Just speculation; the schools we have been fishing are dwindling and the size of the rock have been slowly diminishing as well. That's not to say there are not some bigger fish out there, but to find them I think you have to get away from the crowds. Still catching blues to 22-24 inches but with a lot of 15-16 inch blues mixed in.
The problem is, if we need 12 rock, we know we can get 12 keepers (18-22 inches) at our old standby places. If, as a rec. I only need 4-6 rock, I can try other areas, and if I come up a couple shy, no harm no foul.
Sometimes it's better to fish for fun
5th (Marty)