October Fish Blitz Montauk
If you have never seen pods of striped bass and bluefish feeding on massive schools of baitfish, so close to shore that you can touch the fish, then you probably haven't been to Montauk, New York in the month of October. Now people say to me, 'Oh I've seen fish come to the top and feed on other fish.' Sorry, it's not the same. Picture a football field of ten to twenty pound fish, packed closely together, in a complete frenzy, feeding on a baitfish called bunker. It is truly a phenomenon that's jaw dropping.
To say the least, fishing in these conditions is fun. It's a tradition that started decades ago for me. I don't make it down every year because life gets in the way sometimes but when I do, I fish until my body can't fish anymore. That period of time gets shorter each trip too!
Friends of mine have a boat that is beautiful and I am always welcome to come with them. I take them up on it when I can. However, my tradition of catching these fish has been walking the rocking peninsula at the south eastern end of New York State surfcasting. Well, of course, Montauk is known as the "surfcasting capital of the world," seriously, the world.
Striped Bass and Bluefish run up and down the mid Atlantic east coast of the United States basically eating. In the fall, the water gets colder. The bait fish move closer to shore to soak up the warmer water. In come the predators like striped bass and bluefish to gobble them up. When they do, it is fun to be there but don't count on it.
Two things, surfcasting is not an easy form of fishing. If you make the trek out there, you may want to either charter a boat, go on a party boat or hire a guide. All are fun options depending on your budget. Montauk is a cool place but it can be expensive, even this time of year. However, there are some awesome deals out there, especially after Columbus Day. If you like to fish, October in Montauk should be a bucket list thing.
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