Lack of inshore bait
Judging by the few skinny fish I caught over the weekend and what I saw, there is definately very little in the way of baitfish near shore (I did not see one bird dive or even look interested in what was going on in the water - with the exception of a few who showed interest in my danny or surf howdy - the whole time I was on the block). This, as stated before, keeps the majority of the fish away from shore. The fish that I caught were both right in the shallow rocks and, I'm assuming, grubbing around for whatever could be found. The one I kept had a lobster and two small cusk in its stomach - not pogies, sandeels, macks, etc. that I would hope to see this time of year.
Up on the north shore of MA, we had alot of baitfish near shore this fall, pogies and macks, and subsequently alot of bass. I did not get to take full advantage because of a death in the family and getting married this fall but when I was out there were lots of fish around, especially in september.
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