounds. Some great marlin fishing has started to show up as well. Most of the action is inside on the flats.

Inshore the bass fishing is getting better every week, at least based on the size of fish being caught. The big tubes are working and lots of thirty pound and better fish coming are coming in. The umbrellas and parachute jigs/rigs are catching more but smaller fish.
To book a trip with Captain Dean, please call the shop or him directly at 203.5556.3361.

ONE MORE DATE WITH LOU TABORY-October 24, 2009-CALL NOW TO RESERVE!

October 24th, 2009 @ 6:00 A.M.-Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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Week of July 3rd...STILL RED HOT!!

TENT SALE CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND! PLENTY OF GOOD STUFF LEFT!

Before we get to the report, two quick things, we are carrying over the tent sale into this weekend weather permitting. We still have lots of gear, rods, and other items that have been marked down 50%!! Also, if you have been waiting on signing up for Lou Tabory’s intro/intermediate school coming up on August 1st, don’t delay, we only have three seats left so call or email the shop!

I know it may be getting old, but the fishing still remains quite strong, considering the fact that we are entering into the doldrums of summer. Although traditionally there are always fish to catch, not even close to what we are experiencing currently. Bass, blues, fluke, porgies, you name it and it’s on! In addition, at this time of year, any veteran fisherman/fisherwomen would have to resort to dawn patrols to get out before the sun and heat, but thus far this has not been necessary. Although we would never advocate getting up at 11:00 A.M. with high aspirations of sticking some big bass, the water temps are cool enough to allow you all some more rest!!

For those of you that frequent the shop, I had a little run in last fall while training for a rather long road race and let us just say that the walnut WON and I broke my leg. Although seemingly this has nothing to do with fishing, it does. This week was my first week back out on the black top so I have been getting up quite early to log a few miles before heading to the shop. The last two mornings when I rolled out of my house it was a brisk 55 degrees. I think you can all see where I am headed with this. Despite it being July 9th, these mild air temperatures only continue to help our cause in the way of keeping the fish in tight. At the time of this report the Central Long Island Sound Buoy was still only reading 67 degrees during mid tide and there is bait inshore all over!

Other points to take note of, Tuesday night was the full moon and we all know what that means, indeed, CINDER WORMS! They will come off anytime leading up to, including and following the full moon cycle and some folks from the shop were out in full force to fish it over the past few days. Fishing this hatch is often very frustrating, so you have to often use some unconventional tactics. Like the sand eel schools that continue to be all over the place, when fishing the cinder worm hatch, you must distinguish your baits/flys. Try throwing something big and nasty to get a fish to turn. For the bait guy/gals, dead drifting sandworms is often a good tactic. Cory C. and Nicky G. from ASMW landed several fish just shy of keepers on worms Monday night during the hatch. Johnny J. chose to stick with some of his hand tied patterns and despite fish breaking all over off of Compo, no fish were had. He may have taken some other fish from his top secret rip that he discovered, but has been so tight lipped about it that he refuses to divulge the information. We may just have to try some more harsh measures to get him to talk.

Before we get to the report I must make a call out to T-Man’s new swimming plugs. These double jointed swimmers are unreal. Before we brought them in, we tested them out back as well as through video that Captain Pat had sent along. He has really been hitting them hard with these and the action of not one, but two joints is simply irresistible. If you fish his tubes and have had success, come by and have a look at these swimmers. So onto the report…

The holiday weekend was staged in last week’s report to be one of low expectations. Multiple firework displays, boat traffic beyond compare and some high hot sun days, probably made the decision to just stay at the BBQ for another beverage versus braving the storm all that much easier. However, despite these variables, folks were into fish. Late Friday afternoon Captain Elser fished with a client from the shop in and around Westport for bass up to 31 inches and blues to 6 lbs at will.

Saturday, long lost friend and customer George M. stopped in and was loaded for bear. Apparently work has been getting in the way of his fishing. As always, George got it done, with keeper fluke, keeper porgies and keeper bass, not to mention, not one blue to the boat! (see recent catches)

Farther to our west, Matty C. out of Greenwich continues his conquest. Now on his new boat Captain Matt is also available for charter (see “Chartering” tab on our website). He has been into the fluke hard up to 25 inches as well as a host of bass up to 25lbs. He reports that down west, he feels a majority of the larger fish have moved through and is seeing the others begin to start hanging around structure as the bunker has moved out into middle. He has been focusing on fishing 30-40 feet of water.

Back home, Sage N. reported in a great weekend despite the boat traffic. He fished Sunday for both bass and fluke and had fluke all the way up to 24 inches at will around the islands. Trolling some T&W landed him bass up to 31 inches.

Sunday seemed to be a great day to go fluking. After a long weekend of BBQs, parades and too many burgers, what could be better than a lazy day of fluking. Dick Ritter stopped by to show us a 5 lb beauty taken off of the islands on some frozen sand eels (see recent catches).

Monday it was time to head east and I mean way east…say to Block Island. Good friends and customers George DiScala. Jr., Justin Solis and our own Cody Lapnow headed over to “The Block” for some big girl hunting and they accomplished their mission without a doubt. After two days fishing, which consisted of drifting eels, Sluggos and Cody throwing Lordship Lures, they landed a host of 30 plus pound fish. They were fishing the S.W. Ledge area in approximately 42 feet of water and had non stop action, including a porgy that was just shy of the RI state record. Cody takes the honors of landing a 34 lb fish that was safely released on a medium action spinning rod on a Lordship Lure (see recent catches). George on the other hand, is now stuck in a funk, much like Justin was when he recently returned from Montana, not wanting to fish anywhere but B.I. for 30 plus lb stripers!

Tuesday Captain Chris had a full boat with a family visiting from California, with an early start they trolled tubes and casted soft plastics from Southport to Norwalk and had their fill of blues up to 8lbs.

Wednesday, Steve T. was out early and found too many people at the Mill Pond so decided to venture further east where he found breaking fish and birds around the mouth of Sasco Creek (a spot easily accessible from shore). On the long rods he had bass up to 27 inches on sand eel patterns. After the sun came up in full force, he switched over to the light spinning rods and had both blues to 8lbs and bass to just shy of keepers.

Next up and long overdue, we heard from young Elliot Gudis who has been putting in some serious time to get himself into a keeper. SO much that he recently volunteered to work in the store over the weekend just to pick everyone’s brains…well…I guess it worked out. Wednesday afternoon with a high hot sun over head, Elliot nailed a 31 inch fish that nearly tipped the scale at 10 lbs…A BIG CONGRATS ELLIOT!

Well folks, that is about it for this week, many, understandably, decided to take the holiday weekend off and with good reason. This week has been a bit slow but I personally feel it’s only because everyone is either recuperating or extending their vacations after the 4th of July. Whatever the reason, the fishing is still red hot, so get on out there. One last reminder, if you have been holding off on signing up for Lou Tabory’s school on August 1st, wait no longer for we only have three spaces left, so call or email the shop today. This one day event will get you started into the wonderful world of fly-fishing!!

THE FRESHWATER REPORT
Locally I went out on Monday hoping the stream flows would still be good with all the rain in and around Fairfield and even scouted some new water that will remain namless for now. Plenty of life, but the flows were very, very low.

A crew from the shop made the trek up to the Farmington on Wednesday and fished the TMA and down through "central riffle". Not many hatches coming off so the boys decided to toss big stone flies with an isonychia dropper, size 14. No huge numbers but a few nice browns up to 19 inches(see recent catches). If you are willing to make this journey, be sure to come by and ask Kurt, formerly of Orvis, for some guidance. He knows this river like the back of his hand and can definately help you out!

THE MONTAUK REPORT
Captain Dean reports from the wet decks of the “Teaser” from Montauk that the fluke season is open again here in New York and there are plenty of fluke around, but the keepers are getting hard to find. Seems like most fish are just a half inch short.

The striped bass fishing is great, but like the fluke, you really have to work your way through the shorts to bring to the net a keeper. Some boats have started with the live porgies, bunker chunks and eels. The larger bass are being caught with Porgies.

Offshore the shark fishing is pretty steady with enough bluesharks to provide action and more threshers showing up every day. Mako sharks have still not shown up in any numbers yet. There was exotic shark taken Friday known as a Porbeagle that tipped the scale at 170 lbs just east of the Butterfish Hole.

This weekend is the MBCA Charity Shark Tournament at Star Island. Stop by and buy a tee shirt or something. The proceeds go to scholarships for local kids.

The Butterfish Hole is full of life with tons of whales and school size bluefin tuna as well. I heard a few boats catching a few. We will be working on tuna’s all week so lets see what happens.

Should you want to get out with Captain Dean, please call the sop or call him directly at 203.556.3361.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Lou Tabory Intro/Intermediate Class-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!! –ONLY THREE SPOTS LEFT!!

August 1st @ 6:00 A.M. - Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of June 26th...EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS

TENT SALE-THIS SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 4th & 5th. ITEMS UP TO 50% OFF. CLOTHING, RODS, REELS, BOATING ACCESSORIES, HELLY HANSEN, PACIFIC FLY COMPANY, SHOES AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!! DON’T MISS IT!

Before we get to this week’s report from Westport Outfitters, let us first give thanks for our freedom and independence and all those that have sacrificed to afford us the lives we all live today. Happy Birthday America! Secondly, we must give thanks to the great fishing that continues to exceed all expectations of at least the crew here at the store and all those that we consider customers and friends within Fairfield County and beyond.

As we mentioned last week, locally the water temps have barely breached the 65 degree mark. On the subject of water temperature, it is important to note that the thermal niche for striped bass (our targeted species locally) is between 58-65 degrees, so we are still well within where we need to be to take advantage of some tremendous fishing. Add in the fact that the kids are out of school and we are on the eve of a holiday weekend and there should be no reason not to get out and get some fishing in. One of the reasons the water temperatures have remained so mild is the cool influx of cold water that we have been receiving from all this darn rain…maybe there is a bright side to all this precipitation? This same water has kept the local stream flows ideal as well. This too is benefitting all of the trout fisherman and women locally who are still able to fish some cool oxygenated water, two favorite variables that trout desire. Look for caddis hatches in the evening as well during the mid day sun.

In the salt, the entire coastline of Fairfield County from Greenwich to Milford remains very productive. The sand eels continue to be everywhere with bunker as well as some adult silver sides mixed in. At the time of this report, we even had Captain Chris coming in from a trip noting bass sipping small crabs off the surface. The Micinilio Brothers once again continue to get it done. They emailed in a late report after a day of trolling in and around the islands on Friday with too many bass to count but some big girls taken up to 16lbs and 35 inches (see recent catches) It must have been those Westport Outfitters snake worms that no doubt assisted in this great day of fishing.

Next up was Cody and Drew Arlo fishing in and around Compo Beach with a few 33-34 inch fish that fell for some of Lordship Lures’ sand eel poppers that have been producing some very high quality fish as well as with the Danny plugs and Swimmers also by Lordship. Come on down if you don’t have at least one of these plugs in your bag. Also new and proven to very effective are the new T-Man Swimmers. These double jointed surface plugs are deadly. If you like his tubes, come try out these!

