October 2, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of great fishing. Porgy fishing just can't get any better. Thursday's trip was hassled by thick fog and gloomy conditions, but the porgies bit the bottom of the boat out. Everyone had their limit of hubcap size "porgasaursuses", with a nice mix of jumbo seabass thrown in. It just can't get any better. Now is the time to fill your freezer - one more week left of the 40 fish bonus season, then don't forget- the regulations have been extended, so we'll be catching porgies right up through the end of the year.
Friday's After Work Special trip was another slaughter. All the bluefish you could handle, with a good mixture of striped bass. Three waying with bucktails was the way to go on the evening adventure. This trip was so successful we'll be continuing these trips through October 21- check our website for details, and grab your spot before they'll all full!
Just wanted to make a note about the blackfish- the season opened October 1, and we've been catching some during our porgy trips. We had been tagging those caught before the season opened, and even tagged a few keeper ones in between the bridges in the Niantic River. Species that have been tagged include striped bass, blackfish, seabass and fluke. The tags are fluorescent yellow, 3 inches long, and the first fish caught and the tag returned is worth a $1,000 shopping spree to J&B Tackle, so be on the lookout while you're fishing! As always, check our website for details (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) and schedule updates. We'll see you at the boat for some great fall fishing!
September 25, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports that diamond jigging can't get any better for the bluefish. Literally, as many as you want to catch. People are keeping their fill of their preferred size of a variety of sizes, and releasing dozens more. Arm -weary is the only way to describe it. Sunday's trip found us with a full boat of passengers, beautiful weather, and excellent fishing. There's a mixture of striped bass with quite a few short fish being caught and released.
The big news on the bottom fishing is not only is the porgy fishing excellent, but the sea bass seems to be holding right up with good catches of big fish. They're in a variety of fishing spots, which just goes to show that there's a pretty good charge of them around. Hopefully this bonus will continue through the fall. Customers are having no problem catching their 40 fish quota on the porgies.
The porgy season has been extended after the bonus season of October 11, and we will be running combo trips for blackfish, blues, bass and scup for the remainder of the season. It'll be a real bonus, and give our customers a good variety of fish. Check our website for a full schedule to be posted this week.
Wednesday's night trip was certainly not one of our most productive nights. We averaged over a fish per person, but it certainly what we've been doing. Our congratulations to Mitchell Palmer of North Carolina, who caught a 40 pound plus fish, and, after giving it a friendly pat on the back, released it. He said, "I know these big fish are the breeders, and I just want to do my part to ensure that they stick around." We're with you, Mitchell!
Friday night's trip was hampered by southeastly winds and the constant downpour of heavy rain. Fish were off the bite on the ebb tide that night, and only a handful were caught, along with 8-10 bluefish. They seem to be biting better on the flood tide recently than on the ebb. October night trips will be posted in the next week, check our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) for a full schedule.
September 18, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports that diamond jigging can't get any better for the bluefish. Literally, as many as you want to catch. People are keeping their fill of their preferred size of a variety of sizes, and releasing dozens more. Arm -weary is the only way to describe it. Sunday's trip found us with a full boat of passengers, beautiful weather, and excellent fishing. There's a mixture of striped bass with quite a few short fish being caught and released.
The big news on the bottom fishing is not only is the porgy fishing excellent, but the sea bass seems to be holding right up with good catches of big fish. They're in a variety of fishing spots, which just goes to show that there's a pretty good charge of them around. Hopefully this bonus will continue through the fall. Customers are having no problem catching their 40 fish quota on the porgies. The porgy season has been extended after the bonus season of October 11, and we will be running combo trips for blackfish, blues, bass and scup for the remainder of the season. It'll be a real bonus, and give our customers a good variety of fish. Check our website for a full schedule to be posted this week.
Wednesday's night trip was certainly not one of our most productive nights. We averaged over a fish per person, but it certainly what we've been doing. Our congratulations to Mitchell P. of North Carolina, who caught a 40 pound plus fish, and, after giving it a friendly pat on the back, released it. He said, "I know these big fish are the breeders, and I just want to do my part to ensure that they stick around." We're with you, Mitchell! Friday night's trip was hampered by southeastly winds and the constant downpour of heavy rain. Fish were off the bite on the ebb tide that night, and only a handful were caught, along with 8-10 bluefish. They seem to be biting better on the flood tide recently than on the ebb. October night trips will be posted in the next week.
