The Long Island Sound is nothing more than a giant estuary or Salt Pond. Twice a day the 1320 square miles of Long Island Sound gains and loses 3 to 7 feet of depth as the tide flows in and out. Most of the water flows out through the east end of the Race or through Fishers Island Sound across the Watchhill Reefs. At the outlets, the current accelerates to 5 knots when it squeezes in between underwater constrictions in the middle of the Race, at the eastern end of Fishers Island the speed is at 3 knots.

Finding fish is the key, as there is so much water that merely trying to cover the water with your lures in search of fish is a fruitless proposition. Learning to read the water, the land masses, understanding the tides and currents based upon the stage of the tide and understanding the rips that are set up, along with other indicators such as birds, flotsam, and lines are key to locating fish. Find the bait and normally you will find fish.

Saltwater fishing can be easy if you find fish feeding near the surface. If the surface of the water is calm, look for protruding fins, ripples, or wakes that do not look like they are formed by the wind, or dark discolorations on the surface that may indicate a school of cruising fish. Along beaches and in shallow water, look for shadows from fish. Certain places will concentrate baitfish, so the quarry you are after will be waiting in ambush. Good saltwater fisherman are adept at spotting fish on shallow flats or the subtle ripple or different color a school of Bluefish make when they are near the surface. Many of these signs are overlooked by the untrained eye. If you are on your own, either on land or in a Kayak, you can look for clues that indicate good fishing. Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bluefin Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna, Bonito, False Albacore, and other species that herd baitfish on the surface can be found almost anywhere. When they are near the surface, you may actually see the water frothing, with baitfish jumping clear of the water. Gulls and Terns are good indicators of this activity. If the birds are wheeling above the water without landing, there may be a school of baitfish present; when the birds begin to drop into the water to pick up dead and crippled baitfish, you can be sure that some potentially good fishing is right there. Get to that spot in a hurry, because the school may sound as quickly as it came to the surface, this is especially true of SBFT, Bluefish, Bonita, and False Albacore.

Often time’s birds are an indicator that this is occurring. Birds diving and swooping the water is always a good sign. This phenomenon is called a “Blitz” and is often an indication of a large school of fish pushing baitfish together which erupts into a feeding frenzy. Bluefish, Stripers, False Albacore, and Bonito all Blitz, but if the birds are putting their feet into the water and you don’t’ see the characteristic greyhounding that Tunaoids make, then rest assure, that it is not a Bluefish Blitz, but rather a Striper. Even if it is a Bluefish Blitz, larger Striped Bass often like to sitting under them on the bottom and wait for pieces of food to drift down in the water column to them. A couple of years ago a friend and I conducted an experiment with frozen bunker. We would cut them in half, with Carl putting the back half on a bottom chunking rig and I using the head. At the end of the night we totaled up the fish caught and I had a obvious advantage at almost 2:1 using the heads. We though, well this makes sense, with the feeding behavior of the Bluefish be legendary. Bluefish are reputed to dash wildly about within schools of prey species, biting crippling, and killing numerous small fish that do not get eaten. With their ferocious jaws slashing everything in sight, it is the heads that most often drift down to the Stripers. So what if there are no birds, then what?

Look for Flotsam; this is sea foam and other debris that collects along transition zones such as weed lines, ledges, or two current coming together. This flotsam, provides protection from the sun and shelter for small baitfish, which ultimately means larger predator fish.

Another thing I look for are slicks or lines. When first looking out over a body of water it appears homogonous, but after a second look you will see slicks and other lines, that often look like small creeks running within the main body of water. This is a transition zone and demands some attention. Just like a White Tail Deer who walks along the woods edge in search of food, but if threatened, can just simple step into the woods, transition zones are another key in location fish.

