September 6th - TUNA ARE HOT!

Stripers and Blues

Trends from last week continue this week, with the only change being unseasonably warm weather! We’ve had nights staying in the 60’s and daytime temps reaching close to 90, so the water has been staying at summer temps and even warming by the end of most days from the starting temp early in the morning. This doesn’t mean much has changed in terms of our fishing patterns, except that you are likely going to see summer behavior from these fish for at least the next week or two.

The summer patterns which have been producing continue to be GT Eels, live eels, live bunker (though it has been very difficult to find recently), tubes, big paddle tails, and large soft plastics fished weightless. The hours just before and after sunrise and sunset will remain solid for those wanting to soak in these fall days on the water. Certainly, we will hit the stormy fall season eventually, so don’t overlook this beautiful weather in September. The fish certainly don’t know school is back in session and most vacations are over, so keep fishing and you should be rewarded.

Big bluefish continue to plague anglers looking for stripers and fishing blitzes. We’ve been going through steel leader here at the shop in Westbrook and we have plenty left, so if you want to get in on the action and avoid the toothy critters, swing by and grab some so you aren’t losing plugs.

Seabass and Porgies

Seabass fishing continues to be solid, with many anglers reporting a hot bite once they find a pile of fish. Slow pitch jigs are excellent fall lures, and you’re likely going to catch more than just seabass by bouncing them over the top of the reefs. Bait rigs with clams and squid also continue to produce well for porgies and seabass.

Fluke

Fluke fishing has been decent but spotty, as it has been all summer. Typically. we expect to see a boost in fluke being caught in September, so the best bet right now is to go out to your normal spots and keep trying them as the water cools and all of that bait becomes active. Speaking of bait, don’t overlook trying really shallow water for fluke, as peanut bunker and silversides pour out of the creeks, those fluke will move up for an easy feast, especially on an outgoing tide.

Tuna

The tuna bite has been fantastic recently, and agreeable weather conditions have allowed many anglers to get out and experience this epic style of fishing. Charters are reporting constant action on jig, pop, and troll. The particular style of presentation the tuna want on that day is something you’ll need to figure out when you find some life, but once you’re dialed in it’s been pretty incredible, with some having double digit days on yellowfin and bluefin.

For those wanting to go giant hunting, live bait has been the ticket, and the giant bluefin bite has been really great since re-opening recently. Live bait you’ll want to use depends on what’s in the area, so try to get some intel match the hatch!

BHO Westbrook has four Shimano Tiagra 130’s available and ready for spooling!