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| This was Charlestown Breachway late in the day this afternoon. Not a soul there, not a soul along the beach. That says it all. |
Suddenly, the striper fishing along the oceanfront has gone downhill. The last couple of days have not been good for me or good for anyone I know. So, this all begs the questions: Are we just in a a late season lull or is the end near? I'll make the case for both.
In a late season lull- I've seen this happen many times at this time of year in the past. A big bunch of fish comes through, and then you have to wait for the next bunch to move through. We had a lot of them recently so it's just a matter of waiting it out until the next bunch arrives. I believe the fishing will hold up until late November. It has every other year for the last few years and with the warm water and a return to moderating temperatures later in the week, we should be back in business. We also need some migrating bait to show up since most that has left also.
Nearing the end- Going back over the last decade I've seen some seasons come to a quick end for whatever the reason. The weather can be warm, the water can be warm, but the fish are just gone and more never come along. It's a bad sign right now that there is suddenly very little bait around. It's also a bad sign that we recently had a glut of small ones around, and that typically happens at the very end of the season. And, already a lot of fishermen are giving up since I see less and less fishermen around. In addition, we are in a period of declining striper numbers so there are a lot less to come along.
So, what's happening? I'm going with the late season lull. In my mind, just too early to end. Hope I'm right!
