Spearing by the Thousands

I had to get out Wednesday and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Clear sky's and air temps in the upper 40's made it a winter day not to be missed. I figured getting out would be good for me since the week before I put in 92 hours at my job.
The plan was to go fishing for some Atlantic herring. For these fish I use an 8lb. Spinning rod and a sebiki rig. I attach a 3/4 ounce cast master to the bottom of the rig for casting weight. The first spot I notice tons of spearing in the water. The first cast produced 2 of them, one snagged and the other hooked in the mouth. Every cast came back with a bait, but not one herring.
Spot number 2 produced nothing at all, however I was able to watch a few old squaw play in the marina. Water clarity was A+ at spot 2 so I stuck it out for 30 minutes.
Spot number 3 also was loaded up with spearing. Again no herring were to be found. After 20 minutes of fishing at spot 3 a large flock of common mergansers landed in the marina. They quickly went to work on the bait creating a blitz. If it were bass under the spearing I would have killed to fish it. After 10 minutes of watching these birds go nuts I packed it because they drove the spearing off.
For those of you that don't know the spearing, also known as silver sides, are edible. Prepare them the same way you would small smelt. I don't think they are as good but they aren't bad either.