The 2010 fall striper season is taking on its own personality along the RI oceanfront. What I am seeing is a lack of bait along the oceanfront and a big decline in schoolie numbers. However, there are some decent keepers from 30-40 inches around.
Larger stripers are simply not easy to consistently catch. It requires a lot of searching after dark or looking in rough and stormy waters by day. It also requires a high level of expertise and experience which explains why most novices are coming up empty. And, don't expect to find a lot of these around either. In the last two weeks I have been averaging one or two keepers an evening/night, getting at least one good fish every outing. I've also been moving around a lot, sometimes fishing many spots in an outing, and sometimes picking up one or two fish in every spot. Much is happening in pitch darkness. In the last week I have taken 10 fish from 30-39 inches. Last night my son, Ben, nailed a fish that measured close to 40 inches (see photo). These are decent fish these days from shore. It's not hot and heavy fishing and the numbers are off, but there are some good fish to be had.
