The most noticeable seasonal change occurs during the month of October as any warm days, leftover from summertime most assuredly dissipate and put on the chill now with comfortable daytime temps and chillier nights. That switch really sparks the migratory patterns in striped bass and bluefish as they should start to make their way down along the NJ Coast. Black sea bass, blackfish, porgies and ling will really start to get on the snap-on wrecks and reefs. To note, black sea bass season reopened on Sept 23 and runs through October 31 with a 10 fish bag limit at 12.5-inch minimum length. Tuna fishing will be in its last steady productive month out in the canyons with yellowfin and longfin but bluefin should stay on a bite through the start of winter. There’s a lot to get to, let’s get started.
RARITAN BAY
With fluke season over and done with the next target species in Raritan Bay will be a one-two punch of bass and bluefish as the R-Bay is a stopping point on the migration southward from New England. Usually, bunker gets pushed in and stacked inside the bay which attracts both species to come in and have at it, providing plenty of opportunity for topwater surface popping as well as jigging soft baits or metals down below. Bluefish in the fall are usually larger in size of 6 to 14 pounds or more as they are fattened up from feeding over the summer. The first waves of migratory bass are usually in the 10 to 25-pound range with resident fish joining them from the back creeks at Morgan Creek and the Raritan River. The mouth of the bay by Romer Shoal holds a lot of bass and blues as will the areas off Coney Island and in the Swash Channel. Interestingly, croakers were thick inside the bay this summer and will hang in the bay well through October so long it doesn’t drop too fast with the water temps. Squid strips or clam bits will get them to bite.
NORTHERN COAST
October is most certainly the month of running and gunning if the false albacore show up along the coastline as they usually hang at the inlet mouths of Shark River and Manasquan, chasing rainfish baits and spearing. They will pop up and down driving you batty trying to catch up with them but try and speed ahead of the direction they are going and let them come to you. With some well-placed casts with slender metals like Deadly Dicks, Williamson Gomoku Jigs or Hogy Epoxy jigs, you will come tight with a drag-ripping fight. Mixed in with the albies should also be some Atlantic bonito as they tolerate the colder waters a lot better. Porgy fishing really gets elevated in October especially out at the Mud Hole area wrecks and spots like 17 Fathoms, the Farms and the Shark River Reef. Porgies are a 30 fish bag limit and a 10-inch minimum size and you can usually fill your limit of fish if you get on a good bite, catching 3 or 4 of them at a time on a 3 to 4 hook dropper rig with size #4 hooks snelled and a small piece of squid or clam, not too big, but just enough for them to use their small mouths to suck in. Black sea bass should also be mixed in with the pork chops. If bluefish cooperate, expect the choppers to be tearing up peanut bunker and mullet schools anywhere from Sandy Hook down through Spring Lake and Manasquan. Striped bass will be on an early morning feed and night time chew with dark colored plugs working to get bit and hit.
CENTRAL COAST
A variety of species hang close nearshore from Manasquan to Barnegat Inlet. Look for the mullet and peanut bunker schools getting blasted by stripers and bluefish where blitz conditions can occur if it all lines up right. Years ago, massive amount of bluefish populations would hug the coastline and crush and destroy all the lures thrown their way as fish used to average in the 10 to 20-pound class en masse. Nowadays in the last decade most fish have been in the 3 to 8-pound range. Some odd visitors will also be hanging around as in recent years pompano, sheepshead, kingfish, croakers and jacks have been moving through. Off the jetty rocks, triggerfish, tog and sheepshead will be on the menu as crab baits or sand fleas will get them to strike hard. The Axel Carlson Reef site will be plied by bottom brawlers looking to tangle with tautog and sea bass to start the month but may move out to the deeper 80 to 100-foot wrecks if the fish have already pushed off. Sporadic schools of bonito and little tunny should be popping up and down all day long as they harass rainbait schools along the coastline. The back rivers of the Manasquan and Barnegat Bay should be holding the chance to catch a slam of blues, bass and weakfish during the early morning hours with livelined mullet a solid tactic to deploy for the trifecta.
OFFSHORE
Tuna fishing hit a bit of a lull in September as yellowfin were pretty inconsistent at the canyons and bluefin tuna would up and go to a different area nearly every day. October is usually a prime month out at the canyons for overnight chunk trips on the yellowfin where slicks set out overnight can draw in hundreds of the tuna. Most anglers will probably be focused on finding the bluefin tuna schools which can be anywhere from the canyons to inside at the Triple Wrecks, Bacardi and so on, or even way further inshore at the Barnegat Ridge, Klondike Farms and the Mud Hole area. I wish I could give a better gauge on how it will shape up but man its been really inconsistent this year. Bottom fishing out at the canyon flats for golden and gray tilefish should be rip roaring as fish to 30 pound plus will burrow in the mudflats to hit chunk baits dropped down deep.
October is such a sweet time of year as the trees turn colorful, the nip in the airs sparks all wildlife to get moving before the winter months, and there’s flat out so many species of fish to target on any day out. Layer up and head on out, you don’t want to miss a minute during the most beautiful month of the year!