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00:00On this week's World of Saltwater Fishing, we'll be off Norwalk, Connecticut in Long Island Sound
00:05experiencing some of the best fishing for big striped bass this area has seen in a long, long, long time.
00:12Stay with us.
00:42What brought me up to Norwalk, Connecticut was the big run of trophy-class striped bass that this area has been experiencing in recent memory.
00:58It started off with a very good friend of mine, Rick Mola, from Fisherman's World in Norwalk.
01:03I go way, way, way back with Rick with Saltwater Sportsman articles and also television episodes together.
01:09He was telling me how the striped bass fishing has rebounded so dramatically that this particular season they've been experiencing some of the best fishing for trophy-class stripers.
01:21He said, you really need to come up here and experience it.
01:24It's really off-the-charts fishing.
01:26So, fast forward, here I am, Norwalk, Connecticut.
01:31I brought up my Mako 214 Center console, docked at Norwalk Cove Marina, and riding shotgun with me is Max Finch.
01:39I write a lot of articles for the Fisherman Magazine, techniques, you know, all different stuff.
01:45Anything from lures, bait fishing.
01:47I do video reports each week.
01:49I don't guide.
01:50I work, like, 50-plus hours in the tackle shop, Fisherman's World.
01:53So, my days off, my two days, I cherish to be on the water, you know, get on that bite, and I just absolutely love fishing.
02:06As would prove to be the case when boats begin racing to bass busting on bunker schools,
02:10the Mercury 250-horsepower Pro-XS V8 outboard, powering my Mako 214, gave us a huge advantage.
02:18Its 4.6-liter, naturally aspirated block, which was paired with a 1.85-to-1 gear ratio and 19-inch pitch Mercury Inertia EcoProp,
02:27delivers strong hole shots and aggressive torque throughout its entire RPM range.
02:31The Mercury 250-horsepower V8 weighs around 600 pounds and is approximately 20-30% quieter at idle and wide-open throttle,
02:41respectively, than leading competitors.
02:43So, as we were leaving Norwalk Cove Arena dark and early, Max was explaining how the situation was going to go.
02:50We were marking fish on the Simrad.
02:52They weren't quite in a feeding mood yet.
02:54We were dropping down some flutter jigs early.
02:56Nothing happened.
02:57But we were armed and ready with a spin tackle for any kind of action when those big basses decided to come up
03:04and start exploding on bunker on the surface.
03:07So, as that tide started to kick in and that water started picking up its pace, that ocean started to come alive.
03:15We're looking around and we're watching bass crashing bunker schools, but they weren't really sitting there stationary.
03:21These were fast-moving blitzes, and you see the birds working.
03:25So, Max said, here they are.
03:27Let's go after them.
03:28So, we go racing to a blitz.
03:31We get to the area.
03:32We start popping our lures in there and working it.
03:35I'm retrieving my plug, and it's about maybe six, seven, eight feet away from the boat,
03:41almost getting ready to remove it from the water.
03:43And boom, I see this big bass explode on it right off the bow, that Mako 214.
03:48I'm hooked up to one of these big striped basses.
03:52Here we go.
03:54Nice.
03:54We're at the boat eat?
03:55Yeah.
03:56The boat eat the best.
03:58That topwater bite is crazy, especially when they eat it right by the boat.
04:02That was awesome.
04:07When was the last time you caught a striper?
04:09I had to, uh, Rhode Island two years ago.
04:11Oh, two years.
04:12Cool.
04:12That's why I enjoy coming up north to get fish we don't really get in Florida.
04:16Oh, here's that baby right here.
04:17Look at this.
04:17Ooh, that's a nice fish on a popper.
04:19Yeah, it is.
04:20He's not done yet.
04:21I'm here to make it easy on you, Max.
04:22Yes, sir.
04:23Okay.
04:26And you got one in for me, Max.
04:27It's lighter.
04:29You need help lift that thing up?
04:32I opened the bell.
04:33Bell's open.
04:34Cool.
04:34You got it?
04:35You got it?
04:35Okay.
04:36Let me lift that plug out of the way, too.
04:38I'm going to get that so I can showcase it.
04:39That was so exciting.
04:41On the Rappala.
04:41Yeah.