Early Friday it was Cory C. from the All Seasons Marine Works team taking out another employee, Joe, who between you and I folks no matter what he is doing, has a smile from ear to ear. In fact, I did not think it was possible for Joe to actually smile more than he already does, until that is, he went fishing with Cory. While live lining some bunker near the mouth of the Five Mile River, Joe picks up a 20 plus lb fish, his first striped bass ever and a nice one at that (see recent catches). The smile says it all folks.

The weekend brought with it some decent weather and Jack Ross was on a mission. Jack has long supported the shop here at Westport Outfitters and is always asking questions on how to become a better angler. We recently assisted Jack out with a new rod that he has been fishing hard to get that fish he deserves and it happened Saturday. While chunking in deeper water off of Norwalk, Jack landed a 34 inch 24lb fat bass on his new Shimano rod and Avet reel. Way to go Jack! (see recent catches).

On Saturday we also had heard of some of the largest fish we have seen in the western sound in quite some time, but it was hard to confirm, until shop customer and good friend Jeff Hammel emailed in the pics. That’s right folks, Dolphins! Probably not to good for the bass population since these guys will eat just about anything, but nonetheless a pretty cool sight to see, especially when Jeff rode up on them thinking they were a big bass school(see recent catches).

The fluking reports have been few and far between and in my opinion it’s only because the bass fishing has been so great that we all forgot it was fluke season, that is, with the exception of Sage, who fished the Norwalk Islands with some Westport Outfitters squid and patented sand eels for his fill of doormats and two for the table coming in at well over 24 inches each (see recent catches).

Sunday, Will G. convinced his wife to accompany him and therefore he really had to produce or she might question where he goes every weekend. He fished outside of the islands with blues up to 10lbs and one chomper on poppers (see recent catches).

Monday our own Sgt Colonies was out and had a difficult time finding the bass, with the long rods, but after returning to the mouth of the Saugy, had blues breaking everywhere where he and two guests had blues to 6 lbs on 8 wts!

Tuesday, Bill Beck reported in after fishing from the kayak in and around the mouth of the river and Compo where he had had bass blitzing sand eels and landed three keepers to 31 inches on paddle tails Tsunami baits and sand eel poppers. Nothing better than landing a bass that tows you around a bit and no better place to buy a yak than from Westport Outfitters! As I mentioned in this weeks video update on www.westportoutfitters.com, we now are stocking a full range of yaks from Wilderness Systems and Ocean Kayaks, so come on down and have a look!

Speaking of yaks, Rob Cap continues to hit it hard and reports in that the beaches off of Fairfield have been holding some large bass as well. Over the weekend Rob brought to the boat some big girls on poppers from the yak in the mid 30 inch range (see recent catches).

Tuesday A.M. while filming some content for www.westportoutfitters.tv our own Pat O’Donnell stuck on a nice fat 28 inch fish on the long rod with Jeff Smith at the camera…stay tuned for the full length feature.

Wednesday A.M. was a good day for a several reasons. The first was that the crew from ASMW, ex Nathan of course since he only bottom fishes, headed out early to get the dropping tide and hopefully stick some fish before having to punch in. On board were three great fishermen, Cory C, Sgt Colonies and a name you may have not heard in the past, Nick Gagliardi. Nick has been a recluse, not when it comes to fishing, but rather having other people know he is doing it. Well, he has taken several other steps to remove himself from the darkness and has now approved the use of his name in these reports.

They were into the sand eels on board the Ranger 2000 right from the get go and had fish up to 27 inches all on the long rods from about 5:45-7:00 when the sun poked up and shut things down. They were all using sand eel type imitations and after conferring with them, the slower strips were getting it done today folks, so I know how we all get when things are popping on the surface, but slow it DOWN. A slow strip allowing the fly to sink could imitate a sand eel that has been chomped on by a bluefish and thus an easy target for a lazy striper! Try it next time you are out!

Thursday we all made another dawn patrol trip before work and although there were no fish to the boat, we did witness once again some amazing sand eel activity in and around the Mill Pond and even removed a windshield at 6:00 A.M. to get into a very fishy place…but nothing to show for it. Nonetheless a great morning with good friends is almost as good as a good morning of fishing…almost!!

Lastly, a special congrats to Nora Jinishian, mother of John and wife to Alex, both friends and customers of the store. The two are totally addicted to fly fishing so what is a wife to do? Join them! Nora recently completed one of our schools with Lou Tabory and it did not take her long last week to land here second bass that came in at just over 25 inches from the Mill Pond on a fly rod! Congrats Nora...now if John and Alex could only catch the same quality of fish, everything would be good!

Well folks, that is about it for this week and as we head into the long upcoming weekend, it looks like the weather may stabilize a bit and the fishing will be good. With all the firework displays going on that may adversely affect the fishing, try to make Saturday A.M. your day of choice. On the subject of fireworks, should you choose to brave the masses in your boat, keep an eye out, for there will be many looking the other way! Focus on the higher tides from the boats while waders should focus on the lower tides and particularly the incoming which has been fishing very well from shore. Before we close, we now have breakaway clips for all those that have been waiting!!

As I mentioned last week, now that the kids are out of school, there is also is no better time than now to take the whole family fishing. Bluefish and schoolie bass can all be easily lured to the hook using a simple bottom rig with either a piece of bunker or perhaps a sand worm. Fluke will fall for sandworms as well as frozen sand eels. Light tackle rods with Stillwater poppers or Sluggos will all get the job done. Focus on higher moving tides when fishing from shore, which will give you more access to water, as compared to lower, slower moving tides. Take the Family Fishing Today™!! Don’t forget that we still have spots open for the intro/intermediate school with Lou Tabory on August 1st. Call the shop at 203.341.9490 or log onto www.westportoutfitters.com for more information or read below. This is your chance to learn from the legend!

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY!

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–SOLD OUT!!!

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Intro/Intermediate Class-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

August 1st @ 6:00 A.M. - Compo Beach, Westport, CT –ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING!!

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of June 19th...SMOKIN'

Well folks the fishing still remains strong throughout Fairfield County and closer to home along the Westport coastline despite some warmer air temperatures. Areas such as Burial Hill Beach, Compo and the Mill Pond continue to produce bass and blues as well as one report this week of a keeper Fluke on a clouser minnow fished from a fly rod. On the subject of Fluke, the season is now open as of June 15th and will run through August 19th. The size requirements changed this year with a minimum size of 19.5 inches being needed to keep a fish. Three fish are allowed per angler if desired.

Water temperatures are key at this time of the year to help keep the fishing inshore productive. Looking back at my log book from the previous five years, not once has the water temperature been this cool at 62 degrees at the mid sound buoy at this time of year. This cool temperature surely has a lot to do with the great fishing we all have been experiencing from shore, although maybe not so good for the swimming, the fish have been loving it!

Back to the striped bass and bluefish, the Westport coastline has been infiltrated with large schools of sand eels which are a favorite bait for both species of fish at this time of year. Taking a chapter from the art of fly fishing, anglers will want to try and “match the hatch” if you will and attempt to use real or imitation baits that resemble these small bait fish. Soft plastics at this time of year, that are slender in size and shape have a tendency to get the job done during lower light hours, but can be easily shredded by feisty bluefish as the sun comes up. If this is the case, an angler using a traditional spinning rod can replicate a sand eel with some smaller poppers and/or swim baits made out of harder plastics that can resist a bluefish strike, but do equally well with striped bass. We are one of only two shops that are now carrying Lordship Lure’s brand new sand eel poppers. We fished these this week and hammered the fish, which we will get to in a minute, but if you are looking for a new sand eel imitation plug, look no further!! If you are fishing with the fly rod, I more often than not usually end up sacrificing at least one fly before I put some bite tippet on to prevent the senseless loss of dozens of flies from ravenous blues. The bite tippet we use is not as dark as the traditional material, so with any luck it won’t scare of the striped bass. If you have not used this camouflage color knotable wire, stop on in. For the fly rod guys/gals simply put…Eric Peterson’s Sand Eel Imitations…

After a long week of rain, one would think that the fishing inshore and from the shore would be off, due to the lower salinity counts around some of our estuaries as well as our local rivers flushing all of the freshwater into the sound, muddying up our coastline. All variables that usually do not bode well for the fishing, however at the time of this report, last week’s rains that extended well into this week seem to have not affected the local fishing scene at all.

Earlier in the week we had Jimmy I. weighing in a 21lb fish taken on a chunk off of Westport. Mark B was not close behind with both a 35 and a 36 inch fish also taken on chunks off the Saugatuck River weighing a 16.5 and 18.5 respectively.

The Micinilio Brothers throughout the weekend continued their conquest with dozens of keeper bass and monster blues on anything from Crystal Minnows to plastics and Deadly Dicks, all resembling the sand eels that are all over the place (see recent catches).

A big congrats to Ed Briganti who over the weekend fished the squid run in and around Watch Hill and landed a nice fat keeper bass on his 10 wt. This may seem easier said than done. When these squid go off it’s reminiscent of the cinder worm hatch locally which for those that fish it, know how frustrating it can be with all the competition around. Add in the nasty and down right dangerous rips around Watch Hill and sticking a keeper on a fly rod is much harder than it may seem. Nice fish Ed!

Teddy P. reports in from Stamford that the blues around the Cove have been pretty feisty with fish from to 4-6lbs and great fun on the light tackle or fly rods.

Emmett Ryan put a new twist on kayak fishing over the weekend and dragged his yak behind his boat out into the islands so he could really get into skinny water. After some passes his new trolling set up that he purchased at W.O. rigged with a T-Man tube and a gulp sand worm brought a nice 30 inch bass to the yak!

Geoffrey Parr reported in from Greenwich where the wading in and around Todd’s Point remains strong with some nice stripers to the net on the fly rod with a multitude of sand eel patterns(see recent catches).

Over the weekend, die hard angler, Jason Bascom came into the shop to report that the Westport coastline was on fire and while fishing from his yak using some soft plastics he landed nearly a 15 lb fish that came in at 32 inches.

A big congrats to Cory C. who reported in a few nice fly rod fish taken off of Rowayton on the 8wts over the weekend during a local tournament headed up by shop customer and friend Clay Persinger. Cory’s fish landed him 2nd place in the fly rod category. He also took 5th place in the bait category with 36 inch fish.

From the boats near Frost Point on Monday our own Captain Chris and Cory C. fished with the fly rods for bluefish up to 6 lbs before having enough of the North winds and retreating back to the docks. No bass to the boat this day.

Tuesday A.M. Captain Chris had a charter with two youngsters that return every year to celebrate a birthday, so the pressure was on Captain Chris to produce and he did not let these kids down. Upon returning to the dock, they were covered in sand eels with a report of blues to nearly 10lbs on light tackle and worn out arms! Happy Birthday guys!!

Also on Tuesday A.M., shop customer and good friend Dan Laffin hooked and released nearly a 35 inch striped bass on the fly rod fishing a sand eel imitation, wading off of Westport. Although no scale was present, we will let the picture speak for itself, but by the looks of it, it had to have been in the 20# class range. Awesome fish on the fly rod Dan, you surely deserve it! (see recent catches)

Tuesday night our own Cody Lapnow fished the shoals towards the end of the outgoing and despite torrential rain, he and pal Casey got it done with all of their fish from 32-34 inches and fat on sand eels. They fished exclusively the new Lordship Lures Sand Eel imitation poppers.

