From Feast to Famine

Poof, like magic, everything has disappeared.  The acres and acres of bay anchovies, the miles of false albacore busting, the rampaging schools  of blues and the stripers along the rocks....all gone.  With the bait gone, the predators have departed also.  This all happened this weekend as both Sunday and Monday were complete busts along the Narragansett shoreline from the Town Beach all the way to the Walls outside of Galilee.  We went from some of the hottest fishing on record in September to nothing.
I suspect this up and down fishing will be a trend this fall.  You will have outstanding fishing when a lot of bait comes around.  Without the bait, there will be very little.  You see, we have very few resident fish around.  I am trying a lot of places after dark where in the past I could pick up a fish here and there.  It's not happening this year because the fish are constantly on the move following the bait schools.
Today's storm should really be the finishing blow to our great fishing of the past week.  With 30-50 knot winds predicted and seven to ten foot seas, the storm is sure to dirty up the water with sand and weed.  It will certainly take a few days to get back to normal.  Hopefully, by that time, the bait will have returned along with improved fishing.