Fall striper and tog bite builds across the Northeast

What's biting

What's next

The station at 8518750 shows its next predicted low tide at 7:18 PM local tonight, so evening anglers will be fishing a falling tide into dark. Moving water around the bottom of the tide is a good time to work edges where bait gets pushed around.

With the first quarter moon, tidal swings are moderate. They will build toward the full moon next week, and Saltwater Edge's October full moon forecast is a reminder that the bigger tides tend to line up with stronger feeding windows. Expect stripers to keep following peanut bunker and silversides out of the bays, and look for birds working over bait as the clearest sign of a blitz.

Tautog should keep improving as the water cools. Rocky structure and jetties are the usual places to look, and crab baits are the standard offering. Fish early and late for striped bass, and plan for a cooldown if the water temperature starts sliding from the mid-60s.

NY DEC posted a safe boating note about an incoming nor'easter. If another system builds, get off the water before it arrives and watch wind and barometric pressure. Saltwater Edge noted that after a hardy nor'easter earlier this month, the water needed a few days to clean up before fish were back on the feed. A similar reset is a fair expectation this time too. Check state regs before keeping any fish.

Context

Mid-October is peak fall run season for the Northeast. Stripers typically stage and feed hard on baitfish leaving the bays and estuaries, and tautog move onto structure as the water drops out of the 60s. Water temperatures in the mid-60s are a touch warm for the date, which can keep the migration spread out rather than compressed into one big push. On a normal calendar the best striper action carries through late October and into November, and the tog bite typically holds into early winter. This fits an on-schedule fall, with the bite strong and the bulk of the run still ahead.