Tuesday night, Alex fished the mouth of the Housey with a total of seven keepers back to the boat with two of them on big white decievers with the long rods. Some great fish there Alex on the fly rod!(see recent catches)

Back on shore, fishing poppers from the beach have accounted for striped bass well into the 30 inch range all week long, so get on out there!

Wednesday Joey D. fished his recently purchased new Ross reel on the long rods for 4 fish that circled his boat like sharks after being hooked that came to the net from 28-31 inches and were safely released, just outside of Compo Cove.

Brian Cilento also reported in from Wednesday night of some schools of bunker at the mouth of the Saugy with three good blues to the nest to 8 lbs.

Now that the kids are out of school, there is also is no better time than now to take the whole family fishing. Bluefish and schoolie bass can all be easily lured to the hook using a simple bottom rig with either a piece of bunker or perhaps a sand worm. Fluke will fall for sandworms as well as frozen sand eels. Light tackle rods with Stillwater poppers or Sluggos will all get the job done. Focus on higher moving tides when fishing from shore, which will give you more access to water, as compared to lower, slower moving tides. Take the Family Fishing Today™!! Don’t forget to read below in regards to our upcoming fly fishing schools with Lou Tabory!

As the fish begin to settle in to their summer structure spots, there is no better way to target them with one of our Captain Chris’ T&W combos, pre rigged and ready to go, just add a tube and some water…only $179.99!!

TENT SALE-JULY 4th WEEKEND-STAY TUNED!!

SIMMS WADERS/BOOT TRADE IN EVENT-TBD

THE MONTANA REPORT

If you viewed last week’s video update you saw that a group of us, including myself, were fishing in Montana at the Complete Fly-Fisher (www.completeflyfisher.com) in Wise River. I rarely give such a glowing endorsement, but I have traveled to this lodge for the past seven years and there simply is no better place to experience Montana fly fishing at its best. We ran almost head on with the legendary salmon fly hatch and had five solid days of some of the finest dry fly fishing that anyone could possibly ask for.

Fishing large dry flies in the size 4-6 range we had browns and bows up to 22 inches with one day only catching perhaps three fish under 18 inches with the remaining balance being 20 inches or better. If you are looking for a destination trip with some of the best fishing Montana has to offer, you must check these guys out!!

THE MONTAUK REPORT

Captain Dean reports that this past weekend was the Star Island Shark Tournament with the following results. 126 boats entered the tourney…
Heaviest shark - 369 lbs thresher – RUNAWAY
1st place mako - 227 lbs - SEA WIFE IV
2nd place mako - 197 lbs - SANDRA JEANNE
3rd place mako - 136 lbs - THREE OF A KIND
1st place blueshark - 227 lbs - LADY FIN
1st place thresher - 369 lbs - RUNAWAY
2nd place thresher - 289 lbs – FREEDOM
3rd place thresher - 287 lbs - FISHERMAN II

This weekend is the Montauk Marine Basins’ annual shark tag tournament.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

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LOU TABORY

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–SOLD OUT!!!

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Intro/Intermediate Class-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

August 1st @ 6:00 A.M. - Compo Beach, Westport, CT –ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING!!

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of June 6th...STILL ON FIRE!!

Another week and another host of some terrific catches from both shore bound as well as those anglers fishing from the boats. Do take note though, the water temps to our west are definitely starting to tick up and it’s moving the fish to the east which could be seen as both a positive as well as a negative occurrence. It’s a good thing since we may not need to spend the time and the fuel to head down to points farther to our west. However, on the flip side, it is the first chapter that will end with some of the bigger fish pushing all the way through and eventually heading up the New England Coast. But have no fear, the fishing still remains strong.

Although a bit more difficult to spot, there are still many schools of adult bunker in and around our local harbors. Did we mention the sand eels? This spring is shaping up to be even better than the two years prior in regards to the sand eel activity. This favorite bait of choice for bass of course is a small bait fish that buries itself into the sand during the nighttime hours and reappears as the sun comes up. The best imitation for these on the spinning rods is a four inch Gulp or Sluggo imitation rigged weed less and weightless. The bunker colored Stillwater Poppers have also been getting the job done when the fish are crashing these little baits on the surface. For the fly guys/gals, stick with Eric Peterson’s sand eel imitations in various colors and JJ’s sand eel sliders.

Although at the time of this report, the weather continues to be unstable with threats of rain and thunderstorms all week long, this weekend is looking clear so get on out there. I, will be doing the same a little farther to our west, all the way out in Montana where we hope to run head on with the legendary Salmon Fly Hatch on the Big Hole River…stay tuned for a live feed from the banks of the river next week…so onto the report…

Scott Collins was the first to correspond with us right before the weekend where as I mentioned above, he reported sand eels all over. The stripers would not look at anything but sand eel imitations. Scott reported that he threw just about everything in his conventional bag, Rapalas, Bombers, and even Deadly Dicks with nothing to show for it. Upon these baits entering the water, a showering of sand eels would turn up. Scott’s experience is a perfect example of why we pride ourselves in being fisherman, of all shapes and sizes. This night, as Scott describes, more traditional tactics simply were not getting it done, so he grabbed the long rod and tied on a small sand eel pattern and he was off to the races. With the fly rod he managed fish from 28 to 32 inches well into the late evening. If you are looking to get into the saltwater fly game, now is the time and the barriers to entry from a cost standpoint are pretty much non-existent, so come on down!

Robert Darby emailed in a report of still steady action in and around the Housatonic River, fishing mostly at night, they are into fish from the 34-38 inch mark. Unlike down this way, the sand eels are not as prevalent farther to our east and thus fisherman like Rob have been mostly fishing with bunker to compete(see recent catches).

Rob also emailed in a report of his buddy Jim taking a 45 inch, 40.5lb fish that same night on a chunk as well (see recent catches).

Our good friend Matty C. fishing out of Greenwich continues to do very well during the night bite. Fishing off of Rye on Friday night he and his client landed this nice fat 25lb fish (see recent catches).

As we mentioned in our video update, our good friend Jeff Smith, after diving in head first into the saltwater fly-fishing game, took nearly an 18lb striper on the fly rod from shore on Saturday A.M. Let us just say that Jeff has been bitten by the bug and only time will tell how his life evolves from here…

Steve Eliot reported in a very productive trip on Saturday as well. He and crew left Compo at 6:00 A.M. and headed west. They ended up anchoring for the incoming tide off of Rye and although they saw no bunker on the way down luckily they had some fresh bunker aboard to use. On the incoming tide they caught 7 bass, 5 keepers all between 29-32 inches. All were caught on rods that they were flat lining while the weighted baits were not hit at all (see recent catches).

Steve was back at it on Sunday with a small window to take advantage of some great weather. After being debriefed by Cody (a.k.a The Sluggo King), Steve headed out and found birds working schools of sand eels and it was time to break out the light tackle gear and get it done. For two hours outside off the Saugy, Steve had upwards of 20 bass from 25-27 inches and even more fun to count! Way to go Steve!

Well folks, there are only a few people that deserve a nice fish more than our good friend Tom Leahy. Tom is constantly in the store asking questions, searching for answers and really becoming a better fisherman each and every weekend. On Sunday, Tom was fishing during the first hour of outgoing tide, in between Copps & Sheffield, after fighting through the blues, Tom landed a fat 29nch fish on a Yozuri Crystal Minnow. Congrats Tom, you deserve it!(see recent catches)

Also on Sunday, another good friend, Ben Briggs, chunked outside of the islands and landed a 42 inch, 31lb fish(see recent catches).

The week kicked off quite well with both our own Cody Lapnow and John Jinishian fishing separately with Kurt Daniello on board with JJ, they fished in and around Westport and Frost Point. Cody was of course fishing Sluggos and really had to lengthen up his fluorocarbon to almost 12 feet to get the fish into the boat. After the proper adjustments he had fish slow drifting x raps, casting Sluggos both weightless and with jig heads to 29 inches as well as a multitude of 4-6 lb blues.

Back on JJ’s boat they fished behind Cockenoe drifting with some sand eel schools with blues to 6 lbs and way to many lost flies, less only one bass, although I did hear a rumor about someone getting the camera out too quickly which as we all know is a no, no and the fish spit the hook at the side of the boat...amateurs...

Our own Captain Chris also had a charter where he and a crew of three had their share of blues but with the higher sun on Monday, they could not locate the bass, but nonetheless a great time on light tackle.

Back on shore Patrick O’Donnell landed a nice 29 inch keeper on a “jiggie” on Monday night on the incoming tide at the Mill Pond. Nice fish Pat! Speaking of the shore action, although we can’t confirm who it was, we heard of a 42 inch fish being taken from the Westport coastline on Tuesday night…

Wednesday Steve Eliot continued his conquest this week and had fish up to 20lbs fishing some of the deeper rips off of Bridgeport where he reported not too much pressure and fish to be had by all. On his way in, he and crew stopped by for some surface action with the blues off of Frost Point. All the bass were caught on heads…(see recent catches)

Wednesday night Jeff and Taylor Lapnow, running on board the skiff with a brand new prop thanks to son and brother Cody, had bass up to 14lbs off of Compo all on Sluggos, specifically the Ice and Slick Ice colors…

Well folks that is about it for this week. DONT FORGET, ANY REEL, ANY PROBLEM, WE WILL FIX IT! The fishing remains strong as a constant presence of bait remains in our area. Be sure to read below about the upcoming classes with Lou Tabory, including a just released additional Intro/Intermediate session on August 1st. Also, be sure to sign up for www.westportoutfitters.tv where we will be releasing a special 30 minute segment covering freshwater fly fishing. The common theme in this week’s report is a simple one. You need to adjust your tactics to increase your catches. Don’t get lazy and settle for the status quo, be aware of your surroundings and adjust accordingly. As always, if you have a hard time adjusting, stop by the store and we will get you dialed in…until next week...Best Fishes!


THE MONTAUK REPORT

Captain Dean reports from the wet decks of the “TEASER” that when the fluke season opened up, the fishing was so good that it wasn’t even necessary to keep a ruler handy. If a fish was not 5 or 6 pounds, throw it back. Now the situation is different. There are plenty of fluke being caught, but keepers are getting harder to catch up. Most of the fish are east and north of the Point. A lot of dog fish in the deeper water on the south side as well stealing baits.

Striped bass fishing is as steady as it gets, with lots of fish being caught, most of them keepers. The blue fish are around but have not been too hard to battle with.

A couple of boats have gone out for sharks, and have caught some blue sharks but stay tuned as the shark tournaments are only weeks away.

This weekend is 6th Annual Montauk Harbor and Jazz Festival Weekend. It starts on Friday with the Annual Harbor Festival "Old Timers Dinner" at the Montauk Yacht Club at 7:00 pm, where eight renowned Montauk Fisherman will be honored. Tickets are $35.00 and available at the Montauk Chamber. For more info call 631-668-2428 or e-mail at info@montaukchamber.com.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING!!

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Intro/Intermediate Class-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

August 1st @ 6:00 A.M. - Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of May 29th ON FIRE!!

I said it last week folks, but last week’s report can not even hold a candle to the action we here at the shop experienced, as well as all of our clients this past week. I will say it again, that I have not seen the fishing this good in the western sound in my tenure down this way. In fact, having grown up on the Connecticut River and fishing the far eastern sound most of my life, the fishing we have had over the past month is even rivaling that as I remember as a child fishing areas like The Race and Plum Gut in the early season.

