Outdoors: The flounder are out there; you just have to know where to look
By BOB SAMPSON
For the Norwich Bulletin
Last Saturday marked the opening of the Connecticut summer flounder (fluke) season. The weather was beautiful for kite flying, but the winds were on the strong side later in the long weekend, so conditions were difficult for those who went out on Memorial Day.
Fluke fishing reports from area shops were mixed, ranging from “good” to “not so good,” depending on who you talked to and when or where they drifted their lines.
Much of the discontent stemmed from the increased minimum length limits. Despite catching big numbers of summer flounder in some places, most were under sized at a tri-state median length of 20 inches.
Apparently, commercial draggers aren’t having any trouble catching fish in Long Island Sound, reporting that there are “good numbers” of fluke out there to catch.
Unfortunately, the vast majority are too small for recreational anglers to take home, though the commercials can because they are operating under a different set of regulations.
Dave Simpson of the Connecticut DEP noted that the state’s “trawl survey” — a biological sampling survey conducted since the late 1970s that uses equipment similar to but in many cases smaller than commercial draggers — noted that there are good numbers of fluke in the Sound, despite the fact anglers may not be catching them at this early point in the season.
This is a typical scenario for this time of year. Fluke are present in the region and are feeding on squid for two to four weeks before rod and reel anglers begin consistently catching them.
Still slow going
But now more than ever, the problem anglers face is the large minimum-size restrictions. In the opinion of a life-long fluke fisherman and biologist who worked in the field for nearly 20 years, they are simply too large to be practical and effective.
At 191⁄2 inches in Connecticut waters, 20 in Rhode Island and 201⁄2 in New York, expect to release a major portion of the fluke that are caught this season.
Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle (Madison) said that over last weekend, a couple of his more serious fluke fishermen made an expensive run across the Sound to fish New York waters for fluke, as the fishing is typically better earlier in the shoal, warm waters around Peconic Bay and the north shore of Long Island.
They came home with four legal fish but had to release more than 80 during the course of their trip to do so. That is a 20-to-one ratio!
Expect that ratio to increase later this summer after the bigger fish have been picked over by rod and reel anglers and sucked off the bottom by the trawlers. Late every summer, this scenario develops and this summer that ration could become much worse than the 10:1 anglers reported on average during 2007.
Representatives from area tackle shops, including Fish Connection (Norwich), Hillyer’s (Waterford) and River’s End (Old Saybrook), all agreed that the best catches their customers made last weekend came from the south side of Fishers Island, with the Rhode Island beaches a close second. The fish in the Sound have not made themselves available quite yet.
Both Hillyer’s and River’s End weighed in what was probably the same 103⁄4-pound monster that came from the south side of Fishers Island. One reason this fish made its way to two shops is because River’s End is holding a season-long fluke contest, so the lucky fisherman invested the gas to drive the 10 miles to weigh his catch in for the contest.
Fish food
As readers know, I have begun to realize that though tournament fishing may be as good a means to promote the sport — especially one that needs new blood for future license sales — it may not be the best thing for the fish in some situations.
However, in the case of fluke tournaments, it’s pretty much a wash. With largemouth bass tournaments — as more than a thousand are held in Connecticut’s 54,000 acres of lakes and small ponds — they are all catch-and-release with a low mortality rate on the fish. Fluke fishermen, though, are out there strictly for the fillets.
Fluke are not that difficult or sporty to catch. The bottom line is, most anglers who go fluke fishing kill every legal-sized fish they bring into the boat. Little culling and almost no catch-and-release occurs when it comes to legal-sized fluke, especially with such large minimum length limits in place at this point in time.
For this reason, fluke fishing contests don’t add incentive for anglers to catch-and-kill fish for prizes. Pretty much any legal fish landed is destined for a frying pan or oven in someone’s home.
Where to look
Fluke fishing is totally dependent on the drift, so if you miss the best drifting conditions, fluke catching even in a hot spot can be nearly impossible.
The bottom line is, the fluke are in the region, apparently in pretty high numbers. The trick is finding some keepers in whatever state’s waters you plan to fish. Pay attention to regulations and keep only the “highest” common denominator in the live well as you move across state boundaries.
