FLUKE season ?????????

[hammer4reel]

So curious how guys did having the extra 3 week longer season to fish this year DURING that 3 weeks ???


add any fish to the freezer, get out enough to enjoy it ??

I know I personally didn't , nor did I expect to.

Would have rather had that extra fish added to the time we actually could have caught them .

Hoping next year guys have it logged how they actually did.

.

[Pauls1976]

My best catches for keepers were in the Manasquan River after Labor Day including many 2 person limits. That extra time saved my season actually. I had one of my worst seasons in terms of keepers this year.

[Peterooster]

No keepers for Tom and I in September. Pete

[emcjim]

If I had tried for fluke in Sept., it would have been from a partyboat from AH. Reports were not very good, so: 1st week in Sept, I went on a NS boat for cocktail bluefish, catching 20. 2nd week in Sept., we went for our annual trip to Maine. Heard that it was windy and rainy for most of that week in NJ -- Maine weather was nice. 3rd week in Sept., hit the beach on the bayshore for cocktail blues and 2 bass. See my reports under Surf Reports.

[striker]

I had a fluke limit throughout the entire month of August. Once September hit I got my first goose egg. Not even a short.

[WhaleFart]

Did great in the manasquan river in September, both shorts and keepers. August was an incredible month on the ocean however, most of the fish I was getting were 3-6lbs, freezer is loaded.

[Angler Paul]

Fluking the entire season was slow for the most part out of Barnegat Inlet.. However, we caught some really nice fluke in September up to 9 lbs. My friends and I are really happy the season was extended. September would have been better if the weather would have cooperated. At least now though we only have to wait 2 weeks for sea bass to open unlike last year when we had to wait over 6 weeks. Paul Haertel

[SaltLife1980]

I had a great season. Limit plus on lot of trips. Biggest fish was 11.7:D

[shrimpman steve]

I had a great season. Limit plus on lot of trips. Biggest fish was 11.7:D

Show off :D

Great season Jeff. See ya next summer. Hopefully

[Joey Dah Fish]

best Season of my life

[Scrubby]

I didn't get out all that much and I had zero trips in September.. so...I'm not much help..

[hammer4reel]

Question I asked was not how good your fluke season was, it was how well you did the 3 extended weeks of the season . since we lost over 2 of those to weather, , causing a mass exodus of the fish .

WE had a boat limit every trip plus on 95% of trips in July and August.


after the first week in September we didn't get to fish a fishable day due to weather .

I would have rathered a 4 fish bag limit while the fish were here.


glad to see some guys did have fish in September.


.

[TerriMc223]

I caught 3 keepers in the ocean on Labor Day but only a handful of juvenile doormats ( aka Shorts!) for the rest of the season.

I had a couple trips with no fluke at all. The Bay was slow and the ocean was not much better after the crummy weather.

[Detour66]

Sept was pretty much a strike out for me.

[Joey Dah Fish]

I believe I had a limit every trip but one I Sept and also 1 at 12# in fact one trip I had 14 keepers ORL

[dales529]

Question I asked was not how good your fluke season was, it was how well you did the 3 extended weeks of the season . since we lost over 2 of those to weather, , causing a mass exodus of the fish .

WE had a boat limit every trip plus on 95% of trips in July and August.


after the first week in September we didn't get to fish a fishable day due to weather .

I would have rathered a 4 fish bag limit while the fish were here.


glad to see some guys did have fish in September.


.

Dan
Can you explain how the 4 fish bag would have related to the season opening / closing dates? In that option what dates would our season have been?

i suspect if a 4 fish bag was an option we would have been shut down by a minimum of 3 weeks from last years Sept 5th closure so say closure would have been Aug 15 but my guess is much earlier as an increased bag limit typically equates to many more weeks of quota than a 3 week extension to the season. Unless you can tell me different we would have missed the best fluking of the year

[Blind Archer]

Burned more fuel for fewer fish than any time I can remember. Stayed in the rivers and limited 90 % of the time.

