What’s Biting in April in Connecticut?

Western Connecticut

By Capt. Chris Elser

Try Trout on the Fly 

Trout-fishing enthusiasts have already had several weeks of fishing under their belts by the time this issue hits the stands but, in my heart, April truly is the “beginning” of the freshwater season. Connecticut spring trout stocking starts in early March, weather permitting, but the late-winter weather is hardly predictable. The new norm in our region seems to be milder temperatures in December through January, and then winter weather in February and March.

The good news is that the rivers should have a strong flow, thanks to snowmelt combined with a water table that has been saturated for several months. I focus on fly fishing in April and my fly-fishing gear consists of weight-forward sink-tip lines for swinging streamer flies and floating line for dry-fly nymph fishing. By the middle of April, on warmer days, I’m looking for the start of the Hendrickson hatch in midafternoon. 

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I prefer an 8- to 9-foot, 5-weight rod for an all-around setup. I cast a fast-action 9-weight rod for dry-fly and nymph fishing, while for swinging streamers, I like the full flex of an 8-foot medium-action rod. Most major rod manufacturers offer glass rods now, which is how fly fishing started for me in the early 1970s with an 8-foot Fenwick 7-weight. I used it for everything from bass-pond popping to trout fishing and even estuary schoolie striper fishing. The signature brown-colored blank and full-flex action added enjoyment to every fish I hooked, similar to the experience of bamboo rod but at a much more affordable price. 

My current go-to streamer rod is an 8-foot, 6-weight Orvis Superfine glass 3-piece rod, probably because it’s similar to my original Fenwick. I frequently fish the Superfine, especially in March and April, when I do a lot of streamer fishing. It has a nice, full flex when swinging a streamer crosscurrent, providing a soft cushion for the tippet when a big trout hammers the fly as the line starts to straighten. 

I still believe a glass rod is one of the most versatile all-around tools, but there is no doubt that a fast-action rod delivers a dry fly with more distance and finesse. An added benefit to a fast-action tip is the ability to mend line to achieve drag-free floats when fishing nymphs and dry flies. For dry-fly and nymph fishing, I prefer the Orvis Helios, which is a very light, fast-action-tip rod, ideal for a precise cast in the feeding lane and well ahead of a rising trout. 

Aside from the above options, there are rods that do everything well, and the rod that I take with me during a full day of fishing is my Scott G2 9-foot 5-weight. I call this a medium-fast action, not a full-flexing one like my Superfine glass rod and not as fast as the Helios, just a little bit of both. I often string the Scott up when I expect to fish streamers earlier in the day, nymphs at midday, and dries later in the afternoon. Ah, if only that sort of full day on a favorite stream occurred more often! Whatever your brand preference and style of fly rod is, consider the different actions for specific situations that are available to enhance your fly-fishing experience.

The local trout streams I fish most frequently are the Housatonic River between Cornwall and New Milford, the Shepaug, Pomperaug, and East Aspetuck, as well as several small wild-trout streams throughout the area. Early April hosts several hatches on most of these streams, and the common hatches are stoneflies, blue and red quills, caddisflies, and Hendricksons. 

Weather plays a major role in the hatch’s duration and timing, so when I am on a dry-fly mission, I look for mild days with very little wind. Don’t let rainy, overcast days go to waste, though; get out that slow-action streamer rod. Wind? Well, all flyrodders have a few choice words to say about that.

Keep in mind that early in April, when the water is still cold, most trout are in deeper pools, but that doesn’t mean they won’t feed on the surface at all. As a hatch materializes, fish set up in feeding lanes at the tail end or near current seams on the edges of deeper water. This is where you can often enjoy dry-fly fishing early in the season. By later in the month, I like to target riffles—faster and shallower water ahead of and below the deeper pools. When fish are set up in riffles, they are almost always on the feed or preparing to do so.

If fly fishing isn’t your cup of tea, April brings the best opportunity for bait and lure anglers on our streams, ponds, and lakes. As far as I am aware, there are two areas limited to fly-fishing only in the above-mentioned streams. One is the upper Housatonic River from Falls Village down to Housatonic State Park, and the other is a two-mile section of the Shepaug River in Roxbury.  

Trout aren’t the only action April has to offer, by any means, I enjoy pike and smallmouth bass fishing with flies and lures on Lake Lillinonah, Zoar, and the upper Housatonic River as well. We have some of the best pike and smallmouth bass fishing in southern New England.

Last but not least, western Connecticut has many lakes and ponds with plentiful white and yellow perch, crappie, and bluegill.

Eastern Connecticut

By Josh Rayner

Greet the Season’s Incoming Stripers

In April, many Connecticut anglers shift focus to striped bass; however, there are great options across the state in fresh water that shouldn’t be overlooked. April is one of the best months to target largemouth and smallmouth bass. It might not always be a numbers game, but your chance at some high-quality pre-spawners is off the charts.  

Although … sometimes it is a numbers game, specifically with smallmouth. A small variety of hair jigs and suspending jerkbaits are all you need for smallies on most days, and in some water bodies, 50-plus-fish days are possible. As difficult as I find it to stray from striper fishing in April, river smallies have just the right amount of allure to distract me into pursuing them, whether it’s alone or with clients on guided kayak trips.  

