Fishing fall blitzes

1. With the Fall Equinox less than two weeks away, saltwater anglers are eagerly anticipating the blitzes that highlight this special time of the season. It’s the fishing venue that anglers dream about. Even though these thrilling shows, which nature occasionally allows us to witness, can offer exciting fishing scenarios, they can at times be downright frustrating. Often times both novice and even experienced anglers waste the golden opportunity when it arrives because they have no game plan. With hundreds and sometimes thousands of feeding stripers, bluefish or false albacore anglers often come away with only one or two fish and many times they get skunked. Of course no one can guarantee a catch every time, but the odds can be improved with a little bit of planning and by being observant.
2. Understanding just what constitutes a blitz is key. From species to species the definition will vary. To some anglers a blitz is a pod of breaking fish that pursues bait to the surface. Many veteran anglers reserve the term for the ultimate mad frenzy which huge schools of gamefish exhibit when their feeding has progressed beyond hunger to all out slaughter. Many times the mayhem can be measured in acres and last for hours. Other times fish show suddenly, shower bait and disappear only to show up in another spot further down the beach or across the reef. Regardless of how the feeding behavior is defined, there are tricks that can produce more fish when fish are feeding wildly.
3. First of all the angler needs to be ready. Blitzes happen fast, there is little time for making adjustments or changing tackle. Have tackle ready and accessible. Attempting to locate a lure or fly and then tie it on while fish are exploding all around the boat or in the surf can be an exercise in futility. When bluefish are around it’s best to have flies and lures pre-rigged with wire to avoid donating expensive tackle to the fish. Be sure hooks are sharpened and tackle is maintained. Anglers don’t want to waste time rigging or repairing tackle in the heat of the battle. Whenever possible have a spare rod rigged and ready to fish. Break a leader or line, get a tangle and the season’s best opportunity is missed.
4. When fish play hide and seek, intermittently surfacing and vanishing, it’s not always smart to crank up the engine and chase the school down. Most of the time anglers can increase their odds by staying put. Stripers and false albacore have a habit of returning to the same general location repeatedly over the course of a tide. Bluefish will generally just keep moving looking for more bait to massacre. If a school continues to hold on the surface for long periods it makes sense to follow them. Stay off to the side and approach from up tide or up wind and cast ahead or just to the edge of the school. The biggest faux pas anglers can make is to run and gun right over or into a school.Fish put down by a boat sometimes will not resume feeding for quite a while.
5. Another typical mistake is to move a fly or lure rapidly through a school of bait under assault by gamefish. Remember predators don’t have to chase the prey as they do when the numbers are sparse. They slash and swallow at anything that is in close proximity. Cast near the frenzy and don’t retrieve. Let the fly or plug just sit and give it an occasional twitch. Fish picking up wounded or mutilated bait will frequently inhale flies and lures dead drifted among the carnage.
6. Shore anglers need to be observant when fish push bait balls against the beach. Bluefish and stripers will often stay to the side or behind the bait making saliies into the edge of the bait and then retreating. The most productive method for fishing is to cast beyond or to the sides of the bait and swim the lure back toward the beach. The bogus bait will have less competition from the naturals attracting the feeding fish.
7. Fall blitzes are the game that really turns on the occasional angler and keeps the diehards going season after season. [org pub NB Herald, by Bob Salerno]ct fishing
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