[hartattack]

Burned more fuel for fewer fish than any time I can remember. Stayed in the rivers and limited 90 % of the time.

Agreed ^^ , ocean Sept. fluking was poor for me (even in Ambrose) but on Friday b4 season ended we did very well in Shark River. Saved fuel that day :cool:

[Irish Jigger]

Sucked!!!

[hammer4reel]

Dan
Can you explain how the 4 fish bag would have related to the season opening / closing dates? In that option what dates would our season have been?

i suspect if a 4 fish bag was an option we would have been shut down by a minimum of 3 weeks from last years Sept 5th closure so say closure would have been Aug 15 but my guess is much earlier as an increased bag limit typically equates to many more weeks of quota than a 3 week extension to the season. Unless you can tell me different we would have missed the best fluking of the year

Four fish bag limit would have had you fishing until just after labor day.
would have allowed you an extra fish on every trip you had from May until that closing date.
Gave that up so we could fish three extra weeks longer.
You didn't get to fish three weeks longer, you actually got a little over a week extra to fish .

IF you got out during that week and caught a limit of three fish once or twice that week, I think that is a lot less fish than you could have had during the previous 3 months .

best fluking of the year is ALWAYS in august, and the fish always leave with the first hard storm after Labor day.

.


Dave what looked to be a good money tournament the last weekend of the season , had 22 entrees

we get more than that in our marina tourneys.

Average tourneys usually get 150 PLUS , whats that tell you about the confidence guys had in catching fish the last few weeks;


Maybe the correct question would have been How many of the extra 17 days were we really able to fish ???

Thinking most guys unless had weekdays to fish didn't fish after Labor day due to the weather



.

[dakota560]

We're doing just what the powers to be want us to do, squabble over the crumbs. 4 fish for what amounted for the average angler to just one month (August) since the average angler struggled in June and July with 3 fish much less 4 or 3 fish and an extended season that unfortunately didn't work out due to weather. Both options suck but most anglers 9 out of 10 times will vote for more time on the water. Close the fluke fishery early and what does everyone fish for? Sea bass is closed, whose going to spend the money for one black fish until 11/15, 2 winter flounder or maybe everyone targets bluefish which based on posted reports look to be averaging about a pound and a half and bass are just gearing up. But go to Wegman's, Whole Foods, Shop Rite or most Asian Markets and they're all well stocked with local fish.......that's the focus we should all have.

How do you think the commercials will fare mopping up those schools of fluke that high tailed it offshore early when Florence showed up? Concentrated schools of fluke migrating predictable routes with today's commercial technology. All the fish recreational anglers didn't have a chance to harvest will be worked over by commercials during their offshore migratory spawn while we debate the merits of horse trading one more fish for three less weeks in the season.

[hammer4reel]

We're doing just what the powers to be want us to do, squabble over the crumbs. 4 fish for what amounted for the average angler to just one month (August) since the average angler struggled in June and July with 3 fish much less 4 or 3 fish and an extended season that unfortunately didn't work out due to weather. Both options suck but I most anglers 9 out of 10 times will vote for more time on the water. Close the fluke fishery early and what does everyone fish for? Sea bass is closed, whose going to cast their lines for one black fish until 11/15, 2 winter flounder or maybe everyone targets 15 bluefish which have disappeared as well.

How do you think the commercials will fare mopping up those schools of fluke that high tailed it offshore early when Florence showed up? Concentrated schools of fluke migrating well known routes with today's commercial technology. All the fish recreational anglers didn't have a chance to harvest will be worked over by commercials during their primary spawn while we debate the merits of horse trading one more fish for three less weeks in the season.

you had a chance to catch them, from May till labor day .
having the season open for 17 days extra, when yearly logs shw the fish leaving the area right about labor day since sandy says you could just as well left the season open till December.
You cant catch what isn't here.Thats my point .
doesn't matter if you cant fish for anything else, what matters is what you actually can catch .
giving up your increase in bag limit for 17 days you didn't even get to fish , instead of possibly keeping another fish for each trip for four months just makes no sense to me.