The bait situation remains strong with bunker plentiful in most of our harbors and estuaries. In tight, the sand eels are all over the place with silver sides mixed in. This will mean good things for the Fluke season which will kick off on June 15th. Speaking of regulations, at the time of this report, the proposed saltwater fishing license has passed both the house and senate and is now awaiting Governor Rell to sign off on it. If she does, which all signs indicate she will, the license will also go into effect on June 15th. These licenses will be available on line as well as here at the store. The cost will be $10.00. I made contact with someone I know up at the DEP and I have asked if this $10.00 fee was prorated or if it will remain year over year. Unfortunately it was not known at this time, but we will be sure to keep you posted. I know a lot of us have been very vocal about this and at this stage; I am going to focus on the great fishing instead of the political bickering…so onto the report…

The weekend kicked off with a bang with Gaston emailing in a report of a nice fat keeper bass taken on a sand eel imitation at the Mill Pond in Westport. Take a close look at the picture, no doubt the mojo coming from his customized Westport Outfitters stripping basket helped lure this fish in (see recent catches).

Saturday was charter day and everyone was into fish. Jeff Wade and company, after a rough trip a few weeks back, nailed a nice keeper on the fly rod, with reports of sand eels getting busted all over the place. Thanks Jeff, now I can turn on the air conditioning knowing that you will be back (see recent catches).

Sunday Captain Elser was back at it, with a father and son from Greenwich. The son landed six keeper bass to 35 inches. This was his first outing ever in saltwater fishing, quite a feat in itself…

Sunday was an even bigger day for our good friend Cory from All Seasons Marine Works. Although we won’t see Captain Nate on the water until the flat fish show up, Cory was getting it done to our west, after picking up some fresh Westport Outfitters bunker. Cory is a die hard, but rarely just sits and chunks, trust me, he has way too much energy for that, but he had a goal and that was to get his friend Bonnie Roberts into some keeper bass and that he did. Not only did Bonnie catch her first keeper ever, she caught her second, third and fourth keeper as well!! A big congrats, you have been officially hooked (see recent catches)

Back on shore, Patrick O'Donnell continues to fish the usual haunts with the fly rod using Eric Peterson’s sand eel imitations with a mixed bag of blues and bass with the occasional keeper in the mix. Sunday we also heard from Jon Nowicki who fished in and around Fairfield for a total of 12 strippers, 2 blues and one giant sea robin. Biggest stripper was about 27 inches, all taken on sand eel patterns and most likely one of JJ's sand eel sliders that are tied right here at the shop.

Ron D. from Lordship Lures reported in that on Sunday A.M. a 40 lb bass from one of the RI breach ways fell for one of his Dannys. Locally, in and around Bridgeport, guys continue to take keepers on the surface with Ron’s pencil poppers. Ron was just in the store and showed us some prototypes of some new sand eel imitations that he developed in a plug format. We should have these within the next week or so. If you have not fished Ron’s Lordship Lures, you need to come on down and have a look. We are the only shoreline shop in CT west of Bridgeport that carries Ron’s plugs!

Also over the weekend, the Micinilio Brothers were out in full force with bass up to 15lbs in and around Fairfield where they also reported in thick schools of bait(see recent catches).

Farther to our west, things continue to be red hot! Our good friend Captain Matt (a.k.a Matty C.) reported in a few trips that had bass up to 30 lbs both live lining and chunking bunker. Matt recently came on board as one of our guides down west who leaves from Greenwich, so if you want big fish, without the long drive to Hempstead, give the shop a call so we can get you hooked up!(see recent catches).

Speaking of the west, we had two other great catches reported into the shop on Saturday. George Discala Jr. came into the game with a 26lb fish and fellow Westport Striped Bass Club member Ben also took a nice fish at 27lbs. Great stuff guys!

Back locally, Sgt, Colonies fished with Kurt Daniello on Monday night behind the islands, with a higher tide, the bait was stacked up. After loosing what they both felt was a 20lb plus fish up in close, Kurt remained focused and hooked a nice 30 inch fish for his first keeper of the year on top water. He was using one of Ron D’s Lordship Lures which was deadly that night for a mixed bag of other fish as well(see recent catches).

After taking a good luck at Kurt below, it may be the right time to introduce him as our latest addition to the team here at Westport Outfitters. Kurt will assume the role of General Manager. Kurt comes to us from the Orvis store in Darien. He has fished most of his adult life (that is if we consider him an adult now) and brings with him a wealth of knowledge. Kurt grew up fishing Long Island Sound and got bit by the fly-fishing bug at age 10. He has extensive knowledge of both the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers, from a freshwater standpoint, having grown up wading them. However, living in Milford, so close to the saltwater, he also knows every shoreline spot in and around the mouth of the Housatonic and Milford area and beyond. Be sure to come by and say hello to Kurt and find out for yourselves why him joining our team is such an asset to everyone!

Tuesday night, the latest female member of the Westport Striped Bass Club, friend, past co-worker and fisherwomen extraordinaire, Amy Nistico, headed west off of Greenwich in search of her first big fish of the season, well, let us just say that Amy got it done! Notice in the pic below she too is wearing a bit of Westport Outfitters attire that perhaps brought her, like it brought Gaston, a little extra bit of fishing mojo. The fish that Amy is holding weighed in at 26 lbs and just under 40 inches. Tremendous fish Amy! (see recent catches).

Wednesday A.M. before reporting to work, our own Cody Lapnow was out and simply reported in that it was total chaos in and around Westport. Compo Beach to Frost Point were filled with sand eels while he had bass up to 29 inches at will and blues up to 6 lbs.

Cody was fishing all with light tackle using weightless slug-gos and spooks and slug-gos with jig heads to get past the blues as the sun came up. Cody noted, that if you want just bass, stay away from the main schools of sand eels and fish with slug-gos with jig heads along with the gulp sand eels far outside.

It is often said that all work and no play makes for a dull boy and this next report proves this adage quite well. If you want to catch big fish, you need to put your time in. Sage N. is a testament to this. He finds ways to juggle work, family and other obligations and always seems to get it done. Fishing Wednesday A.M. off of Greenwich in between 40-60 feet of water, before of course having to clean up and get into NYC for work, Sage chunked up this monster on a bunker head. All told, the fish measured out at 43 inches and bottomed a 30 lb Boga grip like it was not even there! What can I say Sage, it would have been against doctor’s orders for me to haul that thing in anyway, so I would have had to have passed the rod.(see recent catches)

Well folks, that is about it for this week and what a week it was. I spoke with a good friend who lives in the eastern sound where traditionally the fishing always far exceeds the catches and bait that we see down here. It seems as if this year the shoe is on the other foot, so get out there and take advantage of what is shaping up to be an epic spring run!! Before we get to the freshwater report, let us mention that we were able to mange getting one more date with Lou Tabory on the calendar for this year. August 1st, we will hold another Intro/Intermediate Fly Fishing School with Lou and the crew from Westport Outfitters. We know there were dozens of you that got shut out from the previous three schools that we already held, so here is your chance, call or email the shop today before this fills up!!

FRESHWATER REPORT

Locally the streams are still in great condition, low, but very clear. The Mill River, Saugy, Mianus and Norwalk are seeing hatches of sulfurs, cahills, all types of caddis, some isonychia, brown drakes and finally some brown stone flies. Justin Solis fished the Housatonic over the weekend with a catch of browns to 15 inches and bows to 18 inches.

Sub surface fishing with caddis larvae with a trailer no doubt will get it done. Look for Alder flys to start hatching any day now as well.

Karl Elias reported in a catch of two nice fat browns in the Mill River that fell for an elk hair caddis pattern and noted that there too there was a serious black caddis hatch going on at the same time. Now is the time to take advantage of the fishing with all of these hatches happening simultaneously, call the shop if you are in need of guide locally and beyond!

THE MONTAUK REPORT

Captain Dean reports from the wet decks of the TEASER that the easterly winds all week put a bit of a damper on the fluke fishing but still had reports on Saturday that there were plenty of boats catching there limits.

Striped bass fishing is excellent right now, he reported. Montauk Point is full of squid and large bass on the surface even though at times we had to get through some bluefish to get to the big girls! The light tackle guys are having a ball.

We had a charter boat get out sharking a few days over the weekend and had two blue sharks already. By the looks of it, this could be a great offshore year! Call the shop to book a trip with Captain Dean or reach him directly at 203.556.3361.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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LOU TABORY

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING!!

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Intro/Intermediate Class-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

August 1st @ 6:00 A.M. - Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of May 22nd

Just when you thought it could not get any better…well…it did. The local fishing scene remains red hot and over the past week, although a bit reluctant, since I did not want to jinx anything, I started to poll a few old salts that I know and they too confirmed my feeling, that this spring is off to an epic start. Last week we finally started to see a solid infiltration of sand eels around the county including areas such as Holly Pond, Compo Cove, Sunken Island and at the mouth of the Saugatuck River. Water temps at the time of this report are holding steady at around 56 degrees.

When attempting to match the hatch with the most recent infiltration of sand eels, try the GULP baits as well as the sand eel color 4 inch sluggos, again rigging them weightless and weed less as we described in our bonus video on www.westportoutfitters.tv last week.

Bunker remains all over the Western Sound in most of the harbors. Since they are not necessarily getting worked by the blues and bass all the time, now is an ideal time to become intimately familiar with your depth/fish finder. If you know the area you are in and you feel it should be holding bait, but yet you see no surface activity, keep a close eye on your sounder. If you know you are in 20 feet of water and all of a sudden it bumps up to a plateau shape displaying like 4-5 feet, chances are you just ran over a bunker school. As we noted last week, we have also witnessed some adult spawning silver sides, which you can match with the lighter colored sluggos or GULP Jerk Shads.

Farther to our west, the guy/gals fishing downtown had a very productive weekend fishing the larger adult bunker schools which we will get to in a minute. The weekend weather is looking pretty good after a front pushes on through so get on out there. On to the report…

The Micinilio brothers continue to have much success in and around Fairfield, trolling as well as live lining fresh bunker and emailed in a slob of a fish that was safely released earlier in the weekend that weighed in at 32 lbs and 42 inches, that fell for a live bunker (see recent catches). To this point, to increase your catches, stop in and take a look at some of our double hook rigs for live lining that we home made crimp here, you will be glad you did….

Back in shore, Penfield Reef has been hit or miss, but when it’s on it’s on…The Night Rider stopped into report a few nice 30 inch fish and an even better story from over the weekend where he was spooled, that is right folks, spooled, could not even think about stopping this TRAIN!!

John Peets focusing on fishing the Stamford area is really getting his saltwater game on after recently moving to the area and hanging up the freshwater sticks for a bit. His tactics have been drifting 9 inch Sluggos in areas such as the outflow near Holly Pond for bass and blues.

Saturday, Captain Steve armed with a charter and the long rods boated five fish up to 27 inches in and around the Norwalk Islands on sand eel imitations as well as on some of his hand tied bunny tailed clousers.

Our own Cody Lapnow has been focusing his efforts fishing the outgoing tide and has found Sunken Island in Fairfield really producing. Over the weekend he had fish on weighted sluggos with sand eels all over, with bass up to 26 inches at will. On Wednesday night with a thick fog rolling in, he fished Frost Point where blues/bass were hammering sand eels. He fished spooks for blues up to 8 lbs and bass up to 27 inches on white X-Raps.

