Fluke Season Ending

[ChumDumpster]

Its been a great year for me so far..pretty upset it's coming to a close. The trouble I'm having is the fact that our season ends on the 28th but NYs ends on the 21st. How is this handled in the Raritan Bay if I unintentionally drift across an invisible boundary line? My boat and marina is based out of NJ. Would love to hear some advice or personal experience with this.

[kurtisb]

Gotta stay on the NJ side.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Yes you have to stay on the NJ side..

If you happen to cross over into the NY side and you have fish on board that were caught in NJ you could be fined. Further, NY boaters can't come into NJ waters and go back with fish they caught in NJ through NY waters or they too could be fined.

[ChumDumpster]

Thank you..that sucks for all the guys in the marinas across the bay!!!

[Gerry Zagorski]

Yes but they can start Blackfishing earlier than us. They start on 10/5 and although our season is open now, it's one fish only and does not go up to 6 until 11/16.

[team heat]

Go to Delaware their season on fluke is open all year.

[Billfish715]

I always thought that the regulations only applied to where you landed with your catch. I think that the NY boats can fish for seabass in NJ even though our season is closed because their season is still open. I also think we can still fish for fluke in NY waters as long as we have the proper NY license. Can anyone confirm this?

[Riverbassfishing]

It's which port you are coming to and from. If it was like how you said what would be the point of having different regulations.

[ChumDumpster]

So basically you get screwed depending on where your boat is launched from?! Which makes no sense. If I trailer my boat to NY I'm fine to lets say do black fishing..but if I drive my boat to NY waters from my NJ marina then I'm facing fines. Doesn't seem right especially if I'm properly registered to fish in either state.

CD,

I think what everyone is trying to say is it doesn't matter what port you sail out of it's the body of water you're on at the time. If you're in NY waters and get boarded, you are subject to NY rules. Same with NJ, same with Delaware. If you sail from a NY port, cross over into NJ waters and catch 5 fluke over the minimum, you're OK while in NJ waters, as far as creel limit is concerned. The minute you move into NY waters to get back to the port you sailed from, if your boarded, you will be found in violation of NY laws since the fluke season is closed in NY. (assuming this happened after 9/21/14) The point is as soon as you move back into NY waters NY rules prevail.

I think that's what everyone is saying and how the regulations work. It's the body of water you're in when someone checks your catch. So if you're playing by the rules when you caught your catch and don't go over state lines you should be good. If you're legal when you caught your fish but cross over state lines with different rules, those state's rules apply and are what you need to be concerned about.

As far as your scenario is concerned, when you're stopped by a F&G officer, they have no idea where you caught the fish and don't care. If the rules were as you suggest anyone who was stopped would say they caught the fish in a different state to avoid a fine. We'd all probably say we caught them in Delaware. The point is when you drive to NY you avoid being in NJ waters with your fish. When you take your boat, you have to pass through NJ waters to get back. It's the risk you take when states have different rules. Chances are if you're just running to get back to your port, the only risk you are taking is if F&G were at your dock or the boat launch when you get back and check your catch. It's a calculated gamble and a risk you take when you cross over state lines with different rules. In the absence of standardized regulations between states I'm not sure what else can be done. It is what it is.

Dakota