Rhode Island's October

Adapting to Changing Patterns

by Ray Bondorew

Rhode Island fly fishermen greet October with open arms and tight drags. For just as the fiery colors on the hardwood trees peak during the month, so does the fishing. In preparation for their migration south, striped bass and bluefish congregate into large schools along our shores. The baitfish they prey upon will also be assembled into large schools and when the two collide, angling can be spectacular.

As air temperatures drop during October, many mornings along the shore will find the ground covered with a frosty coating. The air is clean, fresh, and invigorating. October's weather does not tire a fisherman out as fast as the hot, steamy days of the preceding months. Water temperatures drop steadily during October, which seems to change the way striped bass and bluefish feed. In the previous months they fed actively during early morning and evening hours and these were the best times to fish. Bright skies and calm seas, moreover, seemed to drive them away from shore during the day.

In October this pattern changes: the cooler water temperatures increase gamefish activity during the daytime. In preparation for their migration, they begin feeding heavily and for longer periods of time. Many days fish seem to feed continuously on large schools of bait throughout the day, even under the brightest skies and in the calmest of waters. Often when stripers or bluefish have corralled a school of bait, they will drive it right up on the shore and feed in very shallow water. Such feeding frenzies are not uncommon during October, and the frenzy can last many hours. When these blitzes occur, the feeding fish are sometimes very showy. Boils, breaks, bait, and birds, each working frenetically and at cross purposes, are often the hallmarks of these frenzies. At other times, however, active feeding can go unnoticed by the casual observer.

If the bait is thick and the water deep enough, the gamefish may only attack at the bottom of the bait, with only slight boils evidencing the attack. At these times, linesiders may only be keying on crippled baits, and may be less likely to reveal themselves. Without any surface activity the presence of birds is unlikely, so don't always count on birds to locate fish for you. In fact, stripers and bluefish will often feed so close to shore that a boil or slight break is barely discernible from the wash or undertow of a wave breaking over a rock or against the shore. This can be true even on the calmest days.

Much of October's fishing is done in relatively calm water. The predominant winds begin blowing from the west and northwest which tends to quiet our waters. On calm, bright, days fish may be active, but may be reluctant to expose themselves by coming up from the bottom to feed. The use of a sinking line, or a split shot attached to the leader may do the trick where a simple floating line may not.

With each passing day in October, more fish will be present along Rhode Island's shores. The peak fishing normally occurs during the second and third weeks along the Newport shoreline. October's final two weeks find the peak fishing occurring from Narragansett to Watch Hill. Of course, all of this course depends upon the weather: cooler weather may hasten the peak activity while warmer weather may delay it. For the last two years, no peak to the fall run ever materialized. Fishing was spotty due to a lack of large schools of baitfish. Early in October a large number of stripers did move into the area near the border, not far from Westport, Massachusettes. They remained there until October 30th, then raced along the southern Rhode Island shore. For the two previous years the peak along the Narragansett shoreline occurred during the final week of October and the first few days of November (Oct 29th was the height of the peak for both years).

Some October days are nasty with gale force winds and big surf which make saltwater fishing nearly impossible. These are good days to visit tidal rivers that have fresh water feeders. Sea run brown trout enter these rivers in October to spawn. The first gravely river section up from the tidal river is a good location to fish. Sea run fishing is a good alternative to going home when you find the coastline is roaring.

October is my favorite month of the year: a special time which I await with great anticipation. I can fish all day without becoming tired, and the crisp mornings and pleasantly dry days rejuvenate my spirit. Yet as each day passes, I know that fewer mornings will find me walking the shore, rod in hand.

Reel-Time

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