I had what I was looking for today. It was a northeast wind with some rain and rough water. It was just the type of conditions that lit up the fishing in the past at this time of year. So, I headed to the oceanfront with high hopes. In the very first spot I stopped at I was greeted by diving birds and breaking fish close to shore. I got the rod and my gear and headed for the action. It was a striper or a hit on every few casts using a float and jig as I really had the fish in front of me in some churning white water. And, I was all alone in this highly accessible spot with no other fishermen in sight. In one glorious hour I landed more stripers than I caught in the previous month of fishing. While most of these fish were schoolies in the 18-23 inch range I did have a near keeper (maybe even a small keeper) that I released. It was the type of action that was routine in the past, but rare this year.
This mini blitz ended after about an hour and I figured I was in for a terrific day as I went looking for more fish. However, I hit several more spots in some beautiful water, but I came up empty in the daylight. After dark I did manage to pick up one more schoolie on a swimmer.
So, if you have the right conditions with some bait and you look hard enough you just might find a bunch of fish as I did today. However, in this lean year of striper fishing, nothing is a sure bet anymore.
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This near keeper was caught on a float and bucktail jig fished in white water
close to shore. It was one of many fish taken today in the northeast wind and rough water. |