Tide play two key roles in the decision making process that I go through when I plan to go fishing. First, and what I believe to be the most crucial is, what are the effects of the tides on currents that will influence the fish to hold at certain locations. Is there a good sandbar in the path of the incoming tide that will hold baitfish tight to it allowing them to feed hard for a couple of hours? This is often the case on the inside portion of Sandy Point in the Little Narragansett Bay along the sandbar. I especially like to an incoming to be in parallel with a sunrise, a southwest wind, a dropping barometric pressure, and during a period that is either on the New or Full Moon plus or minus 2-3 days. This recipe set all the wheels in motion for a highly successful fishing trip. The only thing else is a good understanding of the area you intend to fish. What is the topography and bottom composition? Where are the eddies and rips? How does the current react as it crosses a point or enters through the narrowing under a bridge or Breachway? Being in the right place at the right time is the single most important factor of successful fishing. If you aren't where the fish are, you can’t catch them. Water level, water movement, and direction all play a vital role in where the fish will be located. The influence of tidal changes on a fish's feeding and migrating habits cannot be understated. They move with the tide and feed at locations that provide them either access to food or the ability to ambush food based upon tides. The saltwater coastline of Northeastern United States is veined with rivers and creeks coming through saltwater estuaries, oyster beds, and marshes to reach the Atlantic Ocean. These estuaries and marshes contain vital nutrients and are the very beginning of the marine food chain for all species of fish.

I believe if people knew a little more about the tides and fish habits relative to the tides, they would catch many more fish. I have places that I fish only on an incoming tide, because I know the fish will be there as the water moves in. I also have places I fish on an outgoing tide for the same reason. On a high tide, water will flood the marshes, covering acres and acres with as much as two feet or more of water. Crabs and small baitfish will follow that rising tide to feed on in the shallows. Larger fish will also follow that rising tide in to feed on these baitfish. As the tide begins to fall, the water coming off these flats begins to funnel into small channels, leading into larger channels and eventually into the creeks and rivers. Fish sense the dropping water and will move out with the tide to deeper water. These tidal outflows to deeper water are where fishing can be great.

Tides are controlled by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the earth, of which, the moon has the greatest influence on the oceans. The tidal cycle is about 24 hours and 52 minutes long due to the cyclic rotation of the earth and moon. During this cycle, the earth experiences two high tides, and two low tides, each occurring approximately every 6 hours. The tidal bulge of high tide follows the revolution of the moon as the earth rotates eastward through the bulge pulling the entire worlds oceans towards the moon, creating high tides on both side of the earth at the same time. In between the two high tides are the lows which at 90° away from the high tides.

The incoming tide is referred to as a flood tide, while an out going tide is called an ebb tide. While at the top of bottom of these tides, it is call stack tide. The time between these is about 6 hours and 13 minutes. Tides are more pronounced along coastlines and in bays where the tidal range, the difference between high and low tides, are increased due to topography. Tidal ranges can vary quite a bit. Here in Connecticut, we seen about a 2’ – 4’ change over the course of the cycle, while in Nova Scotia in the Bay of Fundy they experience the world’s greatest tidal range of 50’ due to the funneling effect of the land mass. The orientation of the sun, moon, and the earth also controls the tidal range. Twice a month when they are lined up, tides are at their maximum, during the full and new moons.


