Friday, September 25, 2015

Persistent NE Wind, Big Surf, Roiled Water Slow Fishing

Fishing along the oceanfront, so good most of the month, has really slowed this week.  The oceanfront has seen a persistent NE wind that has been blowing for the last five days.  A big surf has also developed.  This is all a result of a low pressure of storminess in the mid Atlantic and a high pressure area to the north.  Nothing is moving so the winds and waves continue to mess up the water. Many areas are not even fishable. The water is sandy, weedy and roiled in most  places.  That has sent a lot of the bait and predators packing.  The albies, so abundant a week ago, are hard to find right now. There is little fishing activity from shore or boat. Still, there are fish to be had in some of the protected waters, the breachways on the outgoing tides (clean water), and the backwaters.
I got out yesterday early to mainly scout around.  I tried slugging it out in the rough water and had no luck. I searched the ocean way out with my binoculars in multiple locations and could find no breaking fish or diving birds.  All was dead in the daylight. I did fish a protected spot after dark and came away with one keeper striper about 30 inches long.  My son, Jon, who was with me landed a schoolie.
So, the weekend outlook is not good.  The forecast is calling for more of the same with an increasing surf with a moderate risk of beach erosion. Yikes, not good.