Greenwich Light
Bluefish like this can be caught off the waters of Greenwich. Photo by Tom Richardson
Greenwich is a paradise for light-tackle anglers. You can use spinning and fly gear to tangle with stripers, blues, false albacore and bonito, or you can work the bottom with light conventional tackle for fluke.
The action starts in early May with an influx of small stripers, followed by bigger bass to 15 pounds by month’s end. These fish will readily smack 4-inch Storm Wildeye Shads, Slug-Gos, Fin-S-Fish or curl-tail grubs rigged on 3⁄8- to 1⁄2-ounce jigheads.
For spring and early-summer action, cruise the shallows looking for pockets of warm water. A temperature break of 2 or 3 degrees is usually all it takes to find active fish. Local anglers score well in 6 to 8 feet of water right inside Greenwich, Byram, Cos Cob and Indian Harbors. The bass also gather on the mudflats at the mouth of the Mianus River. Chartreuse, white with lime green, white and pearl soft-plastics all work well. If you favor fly gear, try a small white streamer or epoxy minnow.
The fall fishing in and around Greenwich can be pure mayhem, with a mix of bass, blues, false albacore and bonito.
As waters warm in July, the stripers move from the shallows to the deeper channels. You can catch some larger bass to 25 pounds on chunk baits, live bunker or live eels throughout the summer at the Interstate 95 Bridge, around the submerged boulders at South Reef, near Cove Rock and on the south side of Great Captain’s Island. You’ll also find bluefish moving into the area after Independence Day, and these fish will hit chunk baits or diamond jigs. Try for the blues at Hens and Chickens Shoal or out in the deeper water beyond Little Captain’s Island.
Midsummer sees plenty of fluke to 6 pounds taken to the south of Todds Point, Fields Point and Greenwich Point. Set up a drift in 10 to 40 feet of water, and use a 1- to 2-ounce SPRO bucktail tipped with a single spearing topped by a thin strip of squid.
The fall fishing in and around Greenwich can be pure mayhem, with a mix of bass, blues, false albacore and bonito chasing bay anchovies and peanut bunker from September through October. If the fish are feeding on bunker, try a 4-inch pearl, bunker- or mullet-pattern Storm Wildeye Shad, white or blue bottle plug or Krocodile spoon. If very small bait has flooded the area, however, you may need smaller lures to fool the predators. Try a 1⁄2- to 1-ounce Deadly Dick, a small KastMaster, 4-inch Slug-Go or FinSFish, or a white curltail grub. Fall action can be explosive from Greenwich Cove straight across to Greenwich Harbor, but the fish can be tough to catch if keyed on tiny bait. When that happens, break out the lightest tackle and smallest lures you own, or use a fly rod and small epoxy minnows that match the prevailing bait.
State License Requirements and Catch & Size Limits:
About the Author
Tom Schlichter is an award-winning author and photographer whose byline has appeared in a wide array of prestigious outdoors venues including Salt Water Sportsman, On The Water, Boating and The Fisherman Magazine. The outdoors columnist for Newsday, Tom lectures frequently on both freshwater and saltwater fishing, and contributes regularly to a variety of outdoor websites, radio and television shows. His latest book, Long Island’s Best Freshwater Fishing, is available online at outdoortom.com.