Sunday the shop was cranking but took the time to weigh in fellow Westport Striped Bass Club member Scott Platt’s 26lb bass caught somewhere west of Stamford…Not to be outdone, fellow member Sam Bell took advantage of the holiday the next day to catch nearly a 30lb fish to put him in second place for one of the current contests under way. Nice fish guys!!

Chuck D. emailed in a report on Monday, as well as a thank you to Cody for some great guidance and insight into some top water action off of Sheffield Island. Chuck fished Monday A.M. and had tremendous top water action including three keepers up to 32 inches on plugs, X-raps and Spooks!

After stopping into the store for some intel on Monday, Jon Nowicki, who has been putting his time in to learn all there is to know about fishing Fairfield County, emailed in his share of schoolies at the Mill Pond on the dropping tide fishing with some of our hand tied JJ’s sand eel sliders. After tiring his arm out, he moved on to Penfield where he had a nice healthy 32 inch bass on the fly rod on the same pattern!

Stopping into a friend’s BBQ on Monday afternoon after a long weekend, I enjoyed an adult beverage and was told by Eric Lutz that he and crew landed four 25lb plus fish off of Bridgeport fishing Stratford shoals on chunks Monday A.M. He brought up a good point that should once again be shared. When fishing areas such as Stratford Shoals, if you are targeting the bottom of the water column, be sure your baits are actually on the bottom, at times, when the current really starts cranking; don’t hesitate to change your weight, it could be the difference between a 4 lb bluefish and a 20lb bass. Although this may seem obvious, take a look next time you are fishing close to another boat and I guarantee some of their lines that are supposed to be on the bottom, are straight out….

Throughout the weekend, our good friend Bill Beck reported in that the fishing off of Compo is improving daily, now that the sand eels are around, with his share of blues to 4lbs and mid twenty sized bass at first light!

Welcome home to Pat O’Donnell who has been hitting the local beaches at night and in the A.M. hard. With the fly rods, Pat has racked up a dozen or so fish up to 28 inches on mostly Pete V. tied closuer and sand eel patterns. Welcome home Pat!

Sgt. Colonies reported in with a report from late Wednesday night, where he fished the islands and could not get a fish to hit with so much sand eel activity around. After swithcing it up and tossing one of Eric Peterson's sand eel patterns that we carry here in the store,he was rewarded with a 30 inch fish on the long rods!

A special call out to Craig Mittleman, who was on of our first W.O. converts back in 2005. He fishes his Ranger 2180 out of Mystic and has been having much luck fishing the flats (see recent catches).

Well folks, that is about it for this week! The time is now so get on out there. We have a smorgasbord of bait around and the fishing is red hot from either shore or boat or both. For those of you that missed our event last week with Phil Shook, we have some signed copies of his books left entitled “The Fly-Fishers Guide to the Northeast Coast. Whether you fish from shore with a fly or not, this book is a great resource from an access standpoint for CT, NY as well as New Jersey shore anglers, so come on down and have a look.

Lastly, you may have read in the local papers, that we are now the exclusive outlet, outside of the town of Westport's Conservation Department, to be able to sell clamming permits, so if clamming is your game, come on down! We have all the necessary gear to get you a full bushel!

The fly fishing school slated for this weekend on May 30th with Lou Tabory has been SOLD OUT!! A few spots are still available for the advanced class on July 11th, so don’t delay.

THE MONTAUK REPORT

Captain Dean Karadamis reports that the fluke fishing could not get any better. Who cares if the regulations hold you to a 21" size limit when there are so many five and six pounders around? Last weekend all the boats were fishing south of the Radar Stand, but now they are spread out a little more to the west.

Bass fishing is good and will stay that way for weeks he feels with lots of keepers and the occasional thirty pounder + fish being caught. Most are being caught on good old chartreuse parachute jigs, but diamond jigging still works fine as well. The bluefish seem to have thinned out a bit for now, but surely not gone!

To get out with Captain Dean, call the shop or contact him directly at 203.556.3361

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Intro/Intermediate Classes

May 30th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–SOLD OUT!!

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT–ONLY A FEW SPOTS REMAINING!!

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of May 15th-2009-Memorial Day Weekend Report

WOW…that’s all I can say, we have been inundated with reports and let us just say that normally I don’t get bombarded by emails from folks bragging about how they have not been getting fish. The bait in the Western Sound continues to be everywhere and we are starting to see more adult silver sides that are no doubt spawning in areas like Compo Cove and other sandy flats and as I write this report, the thermometer is on the rise for yet another hot day so, with any luck this warmer weather just might get the sand eels going as well. But before we get to the report for this upcoming weekend and the Memorial Day Holiday, let’s take a moment to remember all of those who have served in our nation's military units…THANK YOU! Also on the subject of giving thanks, we can also be thankful that the fish gods have given us a plethora of spring bait as well!

The weekend last week was kicked off by our own Captain Elser who chose to reroute his charter through the shop up to the Housatonic to take advantage of what will be one of the last few weeks before this fishing begins to slow there and those larger fish begin to exit the river. Chris had a full boat with four on board and three kids, all of which had really not fished too much before, well, by the end of the trip, they were experts. Captain Chris put 18 keeper fish to the boat on slash baits as well as a bit of trolling. His young crew could not have been happier with doubles almost all day long and even one triple!!(see recent catches).

Our good friend Steve Eliot continues to pound the fish locally as well as on the other side. Steve has really mastered the T&W approach and his results are in direct correlation, after fishing the river right behind the shop for fish up to 26 inches, he ventured across and had three keepers to 31 inches along with the one below(see recent catches).

Bill Beck also reported in that the usual haunts in and around Westport, where you can always find Bill wading with his soft plastics, have been producing a good sum of fish up to 22-23 inches all in the A.M. despite the tide. Here at the shop at this time of year, we always give tide precedence over time of day, although this will change as the warmer months are upon us, if you have a good moving tide, despite when it occurs during the day, get on out there and get it done!! Case in point, “Robinhood” landed a 34 inch bass on a Yozuri Hydro Pencil on Saturday in the middle of the day!

Friday, our own Cody Lapnow fished off of Sherwood Point for several keepers on Spooks, fished painfully slow, always remember that your retrieve speed is key to trigger strikes with these sorts of plugs. Also remember that slow is directly correlated to how fast you normally retrieve under other conditions, all I can say is that if you think you are retrieving slow enough, SLOW DOWN!!

Saturday it was Jeff and Taylor Lapnow fishing the afternoon on the incoming tide, they headed out in the islands to fish some good structure with moving water and were not disappointed. The elder statesman Jeff no doubt had taken some advice from his son Cody and fished a spook and hammered a nice 32 inch fish on top water almost on his first cast (see recent catches). Young Taylor, not to be outdone, stuck with the fly rod and eventually managed a nice keeper as well on the long rods(see recent catches).

Saturday we also heard from the infamous Micinilio brothers. Michael and Jim fished off of Fairfield/Black Rock, trolling T&W and were rewarded with bass up to 33 inches (see recent catches). In between the bass bite they also noted blues to 31 inches and very hungry!

Scott Collins emailed in a report where he had great action on Sluggos in and around Fairfield on Sunday, despite having to limp through some pretty nasty fog with fish up to 28 inches. After returning to the Norwalk area, he switched it up to some swim baits and tallied another 3 hefty 27 inch bass!

Tuesday, Jimmy “I now have a job” Koutas, broke out the fly rod and while fishing Pete V’s jiggies, had three fish on the big sticks up to 26 inches.

For those of you that know us, we are huge fans of Lordship Lures, hand made right up the line in Stratford, CT. Ron DiCostanzo reports that fish are starting to take these plugs as the water temp rises and bait starts moving into the area in and around Stratford. He recommends his agitators that are starting to raise some nice size fish and the strikes on these plugs are sure to raise your pulse rate. Rob Guzman took a nice 17 lb bass on a white agitator while fishing the Housy this week (see recent catches). We will be getting reports from Ron and the die hard folks that use his plugs on a weekly basis, so if top water plug fishing is your thing, be sure to stay abreast of the reports and come down to the shop to check these plugs out.

Back to our home waters, Cody has also been fishing the Lordship Lures and again this week had some fat 29-30 inch bass on the slims with a slow retrieve, fishing in less than 2 feet of water…can you say game on? These fish absolutely attack these plugs and in shallow water it’s reminiscent of catching a 25 inch trout in a spring creek!

The Western Sound crew continues to make the run to Hempstead and although the fish are getting bigger in the 26-28 lb range, honestly folks, with so much bait right here at home, you may be better off saving the gas money and staying close to home. At the end of the day, bass are nocturnal feeders, so if you want the big girls, you have to fish at night. I have been sworn to secrecy, but there was nearly a 29 lb fish caught last night a stones throw from where we all fish. Having said that, where there is a 30, I would argue there is a 40…and perhaps even a 50! Use you best judgment!

The weather report as of today for the weekend seems to be improving, although we may see a little bit of rain, overall it will be totally fishable weather in between your parties and BBQs, so get on out there. On Saturday, from 11:00-1:00 we will have here in the store a book signing and multiple presentations from author Phil Shook, who just recently launched his Fly-fisher’s Guide To The Northeast, so come on down and say hello and pick up a copy of this book, that will no doubt be seen as one of the most valuable resources for any shore angler, with a heavy focus on fishing Fairfield County.

Focus on fishing soft plastics such as sluggos and or swim baits first, although there are blues around, it’s worth sacrificing a swim bait for that chance at a bass. We just got in these sweet little bunker imitation tins as well that can be retrieved and/or lightly jigged. If you need to change to hard baits, rattle traps, slash baits and x-raps should be the ticket and get the job done.

Fly guys/gals, should be throwing the largest bunker imitations you can handle from 4-11 inches. If the sand eels show as they should any day, we have a ton of patterns to match the hatch with!


THE MONTAUK REPORT
Our good friend Captain Dean Kardamis reports in from the wet decks of the TEASER out in Montauk that the fluke and bass fishing are in full swing and the TEASER is ready to go get them…

Dean reports that the bass fishing is shaping up to be a banner year there on the east end, with the few charter boats that have been getting out catching their limits of eight to fifteen pound fish, with an occasional slammer. There are also plenty of bluefish, which on some days this week were hard to avoid. On other days they stayed south of the Elbow, out of the bass’s way. When there are too many bluefish there will be fewer bass, and vice versa.
The fluke action is RED hot, with lots of fish being caught, but also a good supply of the famous Montauk doormats, including one over twelve pounds that was taken on the MARLIN PRINCESS this week. As is usually the case this time of year, practically all of the action is on the south side between the Point and the Radar Stand.

Dean also heard about a 31” fluke that weighed in at 12.8 pounds caught by Tom Verity in Shelter Island in the Peconic Bay. To get in contact with Captain Dean to book a trip either call the shop or you can reach him at 203.556.3361.

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Intro/Intermediate Classes

May 30th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of May 9th-2009

Well folks I can not say it any better, it’s GO TIME!! Finally we are in a pattern where the stripers have moved into their typical spring holding grounds and the shallow water angler can certainly take advantage of the action from Milford to Greenwich from shore as well as from the boats. Our baits of choice at this time of year are Rapala slash baits and top-water lures by vendors such as Stillwater and Yozuri. These are producing fish from 16 to 30 plus inches.