04:42That new translucent color.
04:43That's an awesome color.
04:45Man.
04:45It was a really sweet eat right both side.
04:47What an amazing fish.
04:48Yep.
04:49That is incredible.
04:50Very clean.
04:51They get them on top water.
04:51Yep.
04:51Very clean looking.
04:52It's got some sea lice on them.
04:54They just showed up, and they're feeding really heavily in our local waters.
04:58Yeah, it's so great.
04:59Cool.
04:59Let's get this girl back in.
05:00And there's nothing better than that.
05:01That's a good way to get your heart pumping.
05:03And my shoulders went, ah, okay, good.
05:06George hooked up to a bass.
05:07This is a good start.
05:08This is magnificent.
05:09Any kind of bite on top water is exciting, whether it's a two-pound sea trout, a large-mouth bass, a bluefish.
05:16But when you're talking about a 25-pound class, 30-pound class striped bass, they leave an explosion when they hit that lure, and the fight is actually pretty darn good.
05:27George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing is proudly brought to you by Penn.
05:33Let the battle begin.
05:34Mako.
05:35You'll find them where the fish are.
05:37Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's.
05:39Your adventure starts here.
05:40Mercury Marine.
05:41Go boldly.
05:43George, we'll be right back.
05:45With one beauty of a striped bass taken on top water, the sound was beginning to come alive.
05:51Max Finch and I are off Norwalk, Connecticut, pitching Rappel X-Rap Magnum Explode Chuggers for trophy-class striped bass.
05:58So now, with the skunk out of the boat and a beautiful striped bass released to our credit, it was back to the game.
06:05Now we're getting more in this like drag racing mode in that other boats are out there.
06:10And we had a gorgeous weather window, and Max was telling me that it had been really rough even the day prior to our arrival.
06:17So I guess everybody from the Connecticut area or coming across from New York saw this gorgeous day, and they wanted to cash in on the action too.
06:25So that put a little more pressure to try to race to these blitzes and try to be in the first boat there and try to figure out the motions.
06:33Again, these were fast-moving schools.
06:35You'd see the birds working and a couple big blitzes going off.
06:38So here we go, along with several other boats all racing to the same fine.
06:43Ready.
06:45And once we would get within casting distance, Max would bring that boat down to neutral, and we'd fire away and just start working it.
06:52And bang.
06:53Here we go.
06:53Hook up.
06:54All right, on again.
06:57On again.
06:58You good, George?
06:59I'm tight.
06:59I'm solid.
07:00Let me know when you need that net.
07:02Just make it nice and play him out.
07:03You just can't horse these.
07:06Coming down, Max.
07:07I've got to get under the outfits here.
07:08I'm good.
07:09I'm good.
07:09I'm good.
07:09Let me get him off the bow here.
07:10Come and earn the bow.
07:12Here you go.
07:16And I'll get him up there for you.
07:17He's a little spunky.
07:20Nice.
07:29That's another one.
07:30Crazy.
07:31Yeah, it was crazy, crazy, crazy feet around the bow.
07:34They were blowing up everywhere for a minute.
07:36And it was really sick watching them eat these topwater plugs off the surface.
07:40Really healthy looking fish.
07:41How are you liking it, George, watching them eat the plugs?
07:44Dude, I'm loving it.
07:45In fact, I've got to get up close and personal with my bass here.
07:47Yeah, get on them.
07:48And whereas that first bass I had decided to slug it out deep, this one had a whole different attitude.
07:54It ran off and it would come near the top, start thrashing and rolling.
07:58And again, it was on that Rapala Magnum Explode 130, the translucent hue, the new color, or hue, I should say, transparent.
08:07And bass number two on that combination.
08:10So that's sort of how that little morning blitz had gone.
08:22So Max said, let's go ahead and drop down some jigs, see if we can pop a fish or two jigging.
08:26So he drops down first as he wanted to show me some of the action on that.
08:30And bam, instantly he's on.
08:32Max, waste a little time there.
08:34Why don't you drop the flutter spoon down and they nailed the jig.
08:40First drop on the jig and they railed it.
08:48I'm going to get some good skills of that, Max, too, because that's, you know, for the saltwater piece.
08:52Yeah, cool.
