Striped Bass in the Spring Using Big Occhi

Captain Chris Elser talks about starting off his season in the Housatonic fishery for striped bass in the April 2020 Issue of On The Water Magazine:

"The April Housatonic fishery from Cornwall downstream to New Milford isn’t the only thing the Housatonic is known for. By driving downstream past the Shepaug, Stevenson, and Derby dams, you are now paralleling one of the best tidal fisheries in the east that hosts an abundant supply of resident striped bass eager to hit flies, soft plastics, and crankbaits.

This is the kickoff to my charter season, and it can be some of the best fly and light-tackle action of the year with 50-plus hookups per trip being a regular occurrence throughout the month. Most of these stripers are schoolies in the 15- to 24-inch range, but there are many opportunities to hook up with bass well over 30 inches when the river herring and alewife spawning run spreads north toward the Naugatuck River, several outflows, and mud flats between Shelton and Derby and the mouth of the river near Stratford and Milford.

This is when I rig up a 10-inch weightless Game On Big Occhi soft plastic and snake it through the surface film at first light on a falling tide. Explosive strikes often ensue."

Captain Chris Elser, On The Water Magazine, April 2020

Photo Credit:  On The Water Magazine - April Issue