There’s no way around it now; it looks, feels, and shortly it WILL be fall. Really this doesn’t effect most fisherman though, as around here the fall migration typically gets underway in mid-August and the patterns that began in the past 4 weeks will continue until the end.
Albies continue to maintain their fury along the coast of Rhode Island, South Eastern Massachusetts, and beyond. Veteran anglers continue to remark that they’ve never seen so many albies for so long. The fish are challenging on many days though, despite schools staying up for extended periods of time with a lot of passion. Regular offerings such as Deadly Dicks and Crippled Herrings are often completely denied. Off to the East has been the hot spot, with the well known West Wall fading a bit in the past few days. The tiny bunker and occasional silversides and the incredible quantities this year are the cause of the rare hookups. It's worth trying both "match the hatch" techniques as well as throwing something that stands out in hopes of finding out what the fish are willing to eat when you encounter them. Don't stay married to any one lure, rotate until you find something that works.
Blues are taking a hint from the albies and have been on a similar warpath both along the coast and in the Bay. The fish are often nice sized fish as well, sometimes topping 10 pounds. Wire is essential, and heavy wire at that. Several fly fisherman have reported having their 26 pound stainless steel leaders sawed in half. Standard lures and flies are getting it done on the blues. As always, tough lures and synthetic materials for your flies are advised for durability. If I know I’ll be facing bluefish I also dunk the head of my fly in epoxy, it’ll get you a few more uses before it’s time to replace.
Stripers are clearly on the move. In some spots the fishing has been VERY good, others it’s a little less intense. Really that’s normal for fall though as the fish are on the move. It can sometimes be “here one day, and gone the next”. Where there’s bait there will be fish. And even where there isn’t as much bait you’ll still probably find stripers. Don’t wait for birds. The bigger fish especially won’t be pushing the small bait that the small fish are. While points are always good spots, they can be particularly productive in fall. As the fish are migrating along the coast any piece of land the juts out into the sea is something fish have to go around. I’m always a big fan of giant Pencil
Poppers, but fall is a great time to call up large with big offerings. Cloudy days during the fall are great times to catch large during the day. At night Needles and big metal lips will produce. The fish are stocking up for the trip South and are looking for a big meal to put some meat on their bones.
In the coming weeks look for the albies to eventually begin to thin out and focus their activities in South County Rhode Island and also to the West. Blues will hang on well into November before exiting the Bay. Along the coast, there’s really no reason to call it quits until late November. Good bass fishing reliably holds deep into late November and the chance at large is there until the bitter end. Don’t wait for good fishing reports, it’s rapidly becoming now or next spring for fishing. Keep that in mind on a night where the winds are strong and temperatures are low in October and you think twice about rolling out of bed. You’ll be wondering where the time went and wishing you’d have gone fishing 3 months from now…
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