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SURFCASTING WITH SANTA?
This will be the last surf report until early May and, while it has been a very unusual year for me personally, the surf season overall was noticeably better than what we’ve come to expect over the last 10 years. I give all the credit to the adoption of the slot limit. Since the slot went into effect, my observations have been undeniable, there are more and bigger fish around and finding them has become easier and more reliable, it reminds me of the years between 2005 and 2013.
December is not a month heralded for its surfcasting, but if there was ever a year when December surf stripers would seem to be a greater possibility across a wider range of the Northeast, it would be 2022. Water temps have remained in the upper 50s and lower 60s across the region, right up to Thanksgiving week. A mild November has only added to this possibility. And now that we’re seeing mackerel and sea herring moving in across Rhode Island and Connecticut, we have the bait in place to hold them for a while.
The biggest road block to December surf stripers is not the cold or the dwindling numbers of migrating bass, it’s accepted surfcasting norms and casters’ inability to push on into the twelfth month. I usually catch a decent number of striped bass in December, but I catch mine in backwaters where some striped bass winter over each year. The further west you fish, the better your chances will be, but if you’ve ever wanted to challenge yourself to nail one in December, this might be your year.
Some stories from the past that might help you stay the course include a Christmas Eve Blitz in Newport, Rhode Island back in 2004 or 2005. Several reports of 30-inch class stripers from the breachways the week of Christmas back in 2008 (I think). Or how about striped bass into the 40-pound class off Sandy Neck on Cape Cod that pushed sea herring in along the beach on December 4, 2010? These things happen, but it takes some real dedication to be there when they happen.