Photo by Ron Sinfelt.

Striped bass are fun to catch, good to eat and plentiful all along the New England coast -- if an angler knows where to wet a line. Big stripers are waiting in waters from Block Island Sound to Penobscot Bay.

While big cow stripers may be found in the deep, cool waters of the Atlantic Ocean, smaller "schoolies" will be following their favorite forage up the region's dozens of easily accessible tidal rivers.

Here's a look at some of the region's best July striper hotspots.

CONNECTICUT
In early July, fishing for schoolies is especially good in the lower Connecticut River. Stripers here have been known to swim as far north as Bellows Falls Dam in Vermont, some 175 miles upstream!

In recent years, the Connecticut River has seen a significant increase in both size and numbers of stripers especially in the 86 miles below the Holyoke Dam.

Access to the Connecticut River is easy. In Old Saybrook, under the Baldwin Bridge on Ferry Road, is a state-owned boat launch with a fishing pier. At the end of Sheffield Street is another fishing pier and space to launch cartop boats

Access may also be had at a town-owned ramp on North Cove Road, or anglers may fish from the South Cove causeway on Route 154.

On the other side of the river mouth, cartop access may be had in Lyme on Ely's Ferry Road.

There's an access pier at the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection's Marine Division headquarters on Ferry Road in Old Lyme. The action here is steady, but parking is limited.

Inland access is plentiful in Essex. The Deep River town dock on River Street has a boat launch and access pier. Boat launch facilities are available at the Essex town dock at the foot of Main Street. Cartop access is available at Bushnell Park on Bushnell Street, the Alt Water Access Area on Collins Lane and the Essex town park on Nott Lane.

For more access sites in the lower Connecticut River, check DeLorme's Connecticut/Rhode Island Atlas and Gazetteer, pages 27 and 28. Other early July hotspots include Sandy Point in New Haven Harbor, the jetties at Milford Harbor, the Housatonic River, Seaside Park in Bridgeport Harbor and Norwalk Harbor.

For big cow stripers, fish the reefs off Watch Hill, Plum Gut, Bartlett Reef, Black Point, Hatchett Reef, Long Sand Shoal, Southwest Reef, the reefs off Branford, New Haven Harbor-Charles Island area, Bridgeport Harbor, Stratford Shoal-Middle Ground and the Norwalk islands.

Live-lining bunker or hickory shad will attract the big ones.

The waters eight miles southeast of Niantic Bay at the mouth of Long Island Sound, known as The Race, are cool enough to hold big cow stripers all summer. Especially large stripers are taken here at night.

Access may be had from the Jordan Cove or Niantic River ramps in Waterford, but these are rugged waters. Anglers may want to hire a charter boat, enjoy the fishing and leave the navigating to an experienced captain.