As water temperatures drop and days get shorter, fish move from summer playgrounds to winter haunts. Striped bass in the Northeast, speckled trout in the Southeast, South Florida wahoo, sheepshead along the Gulf Coast and rockfish off California are on the feed. Here’s the inside line on some best bets for fall.
Best for Northeast
For New England anglers, striped bass fishing is a bigger part of fall than football. Capt. Greg Cudnik, of Fisherman’s Headquarters and Fish Head Charters, says the best striper fishing is the first week of November. “That’s when I see the biggest fish,” he says. As the water temperature drops, schools of menhaden gather along the beach. After the first wave of giant bass pass through, hordes of smaller striped bass move in. Cudnik says, “The size of the stripers decreases, but they make up for it with abundance.”
Most of the action is along the beach, but skinny-water anglers still find striped bass in the bays and inlets. Cudnik says the old adage “west is best” holds true. He adds, “The third day of a hard west blow can be epic!” Cudnik looks for fish just behind the breakers and on sandbars close to the beach. He starts the day casting lures. “Who doesn’t love a topwater bass bite?” he asks. Cudnik’s favorite surface plug is Guide’s Secret Poppa Pencil. To target deeper fish, he uses 5- or 8-inch NLBN swimbaits and Yo-Zuri Mag Dive swimming plugs. When conditions are tough, and Cudnik “has to pull a rabbit out of his hat,” he goes to live menhaden, eels or spot.
Best for Southeast
In fall, Southeastern anglers focus on speckled trout. From Virginia to Georgia, cold water and abundant bait lure gator trout into deep channels and inlets. That scenario plays out perfectly for Capt. Jot Owens in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. “When the water temperature drops into the 60s, speckled trout leave the creeks and congregate in deeper water,” he says. Trophy trout loiter into December. “If I’m fishing a steep drop, I position the boat so I cast toward the shallow water.” On a more gradual shoreline, he positions the boat shallow and casts to the deeper water.
The strategy allows Owens to slowly work a suspending or sinking twitchbait. “When the water is over 60 degrees, I fish a MirrOlure 17MR or 22MR Catch 2000 Jr.” As the water temperature drops into the 50s, he switches to a jig and soft plastic or a heavier MirrOlure 18MR and 52MR. He works the lures with a slow twitch-and-pause retrieve. “Let it sink five to 10 seconds, and then twitch the rod tip and let the lure pause for a few seconds.”
Florida Wahoo
Fall is prime time for wahoo in Florida. Capt. Eric McDonald at Deep Blue Fishing Charters says the draw is easy fishing for trophy wahoo. The fish gather on the edge of the 200- and 300-foot drops and around wrecks. He looks for an east wind, clear blue water and a tide change to complete the ideal scenario.
McDonald trolls a No. 6 and No. 8 planer with skirted strip baits. A key to the wahoo bite on the planer is 100 feet of 60-pound fluorocarbon leader tied straight to the lure. McDonald says the fluoro produces more bites and surprisingly few break-offs. He adds three surface lines with strip baits. “I set a chugger inside the wash and a jet outside the wash.” McDonald trolls the spread at 6 knots. If barracuda become a nuisance, he bumps it up to 10.
Gulf Coast Sheepshead
Capt. Bryan Cuevas of Mega Bite Fishing Charters in Biloxi says, “The growing population of sheepshead is insane.” He says every piece of inshore structure is crawling with them.
Cuevas uses a 6-foot-8-inch spinning rod spooled with 12-pound monofilament. He explains, “Mono is easier to manage than braided line, and I’m not sacrificing sensitivity in shallow water.” Cuevas fools sheepshead with a dropper rig or Carolina rig. He ties his rigs with 30-pound mono and a 1-ounce sinker. To attract sheepshead, many anglers scrape barnacles off bridge pilings. “That ruins the habitat,” Cuevas insists. Instead, throwing out crushed oyster shells works just as well.
California Rockfish
Fall brings bottomfishing for rockfish close to shore due to new regulations restricting anglers to fishing inside 120 feet. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz Harbor says six species of rockfish, along with lingcod and halibut, will be on the menu. Anglers fish 4- to 8-ounce vertical jigs, 5-inch swimbaits on a 1- to 4-ounce jig head, and 5/0 shrimp flies baited with a small piece of squid.
In deep water, Fraser recommends a 7-foot medium-heavy rod and high-speed reel spooled with 50-pound braid or 20-pound monofilament. He says bottom bouncing for rockfish is easy with a good chance at steady action.
