Fishing Forecast – October New Moon

October is a New England fisherman’s best friend. The beaches are vacant, parking and access is less of a hassle, and the traffic on the water starts to slow down. Those who are willing to tough out some nastier weather are often rewarded this month. Fall fishing is often unpredictable, but this fall is particularly tricky to nail down. Albies are still very tough to come by here locally. Most of the albies around are still jumbos, which has been the case all season. Even when you can find them, getting them to eat has been another story, testing the patience of practically anyone who has thrown casts toward them. The bonito bite slowed down briefly after that northeast blow, but it picked right back up in the last week or so. There’s plenty of numbers around and a nice range of size classes. You may see little six-inch micros, you may see an 8-pounder, and anything in between. The bass bite has been incredible out front recently. There’s also a nice mix of size classes in the bass schools. That said, you’ll probably run into more >28” fish than shorts. The tautog fishing has been good and will continue to improve now that we’ve reached October. Sea bass still cover every bit of structure out front, and with all the bait around, they’re as aggressive as ever.  

Hardtails

It’s been a very strange season for hardtails here locally. The bonito fishing has been the best we’ve seen in Rhode Island since 2019 – at this point probably even surpassing the numbers we got that year. After a lull from the blow, that bite is red hot again with bonito of all sizes feeding all over the water column. Classic Metal/Epoxy Jigs have generally been the ticket for them. If you aren’t getting any love retrieving it quickly across the surface, let your jig drop 10-15 feet and they’ll often hit it on the way down, or instantly when you begin retrieving it back. This is also a good way to pick out some bigger bones if there are small ones working the surface. The Mag Minnow is still doing its thing, too, especially with some small mullet around. Soft plastics like the Albie Snax, RonZ Tail, and Sluggo are all good options as well if they are turned off to the jig. I’d expect the bonito fishing to stay solid for at least a couple more weeks before it inevitably trends down later this month. 

A nice bonito caught on an amber Albie Snax the other morning.

As far as albies go, it’s still very tough. The ones that are around are huge, which is great, but they’re also very finicky – and there aren’t many of them. It still feels like it could turn on like the flip of a switch, but we’re yet to see that as of now. We’ll cross our fingers for a healthy push in the next couple weeks so we can enjoy a nice finale before the hardtail season draws to a close. (Last minute update, the albies are in thick!)

Striped Bass

The bass fishing the past week or so has been nothing short of incredible. From Watch Hill to Little Compton, nice fish are feeding up top on tiny bait. Although they’ve been a little picky, a few tried and true methods have been getting them to commit. For the fish feeding in rafts on the surface, the Larry Lutz Casting Egg matched with a Striper Fly or Albie/Bonito Fly should get the job done. If you can cast right into a feed, just let that fly settle, and before you can say “Larry Lutz Casting Egg” you’ll probably be tight to a bass. The Tsunami Split Tail Minnow is new to the shop and an instant fan favorite, particularly for finicky bass (hardtails like them, too). The hooks won’t handle any big big bass, so keep that in mind, but they’re solid enough the average fall-run bass won’t be a problem. Another successful method has been a classic Metal/Epoxy Jig both retrieved on the surface and fished vertically. It’s pretty common for the smaller fish to be visually feeding on the surface, with a bigger class of fish below them sitting ten or fifteen feet down, unseen, feeding on the scraps. If you let your epoxy, metal, or small soft plastic drop into that zone, there’s a good chance you’ll hook into bigger fish than what you’re seeing on the surface. Along with the Split Tails, just about any straight tail soft plastic on a jighead should get bit. Zoom Fluke, Sluggo, and RonZ tails are all great options for small plastics. Stick to natural colors like whites, silvers, and greens.  It’s hard to predict how long these feeds will consistently show, as many of these bass will gorge on the bait dumping out of the bay for varying amounts of time and then get out of dodge. Whether they stay for tide, a day, or a week probably depends on dozens of factors. Get out there and make the most of it while the bite is good!

The legendary Ken Spicer with a solid bass on light tackle last week.

While the fishing has been great out front, don’t forget to try your local salt ponds, rivers, and estuaries. Check flats and corners/bends where the bass will be feeding on (most likely) peanut bunker. It’s also been a good year for mullet here locally, so keep an eye out for those telltale “V” wakes. Small spooks like the Rebel Jumpin Minnow and Game On! 6” X-Walk are usually pretty irresistible to a bass in skinny water this time of year. It’s also a great time to throw flies at them, so check out our  Striper Fly selection. The backwater bite will continue to heat up in the next couple of weeks now that we’re into October.

Bottom Fishing

Now that we’ve reached October, tautog fishing is in full swing and only going to get better in the coming weeks. You can catch them anywhere from 5ft of water out to 60+ right now, with keeper-sized fish all over the place. Right now the sweet spot seems to be 25-35ft, but you can certainly find plenty of nice fish both shallower and deeper. Both jigs and rigs will get the job done. Check out our selection of Blackfish Jigs – the size/weight of jig you want will be dictated by the depth and current you’re fishing. We’re also stocked with Jigging World Blackfish Rigs so you don’t need to go through the hassle of tying your own rigs. Green crabs, Asian shore crabs, and white claws will all get the job done through the fall fishing. I generally like to fish shore crabs when I’m shallow up tight to shore, say less than 25 feet or so, and then greens and whites out deeper. Fish Bites are another solid option if you don’t want to deal with live crabs. They get bites and last long. I wouldn’t recommend using them as a full substitution for live crabs, but it’s not a bad thing to have up your sleeve if you’re in a pinch. 

Sam Stavis with a nice keeper-sized tog on the jig last week.

The black sea bass bite is still excellent, with keepers getting easier and easier to come by among all the shorts. Similar to the tog, you can really find them at all depths right now. The bigger fish will generally be in deeper water, with the sweet spot being around 50-65ft right now. You can absolutely find them deeper and shallower though – as long as you’re on/near structure, whether it’s in 10ft or 80ft, you’re in good position to find some. Some good jigs for that deeper structure include the Hogy Sandeel Jig, Mustad Moonriser Jig, and Johnny Jigs. Those slim profiles are killer this time of year with the predominant bait out deep being sandeels. Classic Metals/Epoxies up to an ounce or so work great in shallower. They’ll also be super aggressive this time of year, particularly early in the morning, willing to hit everything from minnow plugs like the Yo-Zuri Mag Minnow or SP Minnow to Albie Snax and flies.