[sportsman625]

Just wondering how the fluke season is going for everyone out there? I've fished the south shore out of Captree twice (party boat ) mostly shorts same as last year. Twice at Montauk more keepers but still alot of shorts. Only thing I can think of is the weather(still to cool). Like to hear your thoughts. Lou

 

[621133]

Lou
What you're saying is similar to whatI said in my post a couple days ago titled "Big Fluke". I was wondering if others were having the same lack of keepers I have (no one responded- figured I'd respond to you)I fish mostly South Shore, also.The 17 in min size is what the real problem is here, IMHO.Good numbers of fluke, just not too many large ones.Many people I've talked to say Huntington area has a much better keeper ratio right now, but I havent had a chance to get up there. You may want to try there. Good Luck!!!

 

[Capt. NanSea]

I fish out of the Merrick / JI area. FLuking seemed to get off to a slower start this year than other years (number of fish wise). A few weeks ago, the numbers started picking up nicely, but the new size limit is keeping the number of keepers down. The most keepers we've had is three, sometimes skunked, often just one keeper. There have been many fish in the 16-17inch area, and would have had two excellent days if the size restricitions were slightly smaller.

I don't know how well this conservation methodology will work long term, seems that by only taking large fish, we are encouraging genes that promote the slowere growth rates and smaller size, as the big ones get killed.

 

[616773]

I fish on the party boats out of SH Bay 3-4 times a week .I can say that fluke fishing hasn't been this bad in years. Not only are the shorts REAL short, they are thin. Last Saturday I fished all day on a 1/2 day party boat. Combined there were 84 fisherman for the two trips and there were a total of five keepers caught. Four out of the five keepers were just 17"
It's bad. I'm going to go to Huntington on the JJ tomorrow I hope I do better.

 

[LkyLindy]

2002

I hope this year isn't a trend of things to come but the north shore fluking is also off compared to the last few years.Many ,many shorts and smaller keepers..It is still possible to max out but it takes longer and you have to fish harder and smarter

 

[616773]

Fished on the James Joseph today. As alway's the Capt. and crew were terrific. Forty some odd fisherman caught about 130 keepers. Slow pick all day. Captain James tried his best. I'll be back next week. It has to get better.

 

[613443]

Only 130 keepers, what bad luck.

 

[togmaster]

new Reg's

Funny guys I have bee saying this for a while now and have posted it in many posts. The limits should be different from out east to the west? I say this because the Fluking out east seems to be a healthier and bigger stock. In quantity and size. Out east till Moriches north and south shore fluke should be 17". To the west though we need a 15.5" or 16" size and maybe a lower bag limit like 5 fish. At least you would have a better ratio of keeps and not put as much hurt on the fishery. Many party boats are hurting because of this as well as other Rec anglers. The problem is getting the right people to believe this? They mostly make a state limit not an area?
By breaking it up we could make a lot more people happier and be fair to all.
This is my opinion not in stone but it is a reality also!

 

[617905]

Catch and Release fishing is a lot like golf. You don't have to eat the ball to have a good time.

 

[gottog]

I fluke mainly in Raritan Bay, NJ and so far the season has been pretty slow. I'm averaging only 2 keepers per outing and thats out of about a dozen fish each time. Alot of the "short fish" being caught are very close to NJ's 16.5" limit.
I think it might start picking up as we've been getting some better fish and more overall inshore. I had 2 17"s, 3 shorts, and lost a nice one around 24" all in about an hour and a half from a local pier after work the other day. Had a few days of 6 to 7 keepers last year all caught around 6-8pm...hopefully it'll be a repeat season.

 

[nightwing34]

Put it this way: the fluking's been so bad around FI that even the party boats are starting to give up on it. At least one boat out of Captree has completely abandoned fluke trips for the time being, and I can understand why. I don't think I've seen a fluke over 15" so far this year, and i've been out quite a bit (party boats and hitchin rides on friends' boats) since fluke season opened....

 

[gottog]

-'wing, I hear ya. Alot of party boats here in NJ are opting to go for sea bass instead of trying to scratch out a catch of a few keepers.

I fish a local pier that usually produces a good amount of keeper fluke. On average, this time last year, we'd have about 3 keepers out of a total of 20 fish. Lately the "postage stamps" have been starting to show up(fluke in the 10-14" range) but not many larger fish. One reason might be the lack of baitfish. Last year we had a ton of small herring and small spearing in by now, but nothings really in the water yet. Some large fluke have been caught by bunker-chunkers, so maybe the larger ones are staying around the schools of bunker trying to pick up scraps??? Not sure though. That and the majority that we are catching inshore are still very muddy looking on the white side.