.
so just think , If you did 20 trips with 4 guys , that's 80 less fish the commercial guys would get to mop up.
no matter how I look at it, you need to fish for a species that's here to be caught .

[Gerry Zagorski]

Pretty sure the Commercials are going to fill their quota no matter what we Recreations have or haven't caught.

To each his own but for me it's not about the meat, it's about having access to the resource. The ability to fish more days with a chance to keep something if I choose to gives me more access.

[frugalfisherman]

Did you guys forget about the hurricane? First week of September was great. Lots of bigger fish biting. Second week the storm. Third week big swell and stirred up bottom. Went out last Wednesday both trips out of Brielle and got skunked on both. First skunk all summer on the boat.

[Detour66]

Did you guys forget about the hurricane? First week of September was great. Lots of bigger fish biting. Second week the storm. Third week big swell and stirred up bottom. Went out last Wednesday both trips out of Brielle and got skunked on both. First skunk all summer on the boat.
Agreed about the hurricane and also a very rainy summer. It amazes me how the powers to be say that we always over catch but meanwhile many days where rain outs and when you go out on the bay during the week there are very few boats fishing. I guess they get all of their data on a Saturday or from posts on social media of people reporting how they always limit out! Tight Lines!

[hammer4reel]

Pretty sure the Commercials are going to fill their quota no matter what we Recreations have or haven't caught.

To each his own but for me it's not about the meat, it's about having access to the resource. The ability to fish more days with a chance to keep something if I choose to gives me more access.

I agree with wanting the most fishing days.
But I want those days to be for when there are fish around .

You have just as much chance to catch fish in December as you did the last two weeks of the season we just bad .

Last week in August and first week in Sept are always good as thats when fish are stacking up to leave.

[penn50w]

8 fish should never have been reduced to 6, 6 never to 5, 5 never to 3! What next, 1 but you get to fish til October :rolleyes: You're never getting those fish back, WAKE UP!
The majority of recreational anglers DO NOT fish in bad weather, it doesn't stop commercial fishing.

PS: when was the last time the COMMERCIAL SIZE LIMIT was raised above 14"?

PS2: my opinion

[dakota560]

you had a chance to catch them, from May till labor day .
having the season open for 17 days extra, when yearly logs shw the fish leaving the area right about labor day since sandy says you could just as well left the season open till December.
You cant catch what isn't here.Thats my point .
doesn't matter if you cant fish for anything else, what matters is what you actually can catch .
giving up your increase in bag limit for 17 days you didn't even get to fish , instead of possibly keeping another fish for each trip for four months just makes no sense to me.

.
so just think , If you did 20 trips with 4 guys , that's 80 less fish the commercial guys would get to mop up.
no matter how I look at it, you need to fish for a species that's here to be caught .

You're missing my point. Probably 95% of limits (3 fish mind you) are caught by 10% of recreational anglers or less who put in tremendous hours and are locked in. Most anglers aren't catching limits from Memorial Day til the closing with the exception of a very small minority. Case in point I had a charter in mid July (absolutely perfect conditions) with a site sponsor where 4 keepers were caught by the entire charter of seasoned fluke guys including the captain and mate and all I heard the entire trip from the captain and mate was how bad fluking has been. Not ragging on the captain, read the reports. Dan you and your crew along with a relatively small percentage of others are the exception to limits. The average angler struggled this year to catch their limit of 3 fish and many were skunked other than in August when a new body of fish moved in.

I completely agree with Gerry, most people will give up one fish for more days on the water. Pre-Sandy, September had always been the prime time to fish both in terms of quantity and quality but can't control the weather.

