Sunday, September 25, 2011

Bait Disappears; Fishing Dies

The last two days have not been good along the oceanfront from shore.  Most of the bait that was around in the last week has disappeared or moved on, and the predators (stripers, blues and albies)  have moved on with them. The fishing was also far more productive in the rough water and northeast wind that was around a week ago. Conditions have been generally calm in recent days.
Unless you fish in the breachways at night with a picket fence of other fishermen, it is very difficult to pick off loner fish.  When the bait is around, big numbers of stripers and bluefish are in pursuit.  But, no bait, no fish. There is not an abundant population of resident fish around.
The bait that has gotten  things going has been small pods of peanut bunker along with large schools of bay anchovies.  Many reports are saying that mullet are around, but I have seen none, and I have  been out just about every day/night in the last two weeks.  I suspect that many confused fishermen are seeing peanut bunker that is about 5 inches long, and they think they are mullet.