October is officially fall. And as much as I miss summer in the initially chilly days of September, there’s something about October that just solidifies that the page has turned, there aren’t any more surprise summer-like days coming, and it’s time to just embrace the fall and all that it brings. Wet leaves, the smell of early season chimney smoke, football highlights, and damn good fishing are what I think of for the month of October. You’ll want to bring your hoodies and jackets with you to handle the fall air, but the fishing is typically pretty red hot. Stripers, albies, bonito, tautog season opening up for Connecticut residents, lingering seabass, fluke, and porgies – it’s all available in October. And the fall bonuses are also available in the form of unique species like triggerfish and albies which are only available certain months out of the year if they are at all. Another bonus is that the fall means many anglers will pull their boats and you won’t have to worry as much about combat fishing except perhaps on the opening day of tog season!
When I think of October, I think of tornados of birds, blitzing fish, and awesome days on the water. In the Long Island Sound, no month better encapsulates the “Fall Run” than October. Bay anchovies, peanut bunker, and silversides which have spent the year growing in protected waters will be exiting those waters into the wide openness of the Sound, triggering the blitzes that we all liken to National Geographic film clips. I usually prefer an outgoing tide in the fall since it is often warmer water but also sends those baitfish out into the open. Generally, though, October blitzes are going to be early in the day or throughout the day on cloudy or windy days.
In terms of what I’m personally targeting in October, it’s albies all day long. I’ve written about them extensively in previous forecasts, but a quicker refresher in terms of gear: usually a 3000 to 5000 size reel spooled with 10-30lb braid (I prefer 15 or 20), and a longer rod in the 7’ 3” to 7’ 6” range. Yes, you can chase them with shorter rods, but there is perhaps no species in our waters where targeting them is as dependent on casting distance as albies are. Often, 5 feet of casting distance too short or off to the side of a blitz can be the different between hooking up and not. So, I defer to a 7’ 6” rod every single time. I use 15lb leader most days, but in 2025 had to downsize to 12lb leader due to the small bait that the albies were on. So, bring both! There are many companies that make solid albie metals and epoxies, but I personally prefer the Game On EXO Jig. They cast a mile, they don’t chip, and they flat out work. The 3/4-ounce electric chicken color has caught me more albies than any other jig in my arsenal. Hogy is another very popular albie jig maker, and I’ve often switched to a Hogy when their more realistic colors are the only thing that’ll get a bite. Last year, when they were on that aforementioned tiny bait, the 3/8-ounce olive Hogy epoxy was all I could get bitten on, so I always keep some Hogy gear in my albie box too.
If you’re going to look for blitzes in general and don’t mind which species you’re chasing, I’d keep a small metal or epoxy jig tied on, along with a 5-inch topwater bait, popper or spook. In general, you’re not chasing giant stripers in October. Most of those have migrated out of the LIS by that point. Not all, but most. So, I’m often shifting my focus to just enjoying being on the water, trying to chase the rarer stuff like albies, bonito, and the occasional Spanish Mackerel, and having fun without worrying about how big my stripers are that are bending the rod.
For location, I would focus on creek and river outflows along with beaches and coves. These are places that, either via current or natural geography, corral bait and make it easier to hunt. And bait is the name of the game in October. I’ve preached in previous reports that if you hop on the boat in July and go looking for birds to guide your day, you’re going to have a nice boat ride but probably not catch many fish. October is the opposite – get out there and start looking for birds. Sitting birds are ok. Hovering birds are nice. But tightly packed, diving birds are the goal. Those are often reflective of the tightly packed bait they’re chasing, and that bait is likely packed tightly because of predatory fish below them.
Make sure to follow blitz-chasing etiquette if you’re a boater. Don’t drive through working birds, don’t race up to a blitz at full speed, and be mindful of other anglers around who are working the same feeds you are. I’ve seen combat fishing when guys are chasing albies, and it’s genuinely one of those things that helps precisely no one. Take your time, approach a blitz carefully and at low RPMs, and you’ll get your chances.
On October 10th, Connecticut tautog/blackfish season opens. It’s a highly anticipated season, the last hurrah before the open water season shuts down for winter, and one that is universally loved by those who keep their boats in through Thanksgiving to take advantage. Tautog are members of the wrasse family. They’re fierce fighters, love shellfish, and can be found in water as shallow as 4 feet or as deep as 100 feet, though most stick to the 20-50’ range when targeting them. Personally, I’m a shallow water tog lover. I rarely fish deeper than 25’ in the fall, for many reasons. Mainly, it’s because big tog are available at all depths, so fishing shallower is more convenient when the chances are just as good at landing a giant as fishing out deep. Your target structure for tog are rockpiles, docks, or mussel beds, but rocks are very much the preferred focus of tog anglers.
Green, Asian, or hermit crabs are the go-to bait for tautog, with a heavy emphasis on using green crabs because they’re cheap and easily available. You can pick between either tog jigs or tog rigs. I only use jigs, but I know many guys prefer rigs as well and both certainly work. The generally cadence is to get a bucket of crabs, a pair of scissors, and then snip the green crab legs and claws off, baiting your hook with half the body of the crab. Poke your hook in one leg socket and out another and drop it to the bottom. Pretty straightforward stuff!
For a rod and reel, I prefer spinning setups for tog, but many guys want conventional. To each their own for sure. My favorite setup is a 7-foot heavy rod and a 4000-size reel with plenty of drag. The rod also needs to have some good backbone on it, since even 3-4-pound tog can pull like crazy. For line, I run 30-pound with a 5-foot leader of 40-pound fluorocarbon. Many guys use heavier line, but the most I’ll personally do is go up to 50-pound leader if I’m in a really snaggy area. An extra long leader is important for these fish, as you’ll often be dropping right next to rocks and you don’t want to get snipped off when a big tog pulls you into the structure.
That’s a quick rundown on blitzes, albie, and tog. If you only chase blitzes, search for albies, and drop crabs for tog, you’ll have a hell of an October! Have fun out there!