On most October nights, fishing guide Bill Wetzel can be found navigating the shores of Montauk, New York, in a modified 4x4 pickup truck, rumbling over boulders and thick sand as he scans the surface of the Atlantic for signs of life.

He notes, and meticulously logs, where he spots seams in the water's currents, cuts in sandbars, points and coves, troughs along the shoreline or birds working over bait that was pushed to the surface by one of Montauk's many predators.

Any sign that a striped bass might be feeding beneath the waves, Wetzel will likely see it.