It is a fresh, crisp fall morning and as the fisherman feels the spray of the sea and the wind on his cheeks he smiles with glee as he lands his fish. He revels in his well-earned catch and stares down at the most splendid striped bass he has ever seen. What a beauty.
The striped bass also known as the rockfish is truly a striking looking fish with its pretty flashing silvery purple and pink tinges and strong hard striking body. It is greatly admired and significantly valued by many a fisherman.
Unfortunately, many fishermen who fish for at least a few days of the year have noticed that factors of fishery have been changing lately and not for the better. They noticed that the strippers were smaller and the amounts seemed to be dropping. A current stock estimation issued in 2014 revealed that striped bass numbers have been declining at a steady notable rate since 2006. It is becoming harder and harder to predict region to region what you are going to get.
The new normal is that you will get feast-or famine fishing with increases of fish but with very slight overlap. You will have tight, condensed schools of fish moving from area to area. One day you might have enormous victory, and then the next day you go to the same spot and try again with the same bait and will have no luck at all for all the fish have traveled on. It may be a considerable length of time until fishermen notice fish there again. This isn’t just happening to small schools of fish it also pertains to the big fish and with them you really see it more emphasized. These last few years have really been defined by brief, condensed, exceptional runs.
It’s very sad and concerning that the days of expected and dependable fishing have disappeared. For any fisherman, you now have to be constantly aware of what is going on in your local waters and anywhere you might be traveling to fish. Since we now have fewer migration pushes if you want to make a good catch of the striped bass you have to be ready to move quick and not take your time.
