Fishing Forecast - September New Moon

September is a magical month here in Rhode Island. Fall is here, and the fish know it. There is a ridiculous amount of bait out front, including peanut bunker, bay anchovies, silversides, small squid, and some mullet beginning to show. From hardtails to bass, blues, and bottom fish - everything is fired up and willing to eat. The albies are starting to show with a force, which is a sight for sore eyes after the lack of fish locally last year. With all the bait around, I'd expect it to get better and better the next week or two as more fish filter in and put the feed on. A week straight of northeast winds isn't exactly ideal. At this point, they don't seem to mind it one bit. The water temps are beginning to tail off, but not quickly enough to cause concern, so I think we're in for a great second half of September. The bottom fishing is really starting to heat up. I haven't made it offshore recently or heard much from people who have.

Striped Bass

With cool nights and steady northeast winds, the bass fishing has been great and isn't showing any signs of slowing down. Surf, kayak, and boat fishermen have all been doing well on fish of all size classes. With whispers of mullet showing up, things could get even better in the coming weeks. For surf guys, Needlefish, Darters, and Little Neck Poppershave been the plugs of choice. For kayakers and boaters, if you find bass feeding on top, they're likely eating smaller bait - although there have been more and more squid feeds the past couple days. Your Metals/Epoxies, Albie Snax, and small Topwater plugs should be first out of your bag. You will probably see a decent mix of sizes out there, from small schoolies, to slot-sized fish, to 40+ inch class. They're all on relatively small bait, so it's a fun time to bring out the light tackle and have a shot and landing some very solid bass. Fly fishermen also thrive this time of year, so make sure to check out our Albie/Bonito Flies and Striper Flies collections. If you want the subtle presentation of a fly without the headache of casting a fly rod into a 15mph northeast wind, consider throwing a Larry Lurz Casting Egg with a fly hanging behind it. It works great on finicky bass, blues, and certainly hardtails. It's my go-to presentation when the bass are rafting on tiny snot bait, which can be pretty common this time of year.

Jon with a healthy bass from the sand recently, landed on a BWB Hit Man.

Hardtails

While we've been bonito fishing on and off since June, we finally have some other pelagics on the block. After a trickle of albies last week, they really showed up in numbers this week - and they're hungry! We've also gotten a solid push of spanish mackerel, which is great to see after a few years of seeing very few. If you're targeting bones and albies, keep an eye out for "slashy" blitzes similar to bones but a bit more subtle, and for these speedsters airing out of the water. They are an awesome fish to have in the mix. Like bonito, spanish mackerel are more willing to eat plugs then albies are. Small minnow plugs like the Yo Zuri Mag Minnow, Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow, and SP Minnow are all good options. Pink or white will generally get the job done. Of course, the classics will work, too. Metals/Epoxies are the go to. Albie Snax will work on any hardtail, and have definitely been the #1 weapon of choice for the albies with the abundance of squid around. Speaking of the squid, don't be afraid to throw some bigger lures or flies than you may normally throw for albies. The 247 Pocket Rocket has been doing damage, and I've been hearing of guys getting albies on Pencil Poppers recently. If you aren't seeing fish breaking the surface, put some time into blind casting. If you have structure to fish, that makes it easy, as you want to work areas where hardtails are traveling (when they aren't actively feeding). Don't forget that tide lines/weed lines are structure in open water and are a great place to drift and blind cast. If you don't have decent structure to work, try to find bait balls, whether they're on the surface or on your fish finder. If you stay patient around a bait ball, odds are some fish will find it eventually. 

Some of the SWE crew with our first albies of the season, from the past week or so!

Everything Else

With cooling water temps and northeast winds, tog is on the mind for many. We're still a ways out from prime time, but there are plenty of nice tog out there if you're willing to pick through shorts. We carry live green crabs now, so between your Rigs, Jigs, and crabs, it's a one-stop shop. It's still that magical time of year when you can run into anything out there, evidenced by a 14lb mutton snapper caught from the surf in Newport last week. As far as other bottom fish, the black sea bass have been feeding hard and often. Don't be surprised to see them mid-water column or even up on the surface hounding bait balls. I've been seeing them flip and somersault out of the water recently - not big fish, but it's a funny sight to see every time. Metals/Epoxies are often the go-to option. If you're looking to cull out a keeper, try a decent-sized soft plastic like a 5" JygPro Swym, 5" NLBN Paddletail, or BWB 7" Tweaker. Those bigger baits with the single hook give you your best odds at pulling a bigger fish out of a pile of smaller ones.