Fishing Forecast - November New Moon

Fishing Forecast - November New Moon

As we dive into the last week of October and early November, things are slowing as you’d expect. They’re far from over, though. There’s still plenty of reason to keep that boat in the water, the kayak on the truck, or your surf rod on the car rack. The striped bass fishing isn’t ridiculous like it was a couple of weeks ago, but there is still a decent mix of quantity and quality out front with fish up the bay as well. It’s absolutely still worth putting time in, and will be for the next couple of weeks at least. The tautog fishing has been great, with plenty of keeper-sized fish hitting the decks and rocks recently. I haven’t heard of any real trophy-sized tog yet, but there’s still plenty of time for that and your odds will only get better as we get into November. The hardtail fishing has mostly dried up, but there are still some bonito around and it’s certainly not impossible to encounter a pod of albies as well.

Striped Bass

The bass fishing finally slowed down after several weeks of all out insanity. There’s still a steady pick of fish of all sizes to be had both out front and up in the bay. You may run into blitzing fish, though it has gotten less reliable. Small weightless plastics likeAlbie Snax are a good bet for finicky fish. Other topwater like theRebel Jumpin Minnow andPencil Poppers are also good options. For finicky fish feeding on tiny bait, theLarry Lurz Casting Egg paired with aStriper Fly is a great way to get bit.Paddletails andBucktails become a must-have for the back half of the fall and will be effective both day and night.Minnow Plugs are also great to throw this time of year, and again, will catch fish day and night. There are still some mullet kicking around right now which means the shallow water minnow plug is a solid option. Other baitfish are mature spearing, peanut bunker (a decent mix of sizes), and bay anchovies. The bay anchovies fueled the mayhem out front for a few weeks straight, and though there’s still some around, it doesn’t seem to be the prevalent baitfish at the moment. I’m sure it still is in certain pockets. Fall is a great time to throwNeedlefish andDarters if you’re a surfcaster. If you find the bait, there’s a good chance you’ll find some fish. It’s also worth throwing a smallStriper Fly orRed Gill as a teaser above your plug to get some of those tight-lipped bass to eat.

Earl with a stud on the fly on a recent outing.

Tautog

The tog bite is going strong and is still going to continue improving as we dive into November. You can find fish at just about any depth right now. We recently did a Saltwater Edge staff “tournament”, and the boat that fished shallower had better results. So take that for what it’s worth. There are certainly nice fish pushing deep by now, but you don’t have to go deep to find nice fish at the moment. We were targeting 20-30ft and pretty well up into the bay. If you’re fishing relatively shallow, it’s not a bad idea to have a mix of both green crabs and shore crabs. I’ve been out recently and had fish show a very clear preference toward shore crabs, and then Eric had the opposite experience on a recent trip of his. It’s good to carry both to have the option.Tog Jigs were most productive for us during our tournament, though switching toTog Rigs was necessary when the tide flipped and the moon tide started cranking out. TheTeezer Single Hook Tog Rig was the rig of choice when the switch had to be made. Unless you have a piece of deep structure out front that you happen to know is loaded with big fish, I’d recommend fishing shallow for as long as you can until deep is the only option. You burn less gas, spend more time with lines in the water, and there’s really no risk of barotrauma for the fish in 30ft and less. I’ll discuss more about barotrauma and precautions we can take for those big deep water fish as that bite heats up in November.

Eric with a beautiful tog during our SWE Tog Tournament.

Hardtails

It ain’t over until it’s over, and it ain't over yet. There are still some bonito around to be caught and there are whispers here and there of albie sightings. There’s still plenty of bait around, the water is chilly but not frigid yet, and the water clarity is decent as well. All those ingredients make it tough for a hardtail to leave our waters and begin its migration. I don’t know that there are enough hardtails around to specifically go and target them, however don’t be surprised if you run into some on your tog trip or maybe catch one “accidentally” out of a bass feed. You should always have a light-medium rod on board with aMetal/Epoxy orAlbie Snax tied on. If you don’t, you’re sure to see some! As far as the next couple of weeks go, I’d expect the reports to dry up more. That said, there doesn’t seem to be any major storms or cold snaps in the extended forecast, so take that with a grain of salt. Those fish have no problem hanging out into November when the conditions are right. So, stay prepared on your tog and bass trips and maybe you’ll get a bonus buzzer beater hardtail to round out your fall fishing.