Is it legal??

[Capt. Debbie]

Mixed thoughts on legality and why.

The fines are based on how many illegal fish you have. So no fish is $0 fine. The law is possession. BUT BUT BUT

BUT BUT BUT. You know you're just going to kill some even with circle hooks. So WHY do it???????????????

[jerseyhunter]

[QUOTEHow do you explain tossing dead shorts back when they're in season for the same reason?

][/QUOTE]
no need to, it's not intentional and there in season. Fishing for a species out of season knowing you could kill them is intentional the way I see it. Why take a chance. It is illegal to take or attempt to take Stripped Bass during a closed season , so why would it be any different for fluke.

[makosnax]

Bass eat bucktails too!

[Arbutis]

It is ABSOLUTELY LEGAL to target fish that are not in season. The law tells you how many you can keep, how big they need to be to keep them and when you can keep them - NOT when you can fish for them. It is ridiculous to think otherwise.

It's no different than freshwater bass fishing. Many anglers fish for fluke as a gamefish (catch and release only) and others may be looking for good holes and productive water for when the legal season opens.

Killing fish on purpose is another issue. Accidental deaths may happen but that goes hand in hand with ALL fishing - when you poke a pointed object into a fish there's always a chance it will die.

[frugalfisherman]

Nothing is illegal unless you get caught.

[NoLimit]

I only bucktail for fluke with a light tip so I'm thinking about bending the barbs down a bit

[Reelron]

Would be the same as C & R Togging right now, no?

[jerseyhunter]

[QUOTE ]It is ABSOLUTELY LEGAL to target fish that are not in season]

Even though we're not talking bass

Striped Bass Closed Seasons
No person may take, attempt to take, or have in possession any striped bass
from the following closed waters:
Jan. 1–Feb. 28: All waters closed except the Atlantic Ocean from zero to
three miles offshore. All inlets and bays are delineated from ocean waters
by a Colregs Demarcation line.

So you are incorrect, not my wallet that will be hurt ,but read the regs .
Tight lines and good fishing.

[stevelikes2fish]

I could be wrong, but I just read the entire nj digest. The statement above only applies to the Striped Bass.......attemping to catch during closed season is prohibited. I didn't see anything about fishing for the other species during the closed season. So, I could only imagine if you want to go out and fish for fluke, go ahead. Just don't keep em. Looks to be as simple as that. And, if you find, great. My advice, keep it off here. Always seems to start a bunch of b/s every year.

On another note, what did surprise me was the statement in the digest talking about wreckfish, "Illegal to possess, no open season. Like, how do you reel up a wreckfish in 700'+ water while fishing for tiles, barrelfish, etc. and throw the fish back dead. Makes no freakin sense.

[Jay]

Originally Posted by stevelikes2fish

I could be wrong, but I just read the entire nj digest. The statement above only applies to the Striped Bass.......attemping to catch during closed season is prohibited. I didn't see anything about fishing for the other species during the closed season. So, I could only imagine if you want to go out and fish for fluke, go ahead. Just don't keep em. Looks to be as simple as that. And, if you find, great. My advice, keep it off here. Always seems to start a bunch of b/s every year.

On another note, what did surprise me was the statement in the digest talking about wreckfish, "Illegal to possess, no open season. Like, how do you reel up a wreckfish in 700'+ water while fishing for tiles, barrelfish, etc. and throw the fish back dead. Makes no freakin sense.

I couldn't agree with you more. I read the same exact statement on the NJ Digest. Only mentions Striped Bass.