Small fish

[numbskull]

Incredible numbers of small striped bass around this fall.
I can't recall anything like it.

Vineyard sound (west side) from Falmouth to Nashawena is paved with them working over small bunker.
By this I do not mean just migrating schools of fish. Rather the entire shore to 1/4 mile out is full of fish, like one big school extending over 10 miles. You can stop anywhere, even a place that looks dead, throw a cast in any direction and pretty quickly find fish. From shore, when I've walked my dog in the am this past week I often can go 10-12 casts before failing to hook a fish. There are bigger fish around but avoiding the mini-fish long enough to find a big one is hard.

Bodes well for future fishing (although in truth many of us will be gone before these fish reach trophy class). I also expect that their abundance will be used as justification to lower commercial size limits once the existing quality fish have been finished off. Still, it is encouraging to see and will likely offer lots of fun fishing with downsized tackle in the near term.

[Got Stripers]

The mouth of the Westport River was paved with them, but far too small to be of any fun, unless you happen to have a brook trout stream rod with you. Going to be a few years before they put a bend in my lightest rod.

[chefchris401]

It's the same along most of the coast in Newport, Bristol and riverside right now

I mean small fish 10-16" but has be 1000s of them.

Everywhere you go has em.

I had em trying to get my Donny the other day. Small pops as it swam in.

I've never seen em this far up the bay either this late in the year, I mean I'm like a mile from providence and they're stacked in the salt ponds all the way up hurricane barrier
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[niko]

Seeing the same thing up here, but oddly where were they all during the season? I only came across them a couple of times.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Got Stripers]

I'd bet they were up inside all year, where most of us aren't casting in 70+ degree water. I'd also bet a lot of these will end up wintering over as well if they are up inside at this late date.

[Rockfish9]

Originally Posted by niko

Seeing the same thing up here, but oddly where were they all during the season? I only came across them a couple of times.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

those fish were north ( plum Island and Maine)... they were a royal PITA all summer...

[OLD GOAT]

Here's hoping they don't become Chesapeake bay spring catch 2017.

[Ryan560]

Been seeing the same in CT the past few weeks..
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Zeal]

I saw this Fluking and going for Porgy on a friend's boat this summer in the back bay(s) of eastern LI and even on the beach in August/September while I was fluking. Thought I was going crazy until I hooked into one and it barely got it's mouth around a 3/4 oz short shanked hook bullet jig. Saw on the fishfinder big schools of small fish figuring it was just another big sea robin school, glad it wasn't just me. The fish have been on the small side that I've seen this year, wouldn't touch any plugs since they weren't much bigger!