09:03So we're out on Ian's Neck 11B.
09:06A lot of local guys know this area.
09:08Very, very popular for jigging.
09:10They're using these big flutter spoons that imitate the bunker and herring when they're around in the spring.
09:15And they are really, really deadly.
09:16I mean, if you're a bass fisherman, you need a couple spoons on your boat or in your bag.
09:20Get this guy back in.
09:22Grow big, buddy.
09:24There you go.
09:26With a slowing tide, Max switched over to flutter jigging for striped bass, which we were marking deep on our Simrad.
09:32However, I knew I could coax another striper into clobbering my topwater plug.
09:36And guess what?
09:37I was right.
09:43That was a sick eat.
09:44That was a sick eat.
09:45That was a sick eat.
09:47You see me fucking blowing up.
09:48That thing was almost like a sailfish tail walking in your parts.
09:52It only got tight there.
09:53He's spunky, huh?
09:54Yeah, he is.
09:55And he's going to figure out which side of the boat.
09:56It might have to do a little switching around.
09:59Whatever.
09:59Nice.
10:00No, we're marking them too.
10:01Pretty heavy.
10:05Here he comes up here.
10:08We might have the net sooner than you think.
10:10Yeah, here he's.
10:11I've got to come down this walk there with you.
10:12Now he's dogging.
10:19Here he comes up to the top.
10:22Here he comes.
10:27Here he is.
10:28Nice one, George.
10:29That's a nice popper fish right there.
10:32They're all nice.
10:33Yeah.
10:35This one's real nice.
10:36Yeah, that's got a girt.
10:37Yeah.
10:37It's a nice fish on the surface plug.
10:39I'll lead him up.
10:39He's still dogging.
10:40Let me hear you.
10:42Oh, my gosh.
10:43That's a genuine moose.
10:45Good job, man.
10:47Look at the size of that thing.
10:48That's a good one.
10:49Well, that's a good fish on the surface.
10:51Let me take a look at that.
10:52Yeah.
10:52I'll hold one end of him.
10:54Yeah.
10:54You're saying that this is one of the best runs,
10:57a large striped bass you've had at a Long Island
11:00in Norwalk already in quite some time?
11:01It has.
11:02It has been one of the best years we've seen in quite some time.
11:04Each year, it's getting better and better.
11:06And sure enough, we'll let him go.
11:08So, with everything pretty much chilling out out there,
11:11we had a tremendous couple hours.
11:14We decided, well, let's head back to the barn
11:16and get set to do it really dark and early the following morning.
11:20So, that's how day one ended up.
11:22And it was a pretty fantastic day.
11:24George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing
11:27is proudly brought to you by
11:28Simrad.
11:30Never settle.
11:32Rapala.
11:33Holds the world record for world records.
11:37Suffix.
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11:39Starbright Boat Care Products.
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11:45George.
11:46After a successful day one of catching big striped bass
11:51on the Rapala X-Rap Magnum Explode topwater lures,
11:54Max Finch and I go the natural bait route on day two.
11:57Would chunking and live lining bunker
11:59outdo the artificials and topwater bite?
12:01We'll soon find out.
12:03We're off Norwalk, Connecticut.
12:04Speaking of South Norwalk,
12:06this picturesque town has it all.
12:08Shops.
12:09Restaurants.
12:10Open areas.
12:11Live entertainment.
12:11And pretty much everything in between.
12:14The Residence Inn in South Norwalk
12:16has all the amenities one needs
12:18after a long day in the water,
12:19including a rooftop lounge.
12:21We base at a Residence Inn,
12:23which is within walking distance
12:24of downtown South Norwalk
12:26and a short drive to the public boat ramp.
12:29And in Bridgeport,
12:30just a short drive away,
12:31there's the Bass Pro Shops.
12:33I was actually part of the ceremonies
12:35when the shop opened in November 2015.
12:38Typical Bass Pro,
12:39the Bridgeport location is jam-packed
12:41with fresh and saltwater fishing tackle
12:43camping and hunting gear,
12:45outdoors clothing,
12:46and a tracker boat center
12:47featuring nitro bass boats
12:49and Mako skiffs and center consoles.
12:51Now, let's get back to fishing.
