[Shilohman]

When I was a teen back in the early 60's (I'm dating myself)
we used to catch a lot of good sized flounder in the local canals and off the docks in Babylon, Bayshore, and Brightwaters, starting in late March and also in late Fall.

I know flounder fishing has declined but I was wondering if it might be worth a shot. Has anyone tried in recent years??

 

[bigtunabunda]

Dateing yourself ! Yeah a bit, but no worries,.....

Flounder have seen their better days unfortunately. Some can still be caught, even in good numbers some days depending upon what time of year and where you're fishing for them. In recent years the Sore Thumb area has given anglers in your area the best shot at them, a bit later in the season into the month of May and maybe bitting well by late April in that area.

The problem is Flounder season only opens on April 1st now a days, and closes the last day of May if I'm not mistaken. The powers that be only give us a very limited shot at the winter flounder because their numbers have declined so greatly. There is NO fall season open for winter flounder any more.

 

[Shilohman]

Back In The Day!

Back in the day, we used to go to Babylon by one of the canals where there used to be a wooded area. In Oct. & Nov. and even into Dec. we would build a fire to keep warm while we fished for flounder, and we always brought a roll of alum. foil.

When we caught a nice flounfer, we wrapped it in foil and tossed it into the hot coals for a few minutes. The we opened it up, pulled off the skin and guts, and had lunch. 10 to 15 keepers from shore what a normal day, and some of the fish were almost like fluke in size. It's a shame what it's become!

 

[Blazetoy]

What's a Flounder?

 

[Shilohman]

They are like Bison!! Used to be herds of em' but the got killed off!!

 

[likeitreallyis]

Blazetoy wrote:
What's a Flounder?

Flounder are what the great pumpkin delivers to all good boys and girls..

 

[Seajay2]

Blazetoy wrote:
What's a Flounder?

He's the fat pledge in the Animal House Movie.

 

[Vector]

cod are coming back, will the flounder ?

They closed down part of Georges bank and now the cod are coming back.
Maybe they should ban dragging off Long Island for 5 years. Flounder will definatly come back when they ban the nets.
And the same with whiting. Just ban fishing in the Mud hole off NJ, and the whiting will return.
In my opinion, all spawning grounds should be off limits to dragging. If the cod spawn at Georges bank , those grounds shouldn't be fished commercially. The govt. should protect the spawning grounds at all cost.
I'm 43 years old and I'm old enough to remember the good fishing this area had. I remember the fall flounder fishing started around Oct. 1. And it was very good too. and the big run of flounder in the spring. In early May the flounder started moving out of the bay and it was nothing to catch 75-100 flounder in Reynolds channel near Point Lookout.
And I remember the whiting, going out in December and drifting by Ambrose tower and catching 2-3 whiting at a time.

And then the cod, catching 5-10 nice cod about 10-15 pounds. Enough fish for 3 months !

Alot of the fish are coming back , but I think the NMFS and the councils ignore certain species like Mackeral and Herring And they completely ignore Long Island fishing !. Last year the herring were here in huge numbers and this year they're here in much smaller numbers. I thought they re-authorized Magnusen last year. Do they have a plan for herring or mackeral ?
Last year a big red factory ship sailed down to Long Island and they probably took all the herring.

 

[ctwhitechin]

Mothers Day 1985, I was 15, my pops and myself, plus 40 other passengers on the "Chinco" from Seaford caught close to 2000 (yes 2000) flounders on the SE side of the 3rd Wantagh Bridge by Jones Beach, in 4 hours on the ebb tide.

The next day, the Capt Lou III (the old blue one) caught the same amount with 1/2 the people..high hook had over 200.

My dad and I had 7 buckets in 1/2 day.

Pigs we were, and though not the only reason, definitely did not help the situation for flounders in our area. Last time I fished there was probably 1999...same tide, same time of year, good conditions...2 of us, probably a dozen nice fish

 

[CaptPaul]

ShiloMan,

Take a shot. They're doing well w/ them in the fike nets in the eastern bay.

Paul

 

[Shilohman]

Thanks Paul! I will!

 

[secjurny]

Vector wrote:
They closed down part of Georges bank and now the cod are coming back.
Maybe they should ban dragging off Long Island for 5 years. Flounder will definatly come back when they ban the nets.
And the same with whiting. Just ban fishing in the Mud hole off NJ, and the whiting will return.
In my opinion, all spawning grounds should be off limits to dragging. If the cod spawn at Georges bank , those grounds shouldn't be fished commercially. The govt. should protect the spawning grounds at all cost.
I'm 43 years old and I'm old enough to remember the good fishing this area had. I remember the fall flounder fishing started around Oct. 1. And it was very good too. and the big run of flounder in the spring. In early May the flounder started moving out of the bay and it was nothing to catch 75-100 flounder in Reynolds channel near Point Lookout.
And I remember the whiting, going out in December and drifting by Ambrose tower and catching 2-3 whiting at a time.

And then the cod, catching 5-10 nice cod about 10-15 pounds. Enough fish for 3 months !

Alot of the fish are coming back , but I think the NMFS and the councils ignore certain species like Mackeral and Herring And they completely ignore Long Island fishing !. Last year the herring were here in huge numbers and this year they're here in much smaller numbers. I thought they re-authorized Magnusen last year. Do they have a plan for herring or mackeral ?
Last year a big red factory ship sailed down to Long Island and they probably took all the herring.
Vector nailed it ..... THEY SHOULD BAN ALL DRAGGERS...

 

[CaptPaul]

He's Close,

But no cigar. The draggers have been catching more and more flounder in the ocean every year. The population in the cean is increasing every year. There were never so many flounder in the ocean ten years ago. So, I would agree that we need to stop draggers from fishing for flounder in the ocean IMMEDIATELY. We need to get them dragging in the bay, so we can see the population increase in there, too. That's the only thing the draggers have changed in the few years since the flounders have started their exodus from the bay.

