Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Oceanfront Poor; Holdovers Hit-or-Miss; First Keeper Comes from the Bay

So, here's the REAL fishing report:
The first keeper of the year for me comes
from the Bay. Was it a holdover or a new fish?
Oceanfront Poor- I fished a couple of times this week and have yet to catch a fish from the oceanfront.  But, I did see one small striper caught in a spot in which there must have been at least two dozen guys coming and going. The word from those fishing every day is that about a half dozen fish were caught in the last week by loads of fishermen trying. So, one can conclude it is not happening yet.
Hit-or-Miss on the Holdover Fishing-  I was doing well with holdovers from the backwaters last week, but the last couple of days have been so-so.  I landed 4 last night and got 8 tonight. They were all small, 12- 15 inch fish.  Other fishermen have not been so lucky.  Holdovers tend to move around a lot, even leave their winter holding spots about this time of year, so the fishing can get inconsistent.
First Keeper from the Bay- I landed my first keeper from the Bay today and it was a small keeper of about 28 inches.  It was a shock because I got this fish in an area where you wouldn't find holdovers. Maybe it was a holdover roaming around the Bay; maybe it was a fresh fish.  I makes me wonder if there are migrating fish moving into the warmer, more hospitable waters of the Bay and by-passing the cold waters of the oceanfront.