September 18, 2011Capt Greg from the Black Hawk reports another great week of fishing with fantastic catches of bass, blues, scup and seabass. Saturday's trip was incredible with fantastic fishing, double headers of jumbo scup with a good mixture of large sea bass. Most fares easily caught their limit by mid-day, and spent the rest of the day trying to target more seabass. As the nights get colder, more and more scup should be piling into our area, which is going to make the already excellent fishing even better. Our night bass fishing has shown good numbers of striped bass. Wednesday's night trip showed a smaller run of bass, with cookie cutter type bass of the 28-30 inch range. On Friday's 4-9 trip, though, as a bonus we stopped and live lined eels on the way in, and we caught several nice fish in the 20's. We've added some new night trips, check our website for details. Our Sunday and Monday day trips showed excellent bluefishing, as good as it gets, with a good mix of striped bass thrown in.
Heather reports a busy week of specialty trips, starting with the Northeastern Saltwater Fishing Club's fishing trip on Monday night. We were honored to take out 30 Vietnam veterans who are currently living in the Veteran's Hospital in Rocky Hill. They had a great time diamond jigging bluefish and wore themselves out! Sportfishing hats and trophies were presented at the end of the trip. The group also brought a truckload of food with them, which was then personally delivered by a BlackHawk crew member to the RWS Recreation Center in Rodanthe, North Carolina. This center is currently serving 800 meals per day to victims of Hurricane Irene who are still without power, water, and their homes. They were extremely grateful for the donation. The Northeast Saltwater Fishing Club then sponsored another trip on Saturday night, with 25 children whose parent or parents are currently actively serving in our military. The kids had a great time and caught loads of fish! We would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of both the Veteran's and Children's trips: Peter Pan Bus Lines, Mr. Trophy of Hartford, Thurston Foods of Wallingford, Tees Plus in Branford, and Dave Carlson, Phil Wetmore, and Rich Anderson, all of whom donated a great deal of time, organization, and their own money to make these special trips happen.
We also had a great time on Tuesday night with Jimmy Lane and the crew from WCTY, and the winners of their morning show contests. Everyone had a great time, and we're already looking forward to next year.
It's with a heavy heart that we share the news of the passing of one of our longtime customers, Reggie Fellows. He always fished in the bow, was always trying to catch stripers, and loved fishing at Pigeon Rip. No matter how good the fishing was with the diamond jigs or bucktails, he always liked to use the chunk bait on a three way. Last year, we introduced him to porgy fishing, and although he fought us tooth and nail, admitted that he liked it. He was planning on coming with us this year, but never made it. Our first porgy trip of the year was dedicated to him. He will be missed but never forgotten.
Don't forget, check our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) for our schedule, upcoming night trips, and fishing reports. Hope to see you at the dock soon!
September 11, 2011One of the premier weeks of striped bass fishing for the 2011 season, reports Heather from the Black Hawk. Monday's night trip was fast and furious. Limits were easily met with bass up to 45 pounds, and they were throwing back 25+ pound fish the remainder of the night, and left them biting. Check our website for the remainder of our September bass trips. The 4-9 After Work Special trips were more of the same. Arm-weary customers left with their fill of bluefish, and good fisherman were catching their limits of striped bass as well.
We have one more After Work Special trip this Friday, September 16. Given the exceptional fishing and customer demand, we may extend these trips into October- check our website for details. Bluefishing remains excellent on both tides on the day trips, with a mix of bass. Because of this, we've been trying to spend an hour porgy fishing on some of our bass/blue trips, introducing a lot of folks to these hard fishing and good eating fish. We're fishing for bass and blues on Sundays and Mondays from 8am to 3pm. The porgy bonus season opened Wednesday with excellent results. Saturday's trip was the best, with a boatload of customers and excellent fishing. The 40 fish limit were easily attained by the better fisherman, but everyone caught their fair share. These trips also produced a good amount of large sea bass. There seems to be more around this year than in previous years. We're fishing for porgies Tuesday-Saturday from 7am to 3pm. As always, check our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) for a full schedule and details about our trips.
September 4, 2011Capt. Greg from the Black Hawk reports that the hurricane did nothing to disrupt the bass and bluefishing! We still have excellent fishing with more than enough fish to satisfy even the toughest critic. On Friday morning's trip, we hit the end of the flood tide just perfectly and carried the fish with us for about 50 minutes- it was an absolute slaughter. Customers were releasing fish by the dozens. Our deckhands estimated around 300 fish were caught during that time period, all on diamond jigs.
