Finally!! The Blitz is on and it started October 22nd. The birds are on them and there’s no shortage of action! Great to see the huge number of fish piling through. From Jones’ all the way into Shagwong, they’re all on the surface doing their thing. It’s quite the sight to see and the action doesn’t get any better! Popping plugs, spoons, casting jigs, just about everything works to get the job done. Yes, the super fun time has arrived! With the water temperature still at 59 degrees, these fish may be hanging around for quite a bit. As long as there’s plenty of bait, they’ll be chowing as much as possible to get them through the winter. We used to have the Striped Bass right till the season closed on December 15th, it would be nice to see that again! I’d like to see the Herring show up before the Striped Bass closer, but maybe I’m asking too much! LOL!!
As far as the bottom fishing report, the Black Sea Bass are still biting, you just have to go by the windmills and the surrounding rock patches to the south to find them. Simple double hook up-down rig works great with clam or squid, but Diamond jigs & Flutter jigs work well too. The good thing about using jigs is that you weed out a lot of the short fish. It’s also a great bite when they hit the jig. Don’t be surprised if a Cod jumps on the line as well.
Blackfishing has been good one day the slow the next. At the time of writing this article it seems that it’s starting to heat up. Nicer sized fish are starting to come over the rails. The Highway, Watch Hill Reef, Sugar Reef, all starting to show better action. Green crabs & Calico crabs are the ticket. Blackfish limit is 4 per angler at 16 inches. Season closes on December 22nd.
Offshore canyon fishing is still holding up. The Bigeye bite at the Hudson Canyon was pretty good this past week (October 16th-20th). They were large as well. Numerous 200-250 class fish were being taken. Some on the troll, but the rest on the chunk. Some anglers that went out were not expecting such huge Bigeyes and mostly were rigged for Yellowfins. Many fish were lost, but you have to remember, the Fish got to win once in a while! LOL!!
It’s not over till it’s over, and it sure isn’t over yet by no means. So get out there and have some fun catching supper!
~ Tight Lines, Captain Skip
