Flounder limits cut through April

[Capt. Lou]

Yellow tails R primarily deep water flounder , primarily a commercial catch of late. However for those of u that remember the decent sno shoe flounder runs out east !
They R totally gone for most part now that was flounder fishing , most the size of fluke !!!
Each spring it was a viable fishery now ????
U could catch 100 flounder a day in Shrewsbury / Navesink rivers during the spring run ! This started going strong around St Pattys Day ! The bottom was paved with them BB as well ! I guess we overfished them as well !!!! RNR guys decimated just about every viable fishery , we did it to ourselves , no commercials involved right !!!! Right NMFS ???

[stevelikes2fish]

Excellent pic Capt Al. The yellowtail is such a beautiful looking fish with it's pointed head. I've never caught nor seen one, but have done a lot of research on them. One of the features the yellowtail also has is the lateral line does a 180 around the fin.
Would love to catch one in my lifetime.

[Billfish715]

I have to imagine that the majority of members and readers on this forum don 't remember or experienced the phenomenal flounder fishing in Quincy Bay back in the late 70's. When carloads and busloads of NJ anglers would leave their home state's waters to fish for flounder in Boston,, it had to be good. Mix in a few pollack and tommy cod and it was a dream trip. Simple corn rigs and chum put lots of quality fillets on lots of plates back home.

[bunker dunker]

that was great fishing for sure.we had some great flounder in the bay and rivers years back also.i'm glad I took my sons up the navisink so they could see what flounder fishing was all about.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Reel Class

Yellowtails are completely different that winter flounder. (see my description below)

This regulation apparently doesn't affect winter flounder.

I know recently, the yellowtail population has decreased greatly (I honestly think it wasn't ever really that great down this way anyway).

RE: the ID of a yellowtail.. Yellowtails have a very pointy nose, and their coloration is typically lighter than winter flounder. The tail is a shade of yellow.

I personally have never seen a yellowtail caught, anywhere in NJ, on rod and reel. I'm not questioning you guys (that posted above) that said you caught them in J-Bay and Raritan Bay... Of course it's possible - but catching them on rod n reel is tough. And catching them "inshore" is tougher, since they like colder, deep waters surrounding wrecks.

You will see lots of winter flounder with orange or yellow rings around their tails and on the outsides of their outer fins - there is a reason for that (I honestly don't remember!) but those colorations are pretty common especially in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays, as well as on the S shore of LI.

I attached a great pic by Capt Jason Colby who runs flounder charters up in Boston, where they do come across yellowtails occasionally. You'll notice the difference in a regular winter flounder as opposed to a yellowtail

Yes,, they were yellowtails... Never caught a lot of them, never in real shallow water either.. When we saw them they were in open bay only, not too far from a channel.. Never caught one in a river.. Used to catch 2 or 3 on a good day, mixed with somwhat smaller darker blackbacks.. but this WAS well over 30 years ago.. I remember they fought really hard.. They tasted just like a "regular" winter flounder... bob

[Reel Class]

Originally Posted by Billfish715

I have to imagine that the majority of members and readers on this forum don 't remember or experienced the phenomenal flounder fishing in Quincy Bay back in the late 70's. When carloads and busloads of NJ anglers would leave their home state's waters to fish for flounder in Boston,, it had to be good. Mix in a few pollack and tommy cod and it was a dream trip. Simple corn rigs and chum put lots of quality fillets on lots of plates back home.

That fishery went into the 80's - early 80's. I personally never experienced it but have heard stories of guys filling rental boats with jumbo's. Crazy stuff.

And nevermind the fishery up there, how about the fishery HERE? Growing up in the 80's, flounder fishing here in the shore area and up in Raritan/Sandy Hook Bay was also pretty good. Fish were smaller, but there were loads of them and guys would load up since the fishery wasn't regulated.

I used to fish the "beach" with my dad and grandfather in will's hole right under the 35 bridge before will's hole marina was built and we used to destroy them. Fish half a tide, get a dozen or two for dinner, and go home. Simple. There was an older guy that used to fish there every weekend (this was 81'-82'). He'd fish 2 rods - basically he'd fish a tide, and fill up a bucket to the brim. Mixed sized fish -- after we got to know him a bit, he told us he didn't eat fish, he used them for garden fertilizer

With all the flounder we caught in the deep last summer (the most we've caught out there in years!), and with good reports from the squan and shark rivers this fall, I'd say flounder are on an upswing again.

[shresearchdude]

from somewhere near Georges Bank

[Billfish715]

Allen: You are so right about the flounder in N.J. back in the day! When was the last time any of the PP party boats made a left into the river and went under the 35 bridge and set up shop at the end of the canal or better yet, just west of the 35 bridge during the spring run? Will we ever see that again? Do the AH party boats ever go up the river any more? With today's size and bag limits, would it pay for them to do so? You've got me reminiscing about the inshore ling, whiting, and mackerel fishing back then too. Again, I ask the same question.....Will we ever see that again?

[Gerry Zagorski]

Spent many a spring day in the late 80s/early 90s fishing for Flounder way back in Raritan Bay. Fishing was good, very good.

I think one of the Atlantic Highlands party boats had a trip or 2 back up in the river last spring but it was a total bust.

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Spent many a spring day in the late 80s/early 90s fishing for Flounder way back in Raritan Bay. Fishing was good, very good.

I think one of the Atlantic Highlands party boats had a trip or 2 back up in the river last spring but it was a total bust.

I have known about the Quincy Bay flounder fishing for decades, since the early 70's, and the original NJ Fisherman.. Russ Wilson used to write about Quincy Bay most years.... Legendary fishing..
However it was SO incredible right in Raritan Bay, that I could never see the sense in driving up there.. How much flounder does anyone need?.. Back in the 80's when I lived in Union Beach we got tired of looking at them.. honestly...
In those years, I recall several AH head boats making the run down to the flats off of Keansburg, Union Beach, almost down to Keyport.. One day my older brother and I saw 2 party boats go stern to stern, right off the old broken down Keansburg Pier, and start churning the water up until the water was a muddy mess.. They then settled back close to it and started fishing.. I think it was a form of chumming, stirring the hell out of the bottom.. NEVER before saw that, and never since.. Those were the areas we had caught a few big yellowtails during those days.. The grounds off of Keansburg/Union Beach.. How I miss that fishing...bob