Irene did manage to bring in a new batch of bass- we've had bass in the 15-25 pound range on our day trips lately, which will provide some excellent fishing on our September night trips, which start this week. Check our website for a complete list of September night trips.The porgy fishing, unfortunately, was affected by the storm. The fish were scattered around and are just starting to regroup. Because the bass and blues fishing has been so good, we've been porgy fishing on some of our day trips, introducing a lot of customers to the fast action and great eating of the jumbo porgies. We are looking forward to the opening of our bonus season, which starts on September 7. Starting September 7, we'll be porgy fishing on Tuesdays-Saturdays at 7am. Sundays and Mondays will be for bass and blues at 8am. All trips get in at 3pm. We do have 3 after work special trips left- 4pm on September 8, 9, and 16. Be sure to call soon to get a spot, as they are almost completely filled as of this report. A complete schedule is available online on our website,
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com.Heather wants to share that we're excited about our upcoming trip with the Make-a-Wish foundation, when we will once again take a group of "wish kids" out on a special fishing trip. Check our website for photos and reports from this very special trip. Don't forget, we're collecting art supplies and cleaning supplies as part of our September Black Hawk and the Community Program. See you soon!
August 21, 2011Another spectacular week of bluefishing, reports Heather from the Black Hawk. It just can't get any better. Customers are arm-weary by the halfway point of the trips and are releasing most of the rest of the catch. Donations are running high for the United Way, we just brought a load of fish last week, and we'll be doing it again this
week. The bluefishing has been so good that we've been splitting the trips with some porgy fishing during the week. Friday's trip had a little porgy bonus with everyone catching 6-8 jumbo porgies in the hour and a half we devoted to porgy fishing at the end of the day.We're also really looking forward to our bonus porgy season, which
starts September 7.Striped bass are still a little picky during the daylight hours because of all the bluefish, but we're catching a handful on each trip. Diamond jigging is still the best method- three waying with bucktails are producing well too, especially at sundown, when we're getting a few more bass.
We'd like to thank everyone for their cooperation on the afternoon of August 13, when the Black Hawk did not sail so our crew could attend the memorial services for Captain Benjamin F Rathbun of Noank. Ben was a long time friend of my father (Capt Greg) and he operated the charter boat Anna R out of Noank, among his many other accomplishments. He will be sadly missed but always remembered.
Don't forget, we're still collecting school supplies for our Black Hawk and the Community program. As always, you can check our website
(
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) for schedule updates, fishing reports,
and other information. We'll see you at the boat!
August 14, 2011Capt Greg reports from the Black Hawk "Simply put, the fishing can't get any better". It seems as though we have the entire biomass of New England's bluefish in our area. Coupled with the overabundance of natural bait in the area, includes squid by the megaton, juvenile butterfish and porgies, it all adds up to spectacular bluefishing. Ironically, in other areas of New England, the South Shore of LongIsland and Northern New Jersey, we hear the bluefish are scarce. Despite the occasional heavy rain, both trips on Sunday were exceptional, with phenomenal bluefishing and a scattering of bass mixed in.
Diamond jigs are still preferred during the days, with bucktails at dawn, dusk, and night. Because of the bluefish, the bass bite has dropped off substantially. As of this report, we're getting up to eight bass per trip, compared to earlier in the season, when we were getting that many per drift. Sunday afternoon's trip had more basswith bucktails than with the diamond jigs. We're looking forward to our porgy season, starting September 7. We've heard great early porgy reports, and we are excited for a great porgy season! We're also looking forward to a few more weeks of our After Work Special trips, Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 10 pm.These trips are filling fast, so be sure to call the office today to get your spot on one of the remaining trips for this season. You can find our complete schedule by visiting our website,
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com. September night trips will be posted soon, so stay tuned.
Heather from the office would like to thank everyone for their donations of fish fillets- she was able to take another huge load of fish over to the United Way this week, where it is immediately distributed to those who need it most. They always appreciate the fish, and we're told it's gone shortly after we deliver it due to thesheer number of people and programs who need food assistance during this time. Don't forget, we're collecting school supplies during August to be distributed to local children, so bring some "Back to School" goodies on your next trip and help the local kids get ready for another school year. Thanks, and we'll see you at the boat!