LIS Currents

Currents in the Long Island Sound are confusing at first, but just think of a very big bath tub being filled and emptied twice a day and picture how the water would flow in and out of it. Note the speeds that develop through narrow opening such as the Sluiceway, the Gut, and the Race. These are the big rips of the Long Island Sound and can be very dangerous. For tides to be a significant factor in creating exciting rough water conditions, they need to create a current of at least three knots. The Long Island Race and the reefs off Watch Hill are shallow, so when the tides run over this constriction, they accelerate, gaining energy. In the larger volume of ocean beyond, they decelerate, but the energy remains, creating waves. The biggest waves are immediately downstream of such constrictions, sometimes forming a standing wave that stays in place as long as the current is flowing. As you get farther from the constriction, the current continues to slow; the waves diminish and become chaotic. In large rips, the waves are rarely so well formed, and you end up with a large area of jumbled chaos crossed by multiple wave trains. So what is a rip? It is an area where the water flows much faster across it than surrounding areas. This is caused by a funneling effect either due to the water depth changing very fast i.e. flowing across deep water into shallow water. Even though the water is attempting to flow across the area at the same rate, due to the decrease in volume because of the shallower depths, the water must flow faster to keep up. Rips are also formed across points and jetties. Rips are some of the most important ocean currents to understand. Find a rip and you will find fish. A note of caution, rips can be very dangerous to fish in a kayak due to the extreme current speeds and the rough water often associated with them. You don’t need to get into the big rips, merely finding a point with current flowing across it will hold fish. Small rips can be spotted by looking at the water and it will almost seem as if there is a seam running through it with two different textures of water joining to form a line, these are often rips or indicators of a bottom topography transition. Here are some visual clues that a rip is present and how to work them:


Rip

When you first look at the coastline in an effort to figure out what the topography looks like underwater it can be overwhelming. The ocean is so vast and the coastline runs for ever, but don’t let this stop you. When I first scout out a new area I like to see it first at low tide, normally arriving about an hour or so before the bottom so that I can watch the currents. The low tide exposes rocks, sandbars, and weed lines that are normally submerged at other times. My second time out scouting is an hour or so before high tide, again, I am studying how the water flows, attempting to locate Rips and Eddies. I also look at the shoreline and try and picture how it extends out into the water. If the coast has a gentle slope, then it normally continues out into the water much the same as it did before entering the water. Should there be a sharp drop or cliff, then this also continues much the same as. Try and picture the land underwater as an extension of the land mass prior to it entering the water.

Points - These are prime areas, often stretching out for many hundreds of yards after entering the water. Rip Lines are often established across points during tidal flows. Never under estimate a good point, put your time in working these waters especially hard; just be careful around them, as the waters really do rip across them. Try working the incoming side first and then move to the back side. I try a get my bait or lure to travel naturally along the current lines, which is to say with the current. If that doesn’t produce fish then try going against the current. Some of my personal favorite points include:

• Hammonasset Point between Madison and Clinton (Strong Rip).
• Cornfield Point in the Old Saybrook area.
• Hatchett Point in the Old Lyme Shores area.
• Griswold Point near the mouth of the Connecticut River in the Old Lyme Shores area.
• An unnamed point located between White Sands Beach near Lyme Shores and Hawks Nest/Sound View Beach near Lyme Shores and the mouth of Mile Creek.
• Black Point between Lyme and Niantic, near Rocky Neck State Park.
• Bay Point in the Niantic area.
• Sandy Point inside Niantic Bay.
• Milestone Point in the Niantic area.
• White Point in the Niantic area off of Pleasure Beach.
• Magonk Point in the Niantic area off of Pleasure Beach.
• Goshen Point off of Harkness Beach in the Waterford area.
• Groton Long Point in the Groton area.
• Munford Point in the Groton area.
• Bluff Point in the Groton area.
• Bushy Point in the Groton area.
• Avery Point in the Groton area.
• Eastern Point in the Groton area.
• Mason Point in the Mystic – Noank area.
• Morgan Point in the Mystic – Noank area.
• Mason Point off of Mason Island in the Mystic area.
• Latimer Point between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Stonington Point in the Stonington area.
• Napatree Point in the Little Narragansett Bay area.
• Watch Hill
• Point Judith

Islands, Rock Piles, Reefs, Shoals, & Ledges - Long ago when I first moved here from the Pacific North Coast, I learned that if you mix rocks, water, and the Tube & Worm (T&W), you got Stripers. This recipe still works today very well. Fish slow and close to the rocks and let the T&W just gently roll over the rocks and boulders. Reefs and ledges are tremendous areas that hold tons of bait and provide breakwaters and holding areas for large fish. I like to fish the parameter of a rock pile fist, and then if possible, move across the rocks. These are also great places to drift eels at night, just pitch an eel against the rocks and free line him. I have picked up some very nice fish this way. Here are some areas to think about:

