[Billfish715]

Is it just me, or does anyone else notice the decline in the number of fluke reports on this board? It has me wondering and perhaps assuring me of my most frightening realities. The fluke have disappeared! It's a nightmare that has been reoccurring more often and from the decline in the reports, I'd say that the nightmare is indeed becoming a reality.

If the fluking was that good, we would hear about it. Look at Sandy Hook Channel, or the Reach or Ambrose or anywhere for the once omnipresent fleet of boats. Fluke were spread across a very wide area and it didn't really matter much where you went. There were always good numbers of fluke to catch even if they were 15-16 inches. Everyone had their spots and everyone caught fluke at all of them, sometimes in good numbers and sometimes not. But, you could go to several spots and still catch them. Now, boats are going from spot A to spot B because the first spot didn't produce. Then from spot B to spot C for the same reason and so on.

As Captain John mentioned, there are pockets of fluke here and there and if you are lucky to find a patch, and one of the only boats there, you'll bring home a few fillets. I tag a lot of fluke each year and usually get returns from last year's tagging during the current season. So far, I haven't received even one.

The questions remain. If fishermen were catching fluke in any numbers, we would hear about it. Except for the party boats which post reports, there are few private captains who are saying much. Even if you read the party boat reports, and see the pictures, there is a lot to be missed in between the lines. There are ways to explain how even bad days of fishing can be made to seem like they were okay. The captains have been very accurate in their reports and no one will ever say how much the fishing stinks and rightly so. I wonder how the fishing logs that are charted by each captain compares to the same time last year or over the last few years. (You can't count the Covid year.) How do the numbers compare? I'm guessing this year is the lowest count in many previous seasons.

If fishermen are catching, we would be hearing about it. Let's face it. No one writes reports about how many fluke they didn't catch. Those that catch are proud enough to say so. Those that don't, get pretty tight-lipped. With the lack of reports, I'd say that there are a lot of tight-lipped fishermen out there. Just saying!