Fall Feeding Frenzy: Stripers, Blues, and Migratory Salmonids Dominate the Hudson River

Great morning, Hudson River anglers—Artificial Lure here with the latest on what’s biting and where, from the Battery up to the Tappan Zee. It’s Saturday, October 11th, and if you’re not out here, you’re missing the party. Let’s talk conditions—the sun’s waking up at 7:12am and packing it in by 6:30pm, with temps climbing to a sweet 66°F and a gentle southeast breeze, 5-10mph per the Douglaston Salmon Run crew. The Pineville gauge shows the river’s running about 202 CFS, and the dam’s letting out 185 CFS. The Douglaston folks call it “sunshine and clouds,” so bring your sunglasses and a rain jacket just in case. We’re past a full moon, moving into the waning crescent—tides are swinging hard, high around 4.3ft, lows near 0.7ft, so plan your spots to fish when the current’s strong but not ripping. Now, the meat: Yesterday, anglers citywide saw a solid fall run of striped bass and bluefish, with schools of bunker and herring bringing the predators up from the Lower Bay and into the mainstem Hudson, East River, and Jamaica Bay. Fishingreminder.com says the action’s on dawn and dusk, especially at current seams—stripers are hitting swimmers, soft plastics, and bunker chunks, and those willing to put in the night shift are scoring steady bites under bridges and piers. Hot lure picks: For stripers, you can’t go wrong with paddle tails, soft bodied jerkbaits, and bucktails jigged along the bottom. Bluefish? Epoxy jigs in silver or chartreuse, or shiny metals ripped fast—they can’t resist. Want a bonus? Black sea bass and porgy are thick around Coney Island and Randall’s Island—fish squid strips on hi-lo rigs when the tide’s moving. For those who love bottom fishing, green crabs are your ticket for tautog (blackfish) on the rockpiles. Recent catches: The Douglaston Salmon Run crew reports kings (Chinook), coho salmon, steelhead, and even the occasional brown trout moving upriver and holding in pools. Down in the estuary, kings are making the march upstream, but action’s slower—best bets are the lower and middle sections, where salmon, steelhead, and browns are being brought to hand. These aren’t everyday catches in town, so if you’re dialed into the tribs, you’re in for a treat. In the city, though, stripers and blues are showing in numbers—schools of baitfish are sparking blitzes, and fast-moving plugs are your best bet to connect. Hotspots: If you’re in Manhattan, the Battery and Pier 84 are classic striper haunts—fish current seams on the outgoing tide for your best shot. Up north, Yonkers and the Tappan Zee docks are seeing pushy blues and the odd false albacore. For bottom-fish fans, the rock spines off Randall’s and Governors are holding blackfish and bass. If you want to really get off the beaten path, hit the tribs feeding the Hudson—small streams north of the city are now loaded with migrating kings and coho. Bottom line: October’s heating up, the fish are on—stripers hunting river edges, blues blitzing bait schools, and salmonids pushing u This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.