My season ended today. I fished long and hard in a number of good late season locations and came up completely empty. In the last four outings I've landed exactly one small schoolie and one hickory shad. There was a time not too long ago that I would catch good numbers of stripers, even some bluefish, from Thanksgiving to December 1. Not this year.
It should come as no surprise that the season ended in disappointment. Most of the year was filled with on and off disappointment if you are a striper fisherman. There are just not as many fish (in all categories) as there used to be. We are seeing the decline play out.
But, other things are off too, way off, compared to other years. I saw no gannets this year anywhere this fall. That could be due to a lack of big bait late in the season. There were no ocean herring, no large 5 and 6 inch peanut bunker and no adult menhaden. All that big bait never skirted the RI shore on its way south. In addition, there were few if any bluefish all fall. What happened to those? Years ago I used to slam the big blues down the far south locations from Weekapaug to Watch Hill. Those days along with the abundant blues seem to be gone also.
Most of the fishermen have hung it up. On the last two outings I could count the fishermen I've seen on one hand. Most ended the season early this year. So much for the warm fall, warm weather and an extended season. With a big extended winter chill on the way, I'm pretty confident when I say, "It's Over."
