If you could only target one gamefish species this month, what would it be? That’s the question we put to five top skippers from Connecticut to Oregon. See what these experts will be out chasing in October.
Quicklook: Best Bets for Anglers in October
- Northeast: Striped bass
- Mid-Atlantic: Striped Bass
- Southeast: Redfish
- Gulf of Mexico: Snook
- West Coast: Albacore
Northeast – Striped Bass Fishing
October marks the final push of the fall run of big stripers in southern New England, with the bass feeding more aggressively as temperatures drop. Connecticut-based Capt. Mike Roy says be ready for a range of sizes — anywhere from schoolies to 40-pound-plus monsters.
Roy favors the mouths of rivers and estuaries where big schools of stripers stage to intercept menhaden — juvenile peanut bunker and larger adult bunker. Side imaging helps him find schools of bass and bait. And, Roy says, keep your binoculars handy. “This is the time of year when surface blitzes become a daily occurrence; glassing the beaches can reveal that activity.”
His go-to topwater is a 7- to 9-inch spook-style bait such as Shimano’s Splash Walk on a 6000-size spinner (the Shimano pro favors the Saragossa) with 40-pound braid. But for casting around schools of peanut bunker, he lightens up to a 4000-size reel, such as the Stradic, with 15-pound braid and a 30-pound fluoro leader to cast 4- to 6-inch lures. His top soft baits include a 5 ¾-inch Fin-S Fish or 7-inch Slug-Go. Small jigs like the 42-gram Shimano Current Sniper “will get bit hard around the surface feeds.”
Mid-Atlantic – Striped Bass Fishing
To most anglers who live around and fish Chesapeake Bay, striped bass are known as rockfish, and that makes this month — according to renowned guide Capt. Steve Griffin — rocktober. It’s all about stripers in October, resident fish that run 18 to 35 inches.
October is definitely a transition month, Griffin says, as water temperatures in the bay drop. “We start out the month in the shallows; by the end of October, we’ll be finding rockfish schooled up on channel ledges, as peanut bunker are flushed out of river systems,” he says. Moving tidal currents are important for success, with bass feeding best around peak current. Some great topwater action can be on hand, mostly for those fishing early or late in low-light conditions.
In the first part of October, Griffin likes to work topwaters or, throughout the day, Z-Man 5-inch Diezel Minnows. Later in the month, he’ll tie on a jig (weight/size varying by depth and current) with a Z-Man eight-inch Streakz XL soft bait. He fishes Shimano 3000-size spinners with 15-pound braid to a 25-pound fluorocarbon leader.
Southeast – Red Drum Fishing
By October, big bull reds along the Georgia coast have spawned and are now intent on eating, fattening up menhaden and anything else they can get their mouth around before heading back offshore for the winter, says Capt. Greg Hildreth, who fishes St. Simons and Jekyll islands.
Hildreth targets them by fishing around the shoals and bars off barrier islands beaches. Not surprisingly, his bait of choice is fresh-caught live menhaden, but when not available, a chunk of fresh mullet will generally do the job.
“Watch for areas along the shoals where the pogies are falling in or out with the tide,” Hildreth advises. He’ll anchor up — usually in four to eight feet of water — and put out at least four rods. Be ready because “when schools of reds come through, it’s not uncommon to have all four rods go off!”
He uses Penn Authority spinners in a 6000 size with 65-pound braid tied to three to four feet of 100-pound mono and a 10/0 Gamakatsu Kraken outbarb hook on a fish-finder rig with a three- to six-ounce pyramid sinker to hold baits on bottom. Hildreth says the big reds usually stay in the shallows until water temps fall into the low 60s, typically around the end of October or early November.
Southeast – Snook Fishing
October is change-up time for Florida Bay snook. Capt. Jim Willcox says that, after spending the summer along the Gulf of Mexico beaches of Cape Sable (southwestern most tip of the state),
“They’re transitioning back to the creeks and interior waters of the Everglades to spend the winter.” This transition that starts in September and continues through October is a great time to intercept snook which, in the early fall, often congregate in groups.
Wilcox looks for them along beaches and creek mouths from Flamingo to Everglades City. “The coolest thing about fishing them on beaches is that on a clear day you can see the bait spraying and the snook cruising within a foot of the shore” to sight-fish them and see the strikes. Wilcox departs from Bud ‘n Mary’s Fishing Marina in Islamorada, often traveling up the state’s southwest coast, at times entailing a run of up to 40 miles each way.
He generally equips anglers with spinning gear holding 15- to 20-pound braid, though bait casters are fine. Using 40- to 50-pound mono leader, Wilcox favors chartreuse or white jerk baits such as a 5-inch Berkley Jerk Shad. Wilcox reminds anglers that with snook a very light bite can be a very big fish. “Crank before you yank!” he says. When waters cool, he’ll add live shrimp to his arsenal. Most of the snook are within the slot-limit size, but Wilcox seldom keeps any, even within open season.
West Coast – Albacore Fishing
By October, ocean fishing off northern Oregon and southern Washington is pretty dead; salmon are up in rivers and hunting season is in full swing. But anglers smart enough to appreciate the incredible albacore tuna fishery here know better.
Albacore fishing here has gotten better and better, and fall is prime time says Capt. Del Stephens. Most anglers simply pull Clone or cedar plug lures to find the schools, which are likely 40 to 50 miles out. Last year, in flat weather in early November, Stephens found vast shoals of tuna just 20 miles out.
Stephens takes a different approach to finding the fish on the big ocean, starting at home the day before. He monitors sea-surface temperature and chlorophyll charts to find his spot. Odds are the tuna won’t show on top. “I’ll stop, have a couple of anglers drop iron and start chumming,” he says. “Seventy percent of the time, it’s a go on first stop; if not, I’ll usually find them within a mile.”
Stephens docks at Ilwaco, Washington, which offers a reliable bait receiver for anchovies. Westport, just to the north, is another good jumping-off point for albies. Stephens uses conventional gear with 50- to 65-pound braid for jig rods, but smaller reels with 30-pound braid (and 30-pound fluoro topshot) for fishing live baits. Although Stephens no longer charters, he says there are plenty of reliable skippers in the area.
