Fall striper and tog bite builds across the Sound

What's biting

What's next

Expect the water to keep cooling gradually through the week, which tends to push bass and tog toward more aggressive feeding. If the trend holds, shallow structure and shoreline edges should fire better at first and last light.

Tide windows today, converted to local time (EDT): at station 8461490 high tide is near 3:50 AM and low tide near 9:59 AM. At stations 8465705 and 8467150 the next high is around 5:20 AM, with low tide near 11:25 AM and 11:30 AM. Moving water on either side of those turns is the best bet for bass working rips and points. Tautog typically stack up on structure around slack, so a late morning low can be a good time to drop crab or jig baits tight to rock.

With the First Quarter moon, tidal swings are moderate rather than extreme. That keeps current manageable for bottom fishing and gives surfcasters workable water without the strongest flow. Check state regs before keeping any fish, as tautog and bass rules are specific and enforced. On The Water reports a recent Rhode Island case with a fine above $3,000 for possessing well over the legal limit of tautog and black sea bass.

Context

Mid-October is typically peak season for the fall run along the Connecticut shoreline. Baitfish flush out of estuaries and marshes as nights chill, and striped bass follow that migration, often feeding hard before heading south. Tautog move onto nearshore structure as water cools into the low 60s and below, and their bite commonly improves into November. Black sea bass are generally still around structure this time of year before they slide offshore. Water in the low 60s fits a normal, on-schedule autumn pattern for the Sound.