Baitfish of the Fall Run | Fall Run Survival Guide
The fall run finds a smorgasbord of bait cruising the surf for stripers to enjoy on their long journey south.
The fall run is a chaotic and wonderful time to be a striped bass angler. Even though fishermen throughout most of the Northeast can count on about two solid months of fishing for migrating stripers between Labor Day and New Year’s, there’s a “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” feel that causes us to cast with a sense of urgency that wasn’t present back when the bass were migrating north.
To help make the most of this year’s fall striper migration, we’ve compiled this “Survival Guide” by surveying some of the most dedicated surfcasters in the Northeast and sharing some of our favorite tips for the final months of the striper season. – Jimmy Fee
Find the Bait…
Right alongside the migrating stripers, a great variety of baitfish are also heading to their wintering grounds in the fall. With many calories needed to fuel their long swims south, stripers aren’t picky about what they consume. I’ve seen fall bass blitzing on snapper blues, northern kingfish, hickory shad, bunker big and small, mullet, anchovies, lizardfish, sea herring, and mantis shrimp, yet there is a clear hierarchy of baitfish that pose the greatest benefit to striper-seeking surfcasters.
Of the 30 hardcore surfcasters we surveyed, here’s the breakdown of the baitfish they are most excited to see in the fall.
Bay Anchovies
“’Chovies! Everything of all shapes and sizes eats them. It’s so cool to see how they stain the water and spray like the gold coins from Scrooge McDuck.”
– Stephen Lobosco, New York
Related Article: Striped Bass on Rain Bait
Menhaden and Mackerel
“Bunker and macks because stripers like them even more than I like pot roast.”
– East End Eddie Doherty, Massachusetts
Related Article: The Bunker Handbook
Squid
“When the squid boats are dragging within site of the surf, the fishing’s usually pretty good.”
– Earl Evans, Van Staal Reels, Rhode Island
Related Article: Catching Calamari-Crazed Stripers
Mullet
“Mullet. I get excited, because they don’t always show up. There are just a few spots I fish where they are a possibility, and if everything lines up right, it is almost guaranteed to be incredible fishing.”
– Jerry Audet, In Deep Outdoors, Massachusetts
Article: The Northeast’s Mullet Run
Peanut Bunker
“Peanut Bunker. The absolute craziest blitzes I’ve seen have been fueled by peanuts.”
– Steve Gallant, Massachusetts
Related Article: The Peanut Bunker Boom
“This will sound crazy, but I don’t worry about bait too much in the fall. I search for the most productive migration highways and find areas that put me in the best position to intercept the bass on their way south.”
– Anthony Pizzella, Maine
Related Content
8 on “Baitfish of the Fall Run | Fall Run Survival Guide”
-
Scott b. Simply KILLER ,AWESOME,,, THE WHOLE SEACOAST,,,SURFCASTERS TOO,,,, AND STACKED UP DEEP ON LAST 2 OCTOBER WEEKS AT SOUTHWEST LEDGE ,, BETWEEN THE BLOCK AND MONTAUK POINT…
-
Lemar scott brown Yessss, all of IT.,,,,, CT
-
Wi9lliam Wyrebek This is a very informative resource. I am 72 yrs old and do not get around as well or as long as I used to. I am staying with family in Hull, MA. Any suggestions for surf fishing areas that I could try out? I will not have much of an impact as my stamina lasts just about an hour. Any kind of fish would be great (except for eels, ugh!) Thanks in advance for any assistance.
BillWyrebek -
William Wyrebek Your comment is awaiting moderation.
This is a very informative resource. I am 72 yrs old and do not get around as well or as long as I used to. I am staying with family in Hull, MA. Any suggestions for surf fishing areas that I could try out? I will not have much of an impact as my stamina lasts just about an hour. Any kind of fish would be great (except for eels, ugh!) Thanks in advance for any assistance.
BillWyrebek -
Kyle daley Very interesting comment’s but without a doubt if targeting larger bass adult bunker are what you’re looking for during the fall run. Tight lines all !!!
-
Kyle daley Should add to what I said you will see a big explosion in the water when they hit the peanuts but with adult bunkers they take to the air so you’ll see them airborne that’s when you know great things could happen.
-
Tracy Bagley I went off of the plum island shore Sunday and caught numerous very large blue fish . They were hitting on tinker mackerel and deep diving rapala’s .we were in 40 ft of water but they were also catching them from the beach. Awesome day!
-
Simcha Fish heh I live in Far Rockaway any good spots to go for bass from shore
Leave a Reply