For better or worse, the end of the 2024 saltwater fishing season is about upon us. I can’t quite say that I am happy to see it arrive, as it’s never a good day when I hang the rods up for the winter, but this has been a trying season at times.
Striped bass fishing has been, well, inconsistent to say the least. Spring showed promise with fish moving into many of the early-season haunts on expected timetables with some good catches being made. As we transitioned into summer it looked like the fish would set up into traditional mid-season patterns, which they kind of did, but not really in any large numbers. Long Island Sound saw a good stretch of action in the Plum Gut/Race area, but then they disappeared. Block Island welcomed the arrival of fish with a quick shot of particularly good fishing followed by predictably unpredictable and at times poor action. Even those anglers who refuse to follow the rules and target striped bass in Federal waters (which is illegal) reported less than stellar success.
Late summer showed signs of improvement with schools of bass feeding on bait in a variety of locations, only to mysteriously vanish once again. As I type this, the southern New England ‘Fall Run’ should be well underway, but on all accounts it’s severely lacking. I have heard of very few sustained bites, daytime blitzes, or even shots of good fish moving through any of the usual fall spots. My contacts on Long Island and in New Jersey had lofty expectations of a strong fall season based on last year’s success, but aside from a shot here and there, they’re simply not seeing much yet.
But this isn’t all to say you better hang up your gear and call it an end just yet, oh no! I feel that the fish stick around longer than anglers target them. I can’t tell you how many times I have either gotten into a bite myself or heard of some exceptionally good fishing well after everyone else said it was over. Playing the odds goes a long way here, and I concentrate my efforts in places where there is a reason for fish to hold. This might be staging waters outside a known winter holdover river like the Thames, Connecticut, or Housatonic River. I also look for places where bait is either concentrated or is on the move. Cooling waters force summering baitfish out of the back waters, and when you can locate some sort of structure outside these areas, striped bass are sure to be found. These spots are likely much the same as where bass were found over the last few months, but generally it is specific areas that hold the fish as opposed to them being spread across multiple locations. With his in mind, I’ll keep my options open and not get locked into any one spot for too long if there is no sign of action. Move around, burn some fuel, and cover water until fish are found; once the boat is put away for the season, you’ll wish you had just one more day of fishing so now is the time to bank them!
Fall blackfishing is in full swing, and while much of the action has been on shorts to small keepers, some large fish have been peppered in. First and foremost, there was new Rhode Island state record set back on October 21 by angler Vinny Simms Jr. Vinny was fishing with Capt. Rob Taylor of Newport Sportfishing Charters when he landed the 34-inch fish, which registered 22 pounds, 5.28 ounces later that day on the Quaker Lane Bait and Tackle scale. This fish beat out the previous record of 21.57 pounds landed by Paul Newman while fishing onboard Tall Tailz Charters with Capt. Connor MacLeod just 2 years earlier.
While not all the early fall blackfish catches have been record setting, the action has been good across all of Southern New England. My first outing back on October 11 in Connecticut was downright excellent as a 4-man crew boated over 2-dozen keepers and more shorts than we could count, going through nearly 5 gallons of green crabs before stopping for the day. As has become tradition for us on the first fall trip, we let everything go as sort of a sacrifice to the fish gods for continued success. Whether or not this pays off over the coming weeks is anyone’s guess, but I have come to appreciate the blackfish as a great gamefish in recent years as both my mentality and gear choices have evolved. This isn’t to say that I have any reservations about keeping some tog for chowder, blackfish piccata, a fish fry, or even the occasional General Tso’s blackfish recipe, but I find it equally rewarding to slide that 20-plus-inch fish back over the gunnel as I do icing a few just-keepers for a meal.
Early fall action was, as is expected, targeted on shallower structure. Anything from the wash as it slides up a granite shoreline to about the 20-foot depths are heavily pressured to kick off the fall, but as the days shorten and we approach that first snow, anglers move deeper. I have long debated whether this transition from shallow to deep is more about following the fish, finding less-pressured fish, or based on junk science passed down year after year by other fishermen. While I do not dispute the general findings that blackfish move to deeper water for the winter, I am less convinced that they do so in such a drastic manner as many anglers believe. I feel that the fish stay shallow far longer than accepted, and my catches over the years support this. I have mentioned this in past years, but my two largest blackfish – both double-digit fish – were landed in late November and in water less than 10-feet deep. I have had some exceptional action off my kayak right up to Thanksgiving in water shallower than 6 feet, only losing the bite due to a cold snap keeping me from feeling safe enough to venture out on the yak.
With striped bass moving south, and blackfish season waning if not closing out in some states, the final salty fishing we have in Southern New England in the 11th and 12th months is on mixed groundfish of cod, black sea bass, and porgies. This isn’t a fishery these days for private boaters, as most marinas require boats out of the water sometime in November. Fortunately, there remain several head boats as well as a handful of 6-packs that specialize in this fishing with boats sailing from eastern Connecticut and Point Judith, Rhode Island, as well as a few ports to the east into Massachusetts. While you’re not going to find cod fishing like was once had in the waters off Block Island when pool fish would regularly eclipse 30, 40, and even 50 pounds, you can still put together a decent catch and take home enough fillets for a couple fresh fish dinners.
If you’re looking to take advantage of this fishing, I strongly urge you to do so earlier in the winter as opposed to holding out too long. Once boats start targeting the Block Island structure, the fishing is good. Many boats find cod, black sea bass, porgies, and several other options mixed-in on the same rockpiles where late-season blackfish are found, producing some excellent and well round catches. As the calendar year closes out, fishing can get difficult at best. This is as much a result of poor weather, but with fishing action slowing down so too does captain and angler willingness to battle the elements.
I’ll close this installment out with a quick note regarding striped bass. Expect to have some sort of changes implemented for the 2025 fishing season. When the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission met for its annual meeting in October, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board decided to have a special meeting in December to consider action to change the 2025 management measures. As of the time of this writing, the date for the said meeting has not been set, but expect that to be made official by the time you read this. The announcement of the meeting will also include any sort of public comment options, so keep an eye on social media as well as the ASMFC website – https://asmfc.org/ – for details.