We are mired in some of the poorest shore fishing for stripers I have ever seen in November. This lull along the oceanfront has been going on for close to two weeks now. There have been very few fish, little bait, no birds working and no fish showing.
Still, there are lots of people out trying and looking. Today, I fished one of the more popular and productive beaches along the RI south shore on this beautiful 70 degree day. Before dark I counted 20 guys out there casting away. I landed one small bluefish and another guy caught a small bluefish and that was it. The mass of fishermen remained at and after dark, yet no more fish were caught. The conditions were perfect with a lot of white water and some small bait in front of me, yet not a single striper was caught. Later, on my way northward, I stopped and fished at two more "high percentage spots". Once again, no bait, no fish, no hits.
I have to say that I was quite surprised at the glowing fishing reports that appeared in numerous publications over the weekend. On what planet were they reporting this great striper fishing because I know of no one who fishes who is reporting any great striper fishing in the last ten days along the RI oceanfront.
So, some say the end is near. I'm not buying it. I think we are in a protracted lull that hopefully breaks once we get a shot of cooler weather. I'm thinking the cooler weather will move some bait and stripers along the oceanfront, I plan to keep looking and fishing for stripers up until at least Thanksgiving, beyond if the weather stays warm.
Lets hope our fishing gets back on track in the coming days because so far, November has been a bust.
