Fluke Options Poll

[Sparky4711]

2@17.5 and 5@18

[Pete]

Not sure. I can recall reading that most fish 18" and over are prime egglaying aged females. If that is the case then wouldn't we be killing off the "breeders" with 8@ 18"? Not trying to cause a shytestorm here, but if in fact this is what science tells us. Then why do we want to kill those fish off in greater numbers?

Naturally, we'd be killing off prospective breeders at 17.5" 16" or even 15" for that matter. But, if we continued to take those 18" survivors with a higher bag, wouldn't we then be eliminating the future juvenile stocks? Which in turn would lead to a kind of, ought oh, here we go again, greater size limits with smaller bag.

I have to assume that through all the hard work done by the SSFFF in getting the proper numbers looked at. And, the possible season bag and size limits proposed. That with any option, the fishery can bear the projected numbers and sustain in future years.

In bygone years October has been very productive with very good catches put together. Yeah you had to work for them but, there was a lot less pressure on them as others were after different species.

I mostly bay fish now so I'd like to see a 17.5" size and the diminished bag of five wouldn't overly anger me. But, I fully understand the call for the longest season with the highest bag.

No matter what is decided, one thing is for sure. There will be plenty of bitching to go around. There isn't a one size fits all option. I really wish there was.

[sternline]

I just voted for 5 at 17.5 inches. Who really needs 8 fish bigger than this? And at 17.5, many more people have a shot at bringing home a nice dinner. This would make for more customers on the party boats.

Also, by late September, people might be able to get into some good porgy fishing. And, who knows, maybe we could get the Deciders to let us do some sea bass angling.

[Chris G]

From someone who works on a headboat who fluke fishes throughout the summer I voted #5.

First, the season is just about right. The 1st week of May is kinda sorta just around the time you can bet on it getting warmer & warmer each day. Furthermore, Sepetember is a completely unpredictable month. You can get hit with NE'er after NE'er and have a few fishable days inbetween. By the 1st week in October just about all interest for fluke is gone just about regardless of the weather. The interest may not be gone to a few people on this website, but as a general whole the interest is gone (imo).

5 keeper fluke @ 17.5" is a pretty realistic & acceptable number in my eyes. How many times have we heard guys bitch & moan about throwing back that fish that was 17.9999999? How many fish to we go through to find that 18"? In my eyes, even a 1/2 inch difference in the size limit compensates the smaller bag limit. 5 fish is 10 fillets. That's a good amount, or a reasonable amount of meat anyways.

I always thought the best regs would be 6 @ 16.5" but.... thats just my opinion.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Some solid logic there Chris.

[frugalfisherman]

Let's hear from some of the party boat captains and see what they think?

[Capt. Debbie]

Longer season keeps guys like Capt. Ron in business longer with arguably the most popular fish for targeting.

More money for PB's and more fishing.

[Capt. Debbie]

True May is "usually" good. But we are talking about this year- 2012.

The winter is mild and the water temps are not staying down like many years. Barring a long chill I can see fluke bite on in mid April.

This winter is not average- it's warmer. How many 50 degree days in February "usually" happens.

Originally Posted by Chris G

From someone who works on a headboat who fluke fishes throughout the summer I voted #5.

First, the season is just about right. The 1st week of May is kinda sorta just around the time you can bet on it getting warmer & warmer each day. Furthermore, Sepetember is a completely unpredictable month. You can get hit with NE'er after NE'er and have a few fishable days inbetween. By the 1st week in October just about all interest for fluke is gone just about regardless of the weather. The interest may not be gone to a few people on this website, but as a general whole the interest is gone (imo).

5 keeper fluke @ 17.5" is a pretty realistic & acceptable number in my eyes. How many times have we heard guys bitch & moan about throwing back that fish that was 17.9999999? How many fish to we go through to find that 18"? In my eyes, even a 1/2 inch difference in the size limit compensates the smaller bag limit. 5 fish is 10 fillets. That's a good amount, or a reasonable amount of meat anyways.

I always thought the best regs would be 6 @ 16.5" but.... thats just my opinion.

[hammer4reel]

can anyone here ever remember catching a quanity of fluke in April ?? not saying maybe they were not here but tradionally we were all winter flounder fishing

IM talking someones fishing log showing that , not just thinking it might have happened

early May had always been just that EARLY except for some of the mud flats, channel fishing usually got good the 3-4th week in may .

Sure the water is warmer this year , but the fish have still moved out, not like they stopped at the mud hole.they still need to make their trek back .

[SaltyAngler]

My only concern with starting later in May and Ending later in October would be NJ's tumultuous weather patterns in early fall. With a winter this mild, I can only imagine what mother nature has in store for us come that sometimes busy hurricane season. I can honestly say I'm one of the people on this board that never limited (8) out on Fluke, though I would have had the size minimum had been 17.5. Can't say I ever picked up my doormat either, and I did give it a hell of a shot last season, with my largest at 22" and 3.5lbs. At this rate, I'd be happy with a mid April to mid October 6 fish limit @ 17.5, and I'm sure the PB captains would agree.