Fishing Forecast - October Full Moon

Fishing Forecast - October Full Moon

This October has already been a special one for those of us here in Rhode Island. There’s still half the month to go, but if it ended now, we wouldn’t be able to have any complaints. The albie fishing has been tough for most, but they’re absolutely around. It just takes some work to stay on them consistently right now. The striped bass bite has been incredible for weeks now, and the tautog fishing is picking up just how you’d expect it to this time of year. The weather has been decent for the most part - a handful of summer-like days may help prolong the good thing we have going. There’s also been a healthy mix of cold nights, and there’s more coming up, to help keep the bait moving and the fish fired up. Over the next couple of weeks, I’d expect the striped bass fishing to stay strong, though it’s sure to take a step down from the all-out insanity at some point soon. The tautog fishing is only going to keep getting better from here. And the hardtail reports will likely start to dry up for the most part.

Striped Bass

If you haven’t been taking advantage of the bass bite out front right now, there’s still time. School of bass have been feeding on thick shoals of bay anchovies, pushing them right into the rocks and surfcasters’ feet. It’s been a daytime bite in general. It’s still worth going at night, of course, but it seems the big feeds are happening during bank hours for the most part. The fish have been a bit picky, but you get enough shots at them to convince them to eat.Metals/Epoxies have been working well, particularly letting the flutter down to fish that are underneath the topwater feeds. It’s a great time to break out the fly rod and throw aStriper Fly. They’ll also respond well to aLarry Lurz Casting Eggpaired with a fly, or a fly teaser above your plug of choice.Pencil Poppersare getting fish here and there, as haveMinnow Plugs.Don’t be afraid to go for something big and bold to stand out among the heaps of bay anchovies.Glide Baitshave been pulling some better fish out of the schools. That said, my two cents are to limit the number of hooks you’re putting into these fish in this scenario. You want to get back in and get the next one as soon as possible, and odds are you aren’t catching giants, so stick to a single hook when it’s possible. It’s better for you and for the fish. Throw it for a few casts, try to cull a big fish, and if the same size class are still eating it, go to something a little more friendly on the bass. Just my two cents! I’d expect this bass bite to taper off at some point soon here, though there will still be plenty of fish to be caught after the absolute mayhem slows down. There are fish all the way up in the bay, which has been a completely different bite. There’s still plenty of bass fishing to be had this fall.

Jon with a nice bass from last week.

Tautog

The tog bite is excellent and getting better as we get later into the month. It’s a great time of year because you can catch them at at depth you want. You can get big fish from shore in less than 10ft, you can kayak or boat for them in 30ft, or you can drop deep into 60+ and pull fish off deep structure and wrecks. This should remain true over the next couple of weeks. If you read the forecasts consistently, you might notice I have the same few things to say about tog fishing, but it’s just a simple game. If you’re fishing shallow, I’d recommend droppingBlackfish Jigsand if you’re fishing deep, you may want aBlackfish Rig.It also depends on the size of bait you’re dropping - you may struggle to hook fish dropping a whole green grab on a small jig, for example. It also depends on current. Even in shallow water, if you have a lot of moving water, it may be difficult to fish a jig and you might want to switch to a rig to hold bottom. The opposite can be said for slow-moving deep water - you may be able to get away with dropping a jig if the water is still enough. It mostly boils down to preference. As a relatively light tackle kayak fisherman, I throw a jig whenever possible. It’s what I have the most experience with and it’s what I’m most confident dropping. I know many guys that feel that way about rigs. There’s really no right or wrong, it’s just about being comfortable and confident with what you’re doing and playing the conditions.

A solid keeper-sized tog caught last week.

Hardtails

There are still albies and bonito to be chased and caught, but it hasn’t been easy lately for most. Your best bet is probably to go tog fishing and let the hardtails (hopefully) come to you. That said, there are a handful of guys still catching good numbers on some days. It's still far from over. I ran into both albies and bonito way up the bay recently, and though I couldn’t get any to eat and they were very difficult to fish for, it’s a good sign that there’s a bit more season ahead of us. It’s still worth putting in some effort if you’re hunting for that last screaming run until next fall. I would always recommend having a rod dedicated to anAlbie Snaxand another with aMetal/Epoxy Jigat all times in the fall. Even if you have no intentions of finding hardtails. That really should be all you need to score some bonus fish on your tog or striper trip. Though it’s been difficult, it’s not time to give up on them yet. I would assume that by the next Fishing Forecast in two weeks’ time things will be slower, so try to take advantage of any shots that you get and make the most of opportunities by staying prepared to see them even if you’re not expecting to.