Norwalk anglers can enjoy world-class action with stripers from May through November. Photo by Tom Richardson

Numerous choices await anglers in the Norwalk area. Depending on the season, powerful blackfish (tautog), feisty fluke, monster bluefish and giant stripers are available just a short run from the harbor. It makes for varied and interesting action with a mix of species and sizes that will challenge anglers ranging from novice to expert.

Blackfish (tautog) thrive among the rocky, mussel-encrusted humps and ledges that dot this area. Arriving in late March and staying through early June, these bottom-dwellers are tough customers and make for both great sport and good eating. Look for blackfish around rocky structure outside Norwalk Harbor and along the Norwalk Islands. Cockenoe Reef, Haycock Rock, Great Reef and Hiding Rocks will hold good numbers of fish in the spring and fall. Most blackfish will run 2 to 4 pounds, but a few soakers up to 10 pounds are taken every year, especially when they move inshore in October and November. At this time the fish can be taken in relatively shallow water around the islands and breakwaters. For truly huge ’tog, head toward mid-Sound, a couple of nautical miles south of Sheffield Island.

Bigger bass up to 30 pounds show up as the summer progresses, setting up in deeper water outside the harbor by mid-July.
Summer flounder (fluke) make their first appearance in mid-June, sliding into the rips between the islands and along channel edges. Pecks Ledge, just north of Goose Island, is one of the most reliable spots for connecting with fluke in the 2- to 4-pound class. Fish here on incoming water and use large squid strips for bait. Also worth investigating is the 25-foot-deep hole, located just north of Pecks Light. This area offers a better shot at larger fish—some up to 8 pounds—as the tide reaches its peak and begins to slow toward slack. Some fluke can also be taken inside Norwalk Harbor within the rips off Fitch Point.

Striped bass action kicks off in mid-May, with plenty of schoolie bass invading the harbor. These 2- to 12-pound fish can be taken on an assortment of plugs, flies and small poppers. Work shoreline structure such as bulkheads and dock pilings, including the Route 136 and Interstate 95 bridge abutments. Bigger bass up to 30 pounds show up as the summer progresses, setting up in deeper water outside the harbor by mid-July. The surest way to connect with a keeper bass is to fish bunker chunks on the bottom along Greens Ledge, from Greens Ledge Light. There’s a 45-foot-deep hole south of the Light that hold some nice fish.

You can count on bluefish from mid-May through early November. The early-summer period features tons of “cocktail” blues up to 4 pounds providing solid action at the mouth of Norwalk Harbor near Peach Island, Calf Pasture Island and off Fitch Point. These small blues will smack small metal lures or surface poppers worked along virtually any rip line. Choppers of 6 to 8 pounds begin to mix with the cocktails by early August. You can sight-fish for blues if the schools are busting on the surface, but the biggest fish tend to hang with the stripers in deeper water outside the harbor.

Another possibility off Norwalk as the fall approaches is action with bonito, Spanish mackerel and false albacore. Some years they show and some years they don’t. These speedy fish generally weigh 3 to 8 pounds, but their fight is spectacular. Try your luck off Calf Pasture Beach using KastMasters, Deadly Dicks, 4-inch Zoom Flukes or Slug-Gos, tubeless Ava 007 jigs or small flies that imitate the prevailing forage.

Fishing Charters

Bait & Tackle

Fisherman’s World Outfitters, 877-643-6011

State License Requirements and Catch & Size Limits:

State of Connecticut Requirements