Islands
• Great Island at the mouth of the Connecticut River on the eastern side.
• Griswold Island off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Twotree Island in the Niantic area off of Pleasure Beach.
• North and South Dumpling Island between Mumford Point and south Fishers Island in Groton.
• Ram Island off of Noank.
• Gates Island off of Mason Island.
• Mason Island in the Mystic area.
• Andrews Island between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Dodges Island between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Lyddy Island between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Rock Island between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Fisher Island

Rock Piles
• Halftide Rock which is due west of Cornfield Point near Old Saybrook.
• Johns Rock off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• North and South Brother’s off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Seal Rock off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Long Rock off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Blackboys off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Black Rock off of Milestone Point in Niantic Bay.
• White Rock off of Milestone Point in Niantic Bay.
• Little Rock off of Milestone Point in Niantic Bay.
• High Rock in Jordan Cove off of Milestone in Niantic.
• Flat Rock in Jordan Cove off of Milestone in Niantic.
• Swimming Rock off of Noank.
• Red Rock between Mason Island and Stonington.
• White Rock between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Noyes Rock off of Stonington Point.
• Inside the Breakwalls at Point Judith

Reefs
• Hen and Chickens south west of Cornfield Point near Old Saybrook.
• Hatchett Reef off the coast of Old Lyme Shores.
• Bartlett Reef in Niantic area off of Pleasure Beach.
• Little Goshen Reef off of Harkness Beach in the Waterford area.
• Seaflower Reef off of Bluff Point in Groton.
• Horseshoe Reef off of Mumford Point in Groton.
• Ram Reef off of Noank.
• Ellis Reef in the Mystic area off of Mason Island.
• Commorant Reef between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Red Reef between Mason Island and Stonington.
• Watch Hill Reef between the Watch Hill and Fishers Island

Shoals
• Ram Shoal off of Noank.
• Noyes Shoal off of Stonington Point.
• The “Kitchen” between Napatree Point and the Pawcatuck River entrance.

Ledges
• Long Ledge off of Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Goshen Ledge off of Harkness Beach in the Waterford area.
• Sarah Ledge off of Harkness Beach in the Waterford area.
• Frank Ledge off of Avery Point in Groton.
• New London Ledge off of Avery Point in Groton.
• Black Ledge off of Pine Island in Groton.
• Vixen Ledge off of Bluff Point in Groton.

Beaches & Jetties - Beaches provide us with access to an already very limited access of our Connecticut Shoreline. Most beach access is found at state parks. Jetties not only provide the shore fisherman (Sand Pounder and Rock Hoppers) access to the saltwater, but they also allow one to travel further out then from the beach. Caution should be exercise at the ends of these jetties as the rocks are very slippery and the water from the waves can knock you off them is a heart beat. They often setup excellent rips across them during different stages of the tidal cycle. Here are a few:

• Hammonasset Beach offers access to several good locations to fish:
o The beach front that drops quickly off to the mid 20 feet range.
o Meigs Point at Hammonasset Beach State Park holds a very well known Jetty; know for the fierce rips that occur across it and the bluefish it attracts.
o The point with its rocky structure holds many fish.
• Old Saybrook Beach in Old Saybrook.
• White Sands Beach near Lyme Shores.
• Hawks Nest/Sound View Beach near Lyme Shores.

Harbors, River Entrances, Coves, Bays, Estuaries, & Flats - These contain some of the most productive saltwater ecosystems in the world. Their nutrient-rich waters support huge quantities of baitfish and crustaceans, and the constant flux of the tides move food in and out of channels and bays. Tidal water flows into the pocket waters in the incoming tide slower as a whole, but this flow in greatly increased by choke points.


