The Benmar Fishing Report

October brings some of the best fishing along the CT coast and one of our favorite quarries is the Tautog (commonly known as blackfish) .  These toothy critters are exciting to catch on light tackle with some rod-busting individuals ranging to 15 pounds or more.  Most of the fish are 3 to 5 pounds.  They hit green crabs with abandon and really give the angler a great fight.  Most importantly, they are similar to grouper in consistency and taste plus they freeze exceptionally well.  Call Capt. George for a date.  In fact, due to a late cancellation Saturday October 2nd is open, so if you can put a trip together on short notice he’ll give you a deal. 

The weekend trips were a challenge due to brezzy conditions and strong tides.  Our anglers on each day really hung in there and fished hard but unfortunately only the bluefish cooperated to any extent.  A few bass were caught but they were on the small side.  A side catch of porgies was there to be had as usual.  For the last few days it seems that there has not been a lot of bait fish around to hold concentrations of gamefish thus it has been a “hunt and peck” type of fishing effort.  Thankfully, there have been some “bruiser” bluefish around to bend the poles and give our anglers some great fights including nice aerial displays!

Lots of action today out on sugar reef.  The rods were constantly bending mostly with bluefish up to 15 pounds.  There were also several short bass caught as well as the usual bunch of porgies. 

Well, Mark from Queens did it again with another giant day catching porgies and bass.  He has the knack….that’s for sure.  Fall starts tomorrow and the BENMAR can’t wait to get out there for what some people think is THE season to go fishing!  Bass, blues, jumbo porgies and now add blackfish to the list…..it is time to enjoy the ocean and take home some great fillets for the freezer!

We had a nice family group from Milford out today.  We tried fishing out Watch Hill way and it started out promising with a big blue and several throwback bass but then things just kind of shut down and we were limited by strong currents generated by hurricane Igor.  So we went back “inside” to be in protected waters and did a little better with a few more blues and a number of striped bass with a couple keepers to 33 inches.  There were, of course, a good batch of porgies that got on the hooks from time to time.  So in the end, it wasn’t a great day but not a bad day…..just a day of fishing with decent weather and good company aboard the BENMAR.  October is right around the corner and that means Capt. George will be running his Blackfish special!  Of course, bass and blues will still be running as well so call for a date @413-374-4199.

A nice group of four came down from the Berkshires and did a good job fishing through some breezy weather today.  The wind limited Capt. George to fishing the inshore waters but he did find some fish here and there so that the group had about 60 porgies, 5 blues and a keeper bass to take home for the table.  There were a few throwback bass and of course the usual collection of “almosts”.  These anglers had a good time and look forward to a possible blackfish charter next month. 

Todays charter went right according to plan.  Great weather and cooperative fish.  Just two stops produced a cooler full of fish.  Our anglers were mostly interested in porgies and filled the boat with over a hundred jumbo scup.  While they were porgy fishing they also hauled in 5 large bluefish and three keeper stripers!  September fishing at its finest!!

Capt. George had a nice day out there today with a group that turned out to be from his old neighborhood so they had a lot in common.  They also had quite a good day fishing with lots of action from stripers, blues and porgies.  They hooked numerous fish.  Lost some, caught some and kept 3 nice striper beauties and one large bluefish.  The weather was just great as it often is at this time of the year. 

A rare SATURDAY in September just became available due to a cancellation.  9/18 is open!  This is a prime date that falls between the new and full moons with an outgoing tide starting at about 8:15 so you don’t have to get up at O-dark hundred to get in some awesome striper fishing.  The tide runs at a moderate speed that day so it should be just perfect for chunking on one of our favorite reefs out Watch Hill way.  If I had to guess I would predict GREAT striper fishing that day with blues and possibly bonita mixing in.  As I write this, there are several Sundays also available and of course the weekdays where Capt. George gives you a great trip at the reduced price of $500.  This is the best time of the year to go fishing.  Give Capt. George a call to set up a trip!  413-374-4199

Fortunately, Hurricane Earl went by without damaging anything in our neck of the woods.   It left us with a bunch of wind and some dirty water but Capt. George found some decent places to fish and came home with 5 blues, 2 keeper stripers, and 19 porgies.  There were also about a half dozen throwback stripers so the day was pretty active.  There are plenty of open dates this month which many anglers feel is the best time of the year for fishing our local waters.  Don’t let the summer go by without a great day on the BENMAR and a chance to catch a real trophy!  Call 413-374-4199.

Fishing ahead of the storm, our group of anglers got into them today and had a great time reeling in stripers, blues and porgies.  Plenty of keepers for the cooler and a great day all around.  Now we batten down the hatches for Hurricane Earl!