August 7, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another good week of solid fishing. An amazing amount of bass are still being caught. Usually in August by this time, the bass slow down a little bit, but they continue to hang in there. I hate to keep repeating the same report, but we've had consistently good fishing all summer long so far. The Ebb tide, with diamond jigs and three-waying with bucktails are still the way to go.The 4-10 trips are still getting the sundown flurry and the fishing has been good. The fishing at sundown has been fantastic, which is the real bonus on these trips. Congrats to Bruce W of Cornwall, who won the pool on Thursday- both the day trip and the After Work Special trip-both times with a nice bass. These 4-10 trips will continue into September, but are filling fast, so be sure to call the office to get your spot on board before they're done for the season.
We've got reports of more and more people porgy fishing down on the reefs of Watch Hill and around the gull islands, and we're all looking forward with great anticipation to the bonus season of the scup, which starts on September 7th. Don't forget your school supplies when you fish with us in August, as we're collecting for kids living in safe houses with the Women's Center of Southeastern CT, and we'd love to drop off a big load of school supplies for them in a few weeks so they're all ready for back to school. As always, for our complete schedule visit our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) or call the office. See you soon!
July 31, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of excellent fishing. The striped bass continue to hold up under a lot of pressure, and we've had a good mixture of both bass and blues on our trips, especially on our After Work Special trips. Diamond jigging or three waying with bucktails still seems to be working the best. Both tides have been producing good results. Our night trips last week were spectacular, with many customers catching their limit. August night bass trips were just posted, so check out the website for info and dates.
The Black Hawk would also like to remind everyone to be on the lookout for our tagged fish- we just tagged our 100th one! You can find the bright yellow tags in fluke, seabass, and striped bass. The first returned tag gets a $1,000 shopping spree at J&B Tackle in Niantic.
As always, don't forget to check our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) for schedule updates, special trips, and our new community program we've started. August night trips are posted, and September trips will be posted soon. See you at the boat!
July 24, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of good fishing. Although the tides are greatly affecting the catch, they're so slow running right now that it's making it difficult on certain stages of the tides. Despite this, on both the Saturday and Sunday afternoon trips, the boat caught loads of bass. Everyone caught their limit, and we also had as many blues as everyone wanted. We also released dozens of blues back to the water for another day of fishing.
We had another good week of our "After Work Special" trips, with great fishing with a good mixture of bass and blues on the trips. Diamond jigging is still the predominant way to catch 'em.
We can't report on the night trips at this time- we have three of them coming up this week, on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, and will add those reports to next week's fishing report. You can also look for them online during the week.
We'd like to thank all of our customers for their generous donations this week- we have hundreds of pounds of fish fillets to take to the United Way food bank on Monday, and we know they'll appreciate every one of them. As always, check out our website for info and schedule updates. We'll see you at the boat soon!
July 17, 2011
Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of excellent fishing. Certain tides and certain areas produce better than others, but overall the fishing was very good. Diamond jigs are still producing the best results. We even had a couple of keeper fluke and black sea bass on the diamond jigs. The bluefish are starting in invade, although we're still getting a good mixture of both bass and blues on our day trips.
Night trips last week were good, with fish in the mid 30's. We were hampered on Wednesday night by an exceptionally strong north-northwesterly wind which made the drift go like a rocketship. That, coupled with the strong full moon tides, made it a real feat to keep the bucktails down on the bottom where they belonged. The better fishermen still caught their limits. More night trips are coming up next week, and there are a few spots left on each of them. Check the website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) or call the office for details and reservations.
We'd also like to thank everyone who participated in our "Christmas in July" portion of our Black Hawk and the Community program. We were able to collect more than 70 new toys for local children as people brought toys in place of the fare for the Niantic Bay fireworks display. Pair that with our diaper drive from last weekend, and we've made some local families very happy in the past two weeks! We can't wait to be able to deliver the gifts later this week to the local agencies who will distribute them at Christmas. Thanks for helping us help the local community!
July 10, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of excellent fishing. The bass fishing during the week was about as good as it gets. Bass were caught on all trips last week- both day trips and evening trips. More and more blues are coming into the area all the time too- making for very successful trips! Last week's biggest bass were in the 50's. Diamond jigging is still producing the best. We're looking forward to our night trips this week- be sure to check the website for the fishing report and videos from this week's trips.
We'd like to thank everyone who came out and joined us for the Thames River Fireworks. As part of our Black Hawk and the Community program, we collected more than 50 packages of diapers to be delivered to the Riverfront Children's Center for their diaper bank. It was a great night, and helped out a great cause- thanks! We're looking forward to Saturday's Niantic fireworks, where we will be collecting toys for local children's organizations as part of our "Christmas in July" program.
As usual, check our website for updates, schedules, and night trips. Our August night trips will be posted soon, so stay tuned!
