[Striper77]

Over the years I have caught some nice trout in both the Nissequogue and the Connectquot Rivers that everyone referred to as "sea runs". My question is, where do these fish go when they are out of the rivers ? Does anyone ever cathch any in the areas these rivers flow into ? I never hear about anyone outside of the rivers catching trout, so what do they do and where do they go when "at sea ?".

Striper77

 

[614851]

striper 77,

long island sea runs leave the streams in late spring/early summer to find meatier prey (baitfish vs. insects)and cooler waters. when the bays get too hot in late summer they will move to the ocean or return to the stream's headwaters.they may repeat this migration in fall as the bays cool, but will return to the streams in late fall to spawn ( brookies & browns ) and overwinter at their preferred water temperatures.

the odds of catching them in the salt far away from the streams is very small due to low population density, but not impossible.
a few years ago, for example, an angler on a captree partyboat caught a 7# brown in the fire island inlet area.


set,
opinari

 

[jamesa]

Intended to launch a canoe at the tiny overlook park of the Connectquot on Great River Road.
Anyone know if I can legally do so? ( Its just north of Timber Point marina.) Also, I thought that endo of winter, February, was better than beginning of winter (now) for trying for sea-runs on the Connectquot? Any advice on the launch and timing?
Art

 

[Surfcaster]

Art,

Not sure about your launching site. However you can look for sea-run browns in the fall and rainbows in the spring. Winter has a mix of both.

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

I got a parking ticket at the town ramp there last December. I have not had any problems at the Suffolk park just to the East of the Timber Point Club. Right before the club gates, make a left.

 

[614362]

Where are these rivers guys? What does one use? Rod size, lb test, bait or lures and can you do this in winter? Thanks for any info. By the way if anyone knows about winter stream/river fishing in connecticut, please let me know. Happy Holidays

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

billegan,

1)Long Island, New York, about the middle. Connetquot is on the South shore and the Nissequoge is on the North shore.

2)Ultra light spinning tackle, four pound test, small spinners, rapalas and flatfish -or- a four weight fly rod with streamers. Dark colors are usually best.

3) I usually wait until early spring, but some fish all winter.

and I have no idea about how they do it in Conneticut.

 

[614362]

Thanks I do appreciate it. You know, I get to sneak up to Oswego/Salmon River at least once a month from November to April, but when I get the itch I just can't pack up and go, so I do need to do some more local stuff. I live in Norwalk, Ct so the North Shore idea, Nissequoge, sounds easier. Again, thanks for the response.

 

[Striper77]

Nissaquogue River is in Smithtown and flows into the LI Sound. Mostly tidal and therefore no closed season for trout. Can access it is several places but easiest is just East of the Smithtown Bull where there is a park and parking area. You can wade in either direction from there.
Connetquot flows into Great South Bay. There is a tidal section but most is located above tidal section and is part of New York State Preserve. Fly fishing by permit only, first come first choice at beats along the river. It is well stocked and also has it's own hybrid steelhead run, some of which are huge, in the Spring. Some seriously great fishing, release only on Feb and March, 2 fish limit in season. Call the park or look it up in New York Parks on net for all rules and dates. try this site: nysparks.state.ny.us/

Striper77

 

[614362]

Thanks very much for all the info. I'm going up to Oswego tommorrow night to do some bobber fishing Thursday and Friday. Will report back and thanks. By the way, did I hear Steelhead???? Well, I don't fly fish so it's out for me, but it sure does sound fun.
Bill O'C

 

[jamesa]

Anyone willing to let on whether the tidal waters below the Connetquot are giving up anything?

 

[Hunt n' Fish]

James,

I haven't done anything with lures in the past couple of weeks. I tried this evening, with a high tide, and did nothing. I hear that the worm fisherman have had a slow pick of small fish.

 

[614851]

cool running

doctorfish, this was a cool topic last winter when you were on hiatus.

 

[seaslug44]

Opinari,

Ironically, I was on the Connie and Nissequogue very often this winter (it was a mild winter). I started in December when striper season closed and in between the fantastic blackfish/ling trips on the South shore I often hit the rivers in search of sea run trout.

To be honest with you, I've never been entirely convinced that sea runs travel much futher than just outside the mouths of their rivers of origin. I know that the scientific assumption is that they hit the open waters of the ocean. However, I've yet to see a true study of our local fish that backs that theory.

What many anglers don't realize is that brown trout and rainbow trout are not native to the Eastern United States. They were brought here from Europe and Western States and stocked in our lakes and streams (so is the case with many species such as carp). Our only native trout is the brook trout.

