Averting the Blank

Several shad were landed after
dark on small bucktail jigs.

It was one lone schoolie on the
day after dark.  Fishing yesterday
was poor for me.

I knew I was in for a dead day yesterday.  As I walked out onto Charlestown Beach in mid afternoon, I could not find one fisherman, NO ONE, from the breachway to Green Hill. There's good reason for this...there were no fish.  I slugged it out for two hours, casting and walking with not so much as a tap.  I saw no bait, no birds working and no fish.  I checked out several more spots to the north and saw nothing at those spots either.  By now, it was getting dark and I tried a couple of high percentage spots after dark.  Still nothing.
So, now I am staring at a blank for the day.  I decided to try one more backwater spot with ultralight gear that I had stored in my car for a night such as this.  Fortunately, I did land one schoolie and a several hickory shad on a small, homemade 1/8 oz. bucktail jig. Not exactly a big find, but I will take it considering I found nothing all day.
Yesterday was one of the deadest days I have ever seen along the RI oceanfront in early November.  This is supposed to be prime time. But, this is just what has been happening for the last few weeks.  It's a hit-or-miss deal that is greatly influenced by the bait situation.  With another big blow coming tomorrow and Wednesday and a calendar that keeps ticking away, there is little time left for the fishing to perk up (if it even does). I'm guessing we will see one more good push of fish in mid to late November, but how long they will stick around is another matter.