Fall run builds in Long Island Sound as nor'easter clears
Long Island Sound held steady near 65°F this week across the New London, New Haven and Bridgeport tide stations, conditions that keep the fall run building. Captain Mike aboard Tartan II reports black sea bass fishing has stayed strong through the recent blow, with a good mix of sizes and plenty of keepers. At Black Hawk, a Tuesday trip produced a strong mix of black sea bass and bluefish with a few keeper striped bass mixed in, while Monday's bottom-fishing trip also turned up a few fluke. J&B Tackle noted that ahead of this past weekend's nor'easter, striped bass, bluefish and false albacore fishing was heating up for what looks like a strong fall run, and the shop is hoping the storm pushed more bait and fish into the area. Shore anglers are producing too — AW Marina had a customer land a slot-sized striped bass from the beach.
New to these readings? What water temp, tide, and moon phase mean for fishing →
What's biting
Fish this water?
We're light on local intel here. Send us your report and we'll credit you.
Send a reportWhat's next
High tide sweeps across the Sound through early-to-mid afternoon today, cresting at New London around 1:26 PM and rolling through New Haven and Bridgeport by roughly 3:15 PM, worth building a session around that push, especially on the bottom-fishing grounds where Tartan II and Black Hawk have found their recent success.
With the nor'easter now through, J&B Tackle's hope for a fresh push of bait and fish behind the storm is the thing to watch over the next few days — if that materializes, expect the striped bass, bluefish and false albacore bite teased before the blow to pick up rather than fade. Water temps in the mid-60s still favor an active fall bite across the board, and black sea bass should keep producing on structure as the week goes on. Weekend conditions should firm up as the system clears, making it a reasonable window to get back out.
Context
This fits the typical early-October rhythm for Long Island Sound, when summer species give way to the fall migration and bottom fishing stays productive while striped bass, bluefish and false albacore push through on bait runs. A passing nor'easter this time of year is common and often a net positive, stirring bait and triggering feeding activity rather than shutting things down for long. The region is solidly in its fall transition, with action typically building through October before tautog and black sea bass take over as the cold-water mainstays.
Synthesized from real-time NOAA buoy data, USGS stream gauges, and current reports across regional fishing blogs, captain updates, and angler forums. Check local regulations before keeping fish. Never trust a single source for a trip decision.
EVERY SATURDAY MORNING
Weekly fishing intelligence
Nationwide conditions, what's biting, and honest gear deals. One email, no noise.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.