I think it is confluence of seals and cyclicality of bait patterns.
Most will tell you that the last few years has seen the pattern of the long ribbon of sand eels a few hundred yars offshore that happens for unexplained reasons, on and off, over time. Fish are out there on that bait....so why come in for less bait and potential of getting munched by a seal?
When that offshore sand eel pattern breaks, as it always has in the past, you'll see the bait back closer to the beach, and therefore more fish in the surf. But with so many seals, I'm not sure if can ever get all the way back to what it once was.
