Fall Fishing in Long Island Sound is in High Gear : In Southern New England the autumn migration is well underway. Consequently fall fishing in Long Island Sound is in high gear. This is your absolute best chance to hit a triple crown -a false albacore, a striper and a bluefish in the same day. Get out there and wet a line, amigo.
Right now, the fishing is feast or famine. You’re either in the middle of a blitz bailing fish right and left, or you’re coming up empty handed. Because of that you have to be ready and willing to move. Get in your car; get in your boat; get in your kayak, march down the beach, find the birds; find the swirls; find the busting fish. The rest will be easy.
A day ago I got a call from my son telling me he scored a triple crown. Wish I had been there to see it happen. Of the three species the false albacore can be the hardest to locate. And they are also the first critter to high tail it south. My son got his from a kayak (photo above). In a cold fall, false albacore may disappear by the first moon of November. The next fish to depart is the blue, but those toothy toads can last well into November, especially the big ones. Stripers? Very, very tolerant of cold water. And given the unusually warm weather in Southern New England, striped bass action in the Long Island Sound is going to be rocking far into December.
Fall gamefish can feed with wild abandon. And when they do any size artificial will work. But these same fish can prove picky at times. Why? They may be feeding on anything from small bay anchovies and baby menhaden, to medium size silversides and finger mullet, to huge adult menhaden and sea herring. And its best if you match it. So remember to bring flies and plugs in a wide range of sizes.