It is my belief that the striper fishing is better now than it was 10 years ago. Reason being is the amount of bunker that is along our coast. Years ago the bunker boats would wipe out the bunker and there would be no reason for the stripers to be along the coast. They will be found where their forage is. No forage, no fish.
As far as the fall big fish, My opinion is most of them just make a bee-line down from Montauch and stay well off shore of the Jersey coast and don't come inshore until they pass us. Reason being, they are following the bigger baits. Not as many bunkers in the fall as in the springs. Thus, again, no forage, no fish.
As I said, only my opinion. But I think the validity in my opinion is that the big fish that come along our shores during the spring have to have come from somewhere. That being, the same fish that stayed offshore during the fall.