Are Bass on the Decline

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by bassmaster

if there are so many fish around then where in the hell are the bigger fish on the sands here and it aint me niether. ya really got to run to find them
lots of twinkies and seals.
me thinks that a cycle is going on that the bass are off shore and boats are the way to go...
A HabHole

The outer cape has been below average, and the Buzzards Bay/Rhody fishing is the best in many years. I think it is a cyclical event in that the fish are staging in different areas for whatever reasons. A shortage/decline in numbers/sizes would be the last words I would use to describe the fishing this year. Most of the fish are running 18 to 25 pounds this year so far. The mass quota is full, and their numbers suggest no shortage in quantity or sizes either. One difference on the cape that has been in place for several years now is the lack of summer resident fish. It looks to me like they are just someplace else. And yes, a boat helps.