It has nothing to do with food source. Plenty of bait just no stripers around. The fishery is on the brink of collapse. The only way to save it is a moratorium ASAP.
Doesn't seem to be many Blueback herring around here which seem to be thestripers' preferred food this time of year. Even so , I have caught quite a few.Brooks have been very low the past couple of years and have cut down the Brookie population. I am old and can't go down the brooks like I used to so I like those stocked brookies dumped by the road. I don't care to fish for browns.