CT Fish Nerd

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Kayak Fishing Guide Service in CT. Join guide Josh Rayner for a unique saltwater or freshwater trip, fishing from Hobie Kayaks.

Specializing in striped bass, false albacore, tautog, smallmouth bass, northern pike & more. Visit ctfishnerd.com for more info

10/20/2026

Drysuit season.

10/15/2026

Caught them a bunch of different ways today. My back and shoulder would have appreciated a different way to consistently catch them than a flutter spoon, but glides, small soft plastics, and topwaters worked situationally as well. Too many fish on the white Tsunami Fishing Tackle spoon to count, most of which were about 28-33". Best fish came by way of the Game On! X-Chop after watching a handful of larger bunker get spiked into the air.

10/14/2026

Bradley came out for a short trip yesterday morning while in town from Tennessee. A tough tide to make it happen, but he was able to pull one on a Game On! X-Chop. Later in the trip, we found an absolute pile of negative fish out in a channel, and we finally got one to hit on a flutter spoon. Unfortunately, the slot fish was gill hooked and couldn't be revived, but Bradley was happy to take it home for the table.

I re-launched in a sneaky spot with the motor this time. I headed out to a productive boulder field but couldn't hang in the ESE wind and damn near 3 footers, getting swamped endlessly. I pulled one on the X-Chop and missed one more on a big soft plastic in a 30 minute effort. They weren't exactly stacked there like last time, and it was a difficult set of conditions in the kayak. From there, I rode the wind/tide into a nearby estuary and found a pile of bait and fish of all sizes. Heavy marks in the first deep bend of the channel, and schoolies pushing bait around on the surface. The first fish I hooked in the area was 40"+, on a 15 year old YUM Money Minnow of all things, which I had on an albie rod with 20 # leader. I lost the fish rather quickly, but nothing broke. The hook just popped. Not learning from my mistakes, the next cast was another solid fish, not nearly as big, about 34". A little more manageable on light gear and gave a great fight. No action from bigger fish beyond that, aside from the monster that came up and swiped at a schoolie I had on the line. Nice to run into a pile of small fish, as they aren't exactly everywhere this fall. For most of the trip, I tried to avoid the smalls, focusing on the bigger marks on the FF, but the bigger fish were stubborn, and the schoolies were too quick to grab the lure.

10/09/2026

Far too many solo trips this year. Not sure if it's a reflection of the economy, the fishery, the average person's perception of kayak fishing, me, or a combination thereof. Either way, I've been having fun on the water. Tog opens tomorrow, and there are bass, albies, and bones around. A few solid weeks left in the salt for anyone interested in a trip.

10/08/2026

It figures that I would throw my back out just as things are getting good. Anyway, here's a nice one from earlier in the week. Hoping to be back up and running by the weekend.

09/29/2026

A Connecticut bonito blitz was not on my Bingo card today.

09/23/2026

Kayak POV archive.

09/22/2026

I guess I'm easily distracted by shiny objects. As of yesterday, there were still some albie schools kicking around the eastern CT shoreline. Hopefully the wind machine this week doesn't completely relocate them...

Has anyone else noticed our local albies are on the smaller side this year? Regardless of size, they all pull hard (some say the small ones pull harder), and are just as fun to target. I have plenty of open dates for guided kayak trips after this weekend. The local Striped Bass bite will improve with dropping water temps and storm activity, and Tog season opens 10/10. Still plenty to look forward to!

09/17/2026

A little tougher to get them to eat today, but the albies are still going strong in eastern sound. I have availability both days this weekend to chase them. Gotta strike the hammer while the iron is hot!

Address

Deep River, CT

Telephone

+18605758962

Website

https://www.ctfishnerd.com/

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