Fluke Season - This year compared to last year...

[Bucktailboys.com]

So how would you compare your season so far to last year?

Must say that our season is definitely worse than last year! Inconsistent and "finicky" are the 2 common words of our season so far. Had limits one day and return to the same spot the next day and nothing!!! Tried every trick I could think of and even dragged bait a couple of times :confused:

Just wondering why???

[Fisherman120]

Very weird season..... 2014 started off bad, much worse then 2015, but once that Rockaway bite developed in July last year it was game on till the end. This year started off pretty decently(better then 2014 for sure) but since mid-July it has been downright awful with the exception of a couple of days. This is the time of year it should be good and it's not just about every where in our area. Why? No idea why, but I'd definitley say 2015 is worse then 2014. Inconsistent and finicky is a perfect description.

[HighHook94]

Compared to last year, it's been really inconsistent. I only get out 1-2 times per week because of work, but I haven't had many days where we just hammer the fluke (like last year). Definitely a down year. I've consistently gotten at least 1 keeper for myself each time out, but haven't come close to a limit. I haven't even been getting much short action to keep me busy. I haven't had a problem catching dogfish though... Blackfish season can't come soon enough.

[broken bobber]

its off a bit...2 reasons i see is water quality... its been the dirtiest and stired up more than i can remember outside and really hasnt cleaned up even for a few days..... Also the bait is here and there where it SHOULD be, which is very weird

[Chrisper4694]

Last year for us was great, couldn't ask for better. Put a 4-6 lber in the box every single weekend for a month and a half. Plenty of keepers every trip and a few limits and 3-4 keeper days per person. This year, first trip I got my pb 8.5 lbs but that was it that day and for weeks we struggled with 1-2 keepers between 2 guys and not many shorts. We've had some good days but inconsistent for sure.

I know some people had a bad season last year and good this year, opposite of us. And I'm very curious why. There has to be some differences in style or something. I would like to figure it out so we can adjust season to season instead of just accepting defeat. Anyone want to discus this? Send me a pm.

[NoLimit]

The SS Languor Management saw more whale than legal fluke this year (although 1 went 7 lbs).

As Capt. Ron said, its the worst in 30 odd years.

Thank Your Very Much Commercial Draggers and our deceitful Bio Bureaucrats.

[HDMarc]

If the limit were still 17.5, I'd be having a banner year but all my 17.99"s were sent back to be caught next year.

[makosnax]

Great year for catching, horrible for keeping. Most frustrating season I can remember.

[Bass_Appeal]

Last year was a bigger size for the catch less throwbacks ...but this year is small and not as many large fish for sure ...but this year still doesn't have a lot of either also . my assumptions are the wacky winters we had the last two years ... Either way it didn't bother me too much while the boat was down an out .....hopefully both are better next year boat and fish .....

[Blackfish Bobby]

Very Strange but we are having one of our best seasons so far. The river was on fire for us from the start and left them biting in the river in late June to hit the bay. The river was so hot that I am convinced someone dimed us into The LAW since in 5 trips I was boated once on the water and checked at the boat ramp twice. Cmon now..... I am no dope. I was checked once in 35 years prior to that. Very nice gentlemen those CO's are and they carry big guns....Yikes. Seems someone had sour grapes cause they could not catch their rearend with a back pocket full of treble hooks.
Last Saturday was our slowest day for keepers but great for shorts. With the three keepers that put us at 69 keeps for the season. Gonna give it all we got to get to 100.
All we do is jig our buts off and work the wonder rig.....Have not touched a piece of squid in years. The squid/killie combo and traditional bait dragging has been a thing of the past.

[hammer4reel]

Water quality and temp have Def been inconsistant .
We have had a great year.but seems the bite daily had been good only an hour or two a tide.
Some days I have not had a keeper from 6-11 then had a limit of quality fish at 1115.
I feel bait is NOT where it should be most of the season.
The fish we are cleaning in the area normally loaded with squid have had nothing in theit stomachs.
Out of the last 50 fluke I filleted only one had anything in it'd belly and that was a small sea Robin.

The fish south of my inlet finally showed up a week ago when the sand eels showed up.
They are over a month behind the normal time showing up.

Hopefully the next few weeks will see even more of these fish showing up

[reason162]

The following is a response to a similar thread in another forum, which tends to mirror my own fluking reality over the past 4-5 years. As some of you may know, the proposed cuts for next season is based on recruitment, rather than "overfishing" from any sector.

You've got a big hole in the population right now. Four consecutive poor recruitment years--2010-2013--explain what we're all seing in the catch.

The 18 to 22 inch fluke that would normally be the bulk of the landings are, for the most part, 4 or 5 years old (some 3s), which means they're from the 2010 and 2011 year classes, which were the smallest we've seen in recent years. 2012 and 2013 were better--the big shorts you're seeing--while 2014 was pretty much back to average, which accounts for all of the 12-14 inchers.

On the plus side, 2008 and 2009 saw solid recruitment, which explains why there are still reasonable numbers of larger fish being taken.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Counci's Monitoring Committee reports started predicting this back in 2011, when the first poor recruitment was documented, and you could see it coming as each year's reports indicated more sub-par spawning success.

Sometimes things all come together, and we have a few episodes of pretty good action, but it can't last, because there isn't a sufficient quantity of fish to support it for long.

What we're all experiencing on the water merely validates the accuracy of the stock assessment reports, which showed that, for a few years, this is what we're in for.

[SNAPS]

The following is a response to a similar thread in another forum, which tends to mirror my own fluking reality over the past 4-5 years. As some of you may know, the proposed cuts for next season is based on recruitment, rather than "overfishing" from any sector.

You've got a big hole in the population right now. Four consecutive poor recruitment years--2010-2013--explain what we're all seing in the catch.

The 18 to 22 inch fluke that would normally be the bulk of the landings are, for the most part, 4 or 5 years old (some 3s), which means they're from the 2010 and 2011 year classes, which were the smallest we've seen in recent years. 2012 and 2013 were better--the big shorts you're seeing--while 2014 was pretty much back to average, which accounts for all of the 12-14 inchers.

On the plus side, 2008 and 2009 saw solid recruitment, which explains why there are still reasonable numbers of larger fish being taken.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Counci's Monitoring Committee reports started predicting this back in 2011, when the first poor recruitment was documented, and you could see it coming as each year's reports indicated more sub-par spawning success.

Sometimes things all come together, and we have a few episodes of pretty good action, but it can't last, because there isn't a sufficient quantity of fish to support it for long.

What we're all experiencing on the water merely validates the accuracy of the stock assessment reports, which showed that, for a few years, this is what we're in for.

Arent they havijg a good year in new england ?

[Fisherman120]

Arent they havijg a good year in new england ?

yes.

[reason162]

Arent they havijg a good year in new england ?

Different population.

[Dupes]

I think the fluking has been great. Lots of limits.

[dakota560]

Definitely a different year and not for the better and have heard the same sentiments echoed from many fluke anglers. This year the bite appeared very different as fluke would consistently grab the tail or teaser, hang on it but when you swung the fish wasn't there. Had that happen time after time, maybe that's because they weren't seeing it because of consistently bad water quality or colder temp. I know a few divers who said the wrecks they dove were loaded with fluke but you could literally grab the fluke with your hands because they were so lethargic with the colder temps. Inconsistent I think is how I would categorize '15 and overall off from last year. Nothing imo which should warrant another significant drop in recreational quotas.