Fall patterns are emerging despite the fact it still feels like summer at the moment. Things are happening at the pace they should, as they always do.
Bluefish seem to be focusing their activities in the Bay, with occasional blitzes along the Southern Coast of Rhode Island. Obviously wire and a plug that can cast a long way are what are needed here. There are two schools of thought for finding where the action is on any given day for shore anglers. One is to stay put and wait them out. Usually, at some point, they'll make landfall. Or you can go out on the hunt and hit a bunch of likely locations. Fly rodders should really take a look at multiple locations as they especially need to find close range action. I like to find a spot that clearly has bait and has wind coming in directly at it and hold tight if I’m after blues with the fly. Be prepared to encounter some big blues out there. Have heavy wire, many anglers have discovered that light wire doesn’t hold up against some of these big teeth.
Queen Mary 2 anchored off Newport 
Captain Eric Taylor with another albie 
Albies are still here, and their numbers are still above average for early October. The ones feeding on the bigger bait are very receptive to almost anything you throw at them which is in sharp contrast to the fish we were dealing with just a few weeks ago. Others though are making anglers pull their hair out as they deny every attempt to be caught. Usually the tougher fish are eating smaller prey. Pretty much the entire coastline is once again active with these fish, just the intensity isn't what it was a few weeks ago. The albies tasty partners in crime have also returned. Bonito are popping up in most of the common places. While I wouldn't panic, the return of bonito often marks the start of the exit of the albies. Both hardtails are feeding on a variety of bait, so be prepared to tailor your offerings to what they're eating. Small topwaters are great if the fish are on bigger baits and the new Yozuri Livebait Minnow Jig continues to slay in almost all situations.
Rob Taylor's 34 pounder 
With the full moon now on the fade surf anglers are looking at a potentially very good stretch of fishing coming up. In addition to the fading moon it's early October and there's plenty of bait around. Expect to see some big fish coming out of the surf in the next few weeks. Both Earl Evans and Rob Taylor pulled big fish late last week despite the full moon; Earl's fish fell to a trusty Beachmaster "wad"
needlefish and Rob's fish decided to eat an 5 ounce Gibbs Pencil Popper from the 80's. The fish weighed 35 and 34 pounds respectively.
Everything is happening quickly now. It's sort of like spring, only in reverse. In a few more weeks the fast paced changes will slow as the last of the season is a little more predictable. Unless we have the misfortune of a tropical storm or hurricane coming up the coast it's likely we'll see the albies hang in until the end of the month, and bonito maybe even a touch longer then that. Migrating schools of bass will become more spaced, but keep in mind that the possibility of catching large really doesn’t pass until mid-November on the mainland and even longer on Block Island. While daytime fishing is good and will continue to improve as water temperatures fall, fishing in the darkness is deadly as it always is. It’s a great time to throw some big plugs like Dannys or some big flies and see what you might be able to lure out of the surf.
October is a less intense month for charter bookings, so we do have some openings right now for those looking to catch a fish of a lifetime on the fly rod or spin. Big stripers, Cape Cod Bay tuna, albies and bonito, or just a fun day with the kids catching bluefish, we cover all the bases. We have openings for offshore charters for tuna and sharks as well. If you’re interested give us a call at the shop at 401.842.0062
Enjoy the weeks to come! Especially right now. The warm temperatures won’t last forever.
© Copyright 2007 The Saltwater Edge. All Rights Reserved. All text, images, graphics, animation, videos, and other materials on this website are subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of The Saltwater Edge. These materials may not be reproduced, distributed, modified or reposted to other websites without the express permission of The Saltwater Edge and a hyperlink to
www.saltwateredge.com.