Dave, you're right on the money about not wanting anyone to skip a trip because of a report. Kay at Surfland expressed the problem involved in reporting sub-par fishing. A couple of years ago, the Merrimack River was in the midst of the summer slow period. She reported it as such, and it turned out that they had a huge push of fish. My friend Joe personally took a fish over 50 pounds. The following week they had a bunch of complaints from people who cancelled trips.
Reports should be used for optimization. As the brokers say, past performance isn't a guarantee of future success.
If I were to go down to fish, I'd have to drive from Worcester. There are still fish around, but the chance for success is without question diminished. I'm sure many other anglers face the same dilemma (and I hear from them regularly via e-mail). Do I head to Killington to ski, or do I head out to fish? Well, if you go north you'll definitely be able to find skiing, but heading to the water doesn't assure you'll find fish.
Let's face it, they're still getting Bonito and Albies off RI (according to PJ's report). Last time I checked the sea temp chart, the waters on the south side of the cape were showing as somewhere in the 54 degree range. I'll assume there's still bait out there, so there still should be fish. It's just the fishermen have mostly given up.
BTW, I didn't stop the Metro Boston report because the fish were gone, I stopped because there weren't any reports to be had. Most of the shops I talked to were asking me for info, rather than supplying me.