Where the heck are the Fluke?

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by courbeco

I guess the numbers of fluke (Partyboat reports/Facebook pages) caught this weekend shutdown the BS "Climate Change" theory...….

Often times guys don't think clearly... Guys that were catching fluke were catching them on shallow sunlit flats a few weeks ago when the season started.. In the ocean and deep channels in the bay it was simply too cold for a decent bite.. Some years June is a crap month for fluke, always been that way.. Too many guys panic if they aren't limiting out where they always limit out.. Sometimes the fish simply have other plans... bob

[courbeco]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

Often times guys don't think clearly... Guys that were catching fluke were catching them on shallow sunlit flats a few weeks ago when the season started.. In the ocean and deep channels in the bay it was simply too cold for a decent bite.. Some years June is a crap month for fluke, always been that way.. Too many guys panic if they aren't limiting out where they always limit out.. Sometimes the fish simply have other plans... bob

I agree wholeheartedly Bob.

[SaltLife1980]

Fish are around. Just have to know where to look.

[reason162]

Originally Posted by courbeco

I guess the numbers of fluke (Partyboat reports/Facebook pages) caught this weekend shutdown the BS "Climate Change" theory...….

Holy shit breaking news, some keepers were caught last week of June.

You do realize that the season could've opened a full month later and not one party/charter boat would've been affected.

[AndyS]

https://www.njfishing.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=108166

[Billfish715]

There might be lots of ideas about it all. A change to long-term summer weather will help put patrons at the rails despite the poor fishing. Good weather always brings people to the saltwater. A chance to catch fish can only help, even if they are shorts.

Rain, rain, rain........freshwater influx is my theory. Fluke can live and migrate in cold water. I don't give the water temperature excuse too much weight. Bait? There are sandeels not far from the beaches. Reports are coming in about fluke in the surf. There just hasn't been a large push of fluke from offshore as of yet. Just like they disappear suddenly in early September, I am guessing, they will appear suddenly, only later. Appear they will. In the meantime, we wait........or fish in the river.

In any case, if the season gets cut next year or if the size limits are increased, expect a class action lawsuit.

[Billfish715]

The tagging studies and scientific studies do show that fluke are migrating north toward Montauk, Block Island, Nantucket etc. Those fish, though are fish that spent a year or two in the N.Y. Bight or off the coast of NJ. As the fluke age and take on size, they are moving north of us. My tag returns have come from fluke that I tagged the previous year and were recaptured in places like Barnegate Bay and the Manasquan River and Brick Beach to name a few. To me, that means fish are returning to places near where they were caught.

Do more fluke move north from south Jersey to the N.Y. area? Absolutely! Many folks would like to pin the reasons for a decline in the fishery to a single occurrence. To say that the fluke are moving out because of a change in the climate is very short sighted, but it's an easily understood and acceptible excuse to the casually informed public. It's also a very popular rationalization that does not mention other environmental and biological theories.

Let's talk about this again in a month or two. If the fluke don't show up in any numbers by then, we'll start pointing fingers at lots of factors but most of them will point toward the scientists who are generating (or not generating) catch limits on offshore spawners.

[Billfish715]

Hey John, How long of a ride is it from your dock to Montauk? Check out the Miss Montauk II post on this board. The pictures speak volumes about where the fluke are now.

[fish4fun]

There must be fluke around because yesterday I saw tons of it at my local seafood store. So what's
the problem?

[RescueDogger]

If the climate change theory is true then maybe we'll start seeing some cobia.
Such a fighter and great eating -- I was ill prepared for the mahem that began once we finally got him in the boat. My son ended up beating him with the anchor and I'm lucky we didn't ding the fiberglass.