Sunny skies and plenty of blues to be found

We have some good blue fishing in The Race, bass at times on the change of tide, lots of porgies on the near-shore rocks, more blues prowling the upper Thames after bunkers and sea bass and large porgies on the West Grounds at Block Island - and the best part, the weekend forecast calls for sun and no rain.

Hillyers Tackle reported one of the kids that works in the shop landed 15 blues on a diamond jig out in The Race. Shore anglers have a chance for a blue or bass from Harkness Park and some small hickory shad are now in the lower Niantic River, more hope for people on the shore that the bait will draw in some larger bass.

Out in the boats, bass catches have been steady at night or early in the day either drifting eels or you can also drift with a chunk of fresh bunker. Porgies are biting well on worms at the Bartletts Spindle or try your hand locating lots of blue crabs in the Niantic River.

Captain Kerry at J&B said the sea bass catches around Block Island have been "wonderful" and blue fishing in The Race also good, their charter boat also picking away at the bass on daytime trips. Offshore the school bluefin catches were poor to very poor but you have the chance of baiting a mako if the tuna bite remains flat. You also have the option of trying for mahi in the Mud Hole off Block.

Red at Bob's in Uncasville is selling worms to people catching numbers of porgies right out front of the Thames along with some sea bass. Lots of blues in The Race are making it hard for a bass to get to any lures during the strength of the tide. Fluke season in Connecticut waters is closed down for another year. Shore anglers along the lower Thames caught a mix of mostly porgies and a small bass from time to time.

There are some blues from 10-13 pounds after scattered schools of bunker from Norwich Harbor to Montville, said Joe Balint at The Fish Connection. Find the bunkers, snag one and live line it for best chances of a large blue. Along the shore at buoy 27 and Fort Trumbull pier, expect to catch a mix of porgies, fluke that must be tossed back and perhaps a bluefish.

Shore anglers can also catch porgies from the Cottrell Street pier below the drawbridge in the Mystic River. The outflow at Millstone had blues and some smaller bass, sometimes up on the surface chasing the bait around.

Captain Allen Fee at Shaffers Marina told me the east wind in the early part of the week pretty much kept boats tied to the dock though it made surfcasters happy. They caught blues of various sizes and bass to 36 inches from the rocks at Watch Hill. The weekend weather looks good though, hopefully with light winds to catch loads of porgies on the rocks in Fishers Island Sound.

People have been out looking for bonito from Napatree to Weekapaug but haven't been successful yet, said Allen. Crabbing is good in all the Stonington coves just off Route 1, but snapper blues for some reason were missing from their usual spot around the Mason's Island Bridge. And don't forget, you can catch two blackfish per person in state waters until the end of this month.

Al Golinski and his wife Emme made a trip over to Block Island for a catch of smaller blue and also 10 between 3 and 7 pounds on Friday last week. The weekend storm, though, killed any plans for striper fishing, so they headed back to Massachusetts for some chores around their winter home. During the fishing season they live in Misquamicut.

Mark at River's End said the boats pretty well stayed tied to the dock for the better part of the week, but shore anglers enjoyed some good catches of blues and smaller bass at Watch Hill Light during the storm. The fish were caught on big poppers tossed a long way with 10-foot rod but at other times were caught with 7-foot rods and a wooden float and jig cast in the white water close to the rocks.

Captain Brad Glas of the Hel-Cat out of Groton sent in a report about some generally excellent blue fishing in The Race with the exception of one day with rotten weather. They've also been picking away at the bass, including one day with spectacular catches right on the change of the tide. That day there were only a few boats on the grounds so there was no commotion to spook the fish. Lots of the blues were of the large variety and largest striper of the week was a 16-pounder caught by a fellow with the nickname of "Road Kill Tony." Congrats to Tony on his fish and winning the pool that trip.

Tim Coleman is The Day's saltwater fishing columnist.