First, Find the Fish.
In the fall on Cape Cod, there is a tremendous uptick in striped bass and bluefish activity, with huge numbers of young of the year menhaden, silversides, and even occasional schools of squid and mackerel, making their way back down along the coast to their winter feeding/ spawning grounds. And , in hot pursuit, are the striped bass and bluefish , feeding with reckless abandon upon the unfortunate bait fish. Since the stripers are now ditching their regular summertime , offshore feeding areas , fall fishing becomes a game of hit or miss their movements are less predictable than during the summer months in the now cooler and bait rich inshore areas.. Fishing reports are even more useless than they are in the summer-They are where you find them and where they killed them yesterday almost always is not going to be where they are today. Fishermen need to be prepared to move around a lot to a variety of spots, depending on wind, weather and tide. Look for fish actively feeding on the surface and bird activity can be your best friend.
In many places on the Cape it's possible to walk or drive along a beach and look for bird or bass activity and then have your rod armed and ready. This can be frustrating fishing because fish will move along quickly, but it can be very satisfying if you are prepared. If the " run and gun approach is not your thing, there are spots like the entrance to a river or harbor that will habitually hold fish in the fall on the outgoing tides. Simply get to these kind of spots an hour after high tide and fish as the tide strengthens and over powers the bait coming out of the rivers or harbors.Bass and bluefish are opportunistic feeders and will take advantage of their superior swimming power in spots like these.If you have the patience and the time to fish the entire tide, you will usually run into at least a couple.
As at any time of the year, the best time to find fish feeding seems to be from three hours down to low tide and then three hours up into the rise. During this time there's stronger current to concentrate bait and to stir up the appetite of the stripers. If this period occurs in the early morning or late afternoon, so much the better, especially if the day is sunny. On overcast days, it doesn't matter nearly so much; the fish may feed regularly throughout the day.
Flies for Fall
I fish only a few flies—or types of flies—in fall. Because I prefer to fish the surface, tops on my list is the Clouser, either a chartreuse and white or olive and white, or a half and half which presents a slightly larger profile.Even if there is no bird activity and no fish are showing, you can usually get a striper to hit these flies.
Though not as finicky when they get on small bait in the summer, always have flies in a wide rang of sizes and profilesWhen fish are feeding on smaller bait fish, they often prefer for a smaller fly. In this case I use a 2-3 inch white Soft Hackle Streamer or Baby Bunker Soft Hackle Streamer (1/0 or 2). If the stripers are gobbling up mouthfuls of bait they may not show much interest in a single fly and, so to increase the odds I fish two flies, attaching a Soft Hackle Streamer to the bend of a small Gurgler or a Soft Hackle Streamer attached to a second one with a 6" length of monofilament. If you try this, be sure to bend the barbs down on each hook since it's not uncommon to catch a fish on each fly.
Fish Deep for Bigger Fish
One of the best part of fall fishing is that the fish do much of their feeding on or near the surface You don't have to dredge the bottom with super fast sink lines like you do in August . one down side is that aggressive surface feeding bass can mostly tend to the smaller side because they are less careful about coming up and smashing things on the surface. The older, wiser fish can tend to hang back a bit. Fish a little deeper and behind the school to find the lunkers if you are catching alot of small ones.
End of the migration fishing
As October turns into November, time goes by the the fish can stop feeding as aggressively as they did at the beginning of the fall.... If you run across these less aggressive fish, you may find it difficult to get them to bite easily. in this scenario, tie on a large , what we call a " stranger fly" and fish it erratically, creating as much commotion as you can. This can trigger the fish's instinctual attack mode and make them forget that they're full or looking for a particular bait.
When the Fish aren't Blitzing
If you get no response to your standard offerrings, try fishing fly a bit more slowly, particularly on East wind days( of which there are many in the fall). Experiment with different flies, different levels in the water column, different retrieves, etc. to determine which works best for the time and place you are at. Situations vary hour to hour, day to day in the fall and so should your methods.
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