Fishing Dies....Once Again

The winter striper fishing fishing has died, once again.  This is typical of fishing this winter as the fishing has been on an up and down roller coaster ride this year. Tonight I saw at least 15 fishermen in various spots on this beautiful winter night along the Providence River.  Conditions were good, the weather was perfect and the tides were favorable.  I did not find one guy that had gotten a striper tonight.  This fish were just not around. I suspect that when we get this warm weather a lot of fish that are in the river leave the area and head out into the Bay itself in search of food.  This seems to happen when the water in the Bay warms up to nearly the same temperature as the river.  Just the other day I noticed the water temps in the Bay (NOAA site) ranged from 42-48 degrees, unheard of for this time of year.  I do have confidence that the good fishing will return, but who knows when that will happen.  You just have to get out and try and tell yourself that winter fishing is very inconsistent.  Blankings are part of the winter game.  Hey, it's February!