Captain's Table - Montauk Fluke Rolls On

[captmike28]

Despite a steady 12-15kt SW breeze and consistent 2-3’ roll on the ocean, today’s group of experienced anglers came prepared to put a nice dent in the Fluke population. The crew consisted of Matt, Jenn, Chef Nader, and my lifelong friend Neil who made a rare appearance traveling all the way from the Catskills to join us.

First drift on Montauk’s south side found a couple of shorts quickly followed by a fat 4.5# Fluke for the Chef. Next Jenn boats a nice 17” keeper Sea Bass and the bite settled in to a steady pick all morning. The typical numerous shorts kept everyone busy but a nice keeper or two was boated on most drifts. Jenn, who had the particularly hot hand today landed the next keeper a pretty 21” Fluke. Neil followed soon thereafter with a 20” fish of his own. Chef Nader boated another keeper similar to his first Fluke a while later, but soon after that Jenn really caught fire. Throughout the morning, she landed one Fluke after another with 5 more keepers of her own all finding the box. Her top fish stretching the tape to a healthy 22”. Neil managed another keeper himself along the way and a couple more keeper Sea Bass also joined the party.

Close to noon the breeze freshened a bit and we needed the drift sock to keep our speeds in check. The tide also dropped off a bit and we did experience an overall slowdown in the action. Still with some hard work towards the end of the day our final tally was 11 nice Fluke, one shy of a limit, with the top fish approaching 5# and 3 keeper Sea Bass. No disrespect to the guys who all gave it their best, but it certainly was “Lady’s Day” today! Great work, Jenn!!
Capt. Mike

 

[Chinacat]

Wow!
Thats awesome!
Capt Mike finds the fish
Way to show the boys how its done Jenn!!

 

[MOJOE]

Jenn ,,,,,,,,well done ,,,,,,you out did the boys ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, capt mike thanks for your report,,,,,,,,,,,,,,><))))*>
><))))*>

 

[Snapprhead27]

Wow!
Thats awesome!
Capt Mike finds the fish
Way to show the boys how its done Jenn!!

I'll never hear the end of this! Thanks again for another great trip.

 

[Chevy1]

Great report congrats to Jen

 

[OVERBORED]

I'll never hear the end of this! Thanks again for another great trip.

The late Lori Mangan (not sure if I got the name of correct) would regularly outfish many of the self -proclaimed hotshots on board.
Some of these women get really intense when the bite is on. I learned to just stay out of the way!

 

[captmike28]

The late Lori Mangan (not sure if I got the name of correct) would regularly outfish many of the self -proclaimed hotshots on board.
Some of these women get really intense when the bite is on. I learned to just stay out of the way!

You did get the name correct, Overbored. As most will probably recall she wrote lots of articles for the LI Fisherman for years.

I actually had the pleasure of fishing with Lori once many years ago on a Blackfish charter with another local legend, Tony Loperfido. Tony was well known for his prowess with both Fluke and Tog and, if I recall correctly, he had the distinction of catching one of the largest Fluke ever taken off Gardiners Island waters, somewhere in the range of 18#.

Lori was indeed an extremely skilled angler and held several IGFA records as she always pushed the limit with super light tackle and line tests. Perhaps the most interesting part of that trip was listening to her and Tony swapping fish recipes! Definitely a day I will never forget.

 

[OVERBORED]

You did get the name correct, Overbored. As most will probably recall she wrote lots of articles for the LI Fisherman for years.

I actually had the pleasure of fishing with Lori once many years ago on a Blackfish charter with another local legend, Tony Loperfido. Tony was well known for his prowess with both Fluke and Tog and, if I recall correctly, he had the distinction of catching one of the largest Fluke ever taken off Gardiners Island waters, somewhere in the range of 18#.

Lori was indeed an extremely skilled angler and held several IGFA records as she always pushed the limit with super light tackle and line tests. Perhaps the most interesting part of that trip was listening to her and Tony swapping fish recipes! Definitely a day I will never forget.

There was a level of comaroderie amongst those Fisher people that I grew to respect. Lori was also actively attended fisheries meetings.

I learned alot just watching and listening.

Gardiners sure did have some huge fluke back then! Never caught one but netted a few teen sized ones. Lol

 

[captmike28]

There was a level of comaroderie amongst those Fisher people that I grew to respect. Lori was also actively attended fisheries meetings.

I learned alot just watching and listening.

Gardiners sure did have some huge fluke back then! Never caught one but netted a few teen sized ones. Lol

I have been fortunate enough to catch a couple of 10's myself and my customers have caught a few as well on my boat off Montauk. However, the largest ever landed on one of my boats was an 11.5# fish off Gardiners in the early 80's.

Now, the sad reality is there is almost no viable Fluke fishery left off Gardiners. Really strange how that once extremely fertile area has collapsed. Still plenty of Scup around but also a noticeable decline in Sea Bass in the area while the biscuit population continues to explode everywhere else.

And, yes, Lori was very active supporting our sport in many different ways.

 

[OVERBORED]

Thats so unfortunate. Used to be such a fertile area. Any speculation on what changed?