Friday, November 6, 2020

Schoolies, Keepers and Gannets

I have fished every day for the last seven days. Just some observations about the past week:

Here's a good size schoolie landed after dark this
week.  Schoolies have been abundant at night
with an occasional small keeper in the mix.

*Still a glut of fish around the oceanfront.  With this beautiful weather, it seems like there is no end in sight. It's been a very big week of fishing for me.

*So, so many schoolies around.  Astounding numbers of 12 to 27 inch fish.  It could just be the best "schoolie fall" I have ever seen. 

* How many schoolies do you have to go through before you get a keeper to hit.  From my numbers of the past week, I figure 1 fish in 200 is a keeper.  I've landed several keepers in the last week and they often come as a surprise.  One evening I was getting schoolie after schoolie and then suddenly I am onto a better fish of 28 inches. Most of those slot limit keepers are in the 28 to 30 inch range.

*Night fishing is still producing schoolies.  I have fished a lot at night in the last week with the time change hoping I could find better size fish.  I did land one small keeper after dark, but I continue to find a glut of schoolies in the darkness.

*I was treated to a real show this week as I saw a flock of gannets divebombing onto bait.  They are usually after big bait and we see loads of them when the ocean herring start their migration in mid November.  In the past I've seen them bombing onto ocean herring, but I've also seen them hitting large peanut bunker.  I suspect that was the bait on this day.

*With no cold weather in sight, this could be one of those rare years that  striper fishing holds up into December.