Apparently in Connecticut waters, based on reports from commercial draggers and DEP biological survey work, it may be worth starting deep and working shallow, rather than the other way around. If you have the tackle and skill to effectively fish deep waters, search out places like the deep 80- to 100-foot waters off Black Point, holes where the Sound enters and dumps out between Watch Hill and Peconic Bay or stretches of bottom-out in the Sound beyond the normal shelves that most fishermen work.
Fish with large hooks and large baits to target fluke that are legal size. A six- to 10-inch long bait on a 5/0 to 7/0 hook is not too big to catch a 191⁄2-inch-plus fluke.
As water temperatures rise, fluke will push their way right up into the surf break, though that’s not the case for the moment.
Connecticut once again owns the lowest minimum lengths in this jumbled mix of fluke fishing regulations throughout the tri-state area. For this reason, it is possible to fish from the eastern end of the Sound, work some productive fluke waters in Rhode Island and New York, then run back into Connecticut waters to top off a limit of five fish.
Poles and politics
On the bright side, Simpson said the state will be looking at more practical and realistic alternative fluke regulations over the summer. Simpson knows what the real story is, but like-minded biologists throughout the region are limited by the rigid computer-generated matrices that currently dictate the regulations.
It will take cooperation among states, research into delayed hook mortality and the kind of up-to-date information that the federal agencies are requiring through their demand for more accurate and timely regional reporting of marine recreational catches.
This is a mandate that can only be achieved by means of updated computer-based information through the saltwater licensing that was demanded when the Magnesun Act was re-authorized in 2006.
Essentially, this mandate requires the installation of a saltwater reporting system throughout the northeast, equating to a marine (saltwater) fishing reporting system by 2009. But the DEP’s marine licensing proposal was once again derailed by politics.
It is the same story every election year. Politicians are more interested in getting re-elected than tending to business in realms such as fisheries or wildlife.
Natural resources management issues should be controlled by biologists and professional managers, not by politicians.
By BOB SAMPSON
For the Norwich Bulletin
Last Saturday marked the opening of the Connecticut summer flounder (fluke) season. The weather was beautiful for kite flying, but the winds were on the strong side later in the long weekend, so conditions were difficult for those who went out on Memorial Day.
Fluke fishing reports from area shops were mixed, ranging from “good” to “not so good,” depending on who you talked to and when or where they drifted their lines.
Much of the discontent stemmed from the increased minimum length limits. Despite catching big numbers of summer flounder in some places, most were under sized at a tri-state median length of 20 inches.
Apparently, commercial draggers aren’t having any trouble catching fish in Long Island Sound, reporting that there are “good numbers” of fluke out there to catch.
Unfortunately, the vast majority are too small for recreational anglers to take home, though the commercials can because they are operating under a different set of regulations.
Dave Simpson of the Connecticut DEP noted that the state’s “trawl survey” — a biological sampling survey conducted since the late 1970s that uses equipment similar to but in many cases smaller than commercial draggers — noted that there are good numbers of fluke in the Sound, despite the fact anglers may not be catching them at this early point in the season.
This is a typical scenario for this time of year. Fluke are present in the region and are feeding on squid for two to four weeks before rod and reel anglers begin consistently catching them.
Still slow going
But now more than ever, the problem anglers face is the large minimum-size restrictions. In the opinion of a life-long fluke fisherman and biologist who worked in the field for nearly 20 years, they are simply too large to be practical and effective.
At 191⁄2 inches in Connecticut waters, 20 in Rhode Island and 201⁄2 in New York, expect to release a major portion of the fluke that are caught this season.
Captain Jerry Morgan of Captain Morgan’s Tackle (Madison) said that over last weekend, a couple of his more serious fluke fishermen made an expensive run across the Sound to fish New York waters for fluke, as the fishing is typically better earlier in the shoal, warm waters around Peconic Bay and the north shore of Long Island.
They came home with four legal fish but had to release more than 80 during the course of their trip to do so. That is a 20-to-one ratio!
