Fluke Season

Originally Posted by Brewlugger

So far this season I would say our keeper catch in Barnegat bay has been a little above average with a good keeper to short ratio. What we are seeing is the short fish have been mostly 7 to 12 inches and we are not seeing many 12 to 17 inch fish at all.I did one ocean trip this year 2 weeks ago and we had 3 keepers and 3 shorts. That day it went from nothing to catching and back to nothing in 1 hour.

Brew in my opinion those 12" to 17" fish will become collateral damage to recreational discards due to elevated size minimums and the pursuit of commercial operators to harvest highest market value fish in the 18' to 20" range and above. It's the absolute reverse logic just employed with striped bass which is harvest the smaller fish and protect the breeders. With bass now the spawn is largely protected, with summer flounder it's not at all. It's why there's 40 million less females in the summer flounder biomass producing 40 trillion less eggs annually. Some one please explain the sense in that management ideology.

[Brewlugger]

I agree Tom. Just prior to the Winter Flounder disappearing we were catching all large fish no small ones, when we see a missing size class within the population in my mind it is a sign of an unhealthy fishery. There may be plenty of that size in the mix but I'm not seeing them where I fish this year. The one thing I'm certain of 10 years ago we would catch alot of short fish to every keeper, now we just aren't seeing those numbers in the Bay.

Brew couldn't have said it better or agree more. A healthy fishery has age classes of all sizes. As soon as that balance is broken you have a unsustainable fishery.

[Irish Jigger]

Fishing is 100% better then last season was. Main reason we have caught double the amount so far this season we did all last year. Sure have to fish some shallows and match the hatch with some different gulp but between me and pops we are on a 3 to 4 fish average per trip. Some 2 some 6 but putting fish in the box every trip so far. Nothing over 6 lbs but all the fish are fat and loaded with shrimp and crabs. Waiting for the Peanuts to show up and it's game on!!!

[Detour66]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Tom , look at Jerrys reports .
Guys putting in effort are catching plenty of fluke .

We have only fished a few trips and it’s been quick limits on all but one trip .
And that trip was definetly weather related ..
Sand eel type baits are def producing better than standard offerings

Besides real sand eel's what type of "Sand eel Type bait" do you recommend?

Thanks for the feedback guys. Would like to keep the thread going throughout the season to see how things pan out. Seems like a little bit of a mixed bag right now but I think it'll be helpful to get input from as many as possible to keep a gauge on the season as it unfolds. Appreciate everyone's input.

Detour I'll let Danny answer your question but I know gulp makes a very nice sand eel imitation that I've had good success with in past years when fish were keyed on sand eels.

[Jigman13]

In my limited outings, from shore back bay raritan, I've been getting fish consistently from 12 to 19". I average about 8 to 10 fish per trip and steadily get a keeper or two each trip.

Compared to last year at this time, my ratio has improved. I think once the peanuts and mullet start moving my ratio will improve more so. The fish I've been catching have been packed full of crabs and miscellaneous baitfish from killies, some peanuts, what looked like snappers and other fish I couldn't recognize.

I think itll get better. The trop storm hurt the back bay and fish moved out temporarily but itll be game on soon!

[Duffman]

Think the season is pretty good so far. I’ve fished a lot of short trips due to time contraints. Found fish everywhere shallow to deep. Nothing huge but keeper sized fish every trip with plenty of shorts to weed thru. Just about every fish, regardless of size, caught inside or out spitting up shrimp.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by Detour66

Besides real sand eel's what type of "Sand eel Type bait" do you recommend?

Berkley has sand eels in their gulp line up .
But slender fairs such as their nemesis and fluke shad with thinner profiles and still some rail action have been very good .
Also darker colors to match the hatch .

Too many guys gave pink shine , glow and chartreuse stuck in their brain .many times the darker colors outfish those 3 by a mile

[Detour66]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Berkley has sand eels in their gulp line up .
But slender fairs such as their nemesis and fluke shad with thinner profiles and still some rail action have been very good .
Also darker colors to match the hatch .

Too many guys gave pink shine , glow and chartreuse stuck in their brain .many times the darker colors outfish those 3 by a mile

Thanks for the information I'm going to try it out. How do you fish them. I'm guessing your jigging and using them on the teaser hook?