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| I got out a couple of days ago and fished some great water, but all I found was this lone schoolie that I caught on a bucktail jig. The fishing has cooled off. |
Before that sweltering heat wave we had this week, the shore fishing had been very good. After the hot weather, not so good. I got out a couple of days ago and the fishing landscape seemed a whole lot different. I saw no birds working, no visible bait and I had to work my tail off to get one fish. The water was great, but there was just not much in it.
The water was also noticeably warmer after the heat wave. I'm guessing the record heat warmed up the water at least 5 degrees along the oceanfront. Was that enough to send the sandeels and the stripers packing for deeper and cooler water? Maybe.
Friends of mine went out in the early morning today to search for bonito and stripers along the oceanfront. There was a lot of effort, a lot of guys fishing and only a few small bonito were caught. No stripers. The bonito were also more plentiful prior to the heat wave. Bait has a big influence on the bonito numbers and it wasn't there today.
So, for now, it seems that we are heading into a summer lull. That sandeel invasion is usually a June/early summer thing, and I'm guessing most big schools have left the area. The next bait wave to draw the stripers to shore would be schools bay anchovies and peanut bunker. Those baits usually show up in late summer. So, it could be a wait until the shore fishing lights up again.
