FISHERMEN/THURSDAYS FLUKE FISHING

[1captainron]

FISHERMEN/THURSDAYS FLUKE FISHING

Yesterday we couldn't hold bottom with 10 ounces, today I had to power drift to make the boat move, go figure!

Fished a few area's and several drops looking for bigger fish only to find plenty of short action with a handful of keepers no matter where we went. Had a bigger swell in the AM left over from last night and I'm sure that was the problem.

Ocean layed down by the end of the day and we found some nice action to finish it out. Tomorrows weather looks perfect, Ocean will be calm....let's hope they are hungry!

Everyone is struggling in this business this season, don't quit!! We all work hard everyday trying to get it done, it's frustrating beyond belief trust me.....But Please, doesn't matter if you fish with me or any other boat, Please don't quit, We never will. See you in the AM.

Sailing Everyday 7:30am-2:30pm. Open Boat, No Reservations just come on down. Fare is $90, Rod Rentals $10.

Capt. Ron

[Broad Bill]

Captain your reports are always truthful, good or bad. We all appreciate your honesty. I know the south wind and cold water has been a major problem this year. My concern which I've been voicing for years and I know a lot of people agree with is that the regulations have targeted the harvest of large breeders in this fishery by both the recreational and commercial sectors. If there's that many shorts around that are relatively active even with these cold waters there should be an equal amount of larger fish around active in the same waters or shallower and there's not. I'm hoping the winds change and things improve drastically for the better but my concern is that all the years of harvesting big fish by these ridiculous regulations are coming back to roost and have taken their toll on the older age classes which drive recruitment down and has this fishery in a spiral. I hope I'm wrong but the data and common sense says I'm right. I hope for party boat captains like yourself, charter boat operators and recreational fishermen as well as commercial operators this turns around but I think what we're seeing is a significant erosion in the population of the stock which is why substantial reductions were made this year. NMFS knows it and are trying to figure out a way to change the trajectory of this fishery while not admitting that their policies and practices over the past two decades have been atrocious and caused these declines. Mark Terceiro has been wrong all along about why recruitment levels have been down for 10 years. ASMFC and MAFMC have been wrong about how the fishery is being managed and how harvesting older age class fish is the best way to manage the stock. That's an absolutely insane philosophy when you consider the consequences of that statement and amount of waste involved in the practice of selective harvest by the commercial sector. And more than anyone else, NMFS has allowed this fishery to decline without any change in management ideology since 2004 which is criminal.

[Dclark2]

Always look at the reports and they are always true be it bad or good witch is always a plus .....

[hammer4reel]

Captain your reports are always truthful, good or bad. We all appreciate your honesty. I know the south wind and cold water has been a major problem this year. My concern which I've been voicing for years and I know a lot of people agree with is that the regulations have targeted the harvest of large breeders in this fishery by both the recreational and commercial sectors. If there's that many shorts around that are relatively active even with these cold waters there should be an equal amount of larger fish around active in the same waters or shallower and there's not. I'm hoping the winds change and things improve drastically for the better but my concern is that all the years of harvesting big fish by these ridiculous regulations are coming back to roost and have taken their toll on the older age classes which drive recruitment down and has this fishery in a spiral. I hope I'm wrong but the data and common sense says I'm right. I hope for party boat captains like yourself, charter boat operators and recreational fishermen as well as commercial operators this turns around but I think what we're seeing is a significant erosion in the population of the stock which is why substantial reductions were made this year. NMFS knows it and are trying to figure out a way to change the trajectory of this fishery while not admitting that their policies and practices over the past two decades have been atrocious and caused these declines. Mark Terceiro has been wrong all along about why recruitment levels have been down for 10 years. ASMFC and MAFMC have been wrong about how the fishery is being managed and how harvesting older age class fish is the best way to manage the stock. That's an absolutely insane philosophy when you consider the consequences of that statement and amount of waste involved in the practice of selective harvest by the commercial sector. And more than anyone else, NMFS has allowed this fishery to decline without any change in management ideology since 2004 which is criminal.

Approx a dozen draggers been working around Shark river spots for going on 3 weeks .Those boats are filling their quotas weekly (1500 # each )
So the fish are here , difference is they don’t need them to bite .

.very few fish being caught by recreational fisherman in the same area

[Broad Bill]

Approx a dozen draggers been working around Shark river spots for going on 3 weeks .Those boats are filling their quotas weekly (1500 # each )
So the fish are here , difference is they don’t need them to bite .

.very few fish being caught by recreational fisherman in the same area

So maybe the problem isn't the cold water, maybe it's the fleet of draggers working the area. And remember draggers can keep fish between 14" and 18" while recs are handicapped with 18" and above. We've all fished areas loaded with fluke one day, gone back the next to find a bunch of draggers and the dead sea. We're two-thirds of the way through July, fish have to feed. If the numbers were there, we'd be seeing significantly better results than what we're seeing. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out

[FISHGERE]

You nailed simply put not a lot of fluke around draggers so called fisherman vacuum the ocean floor selling my boar next will be a lot of gear. I’m done not fun anhnore

[Broad Bill]

Approx a dozen draggers been working around Shark river spots for going on 3 weeks .Those boats are filling their quotas weekly (1500 # each )
So the fish are here , difference is they don’t need them to bite .

.very few fish being caught by recreational fisherman in the same area

Dan another angle on this, you're comments mean in the last three weeks 12 commercial boats in a relatively small area harvested 54,000 lbs of fluke. And remember they can keep 14" and up and kill everything else caught in their nets. I wouldn't be surprised an additional 54,000 lbs. or more were killed and thrown back dead in the selective harvest process by commercials. Last two years with an asinine 1" slot, at least the recs had a shot at this year's shorts which the Prowler commented on in his post the other day. Slot should be 14" - 17.5" or something comparable but then NMFS would penalize the recs next year for over fishing their quota three fold. We're boxed in and fish 18" and larger are disappearing from the stock. They have to be, that's all that's being harvested while the younger age groups intended to fill that void become collateral damage. Harvest the breeders and kill future recruiting classes, these people have their heads in the sand. Couple that with the southerly winds and cold water and it doesn't paint a pretty picture.

Just got a report from a charter guy from Massachusetts saying the same thing, lot of bites, but keepers are extremely hard to come by and their size minimum is 17.5"! Well see what the rest of the season holds in store but in my opinion it's not a pretty picture and asinine regulations are catching up with this fishery.