10/15/08 by Corey Pietraszek
Well people its that time of year again. The leaves are changing with the cooler nights and all species of fish are starting to move south again to the winter holdover grounds. The fall fishing definitely started out weak in most of the areas that we fish but has come full circle the last week or so. Many of the days along the Islands we’re tough in late September as the MV Derby guys invade and you have to share. We did have some fabulous days of fishing out along the Islands however with some days giving up a few fish just over 30lbs on both fly and spin. With that being said I decided to not run over to the Islands as much until the derby ends and started fishing back here along the Sakonnet and Newport shoreline again which has been a welcome change. The big question from all clients has been “Where are the albies”? Well yes the albies did come in but for a short time and on the days when the fish would stay up for more then 2 seconds making it tough for the fly rodders but a not to tough for the spin anglers using metals or Yozuri Live Bait you could in fact catch them it was just very tough which is usually the case for these fish. WE did manage to land about 20 total this season which is a far cry from landing 20 a day last season. These fish stayed for about 2 solid weeks on and off and then they just left as fast as they arrived. However, last week I had a day with Earl when fishing for bass a huge school of late October run Bonito made a push by the rocks we had been fishing and we did manage to get tight to a few of these guys before they left the scene. Tasty Critters!
The last few days I’ve not been booked which happens every year in October. The fishing is great but I think many people by this time have had enough and the books just get loose so its time for me to try and enjoy a few days fishing. My thoughts are this, you work very hard during the season as a guide and see many opportunities come and go but that’s part of the job so when you can get to go fishing with other people its great and my fish of choice to chase is tuna. The waters off Cape Cod have been great all season long but this time of year when the bigger baits like half beaks or bunker are around the tuna just go nuts and the tuna fishing can be amazing. Many days are filled with huge schools of fish jumping 5-8ft out of the water after halfbeaks and if you can get close enough quick and get a surface plug or fly into the mix its party time! I had Phat Matt and Harvey Simon aboard on Saturday and we encountered a huge school of tuna that were feeding like bass just sipping sand eels off the surface and if you got a lure next to them they would just explode on it. We hooked 5 and landed 3 for the day and Harvey’s fish was just a big butterball weighing what we figured to be about 90lbs. Overall this was a great season for BIG tuna on LITTLE tackle. Man I hope we can get out a few more times before the weather just gets way to grumpy for the Parker and the season is over. These fish are the best thing in the ocean period!
Most of the fall action has been just been awesome most days. I have had some really tough days but the better days seem to out number the tough ones making it a solid fall season overall. I think with the amount of bait and fish still north around Boston and south heading into the Canal we could have some great bass fishing here along the Islands and north estuaries of Buzzards Bay again in the coming weeks. The fall fishing is in full swing and I have some openings from now until Halloween so give us a call and plan to get out to enjoy some fall run fishing as the 2008 season is about to come to a close.
