Why Only Shorts?

[fish4fun]

Why are the half day party boats out of Atlantic Highlands continue day after day fishing the flats close to the dock? Most fluke caught are shorts with that occasional keeper. Is there a valid reason for them not to be fishing the hook or channels? I usually fish once a week but for now I'm going to wait for improvement. It's bad enough because of covid-19 we have to pay more but not to come home with dinner really sucks.

[Capt. Debbie]

Funny post given your screen name FISH4FUN.



Why are the half day party boats out of Atlantic Highlands continue day after day fishing the flats close to the dock? Most fluke caught are shorts with that occasional keeper. Is there a valid reason for them not to be fishing the hook or channels? I usually fish once a week but for now I'm going to wait for improvement. It's bad enough because of covid-19 we have to pay more but not to come home with dinner really sucks.

[hammer4reel]

Most keepers right now have been in very skinny water .
Sometimes need to work through a lot of shorts to catch the better fish mixed in .

Fishing the channels hasn’t been doing much yet , water is cold .

Even Oceanside our better fishing has been under 25’ of water

[rwp2101]

Funny post given your screen name FISH4FUN.

:D That's funny.

I get it though, I think a lot of us are dying for variety in our diets right now given the virus sitch. Also, at the start of every fluke season we're all craving those first few fresh fluke dinners; fluke tacos, fluke fingers, and my favorite: parmesan and panko crusted fluke over linguine.

Right now I'm seeing more fluke caught in shallow (rivers, back bays and flats) than out front. It's the time of year and conditions.

And every year some conspiracy theorists talk about "capts not wanting to burn fuel steaming to where the fish are." It's bs, the fish are shallow right now. Capts want to catch fish, they go where they have the best shot at that.

[fish4fun]

Most keepers right now have been in very skinny water .
Sometimes need to work through a lot of shorts to catch the better fish mixed in .

Fishing the channels hasn’t been doing much yet , water is cold .

Even Oceanside our better fishing has been under 25’ of water

So the best thing to do if you are right is to wait for the warmer water to enter the Bay. Last year was my worst year fluking and I refuse to let that happen again.

[fish4fun]

Funny post given your screen name FISH4FUN.
I'm happy I was able to make you laugh. I fish for enjoyment but to continuosly to only catch shorts becomes frustrating.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Any AH party boats who are fishing exclusively for Fluke are sticking to the bays right now since that's were the fish are...Those fishing for Sea Bass and Ling are going out ocean side because that's were those fish are...

[Detour66]

Once again we are catching nice fat 17" Fluke and we have to throw them back. The regulation's are off by a 1" in Raritan Bay. That is the main reason Fluke fishing can almost be considered a waste of time. Don't get me wrong I like catching shorts and will always welcome "action" but it also nice bringing a meal or two home! I have been fishing for Sea Bass and Ling and there's plenty of action and I always come home with plenty of fish. I will start to Fluke fish this week. I hope it picks up. Tight Lines!

[mikdel]

So the best thing to do if you are right is to wait for the warmer water to enter the Bay. Last year was my worst year fluking and I refuse to let that happen again.

Its gotten steadily worse the last four or five years. They make you keep the breeders. Less fishing days with the weather like this year water still cold, storms toward the end of the year. Delaware its 16 1/2" keep six at least you have a better chance of getting something to take home there most of the time. Less boats to fish from though. Become a pirate and help thin the shorts out. Tite lines

[FISHGERE]

Why are the half day party boats out of Atlantic Highlands continue day after day fishing the flats close to the dock? Most fluke caught are shorts with that occasional keeper. Is there a valid reason for them not to be fishing the hook or channels? I usually fish once a week but for now I'm going to wait for improvement. It's bad enough because of covid-19 we have to pay more but not to come home with dinner really sucks.fluke fishing is a joke reality is all shorts one or two keepers

[Togfather2530]

Its gotten steadily worse the last four or five years. They make you keep the breeders. Less fishing days with the weather like this year water still cold, storms toward the end of the year. Delaware its 16 1/2" keep six at least you have a better chance of getting something to take home there most of the time. Less boats to fish from though. Become a pirate and help thin the shorts out. Tite lines

I believe Delaware is 4 fish at 16 1/2 for fluke. Their Sea bass season is 15 fish at 12 1/2 and runs all year long. The Sea bass season in Jersey is a joke. Overall all their seasons are more liberal now then Jersey. Maybe it’s time to start putting the boat down in Delaware. Sandy Hook areas overfished anyway anymore.

[Gumada]

Hey, we have to leave those “market size” fish for the draggers over the winter spawning season. :D

[hammer4reel]

Hey, we have to leave those “market size” fish for the draggers over the winter spawning season. :D


Isn’t a bigger fallacy than that .

The thought they want small fish isn’t even close to correct .
They get over a buck a pound more for fish over 4 pounds .

Many target larger fish using a larger than minimum required net square that allows more small legal fish to pass through .

.

[frugalfisherman]

It's because the Angler and Captain George aren't there anymore.

[AndyS]

From what I was told about fluke: want big fluke, use big bait.

[Stanton327]

You were pissin in the wind if you wasted the past month flunking when sea bass ling & striper fishing were all pretty good! You could have filled the freezer with many meals! I went through 4 rolls of vacuume seal bags the past 5 weeks. I love fluke fishing too but w water temps still pretty cool you would be better off driving out and jumping on the miss montauk for some of those jumbos until it gets better here! Good luck!