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Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&
Yup, no migration, a few fish come in from deep haunts and everyone yells Migration, its August for god sakes, those are fish that where there all summer and just moved in from deep water....the migration is still a ways off............
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Not really. Bass respond to signals that we, in our technologicaly driven world, no longer receive.
The suns angle is now that of early May meaning less sunlight, the days are often, especially the nights, colder, the water cooling. Baitfish are descending from the back coves and embayments in response to thier genetic codes that it's time to hit the high road and make for the open ocean. All this triggers a response and the more north you get the sooner the fish start to move. Maine fish that are not resident populations, and they do mix, are moving. They start a domino effect.
It is a proven fact that the majority of fish that return to and populate a given specific geographical area, say Cape Cod Bay's Barnstable Harbor, year after year. It is also a proven fact that these fish will leave by a certain date in the fall, usually just after Columbus Day. They all don't leave at once. Certainly we know school fish arrive before and leave after the bigger fish do. But within those specific groups that come back year after year are smaller units that arrive in sequence and leave in sequence. Tagging has proved that.
So while it is still August as you say, we only have one day left in the month. Within the next month the fish will leave in phases, so many at a time from specific areas that they historically summer over in. You wouldn't notice for the most part because of the enormity of these certain groups. Twenty fish in a night is a pitance of what really swims under the water your casting to.
They all don't leave at once, they leave in small numbers over a period of time and they start earlier than most think. We see the reverse in the spring while all the internet pundits call for a early arrival based on weather and winter severity. Truth is they start to arrive when they always have hindered only by degrees of water temp that hampers thier ability to respond to anglers attempts to catch them.
Research has showed that striped bass will respond favorably or unfavorably to a change in water temp as small as 1/8 of a degree. Some are more tolerant than others just as humans and other creatures are. Some of us like to ice fish and some can't handle it and think of more southern climes as soon as the temps at night lower into the low 60's. Striped bass are no different.
They are starting to move and eat and that has been quite evident on the outer cape this past week. I would totally agree with Crazy Al.