July 3, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports another week of excellent fishing. Small sections of particular tides are catching the best. Sometimes you need to be at the right spot at the right stage of the right tide. Although we've got a freezer full of herring ready for bait, diamond jigs are producing the best, with three-way bucktailing also producing at particular tides. It's been a good combination of striped bass and bluefish, with some of our trips being predominately bass. Night trips this week were nothing short of sensational, with fish in the 50's caught. Congrats to Sean from Stamford, who caught a 51.5 pound bass on Wednesday's night trip. More night trips are coming up the week of July 10, so check our website or call the office for details and reservations. We also wanted to remind everyone that we have our fireworks cruises coming up soon- the Thames River fireworks on Saturday, July 9, and the Niantic Bay fireworks on Saturday, July 16. Our Black Hawk and the Community program will benefit from both cruises. On Saturday, July 9, bring diapers for the local diaper bank and save money off your trip. The trip on July 16th is free when you bring a new and unwrapped toy for our "Christmas in July" program to benefit local children during the holiday season. Reservations are being taken for both trips, with some openings left on each one as of this report.
June 26, 2011
Heather reports a solid week of fishing. Midweek, a good charge of fish came into the Race with a mixture of bass and big blues, providing excellent fishing in the afternoons. Diamond jigs are still preferred and are the way to go. On our "After Work Special" trips on Thursday and Friday, the fishing was excellent on the flood tide right up until dark. Important to note is that Thursday's After Work Special trip and Saturday's afternoon trip were some of the best bass fishing that the 2011 season is likely to see. Non stop legal bass coming over the rail, with some large bluefish mixed in too. Diamond jigs were the bait to have. Make sure to check out the videos on our website so you can see for yourself.
We're looking forward to our night trips this week- we'll be going out Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as the After Work Special trips on Thursday and Friday. As always, we recommend reservations for the After Work Special trips- they're limited to 30 people and fill up quickly! We've also got our two fireworks cruises coming up- July 9 and July 16- and as usual, the Niantic Bay fireworks will be free as part of our "Christmas in July" portion of our Black Hawk and the Community program. Visit our website (
www.BlackHawkSportFishing.com) or call the office for details.
Direct from the Black Hawk on Sunday afternoon: Once again, the Black Hawk limited out on bass on the afternoon trip, with fish up to 24 pounds.
June 19, 2011
Heather reports the night bass fishing last week was nothing short of excellent. Monday Tuesday and Wednesday nights they bit on the entire flood once the tide got running. The night was hot with action. Fish last week up to 45 pounds. Bucktails were the rule, with a few fish taken on live eels.
Our Thursay and Friday 4-10 trips were equally as good, with the sundown flurry producing both bass and bluefish action at sundown. Very few bluefish are taken after dark. Because the action after dark at the begining of the week was so good, we stayed a little late on both Thurday and Friday to show the customers what it was all about. Once again, fish to over 40 pounds were taken on these trips.
Our daytrime trips over the holiday weekend had some of the best weather you could expect, a lot of crowds on all the boats and a lot of people out there. The fishing was kind of a grind. Diamond jigging was working the best for us, bucktails for a few people; If you're a good angler and knew what was going on, you could get your limit, with a good mixture of bluefish. There seems to be a lot of bait around and scattering of bluefish throughout the sound, and hopefully more and more bluefish will be arriving all the time.
Due to the superb night action we've added three more night trips to our June Monday the 27th, Tuesday the 28th and Wednesday the 29th. These are limited to 18 passengers so first come, first serve for reservations.
June 12, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk reports that good numbers of striped bass have arrived in the Race and adjacent areas. We've had excellent fishing on our 4-10 After Work Special trips, as well as our night bass trips, which have been producing good results. Friday's 4-10 trip was indicative of the fishing, with most fares catching their limit, and a few of the hot shots catching and releasing even more. Diamond jigs and bucktails are still the best. The flood tide is best in the daytime, the ebb tide at night. Our weather forecasters play an important role with the attendance of fishing parties. It doesn't matter what the weather really is, it's what they predict it will be that influences the customers in this industry. Call ahead to any boat you're planning on fishing with and get an up to date report, rather than relying on the meteorologist. Those who ignored the weatherman on Saturday afternoon were treated to some great fishing! Don't forget, we're tagging a lot of short fish with our Black Hawk tags, and we're still looking for the first return- it's worth a custom rod and reel and a $1,000 shopping spree at J & B tackle.We have three night trips this week, which should produce some nice fish. Check out our website and Facebook page later this week for the results of these trips in pictures and videos. As always, we've got our After Work Special trips on Thursday and Fridays from 4 pm to 10 pm- reservations are strongly suggested, as we limit the number of passengers on board. We'll also be starting our 7 days a week sailing schedule on Friday, June 17th.
