Fishing Forecast - October New Moon

Fishing Forecast - October New Moon

October is upon us and so is the fall run. After a pretty hardy nor'easter over the weekend, things are settling nicely and fish are back on the feed. The water may need a few more days to clean up in most spots, but it'll get there. It appears that the hardtails are still around in decent force, the bass fishing is blowing up as you'd expect, and the tog are chewing. The extended forecast looks like typical, beautiful October weather - sunny, chilly, and a bit breezy but generally very fishable. October hardtails are some of my absolute favorite. They're usually willing to eat, there are some less boats/people on the water, and the weather is often very fishy. Over the next couple of weeks, I'd expect the hardtail fishing to improve and be similar to how it was before the blow. They may be in different areas, but if you can hunt them down, you could get on some very fun fishing. I would definitely expect the bass bite to stay hot both out front and up in the bay as they locate the heaps of bait flushing out of the ponds and estuarine systems. The tog bite is also sure to stay hot and improve as we get into the month of October and beyond.

Hardtails

The hardtail fishing has taken a bit of a turn since the blow, but they are still around. Piles of both albies and bonito filled into the bay in the days prior to the storm. That's always encouraging to see as they use the bay as refuge until the water out front cleans up. There's heaps of bait in the bay, and once they find it, there's not much reason for them to leave it until the water gets too cold, too dirty, or both. This is just a long-winded way of saying don't be shy of checking far north for hardtails right now. With that said, I've heard of people seeing them out front too, so check all the normal haunts as well. Have one rod rigged up with your favorite Metal/Epoxy Jigand one with an Albie Snax and that's just about all you should need. I haven't been out much since the few days leading up to the blow, so I can't say for certain what the predominant bait is at the moment, but I was seeing a mix of mostly bay anchovies and peanut bunker. There are also tons of silversides around. For bonito, having some small(ish) Minnow Plugson hand isn't a bad idea. They love a Yo Zuri Mag Minnowin particular. The Float N' Fly method is also super effective in October when fish are on clouds of tiny bay anchovies. The Larry Lurz Casting Eggpaired with a Albie/Bonitofly can be killer, especially on days they are being uncooperative for the usual baits you'd throw. If you're blind casting, throw it out, give it a nice pop, and then pause for at least a few seconds to let the fly settle down below the surface. Repeat this slow "pop and pause" all the way back to your feet. Casting into feeds is similar, but I like to do even less. If you can land into a feed I recomment barely moving it at all, let that fly settle, and it's sure to get grabbed by a speedster looking for an easy meal. I've more success doing this with bonito than albies, but it can work on both species.

Bonito that was pulled out of a blitz mixed with albies.

Striped Bass

The bass fishing has been excellent since the blow and should be for the next couple of weeks at least. The small bait is plentiful both out front and up the bay, and mullet have been showing up in good numbers as well in some spots. If you're fishing from a boat or kayak, I'd focus on smaller presentations for the most part. Metal/Epoxy Jigsand small plastics like Albie Snax, 4-6" RonZ, 5" NLBN Paddletails, 5" JygPro Swym, 5" Big Water Baits Hit Man,etc. are all great options. Really any plastic, straight tail or paddetail, in the 3"-6" range should be good to you in the fall (and spring). Topwaters like the Rebel Jumpin Minnowshould also be a staple in your bag for the fall run. It's also prime time for fly fishermen throwing Striper Fliesand once again, the Float N' Fly method can be killer particularly for rafting bass on tiny bait. From the surf, Needlefishand Darters have both been doing well at night and Pencil Poppershave been killer for daytime feeds. Minnow Plugsshould do well for you both day and night, especially with decent numbers of mullet around. You've read it in the past couple of fishing forecasts, and you'll keep seeing it - throwing a teaser above your plug will get you many more bites this time of year. A Striper Fly,Red Gill, or Spro Bucktail Teaser will go a long way to produce more bites on slow nights.

Jon with a beautiful surf-caught Block Island bass this week.

Tautog

The tog bite will get better and better as we get deeper into the month. For now, I'd be focusing on relatively shallow water. Say less then 60ft. You could certainly fish that deep water now, but toward the end of the month and into November is when that really lights up. Whether you fish Blackfish Jigsor Blackfish Rigsdepends on the water you're fishing - and a bit of personal preference. Generally speaking, jigs are for shallow and/or slow moving water while rigs thrive in deeper and/or faster moving water. Like everything, there are exceptions to the rules. For both, but especially jigs, you want to use as little weight as you can get away with while still holding bottom contact. Even an eighth of an ounce can be the difference between having a slow day and having a great one. It's worth having a variety of weights in your box for each trip. As far as color, that seems to matter on some days and not at all on others. Tog are curious creatures by nature, so I generally prefer to start with a bright color to get their attention. Bright oranges and yellows are my go to, but also pink, white, chartreuse, etc. It depends though, as some days the dull browns and greens will be the most productive. Play around with it and see what they're keyed in on that particular day.