Candlewood Lake is the smallmouth mecca of Connecticut, but most of my time is spent on the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers. The fish might not all be giants in terms of weight, but 20-inch fish or longer can be caught. In lakes, smallmouths are stronger than largemouths of the same size, but river smallies are stronger yet. They are built to deal with current, with longer, sleeker bodies than those found in lakes, and can bring on some unreal fights. River smallies tend to be more omnivorous, and though they can key in on particular forage, they are more likely to take what comes their way on the natural conveyer belt of current compared to their lake-bound counterparts.

Largemouth bass vary more from day to day in terms of activity level, some days hitting only slow-moving bottom baits, and other days chasing down and crushing larger, horizontal presentations like chatterbaits and spinnerbaits. As with any other time of year, you must play the hand you’re dealt, and April can be all over the place when it comes to conditions. 

I never hit the water without a black or green pumpkin 3/8- or ½-ounce skirted grass jig tied on, regardless of time of year, and many of my biggest largemouth bass caught in March and April have fallen for jigs. This can be a consistent early-season pattern on many bodies of water, including the Connecticut River coves. As far as soft-plastic trailers go, I almost always run something muted in color that resembles a crawfish. My favorites are the Berkley PowerBait Chigger Craw and the YUM Crawbug, in green pumpkin or black with blue flake. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your trailer colors with your jig-skirt colors. Sometimes, a bit of contrast grabs their attention, and having a presentation with multiple but subtly different colors or shades may up your odds of matching the appearance of the crawfish. At this time of year, crawfish are still very dark. They start to dig themselves out of the mud and rocks when water temperatures are around the 50-degree mark. On sunny days, you may find them in inches of water, sunning on riprap banks. If you happen to see this, know that there are bass close by.

Dinner-plate-sized crappie in Connecticut River coves provide steady action through the winter (so long as you can break through the skim ice with your vessel), with that bite gradually getting better through March and April up until they spawn. Like bass, crappie can completely shut down under post-frontal conditions or after a cold snap, but a change in tactics may keep the bite going. A float-and-fly rig is probably the best tool to remedy this. There is much more to this presentation than just watching a bobber, and it can be fine-tuned to location of the fish in the water column and to the depth you are fishing. The jig beneath the slip float is dealer’s choice. Well, technically it’s the crappie’s choice, but they aren’t too picky, just as long as they can see the offering. A small hair jig or soft plastic on a jighead will work. I stay in the 1/32- to 1/8-ounce range depending on wind speed and the depth where fish appear to be holding. The Connecticut River is known for being off-colored much of the time, so there are situations when visibility is low and florescent pink, chartreuse, and hi-vis orange are best.

For those fishing the lower Connecticut River coves this spring, keep an eye on the Haddam Swing Bridge closure schedule. Closings may make crossing the river by vehicle and launching where you prefer difficult, so plan accordingly.

With early reports of striped bass moving into the Western Sound, anglers from the eastern part of the state must travel west for a shot at seven-striped fish, or poke around local herring runs and estuaries for some sparsely distributed holdovers. With several years of poor river herring numbers in the Connecticut River and its tributaries yet again, there isn’t much hope for that bite. I hope to be proven wrong, but it looks bleak. Fisheries Biologist Kevin Job has spent much of his career with the CT Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) focusing on tracking river herring, shedding light on the many unfortunate effects that have contributed to their local decline. Kevin and the DEEP are currently looking for volunteers to monitor the state’s many herring runs and share any observations of them. Email kevin.job@ct.gov for more information.  

As the month progresses, more striped bass will make their way east, filtering into warming estuaries with large flats and select Long Island Sound beaches, bars, and rips. An array of small early-season forage will be available, such as sand eels, silversides, grass shrimp, and juvenile baitfish. The last few winters have been mild, and in some areas, peanut bunker wintered over more consistently, providing a nice early-season option for schoolie and slot-sized striped bass. Be ready to downsize your offerings in areas that may not have a strong showing of herring or upsize in areas where herring are apparent. 

A few years back, I took my kayak far into the upper reaches of a salt creek looking for striped bass. With a reputation for being a productive herring run, my hopes of decent-sized bass were high. As the tide turned, the stripers I had marked staging around a sharp bend through the flood tide became active, and I started to catch them on jigged and subsurface soft plastics. The biggest fish on this trip was only a 32-incher, but it was exceptionally round for its length and one of only a few in this school that committed to striking a medium-sized topwater plug. Its stomach was filled with something, and when I looked down its throat, I saw a tail sticking out that was clearly not the forked tail of a river herring. This fish had eaten either a small schoolie striper or perhaps a white perch. It was certainly noteworthy and made me rethink early season striper fishing. I always try to come as close as I can to matching the abundant and preferred forage, but I now keep a larger offering ready in case a bigger fish is looking to throw caution to the wind.

Related Content 

Smallmouth Bass Fishing the Housatonic River

Four Bass Baits to Break Your Personal Best This Spring

Try this Traditional Bait for Spring Tautog Fishing

Weightless Soft-Plastics for Backwater Stripers

Source: https://onthewater.com/whats-biting-in-april-in-connecticut

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