8/14/13 by Corey Pietraszek
The fishing the last few weeks has been decent for the most part. The odd thing honesty is we are not seeing the usual “big girls” in the rocks as frequently as in years past during August. A few key factors like food sources and migration patterns may be to blame but on any given day things can go from nothing to chaos in one drift which is why we hunt these Striped Bass…you never can seem to figure them out. The fishing early mornings and again late afternoons has been fantastic with most of the action being larger Bluefish and mid ranged Striped Bass on big schools of juvenile Butterfish. Also, this is the time of year when things start to transition into that fall pattern. Cooler air temps and less sun light I feel trigger these fish to start moving and I feel like late August is when we get our fall fishing along the Islands.
Customers ask time and time again what’s the best time of year to book trips? My answer is what do you want to try and catch and when can you go? For me I love May and June for the bigger spring run of bass and that’s probably the busiest stretch for me. But by the end of August I’m crispy on bass and ready for a welcome change after working hard all summer. That’s when the False Albacore or “albies” start coming inshore in many areas we fish and I absolutely love to chase these fish. Not only are they a challenge for the anglers but for the captain as well. Finding these fish can be the easy part but getting the boat positioned in a manor that allows the customers to have the best chance at catching them with either fly rods or spinning tackle is a another whole issue. Some days they might be eating the paint off the side of the boat and other days just staying out of range and frustrating the hell out of you. You gotta love em and come Labor Day is when we usually start seeing the schools of them move in so buckle up. If the last few years were any indication this season should be EPIC!
For me the next real wave of migrating fish comes usually late September into the first few weeks of October. Nothing is etched in stone but traditionally I’ve notice the last few weeks of September the albies start to move more south and whatever bait is still around is being pushed by Striped Bass. Last year we had solid days in early October when the fishing was amazing and most trips yielded what here in New England we call a “slam” meaning Striped Bass, Bluefish, False Albacore in one trip. Last year we had at least 5 anglers get their first one ever with us which is always great to see. Overall we are about to get into the second half of the season which to me is the best time of year and if your already booked FANTASTIC…if not what are you waiting . Contact us about getting something penciled in before the dates fill in.