Estuaries

Holes - These are often developed at the narrow mouths of these pocket waters, dug out from the constant flow of the tidal waters due to the increased flow across the small openings. One other notable observation is that along with the deep holes created at these openings, is that often times an eddy is also formed across from these holes due to the counter rotation of the water as the pocket fills. Water flowing into pocket water during the incoming tide not only flows into the pocket, but also out on the less-dominate side thus creating an eddy to drop a fat eel into. You will often find that water moves both in and out at the mouth of a salt pond, both on the incoming and out going tides.

Flats - These are perfect for fly or sight fishing, because the water is shallow enough to present a fly, regardless of where the fish are, and the fish are usually visible. I like early mornings with a high tide about 2 – 3 hours after sun up. This gives the fish the whole night to enter the flats undisturbed and establish their feeding patterns. The tidal push also moves bait into these areas and traps them against the sandbars setting up a regular feast for the fish. Look for swirls and tailing fish, along with birds to locate these prime feeding areas. Again, look on the outside or ocean side of the flat or sandbar during an outgoing tide, on the inside during an incoming tide for the bulk of the feeding fish. I remember fishing one such flat or sandbar early one morning with my friend Robert Hatcher. A Hurricane was due to pass off our coast about 08:00 AM, so launching at 05:00 AM, we paddled out to the sandbar knowing that the last nights incoming tide had deposited lots of baits fish inside the pocket waters. The skies were ominous, dark, and gloomy with the wind whipping around a bit. As we approached the sandbar, I looked over to him and said, this is either going to be one of the best days we will ever have fishing or the stupidest thing we have done in a long time. With the approaching storm and the dropping barometer, I knew that if we didn’t get blown off the water, it had the makings of a “Magic Day”. Needless to say upon arriving at the sandbar we find birds diving, bait jumping, and Bluefish busting everywhere. We sat amongst them for nearly 2 hours, catching one after another until the school started to move outside the pocket waters following the outgoing tide. We them focused our attention on another group of birds work some water across from us. Moving over to them we discovered Stripers had a bunch of bait pinned up against the bank and we feasting heavily upon them. We spend the remainder of the morning catching Bass on everything we threw at them. Robert look over with the biggest grin on his face and said, “this is the best fishing I have every done”. Some of my personal favorite pocket waters include:

• The Channel, Cedar Island, and Hammock Point in the Clinton Harbor area.
• Bluff Point, inside Bushy Point.
• Niantic Bay, inside.
• Little Narragansett Bay inside of Sandy Point in the Stonington area.

River Entrances - I treat river entrances much the same way as I do the mouths of coves, bays, and estuaries. One side or the other will be dominating to the incoming and out going tides. That is to say one side will have faster moving water then the other. This is the side that normally contains the hole. The same is true in river bends, one side the water will speed up and dig out a hole, while the other side is much slower and deposits silt and sand forming bars. Here are a few:

• Hammonasset River between Madison and Clinton.
• Connecticut River.
• Lieutenant River.
• Mile Creek between White Sands Beach and Hawks Nest/Sound View Beach near Lyme Shores.
• Three Mile River near Old Lyme Shores.
• Four Mile River near Rocky Neck State Park in Lyme.
• Niantic River in Niantic Bay.
• Latimer Brook at the headwaters of Niantic River in Niantic Bay.
• The Thames River.
• The Mystic River.
• The Pawcatuck River.

Channels
• Twotree Channel
• Pine Island Channel

Bridges - Bridges are one of my favorite places to fish along with quite a few of my fishing buddies. Here you will often find a deep hole with a fat cow waiting for an eel. Here are some of my favorite bridges:

• All Amtrak bridges along the coast.
• Mystic River Drawbridge

:Boner1_02:

Wow, great post. When do you offer classes, I'll be first in line. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Wow! They're dead now. Great post. Thanks for sharing.