Expect that ratio to increase later this summer after the bigger fish have been picked over by rod and reel anglers and sucked off the bottom by the trawlers. Late every summer, this scenario develops and this summer that ration could become much worse than the 10:1 anglers reported on average during 2007.
Representatives from area tackle shops, including Fish Connection (Norwich), Hillyer’s (Waterford) and River’s End (Old Saybrook), all agreed that the best catches their customers made last weekend came from the south side of Fishers Island, with the Rhode Island beaches a close second. The fish in the Sound have not made themselves available quite yet.
Both Hillyer’s and River’s End weighed in what was probably the same 103⁄4-pound monster that came from the south side of Fishers Island. One reason this fish made its way to two shops is because River’s End is holding a season-long fluke contest, so the lucky fisherman invested the gas to drive the 10 miles to weigh his catch in for the contest.
Fish food
As readers know, I have begun to realize that though tournament fishing may be as good a means to promote the sport — especially one that needs new blood for future license sales — it may not be the best thing for the fish in some situations.
However, in the case of fluke tournaments, it’s pretty much a wash. With largemouth bass tournaments — as more than a thousand are held in Connecticut’s 54,000 acres of lakes and small ponds — they are all catch-and-release with a low mortality rate on the fish. Fluke fishermen, though, are out there strictly for the fillets.
Fluke are not that difficult or sporty to catch. The bottom line is, most anglers who go fluke fishing kill every legal-sized fish they bring into the boat. Little culling and almost no catch-and-release occurs when it comes to legal-sized fluke, especially with such large minimum length limits in place at this point in time.
For this reason, fluke fishing contests don’t add incentive for anglers to catch-and-kill fish for prizes. Pretty much any legal fish landed is destined for a frying pan or oven in someone’s home.
Where to look
Fluke fishing is totally dependent on the drift, so if you miss the best drifting conditions, fluke catching even in a hot spot can be nearly impossible.
The bottom line is, the fluke are in the region, apparently in pretty high numbers. The trick is finding some keepers in whatever state’s waters you plan to fish. Pay attention to regulations and keep only the “highest” common denominator in the live well as you move across state boundaries.
Apparently in Connecticut waters, based on reports from commercial draggers and DEP biological survey work, it may be worth starting deep and working shallow, rather than the other way around. If you have the tackle and skill to effectively fish deep waters, search out places like the deep 80- to 100-foot waters off Black Point, holes where the Sound enters and dumps out between Watch Hill and Peconic Bay or stretches of bottom-out in the Sound beyond the normal shelves that most fishermen work.
Fish with large hooks and large baits to target fluke that are legal size. A six- to 10-inch long bait on a 5/0 to 7/0 hook is not too big to catch a 191⁄2-inch-plus fluke.
As water temperatures rise, fluke will push their way right up into the surf break, though that’s not the case for the moment.
Connecticut once again owns the lowest minimum lengths in this jumbled mix of fluke fishing regulations throughout the tri-state area. For this reason, it is possible to fish from the eastern end of the Sound, work some productive fluke waters in Rhode Island and New York, then run back into Connecticut waters to top off a limit of five fish.
Poles and politics
On the bright side, Simpson said the state will be looking at more practical and realistic alternative fluke regulations over the summer. Simpson knows what the real story is, but like-minded biologists throughout the region are limited by the rigid computer-generated matrices that currently dictate the regulations.
It will take cooperation among states, research into delayed hook mortality and the kind of up-to-date information that the federal agencies are requiring through their demand for more accurate and timely regional reporting of marine recreational catches.
This is a mandate that can only be achieved by means of updated computer-based information through the saltwater licensing that was demanded when the Magnesun Act was re-authorized in 2006.
Essentially, this mandate requires the installation of a saltwater reporting system throughout the northeast, equating to a marine (saltwater) fishing reporting system by 2009. But the DEP’s marine licensing proposal was once again derailed by politics.
It is the same story every election year. Politicians are more interested in getting re-elected than tending to business in realms such as fisheries or wildlife.
Natural resources management issues should be controlled by biologists and professional managers, not by politicians.