Now is also the time to take advantage of using your soft plastics, which are deadly this time of year. We prefer rigging 6 to 9 inch Sluggos on offset hooks weed less and weightless. Stay tuned for a video clip that we just produced that will go live on www.westportoutfitters.tv for all those that have signed up. Take note that you will have to have registered to view this very educational piece. Try throwing a Yozuri Crystal Minnow or Rapala X-rap into rocky areas between 5-10 feet of water and in deeper water stick to plastics rigged with jig heads. For the fly guy/gals, Pete V. had tremendous success on Saturday at the Mill Pond fishing some of his hand tied jiggies and clousers, as well as some smaller herring patterns. WIth all this bunker around, be sure to come by and also check out Captain Ian Devlin's 14 inch Herring/Bunker patterns!!

The Housy continues to be productive but the action has slowed a little on smaller fish, as many have spread out into surrounding shorelines anywhere from Milford to Norwalk. Along with these wintering over resident fish we can expect migratory fish to begin filtering into our area. The areas around Manhasset and Hempstead are steadily producing bass up to 20 lbs. and that trend will accelerate with more fish emptying out of the Hudson River and Chesapeake Bay daily.

If you don’t want to make the run to the far western sound consider some other productive areas on Long Island’s North shore, anywhere from Port Jefferson to Cold Spring Harbor. Fish in tight to shore and near rocky structure and you will most likely find schoolie bass and the occasional keeper.

Robert Krist fished the Five Mile River on Saturday in his brand new Bay Ranger. He focused his efforts on the mouth of Tokeneke Creek in about 4 ft. of water. He seemed to have the right baits, but the wrong colors, no fish to the boat but 4 hefty girls seen following his X-raps. Don’t worry; we dialed him in with the proper colors and look forward to follow up report this week.

This may be a great time to digress a bit, I fished again on Tuesday A.M. with Cody in and around Westport and honestly folks I have never seen the water clarity this good in my tenure in the Western Sound in mid May. We always make sure we have a full supply of flouro on the boat come fall when the bones show up, but I have noticed a lot of local anglers choose not to use it in the spring and under normal conditions, I suppose this is okay, but these are not normal conditions.

Fishing off of Compo the other day and looking north towards the beach head, several hundred yards away, we could see defined color changes in the bottom composition almost reminiscent of a flat in the keys or something, right up to the sandy beach. To this point, be sure to be fishing with flouro, especially in tight at this time. In fact, you may want to tie your leader like you were trout fishing using say 30lb to 20 to 10. These fish, although hungry at this time of year, are very aware of their surroundings and may be spooked by heavier flouro and/or by just tying direct with a standard co-polymer line. Back to the report…

Sage N. reported in that he too had a great start on Saturday A.M. His method was T&W in and around the Norwalk Islands where he tallied up 13 bass mostly between 25"-27,” but also did manage three keepers at 28", 28", and 30". He was fishing in 4-8 feet of water and also noted that the stiff East wind had dropped the water temp down to 53 degrees…

Earlier in the week Steve Eliot reported in from the far west where he booked a trip with a local captain out of the Manhasset area and eventually ended up on the other side in Mamaroneck where they had non-stop action with many keepers including a nice 22 lb fish (see recent catches) all on chunks…

Also to the west our good friend Pat has been fishing Manhasset Bay and Hempstead where he has been having luck farther up inside on T&W as well.

He also reported in that Jamaica Bay has been on fire with both bass and blues (bass to 30" blues to 33"), with bunker all over the place.

Bunker schools can be found in virtually every harbor right now with some being thick enough to net and snag. This bodes well for the upcoming season to say the least.

Sunday an entire crew left the shop at 3:00 to venture out. Against doctors orders(sorry to all my MD friends out there in fish land), I did fish right from the back of our facility with shop customer David and we both were throwing bucktails that could not be retrieved back without snagging a full sized adult bunker. All week this bait has remained. A few hooks ups but way too much competition to actually land any of the fish that no doubt are hammering these bunker.

Further to our South, despite a nasty blow, John Jinishian and Cody Lapnow fished from the boat and managed about 12 fish with two just keeper sized fish on x-raps and sluggos. After John nearly pierced his head, he decided it was time to put the fly rod down due to the 30 knot gusts blowing back in his face. We surely don’t need to see another scar on JJ’s face…

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but our good friend Jeff Smith seems to have given us the first sign that the blues may already be upon us. After snagging some bunker here in the river, he ventured out and well…I will let the pic in the “Recent Catches” section say the rest…

Monday was a day off, but Tuesday Cody fished at first light and took fish from in and around Burial Hill as well as Slates off of Compo up to 25 inches on all slash baits as well. Hearing of this I too ventured out for a few hours with no luck, but tons of bait in the water. As fate would have it, as soon as Cody dropped me off, he was into the fish again hard with a big one that found a rock before it did the side of the boat in the 18-20 lb class range.

FRESHWATER REPORT

The Farmington and the Housatonic Rivers are both having a banner hatch of Hendrickson Mayflies right now and it is probably one of the better years we have seen. You should be fishing emergers and nymphs early in the morning and then switching to size 14-16 dry flies as the insects begin to hatch.

Local streams like the Saugatuck, Norwalk and Mianus have received yet another good stocking of trout and the DEP did a great job of mixing it up with many brook, brown and rainbows in the mix. I personally was up at the TMA on Monday evening and witnessed some big swirls of fish hammering drys with only two anglers in the water.

Most of these fish have already started feeding on the abundant caddis and mayfly hatches so come prepared with your 2-4 weight fly rod and have a blast! Spin fisherman are doing well with Mepps spinners and Phoebe lures as well as trout worms and Powerbait. The Saugatuck Reservoir is producing some big walleye as of late and also some large brown trout, mostly using a slip bobber rig and shiners but also on crocodile lures casting the shorelines.

Just a reminder to some, we have more freshwater gear and flies than you may think. Many new customers have only seen the shop when we have had it set up for seminars, if you come back after and we expose all of the bugs we have for freshwater, you surely will be quite impressed, so come on down and have a look and get to fish some of these local streams before the warm weather comes and they slow to a crawl….

Well that is it for this week folks and a good week indeed it was with many anglers taking advantage of some great variables, good weather, lots of bait and even better fishing. This weekend looks good and we hope to see you all on the water!

See below for important upcoming fly fishing schools and other shop events.

FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE, JOIN TODAY!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=38347036376

WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

Intro/Intermediate Classes

May 30th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Lou Tabory Advanced Class

July 11th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

The advanced class with Lou & the crew from W.O. will begin with a similar agenda as the intro/intermediate. Focus will be given to more technical casting skills such as mastering the double haul, increasing your distance, carrying more line in the air, accuracy of casts, improving fly presentation and tips on fishing/casting with heavier sinking lines and bigger flies. When we return to the shop after the fishing, more advanced knot tying will be discussed/demonstrated as well as a much closer look at reading the water and more effective wading tips to increase your catch. After lunch, we will return to the lawn for more hands on casting and demonstrations. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of May 2nd-2009

Well folks, this season is definitely starting to show signs of really getting under way with a ton of bait in the water from the Housatonic all the way to the far Western Sound. I apologize if the report this week is short and sweet…if you stop in the store and see me, you will know why….

Last weekend’s weather proved once again to be just what the doctor ordered, continuing to bump the water temps into the low 50s in most places. We had reports of schoolies up to 28 inches from the mouth of the Housey all the way down to the Mianus by the dam. In fact, right here in our own backyard, Bill B. as well as Vinny R. had there share of schoolies on swim baits, proving once again that the fish are definitely in the estuaries.

Captain Elser reported in that the sand eels are beginning to show from Milford on westwards as well as some larger bunker schools in the Bridgeport area. Captain Chris continues to fish with big herring patterns made of Yak hair (we should have more in stock by the weekend), however Captain Chris has begun to switch over to intermediate lines from full sink ones.

On Saturday, it was Gaston once again calling in a nice 32 inch fish taken from Milford Point, much like the week before, however this one being on the fly.

Captain Matt Gifford reported in some fish in and around the islands to 26 inches, but according to his log books, things are still way behind as compared to last year. Matt is attributing some of this to all of the rain we have had and continue to experience.


This weekend is looking pretty decent weather wise so be sure to stop in and get the full report, if I could take the pain, I would write more….see you on the water…maybe not today, but soon!

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WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

During the spring of 2009, Westport Outfitters, in conjunction with legendary angler, product developer and author, Lou Tabory, will continue our quest to introduce the wonderful world of Fly Fishing to beginners, as well as refine those skills of more advanced fisherman and women.

Intro/Intermediate Classes
May 9th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT-SOLD OUT!!!

May 30th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.


Week of April 25th-2009

Well folks, we finally got what we have all been waiting for and I am not talking about the sunburn on my back, but rather what caused it…warm weather…finally!! As I mentioned in our video update last week, the sun did exactly what it was supposed to do and bumped the water temps up. Both the mid sound buoy as well as our own local data showed the water temps finally breaking the 50 degree mark. Although the thermal niche for striped bass is 55-68 degrees, that does not mean that we have to wait until those temps arrive to see fish begining to push through. In fact, what we needed to see was simply an honest attempt of increasing water temps rather than the up/down fluctuations that we have experienced over the past several weeks. What comes next…bait…and the fish won’t be far behind.

I mentioned last week that we had witnessed an osprey fly overhead with a bunker in tote while we were working over at Cove Marina in Norwalk. No doubt some of our faithful readers took this information and set the gill net in the harbor the night after and quickly had over a dozen or so bunker in the net. Although a few smaller fish were taken in the 25-28 inch range, they did have a few runs offs that seemed to be bigger fish. A special note to help put things into perspective. Although I know we all had a tough winter, looking back to last year, we were right at the same point we are now with water temps, in fact they were a bit colder. I think all of us are just so anxious to get out since the winter was so brutal, but be patient…and maybe even go easy on the guys putting your boats in the water…since it has been a tough spring to get things done for them outside as well (You're welcome Nathan…).

For the weekend we heard first from the far west where Pat Gallagher reported from Little Neck Bay that he landed his first keeper on the fly rod!! He also reported bunker in big schools just not sticking too tight, which would indicate no big threats yet, but I am sure that will change soon enough.

Back up to our east, Bryce R. reported a lot of action at the mouth of the Housey with a dozen or so people alongside of him, he landed 3 bass using a bucktail and a very slow retrieve. Keep in mind, even though the bass are starting to leave the Housatonic River, they are still a bit lethargic and a slow retrieve on either flies or swim baits fished down deep where the tide is the weakest, will no doubt produce for you.

Here locally, Geoff Parr ventured out in the kayak on Saturday and scouted the islands with no luck to return to the mouth of the Saugy for a healthy 18 inch fish on one of his own hand tied clousers, nothing better than catching a fish on one of your own creations. Geoff also reported in some small schools of bunker swimming unmolested for the most part behind the islands as well.

