First trip of the year: The Saga continues...

[Fluke Whisperer]

Made my first trip of the year to can 7 north shore Long Island .
Weatherman was wrong again, so the saga continues. ?
My younger son Charles and I left Milford harbor at 8am, headed out to look around, decided to head over to can 7 north shore of Long island.
Going over was sloppy but manageable, the closer we got to can 7 the worse it got, arriving at can 7 an hour later we were met with 2 to 3 footers and the wind was crankin 15 kts +.
We were the only ones out there, hmm can't think of why no one else was there. lol
For the first 2 hrs it was brutal, drift was fast and boat was rockin, couldn't stand up sat most of the time.
Around 11:30 it started to lay down a bit and made drifting more manageable.
Half hour later I picked up my first fluke, a 14" fish, then another and another, I am getting optimistic now.
We drifted for another 3 hrs picking away at the fluke but no keepers, last fish I hook up with gave me a little hope as it was 18 3/4 inches.
The wind picked up again and at 3:30 pm we decided to call it quits, total for the day was 15 shorts to 18.75 inches, lots of bait out there.
Water temp was 51 degrees.
All the engine work I did last year and the new thermostats and anodes this year paid off as the engine ran flawlessly.
I'm hoping that with weather getting warmer and lots of bait in the area that this might be a better year, at least I hope so.
I'm still having problems with covid, I seem to be a long hauler, I'm not letting it stop me from doing what I want to do, hopefully as time progresses I will get better.
Pics of the 14" and 17" fluke.
Thanks for reading my report ,
Tight Lines,
Jay

 

[cany]

Ya got out thats all that matters

 

[BoatGuy]

Hoping it picks up as the weather improves and the water temps rise.

 

[Roccus7]

The may be an "over reading" of the tea leaves, but everyone seems to be pinning their fluke hopes on water temps, a very reasonable thought. On the other hand, one must consider that the porgies are in thick in the Peconic, which means that water temps are "fishable".

As Obi Wan says, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

 

[longcast]

Glad you got out, hope you fell better!

 

[MOJOE]

Made my first trip of the year to can 7 north shore Long Island .
Weatherman was wrong again, so the saga continues. ?
My younger son Charles and I left Milford harbor at 8am, headed out to look around, decided to head over to can 7 north shore of Long island.
Going over was sloppy but manageable, the closer we got to can 7 the worse it got, arriving at can 7 an hour later we were met with 2 to 3 footers and the wind was crankin 15 kts +.
We were the only ones out there, hmm can't think of why no one else was there. lol
For the first 2 hrs it was brutal, drift was fast and boat was rockin, couldn't stand up sat most of the time.
Around 11:30 it started to lay down a bit and made drifting more manageable.
Half hour later I picked up my first fluke, a 14" fish, then another and another, I am getting optimistic now.
We drifted for another 3 hrs picking away at the fluke but no keepers, last fish I hook up with gave me a little hope as it was 18 3/4 inches.
The wind picked up again and at 3:30 pm we decided to call it quits, total for the day was 15 shorts to 18.75 inches, lots of bait out there.
Water temp was 51 degrees.
All the engine work I did last year and the new thermostats and anodes this year paid off as the engine ran flawlessly.
I'm hoping that with weather getting warmer and lots of bait in the area that this might be a better year, at least I hope so.
I'm still having problems with covid, I seem to be a long hauler, I'm not letting it stop me from doing what I want to do, hopefully as time progresses I will get better.
Pics of the 14" and 17" fluke.
Thanks for reading my report ,
Tight Lines,
Jay

thank you for sharing your day with us,,,,, be safe out there my friend,,,,,, ><)))):>
><)))):>

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

The may be an "over reading" of the tea leaves, but everyone seems to be pinning their fluke hopes on water temps, a very reasonable thought. On the other hand, one must consider that the porgies are in thick in the Peconic, which means that water temps are "fishable".

As Obi Wan says, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

I think it was Luke Skywalker that said that, but I could be wrong.

 

[AllyKat]

Good Stuff Jay...the HPDI keeps on ticking..as do you!
Hope to see you out "there: this year.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

Good Stuff Jay...the HPDI keeps on ticking..as do you!
Hope to see you out "there: this year.

I would really like that, yea. ?

 

[Mungo]

Good deal . A day out with the kid is priceless . At least you had a bite .

 

[george]

The may be an "over reading" of the tea leaves, but everyone seems to be pinning their fluke hopes on water temps, a very reasonable thought. On the other hand, one must consider that the porgies are in thick in the Peconic, which means that water temps are "fishable".

As Obi Wan says, "I've got a bad feeling about this..."

I couldn't agree more and I was thinking the same thing. Many people ask me where they should target fluke in the sound as their old spots are not producing. My answer to that is, in this case, if there are no fluke outside of Pt. Jeff in all of the spots they've been in for the last two-three decades then they simply aren't here.

I have been doing a lot of research on this subject and it's become clear to me that fluke, as well as many other species, are moving north. Fluke are cold-blooded, so they tolerate a narrow range of temperatures and oxygen. Now look at the chart below:

I'm afraid that we're seeing the last of fluke in the sound, and possibly the Peconic. They have completely fled North Carolina. At one point they were catching 12-million pounds a year there. Now the fish are basically out of range for them, with most targeting other species.