My point about closing the season earlier is what does anyone fish for? Everything is either closed or so restricted it's not worth a trip.

Either way as was my initial point, we're arguing about the crumbs we've been forced to accept. It's a shitty situation which in my opinion won't improve until a slot is re-introduced and fall commercial harvest is eliminated until the 20-plus year decline in reproduction statistics reverses itself. It's the future of every fishery that doesn't depend on stocking programs to sustain itself and it's been completely ignored by the regulatory bodies responsible for the management of this fishery.

[dakota560]

Excerpt from the following site: http://www.cptdave.com/summer-flounder.html

Reproduction:
Both males and females become sexually mature at the age of 3. The fecundity (number of eggs produced in a single spawning season) of females increases with size and weight. A 14 inch female produces about 460,000, and a 27 inch female about 4,200,000 eggs in a season. Reproduction takes place in the fall, as soon as the fish begin migrating to wintering grounds. Peak spawning activity occurs from early September through early November in water temperatures of 53 to 66 degrees F and at depths of 60 to 160 feet. The center of spawning activity occurs off the coasts of New York and New Jersey with less concentrated activity occurring in southern New England waters. The eggs float in the water column, hatching 72 to 75 hours after being laid.

Now is the time to visit the areas where this resource is being off loaded by commercial interests. For every 25 - 30 inch fish, don't think of it as one fish being pulled from the biomass, think of it as 3 - 4 million eggs destroyed which should be sustaining the future of the fishery and at the same time tell me how many 14 inch fish you see harvested from these offshore trips.........zero. They're still out there, problem is they're on the bottom, white side facing up.

The problem is self inflicted caused by power, greed and absolute stupidity.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Excerpt from the following site: http://www.cptdave.com/summer-flounder.html

Reproduction:
Both males and females become sexually mature at the age of 3. The fecundity (number of eggs produced in a single spawning season) of females increases with size and weight. A 14 inch female produces about 460,000, and a 27 inch female about 4,200,000 eggs in a season. Reproduction takes place in the fall, as soon as the fish begin migrating to wintering grounds. Peak spawning activity occurs from early September through early November in water temperatures of 53 to 66 degrees F and at depths of 60 to 160 feet. The center of spawning activity occurs off the coasts of New York and New Jersey with less concentrated activity occurring in southern New England waters. The eggs float in the water column, hatching 72 to 75 hours after being laid.

Now is the time to visit the areas where this resource is being off loaded by commercial interests. For every 25 - 30 inch fish, don't think of it as one fish being pulled from the biomass, think of it as 3 - 4 million eggs destroyed which should be sustaining the future of the fishery and at the same time tell me how many 14 inch fish you see harvested from these offshore trips.........zero. They're still out there, problem is they're on the bottom, white side facing up.

The problem is self inflicted caused by power, greed and absolute stupidity.

Exactly.......

[O'Man]

I would have rather had those 3 weeks on the front end of the season instead of the back.

I fish Raritan Bay. Going all the way to the hook and then out into the ocean is more of a ride than I like in my 19 footer. Have to pick my days to go outside.

This was probably my worst season ever. All the early rain, and then the bay got hot. Only to be topped off with a rainy September.

A fourth fish would not have mattered for me this season. I'm ok with getting 3 fish, though if it was 17.5", then I'd have had plenty of times to complain about not keeping a 4th fish.:D

[NJ219bands]

I caught, tagged and released 13 fluke to 18" on the Manasquan Inlet north jetty this season. None were recaptured yet. I hope that the dragger that catches them has a NMFS observer aboard who reports catching them.

[Grady2]

congrats saltlife. me and buddy woody limited out one day early in the season nothing real big but some quality fish.the rest of season tuff.but skunked only on time out of a dozen.the weather was tough for weekend warriors.

[BigRock44]

would MUCH rather have an extended season.

[Joey Dah Fish]

would MUCH rather have an extended season.

Me too.