Can Fluke Fill The Bill

[Billfish715]

After arguably the best sea bass season ever, it’s on to the fluke..........Or is it? Let’s hope so, for everyone who is connected to that fishery and what it provides for them. Very few PB’s have targeted fluke because there was so much action and satisfaction with the sea bass. I just have to figure that if the flatties were around in any numbers, more boats would have been on them. Sandy Hook and Raritan Bay would have been packed, but not this year.

Back to a previous topic I raised a few weeks back, we were “given” a limited number of days to fish for fluke before the season closes. My feeling is that our season has been cut short because the numbers of fluke that are usually around in the early season just haven’t shown themselves and very few fishermen have been after them. It’s an issue because these days are counted in our season and we have little to show for it. It might be a different situation in South Jersey, but our season includes the entire state.

Let’s hope July and August fill the bill and the fluke show up. Thank goodness for the biscuits. They helped put cu$tomer$ at the rails. If the fluke show up in numbers, they will be a welcomed resource to help keep the boats full and the bait and tackle stores thriving during what has become an even shorter fluke season.

The 4th of July will give us a better picture about how close we are to reaching our seasonal allocation and what our season and allocation will be for next year. Wanna bet that the season and limits don’t change even though we haven’t even dented the fluke numbers and the season has been open for a month?