I have done a few interviews with people that are very educated on the subject. 85 percent of the nearly 70 federally tracked marine species have shifted north or deeper, or both, when compared to the norm over the past half-century. There is an epic relocation happening as our waters warm as we have never seen in the past.

I am waiting on a few more interviews before releasing the podcast, but it's obvious there's serious change happening along our coast.

 

[george]

To be clear I'm not saying it's over yet and as soon as I splash I'll be on the hunt for fluke. But if these trends continue, which we have no reason to think they won't, sea bass will become more abundant and fluke will become less abundant.

 

[Fluke Whisperer]

To be clear I'm not saying it's over yet and as soon as I splash I'll be on the hunt for fluke. But if these trends continue, which we have no reason to think they won't, sea bass will become more abundant and fluke will become less abundant.

Hi George, I recently started fishing long island for fluke about 5 yrs ago, before that I fished Hampton Bay Greenlawns and the piconics with a friend that use to live in Hampton Bays, I fished the bay and surrounding area for 18yrs with my friend in that time I noticed that the fluke fishing was slowly declining, around 2015 I saw the start of the decline, since I haven't fished the bay in 3 yrs I have no idea as what is going on, only what I read here or when my buddy out in Oregon sends me an update, he still keeps in touch with the people he used to work with at Spellmans Marina.

Now can 7 in the beginning when I first started was decent, 5 yrs is not enough time to to extrapolate that there is a decline in numbers as I heard that some people did Ok last year.

Obviously there are fluke at can 7 , to what extent I don't know, but if what your saying is true then R.I. or Montauk will be flooded with boats as these seem to be the only places that are producing fluke in any quantity or quality of fish.

My buddy who lived in Hampton Bays never really ventured out side of the bay area, many times I tried to talk him into making a trip to Montauk but he just didn't want to and it was his boat so you know how that goes.
This year I am trailering my boat to R.I., from there I will test the waters and venture over to Montauk weather permitting.

It's a shame that I have to travel that far to seek something I so dearly love to do, but it will only be a couple of more yrs.

When My wife retires in 2023 we are going to move to the west coast of FL, ST. Petersburg area, my younger son is moving out there so we decided to do the same, it will be a whole different ball game out there.

Ct. is too expensive to live in and with the Housing market as it is right now and hopefully in 2023 I should be sitting pretty when it comes time to sell my house, than again the bottom could drop out, only time will tell.

I eagerly await your conclusion and podcast.
Jay

 

[holty]

Two trips to my early season haunts off the Morgan estate in Asharoken have yielded only large birds. Decent action on 14" to 16" fish at the entrance to Lloyd Hbr and the channel in Huntington Hbr near the first marinas. I understand the theory regarding water temps but why do they catch fluke in the warm waters of Florida? I am not optimistic but will keep at it.

regards Holty

 

[george]

Two trips to my early season haunts off the Morgan estate in Asharoken have yielded only large birds. Decent action on 14" to 16" fish at the entrance to Lloyd Hbr and the channel in Huntington Hbr near the first marinas. I understand the theory regarding water temps but why do they catch fluke in the warm waters of Florida? I am not optimistic but will keep at it.

regards Holty

I'm not at all familiar with the FL fishery and it is managed separately. My guess is it's a different strain of fish. I will ask that question as I continue to look at the issue.

For the past 30 years or so the first wave of fluke that entered Smithtown Bay contained many huge fish. As the publisher of a fishing magazine reporting on catches, there was always a number of 10-pound plus fish that would hit the scales from Pt. Jefferson to Oyster Bay. There were spots in the Triangle that help double-digit fish for months each year. Charlie "Fatfish" Burke was usually the one to weigh the first 10-pounder of the year.

In those days we would see wave after wave of new fish, like clockwork. That continued through July and began to shut down in mid-August. Some of my best fluke fishing came inside of the Nissequogue. I still catch a few in the back when targeting striped bass but they haven't been there in numbers for over a decade.

Again you'll see me out there in my blue Roballo working them hard as soon as I splash. But the fact is these fish are moving north as are Cobia, Tarpon - which are now targeted for a short time on the Chesapeake - and Sea Bass. And those are just a few.

 

[Roccus7]

I'm not at all familiar with the FL fishery and it is managed separately. My guess is it's a different strain of fish. I will ask that question as I continue to look at the issue.
.

Your intuition is correct. The "Northern Summer Flounder" is Paralichthys dentatus

The "Southern Summer Flounder" is the same genus, but a different species, Paralichthys lethostigma

 

[holty]

George, I remember those days very well. Charlie and I would find ourselves drifting the same area many a time. As you said the better fish had an early showing every year. Maybe the lack of bluefish that we are seeing now is related to the same problem? Before Gulp came around my go-to bait was bluefish belly. The blues were usually around when the fluking started and their belly made excellent strip baits. Speaking of bait, I saw none in the Asharoken area yesterday. The water temp was 50 degrees along the beach so I am going to hold out some hope until it warms up a little. Of some concern today was seeing all three boats in the James Joseph fleet drifting in front of my marina in Huntington harbor this morning. Yesterday, I could see the big boat off Crab Meadow. Hmmmm.......think they know it's not worth making the run outside?

regards Holty