Fluke Management in 2025: Regulators Got It Wrong
Halfway through this season New York anglers were slapped with a new rule. The fluke size limit jumped from 19 inches to 19.5. Not because the science demanded it. Not because it helped the fishery. It happened so the season could stretch into the first two weeks of October.
Here is the real problem. By October fluke are gone in most of New York waters. From the Sound to the South Shore the bite is finished. For the vast majority of anglers this was a terrible trade. We spent the summer throwing back every 19 inch fish just so regulators could hand out extra October time that only matters in one corner of the state.
This is not about Montauk having some advantage. It is about regulators refusing to see the obvious. They are managing all of New York as though the fishing is the same everywhere. It is not. The rest of the state got punished. We were denied the 19 inch fish simply to support an extension that most of us will never use.
And when you complain they will turn it back on you. They will say you did not show up. They will say you did not take the time. They will say you did not fight for your rights. They will blame you for a process that almost no one can follow because it is long and confusing and designed that way.
This was not conservation. This was not smart management. This was a decision that hurt the many so the few could gain. New Yorkers you better wake up before you are losing it all.
Halfway through this season New York anglers were slapped with a new rule. The fluke size limit jumped from 19 inches to 19.5. Not because the science demanded it. Not because it helped the fishery. It happened so the season could stretch into the first two weeks of October.
Here is the real problem. By October fluke are gone in most of New York waters. From the Sound to the South Shore the bite is finished. For the vast majority of anglers this was a terrible trade. We spent the summer throwing back every 19 inch fish just so regulators could hand out extra October time that only matters in one corner of the state.
This is not about Montauk having some advantage. It is about regulators refusing to see the obvious. They are managing all of New York as though the fishing is the same everywhere. It is not. The rest of the state got punished. We were denied the 19 inch fish simply to support an extension that most of us will never use.
And when you complain they will turn it back on you. They will say you did not show up. They will say you did not take the time. They will say you did not fight for your rights. They will blame you for a process that almost no one can follow because it is long and confusing and designed that way.
This was not conservation. This was not smart management. This was a decision that hurt the many so the few could gain. New Yorkers you better wake up before you are losing it all.
