Seasons on the Sound

A season-by-season look at Long Island Sound’s amazing gamefish and almost year-round fishing.

by Ed Mitchell

For 20 years, I have fished a remarkable body of water not far from the drumbeats of the modern world. Long Island Sound, with its western end in the shadows of New York’s skyscrapers, extends eastward over 110 miles. It has several large tributary rivers on its northern shore, each with fine fishing, and over 1,000 square miles of water in which to wet a line. Most of it is shallow (gently sloping to about 40 feet) and protected—ideal for fly fishing. It holds an array of charged gamefish that can weigh from 5 to 20 pounds or more. After all these years, I am still continually amazed by the Sound and its fish.

In the Sound, fly rodders focus on four principal species—striped bass, bluefish, Atlantic bonito, and little tunny (false albacore). These “favorite four” are migratory fish that come and go with the seasons. Overall, they add up to eight months of action. And if that is not enough, some bass stay the winter, particularly in the rivers on the Connecticut side, giving diehard fly fishers a reason to tie on a fly in winter.

Although it is one body of water, the Sound has many faces. There are beaches, bays, flats, points, reefs, river mouths, and islands to explore. Fishing from shore can be highly productive, but public access is limited and often difficult to locate. Still, there are excellent places to fish on foot. Local tackle shops can help you locate them, as well as find the numerous public boat ramps available to boaters.

You don’t need a big boat to fish the Sound effectively. In all but the worst weather, well-designed hulls as small as 18 feet are adequate. During calm conditions, many anglers use small tin boats, kayaks, rowing dories, and even canoes to fish in sheltered bays throughout the Sound.

In general, the Sound’s western half is dotted with numerous bays and harbors, many of them urbanized and less than postcard perfect. Nevertheless, they are easy to reach, sheltered from the wind, and home to some large bass and bluefish. The eastern half has the scenic water. More open to the sea, the strong tidal currents there surge in and out of the Sound, creating powerful rips and clear water. Along with this increased openness comes a touch more wind and wave, but the eastern Sound is still fly-rod friendly and has excellent fishing.

I’ll describe the favorite four species and a few other Sound fish that eagerly take flies. Then I’ll provide a season-by-season look at the fly-fishing opportunities in Long Island Sound.

The Favorite Four

Striped bass. In the Sound, striped bass are king. They are strong, adaptive fish that come readily to a fly. You can find them throughout the Sound and as many as 60 miles up the large rivers on the Connecticut side.

Two years ago, Paul Apuzzo, a skilled fly rodder and shore guide from New Haven, Connecticut, beached a bass just shy of 50 pounds. And I remember years when shore anglers could land five or six bass a year over 36 inches. Godzilla bass on a fly are always a possibility. Now, however, the average striper in the Sound is from 22 to 27 inches long. In fact, bass that size probably make up over 90 percent of the entire Atlantic coastal population.

Bluefish. Few gamefish possess the raw power of a bluefish. On the end of a line, they run, jump, and pull far out of proportion to their size, and their razor-sharp teeth can sever your leader in an instant. Although they lack the striper’s ability to venture into fresh water, blues are highly adaptable. You can find them running down schools of bait in open water, or prowling bays, beaches, and harbors. They are widespread in the Sound and their numbers are improving after a major decline in 1991.

Sound bluefish are typically between four and eight pounds—a fun-to-catch size—but they can be huge. In the late 1980s fly rodders tangled with 10- to 14-pound blues regularly. Believe me, that’s a war! A few teen-size blues are taken on a fly every year, and their numbers are steadily improving, so pack your wire shock tippets.

Atlantic bonito and little tunny. For many anglers, Atlantic bonito and little tunny are seasonal highlights. These two speedsters can sizzle deep into your backing; they’re nothing short of lightning on a line. You owe it to yourself to experience these incredible fish at least once. These two fish feed on the same bait and are found in the same water, but the bonito arrive about three weeks sooner, tolerate colder water, and leave about two weeks later, depending on the weather and availability of bait.

Bonito arrive in July. They have mouths full of small needle teeth (you don’t need a wire leader) and feed cautiously. They pinch food between their teeth, often grabbing it by the tail. Use short flies to increase your hookups.

Little tunny show up close to Labor Day. They are stronger than bonito, don’t have significant teeth, and are more willing to take flies. They inhale food like a bass, so it’s easy to get solid hookups.

Each year the number of bonito and little tunny varies, probably due to changing weather conditions. In July and August, bonito run about six pounds, but later in the season bigger fish appear. Eight- and nine-pound fish fall to the fly every October, and bonito over ten pounds, while rare, have been caught.

Little tunny are heavier; six pounds is a small one, and seven to nine pounds is average. In many years, these ballistic missiles run from 9 to 11 pounds or more. Hook one over 12 pounds in a swift rip and you’ll watch your 10-weight bend into the corks.

Unlike bass and blues, the bonito and little-tunny action happens in isolated pockets. You must search for them. The biggest bite is at the Sound’s east end, where the currents are swiftest. Try the rips known as The Race and Plum Gut. You can find the rips by drawing a line on your chart from Orient Point through Plum Island to Fisher’s Island. You’ll need a seaworthy craft and a careful captain in these waters, which occasionally become wild.

On the north shore of Long Island, look for bonito and little tunny to visit inlets, harbors, and bays at least as far west as Port Jefferson. Along the Connecticut shore, these speed demons swim westward as far as the Thimble Islands, but frequently they are much more plentiful east of Madison.

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