Fall Fishing Begins

We thought summer would never end — but Ian took care of that. We were blessed and didn’t get the hurricane, but we did have a four-day nor’easter with plenty of wind. The East End received about 6 inches of rain. The storm brought high tides and beach erosion.

Prior to the nor’easter, Noyac Bay had a big pod of dolphins moving through the bay. I saw over 30 animals while I was fishing.

The storm definitely got the fall fishing moving. Locally, there still are nice-sized porgies in the bay. Some striped bass have shown up locally. The ferry slip would be a good place to start for the boat fisherman.

Shore fishermen are finding bass in the bays and along the ocean beaches. Still some bluefish at Jessups. It’s time for some larger bluefish to show in the bay.

The bass fishing at Montauk is improved after the storm. Many slot-sized fish are being caught, with some over the slots being released. Larger porgies and jumbo-sized sea bass are found in the ocean and along the north shore. Fluking was good during the last couple of weeks of the season, which ended October 9.

Now we are all ready for the blackfish season, which opened on October 11 for the sound, with a three-fish limit at 16 inches. The rest of the waters open October 15, with a four-fish limit also at 16 inches.

Early on, those blackfish will be in shallow waters. As the water temps fall, you will have to fish in deeper water. Crabs, of course, are the bait of choice. You should see sea bass mixed in with the blackfish catches.

Surf fishing has just seen the beginning of the fall run and should continue throughout the end of November. It’s also time for those October squid runs, which traditionally peak around Halloween. There has been a good run in past years. There are already rumors of squid in the bays.