After the seminar on Saturday with Lordship Lures, a crew ventured out and up to the Housatonic loaded for bear with a full crew and even more gear on a 290 Hydra Sport to get things done. Big Ed was the only one to land a fish, but the sounder would have indicated otherwise with a ton of bait and fish being marked, just a standard case of lock jaw, nonetheless a great day to be on the water.

Although we have had some steady flounder and black fish reports, with not a lot of boats in the water yet, it’s hard to say. I did speak with some local party boat captains that I know and they have confirmed a pretty decent season thus far. More importantly on Tuesday we received the report we had been waiting for, our good friend Jeff Smith boated his first keeper flounder fishing off of Calf Pasture Beach on a fresh Westport Outfitters sandworm, congrats my friend!! Jeff was back at it on Wednesday afternoon and did also report what seemed to be some sand eels swimming around, which is a great sign as well, especially for our local wade fisherman.

Earlier this week, Rob C. stopped into to relay another report about his share of some hefty schoolies in the 18-20 inch range, at will, in and around Fairfield. After switching it up a bit, simply going back to basics and tipping an offset hook with a GULP sandworm was this nights bait of choice.

Our own Captain Chris continues to fish the Housatonic both for pleasure and for hire. His spin casting trips have been more successful fishing with slash baits such as the X-Raps. The fly charters continue to focus on the lower water column with a sinking line and some sort of herring pattern and/or clousers. All weekend he was into a mixed bag of fish with a few keepers in the 29-30 inch range.

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FRESHWATER

The local scene remains pretty strong, although the rains we had prior to last weekend, clouded things up a bit, we still have received a steady flow of good reports from all of the local TMAs. The Hendrickson were hatching all weekend long especially to our north on the Housatonic and Farmington Rivers. When fishing outside of the TMAs with the long rods, be sure to know that fishing with a tandem rig is an option for you. I am always amazed at how many people do not take advantage of this tactic. For me personally, it has never been about catching two fish, but rather to investigate and find out what the fish are keyed in on and then act accordingly. If you are unfamiliar with this approach, be sure top stop by and we can dial you in.

BWOs as well as green bead head caddis larvae seem to be doing the trick here locally. Many reports of fat 14-16 inch browns being taken from the TMAs. As a point of note, get out while you can, since in a month or so these TMAs will have experienced a ton of pressure and will also most likely not have the cool oxygenated water that the trout need, so get out while the getting is good!!

Our own Justin Solis went out all day Saturday with a client on the upper portion of the Housatonic and fished for a majority of the day once the sun heated things up. Hendrickson drys and emergers in size 14 & 16 accounted for trout all in the middle teens. Below the surface, any caddis larvae were also the ticket. If you are looking to experience the picturesque Housatonic or Farmington with a guide, be sure to give the shop a call. Justin has one of the best demeanors of any guide I know and he catches fish too!! On Sunday, Justin got shut out…but missed a heck of a good time…

THIS WEEKEND’S SEMINAR-BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

June 2nd 11:00 A.M. Ryan Sansoucy-Hush Fishing Company-Ryan is the founder/owner of Hush Fishing Company, a new cutting edge, forward looking outfitter based in Rhode Island dedicated to introducing the wonderful sport of fly fishing and light tackle to a new breed of anglers. Topics to be covered will include tips and techniques for flats and wade fishing the numerous and very productive salt ponds along the Rhode Island coast, unique fly patterns and some myth busting on striped bass behavior.

Captain Ryan will also focus on light tackle and fly-fishing tips & tricks for the entire southern New England coast line, structure and when and how to fish it as well as the benefits of top/shallow water fishing. If you missed his incredible presentation last year, here is your chance to see a new and improved version!!

WESTPORTOUTFITTERS.TV

If you have been watching the weekly video updates, here is your early chance to get involved with this new cutting edge, HOW TO, WHERE TO, WHY TO site, dedicated to our great sport and improving all of your skills at it…log onto www.westportoutfitters.tv and sign up now!!

LOU TABORY

During the spring of 2009, Westport Outfitters, in conjunction with legendary angler, product developer and author, Lou Tabory, will continue our quest to introduce the wonderful world of Fly Fishing to beginners, as well as refine those skills of more advanced fisherman and women.

Intro/Intermediate Classes
May 9th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT-Only two seats left!

May 30th @ 6:00 A.M., Compo Beach, Westport, CT

This intro/intermediate course will begin promptly at 6:00 A.M. in the water, in your waders. Lou and the crew from W.O. will work with you in learning the general casting stroke for fly fishing; teach you how to read the water to identify bait movement, current, structure and feeding fish patterns and lanes. You will have the opportunity to cast some additional rods with varying types of lines for saltwater fly fishing. After the fishing, we will return to the shop where Lou will go over several formal slide presentations, that will reiterate what was learned on the water, including gear selection, knot tying, fly presentation and much, much more! After lunch, we will have an extended Q&A and then finally return to the park to wrap things up with more hands on casting. The day will end at approximately 3:00 P.M. Cost is $150.00, which includes a light breakfast, full lunch and refreshments throughout the day.

Well folks, that is it for this week, the fish are on the move while there are still great chances to participate in some of the fun filled and educational events here at the store. A closing point, that frequent question that we have been asked constantly about when the fish will really arrive can finally be answered with an adage from our neigboring state of New York's lottery, that states: “You need to be in it, to win it!”, therefore get on out there for it just could be the day that the big fish start to push through the Western Sound!! Until next week….See You On the Water….


Week of April 18th-2009

As I write this report, the weekend forecast is looking sweet, so be sure to get out there this weekend. Even if you don’t catch fish, I think we all deserve a bit of R&R after this miserable winter and thus far, a Spring that has been more reminiscent of Fall with the wind and rain. I was out this A.M. in 25 knots of breeze blowing out of the Southwest, first from Norwalk to Southport and then from Norwalk to Darien delivering boats. Along the coast, there were birds in mass, picking off bait that most likely was small grass shrimp and perhaps even some herring mixed in, whatever it was, there were birds working in essence all the way from Southport to Darien.

Earlier in the week we were over at Cove Marina prepping boats and witnessed an osprey fly directly over us with a bunker in its mouth, so yet another good sign that once the fish start to arrive, there will be plenty of bait to entice them to stick around.

So, dust off the rods folks and start checking your local outflows, harbors and marshes as schoolie size stripers have started taking up residence in areas like Norwalk Harbor, and Milford Harbor which means we are only days away from a push of fish into all the usual haunts. In fact, we had young Elliot report earlier in the week a catch of a 24 inch striper off of Burial Hill on a buck tail tipped with a Mister Twister. Most likely just an errant fish, but nonetheless a great early season catch! Penfield Reef, Southport Harbor, Beach, Sherwood Point, The Mill and the Saugatuck will soon have their share of schoolie bass action! Focus on first fishing small soft plastics, preferably with shades of white and olive. We prefer sluggos on off set hooks rigged weed less. If you don’t know how to do this, stop on in and we can get you rigged up.

Some of the resident fish are starting to exit the Housatonic River. We had Gaston, Big Ed, as well as Paul C. catching bass from Milford Point all over the past week with Gaston’s crew landing a nice 32 inch 11lb fish on Wednesday(see recent catches). The bigger fish are mixed in and if you want to have a shot at them, whether on the fly rods or spinning tackle, throw bigger stuff like Pete Vs Herring patterns and/or larger swim baits and/or slash baits.

The Housatonic River has really been producing excellent action for smaller bass as well and areas further north continue to produce keepers at times and there is a decent presence of herring to keep the big girls looking up. Try fishing some of the shallower mud flats with big herring patterns or swim baits and you will definitely have a shot at one of the bigger resident linesiders! You can also finally dust off your intermediate lines for fishing the shallower waters but when targeting the channel edges, go with a 9 or 10 weight set and 300-450 grain lines like the Rio Striper line and the Airflo Depth Finder. Fly patterns that typically draw the attention of the schoolie bass are chartreuse/white clousers, and mushies in the same color combination. White jiggies are another excellent choice when targeting numbers. For the shot at a bigger fish we have Pete Viviano’s yak hair herring imitations and Eric Peterson’s tried and true herring patterns as well.

Spin and baitcast anglers are beginning to see more action on slash baits as well, like the Rapala Xrap and Yozuri Crystal Minnow in the larger sizes. For casting these larger plugs you will want to gear up with 15 lb. test Yozuri Hybrid or 20-30 PowerPro braid and a 7-8 foot 10-20 lb. action spinning or bait casting outfit. Daybreak fishing can produce surface action on Super Spooks and poppers as well as our favorite the Lordship Lures. Swimming a big Danny in the surface film at daybreak can produce action on the biggest fish.

Although the river has been productive, now is really the time to start focusing on the Sound and above mentioned flies and lures will prove effective as fish move into their spring feeding patterns…the only way you will know for sure folks is to get out and fish and this weekend there should be no excuses!!!

Freshwater Report

Well we endured the mayhem associated with the Opening Day of trout season and it was a beautiful, almost hot day, throughout the state. The stocking program once again put a good amount of fish in all of our local streams like the Mill River, Aspetuck, Saugatuck, Norwalk and Mianus. Several broodstock trout well over 5 lbs. were landed by overjoyed anglers! An opening day icon for certain is the Farmington River and the anticipation of shoulder to shoulder fishing did not disappoint anyone that enjoys taking part in this annual ritual. This river is absolutely loaded with holdover and stocked fish right now and it is only an hour away from Fairfield County. If anyone is interested in learning the rivers better fishing areas and entomology we have guides that can get you dialed into this world class trout fishery. Right now a green bodied caddis imitation in sized 14-18 will produce well on our smaller streams as well has the upper Housatonic and Farmington rivers. Always come prepared with nymphs, emergers and dries to help you extend your productive fishing periods. Blue Wing Olive mayflies are appearing in our Fairfield County streams more frequently now and stonefly imitations are also a good bet. Of course the old standard the Wooly Bugger will get the job done along with other streamer imitations like the black ghost and mickey finn. The stocked fish usually prefer the flashier imitations right now until they hone in on the insect activity.

The recent and much needed rain will help spread out some of the stocked fish and provide for more interesting fishing on our smaller streams.


Well folks, that is it for this week, don’t forget to stop down this Saturday April 25th for a presentation/demonstration by Lordship Lure’s founder/creator Ron DiConstanza. As this is our inaugural first full fishing report, it also is yet one final sign that our season is now upon us. Look forward to seeing you all once again at our new facility located at 609 Riverside Avenue in Westport CT!!

FISH ON!!


Spring 2009 Predictions-NEW STORE IS OPEN!

Now that this miserably cold and snowy winter is almost behind us, our expectations for the spring season are for a much better than average start! Records clearly indicate that our waters have a better spring run of bait and fish following colder/snowier winters. Look to see schools of herring arriving in our larger rivers and estuaries any day now as they head upstream to spawn and along with the herring & alewives will arrive and this makes for an excellent opportunity to target large resident striped bass, as well as early migratory fish coming out of the Hudson River. Schools of adult menhaden will begin to show more regularly by the end of April but several harbors have wintering populations of this predominantly migratory baitfish. In fact there are currently reports of schools of bunker in New Haven.

