Fishing Forecast - September New Moon

September is absolutely my favorite time of year to be on the water in Rhode Island. The water hits its peak temperature, we see all sorts of tropical and pelagic fish come inshore, and there's constant storms bombing up the coast to keep things interesting. If you're into multi species fishing and diversity, this is your time to shine. You can pretty reasonably expect to run into five or more species on any given day just throwing and dropping an epoxy jig anywhere out front. From hardtails on the surface to active, fired up bottom fish, everything starts to feed hot and heavy come September.

Fishing the Feeds - Expect the Unexpected!

Fishing surface feeds, you may find striped bass, bluefish, bonito, or false albacore over the next few weeks. At the beginning of the month it was mostly bonito, but with the last couple of storms those numbers seem to have faded a bit - although they're certainly still around and targetable. Those bones have since given way to more striped bass and jumbo bluefish, blitzing on small bait both in the bay and out front. I would expect that we'll get our first push of albies in the next few days here, and hopefully soon after we'll get our second wave of bonito. The first push of albies are generally the biggest of the whole season. The best option for early albies is Albie Snax. You can't go wrong with pearl, but sometimes the two-tone colors can be the ticket. Other days it's all about the bubblegum. You also can't go wrong with a fast retrieve on a Metal/Epoxy Jig. They all work, but the best for our local albies tend to be the classic Hogy Epoxy Jig and the Game On! Exo Jig, with an honorable mention for the Hogy Peanut Bunker Jigand JoeBaggs Peanut Resin Jigwhen the peanuts are in thick. Other options when they're on slender bait profiles include the Savage Gear Sandeel Pencil and Hogy Surface Eraser. If you drop an epoxy or metal jig around any structure you'll be welcomed by fired up sea bass and maybe even tautog, which can get keyed in on the plentiful, small baitfish this time of year. The wildcard as we approach September are triggerfish, which will often be mixed in with schools of sea bass. If you catch one there are likely more with it. They'll hit a small epoxy jig, especially pink or orange, but definitely respond best to cut bait or chum. Triggerfish are hard-fighting, sort of similar to tautog, and in my opinion just about the tastiest fish that we can catch inshore in New England. They seem to hang out on the reefs out front pretty consistently every year now, even poking their way into the bay, and September is your best chance to find some. 

A beautiful triggerfish taken on August 21st a couple years ago. Caught on an old Ties by Ty bucktail with a Zoom Fluke trailer.

Offshore - Still Good, Getting Better

We had a spectacular weather window last week which saw hundreds and hundreds of boats make their way out to the tuna grounds. It seemed like the bite was excellent early in the week, then on those perfect weather days things got pretty slow. Between the completely glass conditions and the amount of pressure those fish were seeing, I don't think anyone was too surprised. The good news is the bite picked right back up and seems to be going very strong. The average size is definitely on the small side right now, which is great for the recreational fisherman and those just getting into it. Although it's still mostly a jig and troll bite, the topwater game is starting to pick up. The hot jigs lately have been the Point Jude Deep Force Jigs and the Shimano Shimmerfall. Pink and white RonZ are also still taking fish. I even managed to land a nice 38 incher on a freshly tied pink-over-white bucktail, slowly popping it in on a blind cast. As far as topwater, the popper bite hasn't quite taken off yet, but Captain Joe Diorio has been taking fish on the JoeBaggs Skipper and even on the fly. 

A nice 44" bluefin taken recently on a Shimano Shimmerfall at sunrise.

We've also gotten a nice push of mahi on the offshore grounds, schooled up on high flyers and underneath floating structure such as logs and weed mats. They can be picky at times, and sometimes it's more about the retrieve than the lure. I would start with a simple, small Epoxy/Metal Jig with a quick straight retrieve. Sometimes skipping it across the surface (almost like an albie retrieve) will get them fired up. Other times, let it drop straight down and they will hit it on the drop. The last technique that seems to work really well is a super erratic, twitchy, jerky retrieve. Especially when they start to get picky, the more ridiculous your retrieve is, the better. Aside from changing the retrieve, they seem to get smart to what you're throwing, so you can often just change colors or presentation and get a few to commit right away before they get shy again. They are also perfect targets for the fly rodder, as they're generally on the smaller side (at or under around 18"). Any sort of small-medium Striper Fly should get the job done. Last time I was out they were eating small butterfish. I would expect that by the next forecast, the popper bite should be just about in full swing and hopefully there will be some yellowfin to report - which still haven't really shown up in numbers in Rhode Island waters. 

An average-sized chicken mahi pulled off a high-flyer offshore last week.