No one should even consider that all the chemically treated bulkheads that have eliminated the meadowes and marshes have had an effect. Nor the chemicals put on lawms, or in cesspools, or even the pretty leachate from the cesspools. Or the run-off from the streets, the engine exhausts, the deprivation of freshwater being diverted from the bay by sewer systems. Sould I go on? Fact is, we, as people, took a thriving, dynamic estuary system, and killed it forty years ago. It took this long for the fish to realize there was nothing to come back to, for the clams to die off, and the frequent brown and red tides to become the clear sign of a system in despair. And don't forget that the few fish that do show interest in the bay must contend w/ record populations of striped bass.

The only reason the fish are caught in the Thumb in the spring is because those animals are swimming in from the ocean, and that is as far as they go.

**** draggers.

Paul

 

[JC30967]

Morning CaptPaul-
Thank you, sir, for bringing some clarity to this whole flounder issue. I don't want to come off as a know it all new member (not a new fisherman though, not by a long shot), but I made the point in another discussion yesterday that here in the J.I. area, we have had very little pressure on flounder for some time now, yet the numbers never seem to improve even slightly. Furthermore, if draggers were the sole problem, then why do Raritan and Jamaica Bays still have viable flounder fisheries? Do the draggers have nets that specifically target flounder destined for Jones and Fire Island Inlets? I think not, lol! The answer to the flounder riddle has got to be more than simple overfishing.

P.S. I fished with you last year for the first time. Made 3 trips, every one was a truly enjoyable day on the water. I thank you for that, and I only hope that you, and your fellow for hire capts are able to survive these nonsensical regs. That's the real fight every rec angler should be engaged in!

 

[CaptPaul]

JC,

Some people only look at what they want to be the truth. In other words, when a guy comes into a building and says someone there hit his car, everyone goes out and looks for a smear of paint that is a different color than their car.

Thanks for making the trips last year- Sorry we didn't catch them good.

Paul

 

[Rodwinder]

CaptPaul wrote:
But no cigar. The draggers have been catching more and more flounder in the ocean every year. The population in the cean is increasing every year. There were never so many flounder in the ocean ten years ago. So, I would agree that we need to stop draggers from fishing for flounder in the ocean IMMEDIATELY. We need to get them dragging in the bay, so we can see the population increase in there, too. That's the only thing the draggers have changed in the few years since the flounders have started their exodus from the bay.

No one should even consider that all the chemically treated bulkheads that have eliminated the meadowes and marshes have had an effect. Nor the chemicals put on lawms, or in cesspools, or even the pretty leachate from the cesspools. Or the run-off from the streets, the engine exhausts, the deprivation of freshwater being diverted from the bay by sewer systems. Sould I go on? Fact is, we, as people, took a thriving, dynamic estuary system, and killed it forty years ago. It took this long for the fish to realize there was nothing to come back to, for the clams to die off, and the frequent brown and red tides to become the clear sign of a system in despair. And don't forget that the few fish that do show interest in the bay must contend w/ record populations of striped bass.

The only reason the fish are caught in the Thumb in the spring is because those animals are swimming in from the ocean, and that is as far as they go.

**** draggers.

Paul

Paul....thanks for putting thins in the proper prospective

 

[JC30967]

Capt Paul-
Great analogy! Amongst other reasons, I decided to become a member here after reading the site for a while because there are people like you here who are interested in the truth, and finding answers to the problems besetting the fishing industry in general. I really wish more people who don't rely on fishing for their income(like myself) would realize that the industry's problems, are their's also. Flounder fishing is something near & dear to me, as I'm sure it is to many others. Propaganda isn't going to bring back something we all enjoy. Oh yeah, actually we did do well on one of the trips I made with you. But the others were just as enjoyable, mainly due to to incredible dedication you bring to your business. So, thank you!!!

 

[LIL VIKING]

this is what flounder look like

 

[crabman1130]

Now I remember!!!!!

 

[Vector]

Re: the flounder

CaptPaul wrote:
But no cigar. The draggers have been catching more and more flounder in the ocean every year. The population in the cean is increasing every year. There were never so many flounder in the ocean ten years ago. So, I would agree that we need to stop draggers from fishing for flounder in the ocean IMMEDIATELY. We need to get them dragging in the bay, so we can see the population increase in there, too. That's the only thing the draggers have changed in the few years since the flounders have started their exodus from the bay.

No one should even consider that all the chemically treated bulkheads that have eliminated the meadowes and marshes have had an effect. Nor the chemicals put on lawms, or in cesspools, or even the pretty leachate from the cesspools. Or the run-off from the streets, the engine exhausts, the deprivation of freshwater being diverted from the bay by sewer systems. Sould I go on? Fact is, we, as people, took a thriving, dynamic estuary system, and killed it forty years ago. It took this long for the fish to realize there was nothing to come back to, for the clams to die off, and the frequent brown and red tides to become the clear sign of a system in despair. And don't forget that the few fish that do show interest in the bay must contend w/ record populations of striped bass.

The only reason the fish are caught in the Thumb in the spring is because those animals are swimming in from the ocean, and that is as far as they go.

**** draggers.

Paul

The commercials wiped out nearly every species so why are the flounder any different ?
I remember when the commercials destroyed the fluke in the late 80's and early 90's. I remember the fluke fishing was horrible in the summer of 89 and I remember party boats going for winter flounder in early July because they couldn't catch any fluke in the bay.
If the partyboats couldn't catch fluke that summer, what do you think the inshore draggers fished for that summer and the following years ? They dragged their nets back and forth scooping up anything in their way. And I'm sure they caught alot of the winter flounder too !