The other factor is the fact that it's estimated that more than 75% of the trout that inhabit both rivers were released from the hatcheries THE SAME YEAR. I can envision hundreds of trout each year that leave the rivers blindly and have no clue as to which to even travel to get to the inlet (many boaters in the Oakdale area couldn't tell you how to get to the inlet from the mouth of the Connie).

Yes, hatchery fish might have many natural instincts. But I'm not convinced that they will naturally know how to survive. If so, there should be thousands, if not millions more trout in our waters if you add up all the fish that the hatcheries produced over the years and compare it to the amount that were caught by anglers.

I would be interested in hearing what you think.

 

[strip]

I think the crabs get 'em

 

[614851]

doctorfish, i think a lot. that is how i got my name (opinari = latin for think).

unfortunately, my ability to type is no match for my ability to think.

so what do i think? about what? your last post?

last winter was probably the mildest winter in ny's recorded weather history.

brown trout were brought to the united states from germany.

rainbow trout are native to the western united states.

brook trout,the state fish of ny, is our only native "trout", but it is really not a trout but a "charr".

hatchery brookies are inferior to native brookies in many ways, especially genetically. that is why, with rare exceptions,they are no longer stocked on long island.

the native brook trout of long island are genetically different populations, each evolutionarily adapted to it's own watershed. each and every one of these unique populations is necessary to the LONG TERM survival of the species. this point can not be stressed enough.

historically, brookies on long island have been managed as they are managed in upstate ny. this was wrong, and we are becoming more aware that they should be managed as they are in massachusetts, whose coastal streams are much more environmentally similar to those of long island. we have some good freshwater fisheries biologists at nysdec that are motivated to do the right thing for our brookies. i expect some wonderful changes to come for our brookies in the years ahead. one of the most promising is the establishment of fish ladders to facilitate anadromous fish migration. this is a project involving u.s. fish and wildlife and has in no small measure been delayed by the budgetary constraints arising out of the 9/11 horror.

i think that whether sea run brookies enter the ocean or stay around the mouths of their rivers of origin depends on the local geography. if the river enters the ocean directly or nearby they will run (swim) up and down the outer beach to feed. if the river empties into an estuary far from an ocean inlet, they will move in and out with the tide. if they are too far from the inlet they will have to abandon the saltwater, as the bays warm to intolerable levels, and seek the cooler waters of their headwaters. this is where fish ladders come in, as the dams, that were constructed on many of our more important streams in colonial times to create mills or cranberry bogs, are insurmountable to the brookies.

i gotta go to a meeting. maybe one day we can continue this discussion with rods,instead of keyboards, in hand.

 

[jamesa]

or all the 16 inch fluke...

 

[Striper77]

A lot of the fish I see coming up the Connie in late winter early spring are certainly not hatchery fish, or if they were they have been out growing for a few years. Some of these fish are true silver monsters ! I suspect some of the big fish up in Whites Pool in the winter in the Nissiquogue may well be hatchery fish from the upper river (Calebs Pond) but not those big silver machines that come up the Connetquot, some of those guys are on steroids.

 

[186logic]

Everything you catch at the connetquot "beats" is stocked. The large silver bullets you see in the spring are stocked Kamloops Rainbows that I am convinced have gone out to sea. This strain of rainbow from British Columbia is know to grow large and seek big water if given the chance. I have seen pictures of these fish jumping bubbles and the falls inside the park @ the main pond. The one's I have hooked fight like no other trout in the park.Loooong, strong, into the backing runs. I use 8lb flouro tippet in the spring for this reason, as I have had dozens of break offs from these 4-10lb. beauty's. Unfortunately I didn't catch any this year...only some breeding slobs that were large but just wallowed and thrashed a little.

FYI...stocked fish have no prob becoming effectively anadromous, even when they are stocked in open water as the Ontario steelhead program has shown. New Jersey has had alot of luck with their sea-run brown program, so I wonder why ours has never taken off...perhaps our "rivers" are just not large enough.

 

[621160]

kamloops

186logic brings up a good point about sea runs and lake ontario...but those fish in the big lake go from fresh to fresh...not fresh to salt. Kamloops are a lake strain from BC, not true steelhead. I've never seen a silver kamloops out of all the steelies i've taken, each and everyone kamloops had spots, even when caught in a lake. A lot of steelhead in the big lake are raised in pens which are staged right outside the river mouths, which gives them a chance to "imprint" a specific river. Last year I believe was the first year that spawning age, pen-raised steelhead and salmon returned to the rivers in which they were raised. In my observations, there was a tremendous increase in the numbers of fish as compared to years past. Other factors are probably involved but the point is that if a fish doesn't get a chance to imprint on a river, it's not coming back. Holding tanks in a hatchery don't count!