12:54Day two.
12:56A live baiting and chunking day.
12:58Walked down to the Mako 214,
13:01got it all ready to go,
13:02and ended up putting some live bunker in,
13:06and we headed out.
13:07And we got out to the spot.
13:09We need a little moving water to anchor,
13:12but once we got hooked
13:13and we're ready to go,
13:14we put a live one on top
13:15and one on the bottom.
13:16Then, all of a sudden,
13:17I see the rod bend,
13:19and Max is hooked up
13:20to the live bait on the bottom,
13:23and he gets himself a big striped bass.
13:25He almost took the rod out of my hand.
13:26I wasn't paying attention.
13:27Is that chunk down on the bottom?
13:28I just was a typical chunk.
13:29I put a live one straight down.
13:30Oh, you did.
13:31Oh, you put the live one down.
13:32I figured you had yours up top,
13:33column,
13:34and I'll put one on the bottom.
13:35So you drop.
13:36Nice and easy.
13:37Yeah, I'm good.
13:43And as you live bait one...
13:45Yeah.
13:48Circle out of there?
13:49Yeah.
13:50Wait, let me get this thing out of the way.
13:58All right, that was a quick one.
14:01You said we got to change it up a little bit.
14:02Yeah.
14:03Let's do some live baiting and chunking.
14:05You said the live bait down.
14:07I'm free lining a livey
14:08who was getting nervous,
14:09and I figured I was going to get that chop,
14:11but you got to pee.
14:11Yeah, we covered most of the water column.
14:14We didn't have one stuck on top.
14:15I figured put one on bottom,
14:16and we were talking,
14:18and the next thing you know,
14:18this thing swallowed a live bunker.
14:21Beautiful fish.
14:21Check Long Island Sound.
14:23Look how gorgeous this flat is.
14:25You can't ask for nothing more.
14:26And out of South Florida,
14:27I'm still wearing my jacket.
14:28Yep.
14:29It's nice to our northerners right now.
14:31Oh, yeah.
14:31Light jacket in the spring is awesome for us.
14:35Stripe bass represent
14:36a crucially important recreational fish,
14:38especially in Northeast
14:39and New England saltwaters.
14:41Accessible by most anglers,
14:43they're found from brackish creeks
14:44on out in the open coastal waters.
14:47Conservation measures enable
14:48to bounce back a trophy class fish
14:50in some regions,
14:51those pushing 25 pounds and better,
14:53but more action is needed
14:55to build back their stocks.
14:56Best bet?
14:57Toss a topwater plug to stripers
14:59busting on surface corralled live baits.
15:01And artbypasta.com
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15:16Mercury Inertia Eco 19-inch Pitch.
15:19Total miles, 48.
15:20Consistent cruise, 5,000 RPMs.
15:24Speed, 43 miles per hour.
15:26Total fuel burned, 19.2 gallons.
15:32George Poveromo's World of Saltwater Fishing
15:34is proudly brought to you by
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15:56And Max got his and got it in.
16:00And so he sends out the same identical rig.
16:03Sends it down.
16:04And I think it was no sooner
16:06did that thing hit the bottom.
16:07And I'm not even sure
16:08he put the rod in the holder.
16:09I just look over
16:10and he's got this sideways set going on.
16:13And that rod has a deep bend.
16:14And I see that 40-pound test mono
16:16ripping off that reel.
16:19He's onto his second one.
16:21He come up to the top on the shake?
16:23Yeah.
16:23So he just was,
16:26he didn't really aggressively hit that, did he?
16:42And another brute.
16:44Wow.
16:45Piggy.
16:46Jeez.
16:47This one's been eating the bunkers.
16:48And I net his.
16:56And now there's number two for him in the morning.
16:58And we release it.
17:00And then all of a sudden,
17:01I see mine now really freaking out running.
17:03And you see a big boil behind it.
17:05Now I got a bass going after it.
17:08And it's amazing how fast that bunker could swim
17:10when there's a big bass behind it.
17:12And this bunker took off that bass,
17:14missed it a couple of times.
17:15And all of a sudden, boom.
17:17It was like somebody dropped a bowling ball in the water.
17:19That's what that strike looked like.
17:21Crank a little more.