Once the bunker arrive in the far western sound in areas like Hempstead and Manhassett, there will be large stripers close behind as well as some jumbo bluefish heading into May. The Norwalk Islands should see plenty of schoolie size stripers in areas like the Saugatuck River, Mill Pond, Burial Hill Beach and Sherwood Point by the middle of April and points east will become active as well. Penfield Reef onward toward the mouth of the Housatonic River should see plenty of smaller stripers with the occasional keeper mixed in, but be aware that migratory fish can arrive in our waters by the end of April and certainly by the first week of May.

It�s time to gear up and start hitting warm water outflows, tidal streams and estuaries�the fish will be setting up shop very soon and become more active every day. So now is the time, our spring seminars are in full swing with new gear arriving daily. Come on down, gear up or perhaps take a seat in our lounge and watch some extreme videos to get that blood flowing for the onset of the Spring 2009 Fishing Season�it wont be long now!!


Mid Winter Update-2009-NEW STORE IS OPEN!!

Before we get to our mid winter update, it�s now official, we have moved to 609 Riverside Avenue into the All Seasons Marine Works facility, seconds from exit 17 off of I-95 adjacent to the Black Duck in Westport CT. We are really excited about this new location. The actual structure was built in 1850 and let us say, it just feels like home. We are all unpacked and open for business with new gear arriving daily. Some new additions you will see are Simms, an increase in our Shimano offerings as well as a larger selection of conventional tackle, while we continue to support a full array of top of the line fly equipment from Sage, Scott, Abel, Ross, Tibor and Lamiglas, to name a few. So get rid of those winter blues and come on down and say hello and check out the new space. A big thanks goes out to several individuals that made this move possible. Through thier tireless extra effort, we built out counters, painted, cleaned, hung slat wall and really got the new place dialed in, in a very short period of time in retrospect. In no partulcar order, these folks I will forever be indebted to: Justin Solis(he wins the he man award), Ed Byron, Brian Cilento, Sgt. Eldon Colonies, the crew from Orvis, Nathan Gottlieb, Cory Crochetiere and the entire team from All Seasons Marine Works, Lee Gardella, Cody Lapnow, Chris Elser and John Jinishian. I would not be sitting here writing this email if it was not for all of your extra help! Thanks guys!! One last thing, I tend to be a sucker for techonology and the power of it as far as efficient communications, so for all of you Facebookers out there in fishland, please sign up for the All Seasons Marine-Westport Outfitters Facebook page to stay abreast of all the latest news as well as a photo documentary of our move and anything we as a crew do! Be sure to check out the recent catches section for all the new pics of the store!

Our seminar schedule will kick off in early March so be sure to look over the slate of industry experts which is posted under our �NEWS� section on the website. We will also be holding our final winter fly tying class here at the new store and still have some slots open. Lastly, we have already booked three dates with Lou Tabory to conduct our now legendary fly fishing schools, so be sure to check those out too under the �NEWS� tab on our website. So onto the report�

After a cold and snowy start to the winter season the fishing has been limited but at times it has been very good. Before the ice packed in, the Housatonic River provided excellent action for schoolie stripers and the occasional keeper. The hot colors being pink, chartreuse and white using 4-7 inch sluggos, tsunami's, gulp jerk shads and Gotcha soft plastics. The chartreuse 7" Gulp baits worked excellent and took some nice size bass throughout the river. Fly fishers will do well with chartreuse/white clousers and large herring patterns with the latter being more effective as we near late February and into March. Recommended lines are 300-400 grain sinking lines and the airflow depth finder is a great casting line for this purpose, as well as the RIO fast sinking Striped Bass lines.

As we await the next spell of moderating weather and air temps warm up into the 30's and 40's we should gain ice free access to much of the river again and the fish should be eager to hit after a well deserved rest from anglers. The obvious areas to target are the channel edges but don't overlook the mud flats in the shallower near shore water. Baitfish will congregate near this warmer water and some of the larger resident stripers will visit these areas at times.

Other than the winter striper fishery we have had an excellent Atlantic Herring run in the Bridgeport area and whether you freeze them for bait or pickle them they appear to be sticking around for a while. Note that Atlantic Herring can be harvested but the Blueback Herring and Alewives cannot. Typically the only herring in our waters early on in the winter are the Atlantics but by late February the Alewives and Bluebacks make their way into our harbors and river systems.

The only open water trout fishing that can offer some consistency is the Farmington River and if we have some warmer sunny days the winter caddis hatch can be very productive.


2008 SEASON WRAP UP-December 2008

We had a late start on the spring western sound striper run but it finally materialized later in May with many fish in the 20-30 lb. range being taken anywhere from Manhasset to Greenwich. As May progressed into June the North Shore, Stamford and Norwalk had their fare share of the action as well but it was noticeably slower than in previous seasons. The sand eels became very thick throughout the month of June and there were times we had pods of stripers in them between Fairfield and Westport but once again it was nothing like the 2007 season. Now on the other hand the bluefish showed up in huge numbers throughout the western sound and were almost difficult to avoid at times. They hammered the sand eels throughout their stay and also could have been a reason for the schoolie bass not competing in the shallows. Most of these bluefish were under 5 lbs. Until summer arrived and then we had a steady pick of 6-10lb. fish in most locations. Striper fishing got hot in the Milford � Bridgeport corridor in July and August with many fish over 30 lbs. taken during daylight and nighttime hours. We had an excellent run of adult menhaden all summer long right into the early fall and this allowed for the excellent striper action in certain areas. Norwalk to Greenwich also had an excellent run of bunker but they attracted mostly bluefish which provided great action in many of our local harbors.

The summer months also provided some excellent fluke fishing and there were many keeper size fish to be had between Stratford and Fairfield. The North Shore did not fare quite as well this season but Norwalk made up for that easily with excellent flattie fishing just outside of Westport and the Norwalk Islands. You couldn�t miss the fleet of boats off of Stratford, Bridgeport and Norwalk every weekend as word got out about the hot action.

Then came the time of year all fly and light tackle fisherman were waiting for�could we possibly have another bonito run like in 2007? Not the case, as many anglers scanned the western sound waters for hardtails to no avail! The only action in this part of the sound was in the Crane�s Neck area to Eaton�s Neck on Long Island�s North Shore and that by all means was very short lived. Keep in mind that we will be hard pressed to have another year like 2007 but it is also likely that 2009 will be better than 2008! As fisherman we need to roll with the punches as each year brings a different cycle of fish. Part of the reason is that we did not have a large amount of bay anchovies move into our waters and most of the small baitfish stayed between Block Island and Montauk Point and provided anglers out there with an incredible season casting to Bones.

As we headed toward late September into October we were hoping that one of the little tunoid species would make their way into the Western Sound, specifically false albacore. We had a decent run of peanut bunker in the area and things looked promising with a few sightings out at Middleground and Eaton�s Neck. After a couple big wind and rainstorms out of the Northeast the peanut bunker exited in a hurry and the albies never made their approach into the sound�another major bummer!

While some anglers were crying in their soup over the lack of little tuna others went out and made the best of it by targeting big stripers and bluefish on the deeper wrecks and reefs. Yes, there were many bass that held over in the Western sound throughout the summer into fall and although the action wasn�t hot and heavy it did provide on and off fishing to bass over 20lbs. Bluefish in the 10-15lb. range were showing up in almost every harbor up until the final schools of adult menhaden headed out.

Once fall really set in during October and November the jig bite started to get hot but most of the action was bluefish up until about 2 weeks ago. There was also some great tube and worm action off of Milford and Stratford during early November with bass up to 40lbs. being taken! Once again this freaky 2008 season had another dagger to throw at us�WIND, and lots of it! Many anglers were not able to get in on the jigging action due to high winds and waves but those that had bigger boats ventured out and enjoyed good action off of the usual rips like 11B, 28C and the OB Buoys. This action is far from over and can last right through December but needless to say the weather needs to show some cooperation.

It surely is worth mentioning the epic tog season that our local anglers all experienced throughout the Western Sound. Although here at the shop we witnessed some hefty 10lb togs on a consistent basis, there were plenty of teen sized fish taken farther to our east with a 21lb slob finishing off the season in mid November

To sum it all up for 2008 - the low points outweighed the high points this season but there is little reason for concern as we pass through cycles of hot and cold years all the time and this just happened to be a cold year for most anglers targeting striped bass, bonito and false albacore � and this was especially true for shore bound anglers.

As we look forward to fly tying and rig making season, we as anglers still have plenty to be grateful for. All and all, it is in my best opinion that a lot more people got into the action this year. Now in our fourth season, I can easily look back at anglers that more recently have gotten into our great sport and their numbers and consistency surely improved during the 2008 season, along with their overall skill.

Many decided to pick up a fly rod, entertain a lead core set up for better trolling or further invest in some of the latest technology from manufactures such as Lamiglas, Avet, Sage Scott and the various lure and plug makers. Each year our sport continues to improve upon older stand by tactics as well as introduce some very new and innovative creations.

Looking forward to next year, you will once again not be let down. As hopefully all of you know by this point, we are moving Westport Outfitters once the snow flies to a new location at 609 Riverside Avenue in Westport CT. Located on site within the All Seasons Marine Works facility, this new location is just yards away from the train station, seconds from I-95 and a stones throw from one of the only FREE public boat ramps within Fairfield County. We will be working diligently throughout the winter to make our new spot simply the best facility within Fairfield County. We will be expanding product lines, increasing inventory where you have given us your valuable feedback and will continue to recruit the most knowledgeable and professional staff around to service your needs.

Some new additions will be announced as well to better service your water craft through an expansion of parts and service being supported by All Seasons Marine Works certified Yamaha Technicians.

But don�t worry, just because the fishing will slowly die down, it will not mean that you will not hear from us. We have already posted our winter fly tying classes under our �NEWS� tab on the homepage and are busy putting the final touches on our spring seminar schedule that is just about completed and loaded with new names and faces to improve all of your skills as anglers. Lastly, we have already booked legendary fly fisherman and teacher extraordinaire Lou Tabory for four dates in the spring, as we continue to offer one of the best one day fly fishing schools around.

In our never-ending quest to continue to give back, we are working with several local school groups and non-profits to introduce our great sport to a younger generation of anglers next year so that we can eventually pass the torch to them and have them further have the enthusiasm and know how to participate in the wonderful sport of angling.

With all of this being said, it is also the time of year once again to thank all of you who have supported us over the past three years. There was much work to do in redefining the �NEW� Westport Outfitters and it goes without saying that I would not be having the pleasure to be penning this post today if you all did not give us another shot and the chance to meet your angling and boating needs. I still sit back and reflect that in reality I have not gained many customers at all, but rather friends who share a similar passion and respect for the outdoors and the sport of fishing. To this point, I only have all of you to thank.

If you have the time, please try and come by and say hello to tell fish tales of the 2008 season on December 6th at 4:00 where we will be holding our now Annual Holiday/Customer Appreciation Party at our current location inside of Cove Marina. There will be nothing in the store that is not at least 20% off, with some items, in preparation of our move, slashed by as much as 70%!!!

The festivities will begin at 4:00 and we will have plenty of food and drink. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by either emailing me at ejohnson@westportoutfitters.com or calling the shop at 203.831.8036. Hope to see you all here!!

Onward and Upward!

WESTPORT OUTFITTERS IS MOVING TO 609 RIVERSIDE AVENUE, WESTPORT, CT-SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 1ST 2009, ADJACENT TO THE BLACK DUCK, INSIDE OF THE ALL SEASONS MARINE COMPLEX!!