June 5, 2011Let's talk night bass fishing- Friday night was nothing short of excellent. There was lots of action, including a lot of short fish, the most we've seen at night in a few years. Most of the bass seemed to come from the same mold- nice fish right around 30 inches, with the biggest being about 36 inches. Over the weekend, calm weather with bright sunshine and lots of boat traffic made the fishing excellent but the catching a real grind. A handful of bluefish and six to twelve bass a trip was average. Certainly not what it should be at this time of the year. The afternoon with the ebb tide was producing the best. Sunday afternoon's trip was the best of the weekend- good, solid fishing. If you're a good fisherman and know how to diamond jig, you caught your two nice bass easily, and some bluefish as well.
The Black Hawk will be starting our "After Work Special" trips this Thursday, June 9th. Remember, these trips are limited to only 30 passengers, and were hugely successful last year. Reservations are strongly suggested for these trips, so call the office or go online today for more info. We also have a few spots open on some of our remaining June night trips- but they're going fast!
May 29, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk office reports the fishing was excellent over the Memorial Day weekend. Greenport is still producing great numbers of blues with a few jumbo fluke coming over the rail every trip. Small diamond jigs are still the best bet. The Black Hawk has also been stopping in the Gut and Pigeon Rip on most trips on the way in and picking away at the bass. Saturday afternoon's trip had over a dozen nice fish to top off an action packed afternoon.The night trips this week had the bass biting better at sundown than after dark. Monday's trip had to come in early because of foul weather that hampered the catch. Tuesday's trip fared fine with some customers catching their limit. We're looking forward to our night trips this week- we have a few spots available, so call the office to get your spot on board today!As usual, we're collecting items as part of our Black Hawk and the Community program. In June, we'll be collecting canned goods and household cleaning supplies to be donated to local area organizations. This weekend we were thrilled to collect more than 100 pounds of fish fillets to bring to the United Way food bank- thanks for helping us help the local community!On another note, Captain Greg will be at Connecticut Outfitters on Wednesday night as part of their seminar series. He'll be talking about night bass fishing in the Race. Also, as many of you have seen, our Great White Shark mount is up at Cabela's in East Hartford for the summer. Be sure to check it out if you're in the area.
May 15, 2011Heather from the Black Hawk office reports that the water is still a little cold, but the bass are just starting to show up in good numbers on the flood tide at the Race and Plum Gut. My personal scouts were out over the weekend and did very well, especially on Sunday morning, with good numbers of bass. Diamond jigging and bucktails are working the best. Saturday's trips down to Greenport were very good. The morning was good, but the afternoon was sensational. Small diamond jigs, 4-6 oz jigs and lighter line catches the best. Remember shallow water fish get spooked easily, so don't run 'em down. On the Sunday morning trip, we stopped short and fished Plum Gut. Fishing was excellent on diamond jigs. There were a lot of fish and they kept pouring down the tide from Gardiner's Bay. A few bass were mixed in as well. Customers caught their fill and we were thrilled to be able to get lots of fish donations for the United Way food bank. We're looking forward to a great start to our night bass trips, which start this week and continue through May and June. They're filling quickly, but some spaces are still available- call the office or visit our website for details.
May 8, 2011The Black Hawk started off the 2011 fishing season with a great weekend of fishing! On both Saturday and Sunday, the Black Hawk headed over to Greenport to diamond jig for blues in the shallow waters. The weather was great, and so was the fishing! Everyone on board caught their fill of bluefish. Lighter jigs, in the 4-6 ounce range, were working the best. The fluke season has started in New York, but not in Connecticut, so even though we caught a few fluke, they had to be thrown back. We also caught a few jumbo porgies that also were released for another day. We're awaiting the arrival of the striped bass to the area. We'll be looking for them on our night bass trips, which have been posted on our website. Check online for the dates, and call the office to sign up. You may have heard on the news or in the Hartford Courant that Capt. Greg's great white shark has a new home for the summer, at Cabela's in East Hartford. The 3,400 pound monster will be on display through the summer, so be sure to check it out. We had a great first weekend, and we're looking forward to a fabulous 2011 season at the Black Hawk.
