17.75 LB Fluke caught on Miss Montauk. Anyone have details?

[PwayJOE911]

I heard there was a 17.75 lb fluke caught. Was curious if anyone here knew anymore details about it. What bait, depth of water, etc. Glad to see some monsters are out there for sure. Fun story to talk about for sure.

[shrimpman steve]

I’ll be fishing the miss Montauk Monday.
Yes 17 pounder I believe it was caught on bait. The pic of the fish is buge

[Merle31483]

Fish was 17.90 pounds a true monster bait of choice just like here spearing, squid, maybe a strip of belly nothing fancy up there it's not heavily over fished like the raritan bay 2 more weeks left in the NY season I'll be fishing there both weekends

[OH HENRY II]

That's no doormat, it's a damn area rug. Quite a catch indeed

[Billfish715]

So, what is the length of a 17# fluke? A 23" fluke usually weighs in at 3-4 lbs. A 28" fluke is a solid 8-9 lbs. If that is the progression, how long is a 17 pounder?

[dakota560]

So, what is the length of a 17# fluke? A 23" fluke usually weighs in at 3-4 lbs. A 28" fluke is a solid 8-9 lbs. If that is the progression, how long is a 17 pounder?

Go to the Miss Montauk thread in this forum. The day the 17.9 was caught, an 11.16 was also landed. They have a picture of both fish side by side. If you look at them length wise, there doesn't seem to be significant difference but girth and thickness is where you'll see the difference. If I had to guess, I would say around 33 - 34 inches in length for the 17.9.

[shrimpman steve]

I’ll be in Montauk from sat to Wednesday. I have a charter Sunday and fishing the miss on Monday. A gift from my son. Can’t wait!

[Billfish715]

Go to the Miss Montauk thread in this forum. The day the 17.9 was caught, an 11.16 was also landed. They have a picture of both fish side by side. If you look at them length wise, there doesn't seem to be significant difference but girth and thickness is where you'll see the difference. If I had to guess, I would say around 33 - 34 inches in length for the 17.9.

I agree. That's about what I thought the length would be. The girth factor certainly has to be considered, but at 17+ pounds, we are in unchartered waters for any legitimate comparison. I will say this about the girth of some of the sub-legal fluke that we were releasing this year, "They were thick". Even the 16" fluke were fat enough to have made a substantial meal for someone. Two or three of them would have been a generous fresh dinner for a family of four.

If a fisherman was waiting to catch two keepers of 18" for his family, they would be heading to a a burger joint for one of their "dinners" instead of a freshly caught meal from the sea. Which would you prefer? As a family provider, I would rather bring home fillets from three, fat 16" fluke for my family to eat than to head to a fast food place in order to treat them.

[dakota560]

I agree. That's about what I thought the length would be. The girth factor certainly has to be considered, but at 17+ pounds, we are in unchartered waters for any legitimate comparison. I will say this about the girth of some of the sub-legal fluke that we were releasing this year, "They were thick". Even the 16" fluke were fat enough to have made a substantial meal for someone. Two or three of them would have been a generous fresh dinner for a family of four.

If a fisherman was waiting to catch two keepers of 18" for his family, they would be heading to a a burger joint for one of their "dinners" instead of a freshly caught meal from the sea. Which would you prefer? As a family provider, I would rather bring home fillets from three, fat 16" fluke for my family to eat than to head to a fast food place in order to treat them.

The fish you describe are the perfect size for eating. Lot of people working on getting a slot adopted and trying to convince marine fisheries the regulations in place in the 90's (14" and 15" recreationally) which led to tremendous growth in the stock need to be gradually phased back in for the fishery to correct itself. No easy task but the effort to accomplish that continues.

[Merle31483]

My 10.2 pounder this year I caught out there was 29 inches my buddy's 15.6 pounder caught last year out there was 36 inches that 17.9 pounder caught last weekend has to be pushing close to 38 - 40 inches

[Treble Hook Jim]

Last year in Nantucket the guy next to me got a 15 pounder and a 10 and both were the same length...

[dakota560]

My 10.2 pounder this year I caught out there was 29 inches my buddy's 15.6 pounder caught last year out there was 36 inches that 17.9 pounder caught last weekend has to be pushing close to 38 - 40 inches

The 24.3 lb fish that Monica Oswald supposedly caught in 2007 that was then supposedly eaten by a raccoon was 38 inches long. That 17.9 fish is wide and thick and don't think it's as long as 38 - 40 inches. Either way, it's a fish of a lifetime and congrats to the angler and Capt.. I've seen 30 inch fish weighing 7+ lbs and 28 in fish weighing 11 lbs. Hard to predict based on male / female and thickness versus length. Curious what the size was more than anything, if Steve is up there maybe he can get and post the specifics and maybe even catch one that big himself!

[Billfish715]

Had I put some of my 16 inch fluke on a scale and compared them to a couple of 18 inch fluke, there may have been no difference in their weights. Since I'll never see a 30+ inch fluke on the end of my line and in the net, I can only imagine. The mate that netted that 17# beast must have had to change his shorts after landing it. Quite a tension-filled couple of minutes when that thing surfaced!