Heard of Hartford but being an NY boy don't know much about CT. I'll look it up on a map. I see you don't know any Italians, LOL, "Scungelli" is thier name for it and by the way are also very tasty. Everyone I have spoken too about them call them Conch but with a little internet investigation I found out that they are called Channeled Whelk. They are those large sea snails that can be found in just about any bay or harbor. Heres some info and a pic:
![[Image: chan1.gif]](http://www.assateague.com/chan1.gif)
![[Image: chan2.gif]](http://www.assateague.com/chan2.gif)
The Channeled Whelk (Busycon canaliculatum)
up to about 7 inches
The channeled whelk has five to six whorls with very small "beads" along the whorl edges rather than the knobs found on [url "http://www.assateague.com/lt-whelk.html"]lightning[/url] and [url "http://www.assateague.com/knob.html"]knobbed[/url] whelks. As with the knobbed whelk and most other whelks, the channeled whelk's opening is on the right side.
Indians once used the beads cut from the whorls around the central axis of the shell as ornaments and money.
Channeled whelks live in the sand just below the level of the low tide. As with the lightning and knobbed whelks, the females lay strings of [url "http://www.assateague.com/whel-cap.html"]egg capsules[/url], attaching one end in the sand. Each capsule can hold up to 100 eggs, and a small hole at the top allows the larvae to escape.
The channeled whelk is found from Massachusetts to northern Florida.
Another great bait that I hadn't tried as much as I should have is steamer clams, or thats what I think they are called. They are those soft shelled clams that are oval shaped and can be located at high tide by digging when you see a stream of water squirting out of the wet sand. Just crack the shell and cut into the meat a little to make it "bleed" than place the entire clam on the hook shell and all.
Believe it or not but Barnacles may be the best choice. I have never tried this but it seems that they make up a huge part of the blacks diet. I used to dive and spear fish them but after a few trips I would just sit down there and observe thier behavior for a while. After they adjusted to my presence they would just continue feeding by rubbing thier faces on the rocks as the dislodged the barnacles. I was shocked when I witnessed this behavior and was sure I stumbled onto something good. Never had the chance to try. This peaked my curiousity so of course I experimented. I took down a chum pot filed with clam chum and that didn't attract them at all (except for the smaller ones). Tried leaving different baits within thier view (fiddler crabs, green crabs, shucked clams) they didn't budge. Just kept rubbing the rocks. The bergals had a feast that day. If you don't know what bergals are just think jordenelle perch only uglier.
Blacks are a challenge to find but you will have a blast once you do!!! They are little powerhouses called bulldogs by the locals and they know how to cut you off real quick. If you hook into a rather large on just take the time to appreciate him, since they grow so slowly you may be looking at a 20 year old fish. Good Luck!!!
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and keep the spider crabs an Conch that are a welcome by product. Crack the spider crabs and place them in a chum pot and use the Conch for bait. Not many people know this but Blacks love strips of Conche most of the time anyway. Green crabs are great too and you may get some in your trap or you can walk the local docks with a net and scoop them up off the pilings. More fun than paying for them and nothing beats fresh!!! Reefs and wrecks are the place to be. Structure is important. Exactly where is the CT river in terms of sound location?