17:22Oh my God.
17:23He's blowing it out the water.
17:26Oh.
17:27You got it.
17:28You got it.
17:28Hit him.
17:29Hit him.
17:29I got him.
17:31Good job, George.
17:34Good job.
17:34Big fish.
17:35That was awesome.
17:36Look at that line coming off.
17:37That was textbook.
17:38And he had me spool these with 40-pound suffix, mono.
17:43He's strung out on the spring, didn't he?
17:47All right.
17:48We might have a net here ready for you.
17:52Looks like he had some shoulder.
17:54I could tell by the way the thing was killing line off.
18:06Good fish.
18:06You got our moose?
18:08Yeah.
18:08Good fish.
18:10Jeez.
18:11Max.
18:12There you go.
18:13Holy.
18:13That's worth the 35 pounds.
18:16Dang.
18:17Man, this thing was enormous.
18:20Blew up on that bunker.
18:21It reminds me of like your free line in a light bait for a stalk.
18:25And a stalk is just running and it blows up on it.
18:27And the amount of line that this thing took off on the fish.
18:30Oh, man.
18:30It was burning.
18:31The patience is key when you see him trying to hit your bait.
18:34You really want to reel, but you got to wait for that line to get tight with these circle hooks.
18:37What would you say this thing would weigh?
18:38This one's probably high 30-pound fish.
18:40That is a...
18:41This will get...
18:42By the time it hits its, you know, its summer grounds going east, this thing will probably
18:46be north of 40 once it starts putting its weight on it.
18:48You feel its belly's empty.
18:50Incredible.
18:50Yep.
18:51Just spawned, coming through hungry.
18:53What an exciting hit.
18:54And yes, we're on the hook, an anchor boat.
18:57So you also have the current, you know, that tide helping that fish out.
19:01So not only are you really fighting the bass, but you're dealing with the tide that's working
19:06against you too.
19:07And I got to tell you what, they put up a terrific fight, especially from an anchor
19:11boat with a hard running tide.
19:14Yeah, so we had two excellent mornings, you know, the great fishing, a lot of fish on
19:18artificials, a lot of fish on bait.
19:20So that was definitely the ticket for us and just had a thoroughly two gorgeous days of
19:26weather, fast action.
19:29I think we were back to the dock both days by like 9 a.m.
19:31We were all worn out.
19:33We got excellent fish.
19:34We got to nap.
19:35We caught enough fish.
19:36We were by 9 a.m. back.
19:37We were content and everybody was happy.
19:39Before George came on this trip, I was nervous.
19:43You know, early mornings, going to work to try to stay on top of this bite.
19:47And, you know, the first day out, it started out a little slow.
19:50And then he actually experienced a very good top order bite that lasted longer than it's
19:55lasted in the past few weeks.
19:57So I was relieved.
19:58And I slept like a baby the only three hours sleep I got that night, actually.
20:02But we had an excellent trip.
20:04He got to see local Norwalk.
20:06He ate at Overton's where they have really good lobster rolls.
20:09And he did artificial jigging, live bait, and chunk.
20:13We crammed it into two mornings.
20:14It was an excellent time.
20:16And I'd love to have George back fishing one day again.
20:19If you're a fan of our show, keep up with our adventures by following us on social media.
20:23I'm on Instagram at George Poveromo.
20:26And on Facebook, go to facebook.com forward slash George dot Poveromo.
20:31You can also watch our episodes at any time on YouTube at George Poveromo TV.
20:36We'll see you on the water.
20:43We'll see you on the water.
20:44We'll see you on the water.
20:45We'll see you on the water.
20:46We'll see you on the water.
20:47We'll see you on the water.
20:48We'll see you on the water.
20:49We'll see you on the water.
20:50We'll see you on the water.
20:51We'll see you on the water.
20:52We'll see you on the water.
20:53We'll see you on the water.
20:54We'll see you on the water.
20:55We'll see you on the water.
20:56We'll see you on the water.
20:57We'll see you on the water.
20:58We'll see you on the water.
20:59We'll see you on the water.
21:00We'll see you on the water.
21:01We'll see you on the water.
21:02We'll see you on the water.
21:03We'll see you on the water.
21:04We'll see you on the water.
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