Hurricane Irene Should IMPROVE the Fishing

Over the years I have seen hurricanes, tropical storms and northeasters lash the southern New England coast.  Extreme weather events like these can often end good fishing; on the other hand it can improve poor fishing.  In recent weeks we have been stuck in some of the poorest striper fishing from shore in history here in RI.  I suspect that after Hurricane Irene passes and the water has a chance to clear up, the fishing for stripers and bluefish will improve.
Back in 1991 we were renting a house at the outer Cape when Hurricane Bob struck.  Prior to the hurricane I did get out and fish, and the fishing was marginal for stripers and bluefish.  Just two days after the hurricane passed my son, Matt, and I went fishing at Herring Cove Beach in P-Town where we had a wind at our back and calm seas.  As we walked out on the shore I noticed the water had a dark tone to it.  Uh, weeds, I surmised.  I was wrong. There were acres and acres of bluefish right near the surface and they were so hungry they would pounce on anything that moved.  We were the only souls for miles on this deserted beach as everyone went home prior to the storm.  We never had so many bluefish.  For the next four days of our vacation we caught countless bluefish and stripers.  In this case, like in others I have seen throughout the years, big storms can move big numbers of fish from offshore to inshore.
Unfortunately, in the short term the water will be very messed up along RI's oceanfront from Irene's surge and rough water.  There will be weeds, sand and debris in the water for days after this storm departs.  I am guessing the sand will linger for upwards of 4-6 days along the south shore oceanfront, and it will shut down shore fishing for that time period.  However, once things clear, look for fishing to improve.  I suspect we will see an abundance of bluefish at first and a general improvement in the striper fishing.  Fishing will get better; it has to!