Rocky Neck State Park

Rocky Neck State Park in East Lyme is a family beach park with a rock jetty (breakwall) that's open to fishing year-round. The jetty has long been a spring spot for winter flounder and blackfish, and stripers and bluefish come by from spring into fall. The park sits between a tidal river and a broad salt marsh, and alewives run up Bride Brook on spring's high tides.

When to fish

• April: the spring combo. Winter flounder start the month in warm back bays and move out into the Sound later on, while blackfish (tautog) move from deep water into the shallows once the Sound warms to about 50 degrees, usually by mid-April. Check the Saltwater Fishing Guide, because the spring blackfish season is short.
• Spring to fall: striped bass; bluefish, fluke, scup and black sea bass in summer and fall.
• Fall: blackfish again, and DEEP lists false albacore (little tunny) here in fall.
• Off-season (mid-September to Memorial Day): the whole beach, as well as the jetty, is open to fishing.

Where to fish

• The jetty, to the right of the main beach: the park's fishing spot all year, for blackfish, winter flounder, stripers and bluefish. Big blackfish run straight for the rocks when hooked.
• The beach: open to fishing only in the off-season.
• Nearby by boat: On The Water's writer does most of his spring flounder-and-blackfish trips in Niantic Bay and Jordan Cove.

How to fish it

For winter flounder, sandworms are the top bait. For spring blackfish in shallow water, crabs work best: green crabs, or Asian shore crabs you can find under rocks at low tide. Keep clam or sandworms as a backup. A simple rig with one dropper loop for the sinker and one for the hook is all you need in shallow water.

Getting there

Parking is free for Connecticut-registered cars; out-of-state vehicles pay a fee. Night fishing needs a permit issued by the park on the same day; call the park during business hours for details. Crabbing is allowed in designated areas. Rocky Neck is an Enhanced Opportunity Shore Fishing site, with lower minimum sizes for fluke and scup; see the Connecticut Saltwater Fishing Guide.