Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

is Capt Dan doing the night fishing? i dont see any reports from him.

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

My take is a little simpler and I know will anger some.. I personally thing we have caught and eaten too many,, Same with winter flounder,whiting, tog, sea bass, weaks... The pressure that fluke are subject to in the NY Bight is unreal.. Those fish are not everywhere.. They are in specific areas where they have the right conditions to survive well.. That includes food, temps, shelter, oxygen, and whatever else they require. Trouble is, these areas are well known these days, and are subject to intense commercial and recreational fishing..
Think about it guys.. Areas without the massive human population still have good fluke fishing... Rhode Island, Montauk, parts of Mass.. The bays and rivers down south are still loaded as well, although the fish are smaller... These fish in the NY/NJ metro area get hammered relentlessly.. On any given day there are thousands and thousand of guys catching fluke, and this is day after day, week after week, from May until the season closes.. then the commercial guys go offshore and get them... I have never seen anything like the masses of boats and anglers we are seeing these days, for just about anything that swims in salt water.. Its odd, at a time when I am seeing less and less fresh water fishermen, I am seeing ever increasing numbers of salt water fishermen... I usually fish on head boats on Monday or tuesday so i don't have to deal with crowds.. However even on a plain old Monday , I am going on bottom boats that are all railed up by 6:30 am.. Back in the 80's the same boats might have carried 15 people, or 20 tops, on a Monday.. I dunno, I just think the fish we seek are just under too much pressure.. More regulations???.. I think not, .. A little more self control among individuals?.. maybe... Wish I had the wisdom to solve the issue.... I'm not that bright however... bob

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

Captain Rn gets and "A" for honesty and the same for effort-thats why they call it fishing and not caching.

I think bait is the problem- grass shrimp, killies and even asin crab population is lower than normal. I see it, cause I have been walking the creeks my whole life. LI sound seems to have a better fluke fishery than I can ever remember, - and that body of water was largely insulated from Sandy. -something to think about.

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

That might explain lack of fish in the rivers and estuaries.. I would think most fluke that stay in the deep channels of the open bays, and the fluke that stay in the ocean see and eat very few killies and grass shrimp.. When they are small sure, but the open water fluke probably eat stuff like sand eels, small herring like fish species, juvenile bottom fish,mullets, snappers etc.. again, I could be wrong, I am not an expert, but my eyes tell me that the pressure on all our inshore species is just getting insane... Every year we are lamenting the lack of consistency in all our inshore fishing, and every year there are more and more boats fishing the same inshore areas... bob

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

Those sparsely populated areas you mentioned are off this year as well, but I think there's no denying that the two overarching causes of the downturn is overfishing + climate change. Bait, habitat, temperature, migration: any ecosystem is complex and fragile in ways we don't fully understand. I think it's myopic (but understandable) to attribute the weirdness we see this season to Sandy (or the rebuilding).

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

Good points , every one has some good input for discusion , all the factors have to have an effect, like a chain reaction , Does any one think or believe that sandy had an effect on the currents, and actually caused them to change enough, so that the migrating patterns of the species have changed ? Or am i talking thru my arse.?

Re: FISHERMEN/Capt. Ron
 

another thing.. I have fished for fluke for decades.. years ago,[ the good old days,lol] I NEVER remember ling being caught alongside fluke!.. Sea Bass yes, but Ling caught along side fluke?.. In July??... I think there are a LOT of shots of cold water out there this year that puts the bite down for days at a clip.. It rears its ugly head during those long spells of south wind.. Again, I am not a genius, but factor lower numbers of fish with a lot of cold water on the grounds and you get spotty fishing... bob