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I was not sure what the day would look like but once the wife woke she had some stuff she wanted to take care of at home so I went down to the boat for a quick outing. Started slow but the bite went savage so actually put one rod down and concentrated on finding a better fish. Duration was short but put a 24 and 19 inch fish on the ice out of 30 fish landed. Wanted to stay for the turn but my daughter was coming over for dinner so no go today. Not sure what tomorrow brings.

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When The Ocean Gives Lemons (Ling), Make Fishcakes!

Made them tonight, my first try ever, and they came out as great as any I've ever had in a fish-oriented restaurant. Really super delicious!

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Wifey had hers on a bed of arugula. Topping is a combination of Tartar Sauce, Gold's Horseradish, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Or hot sauce and lemon juice works just fine as well.

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Of course a glass or two of relatively inexpensive but decent wine accompanied this feast.

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Recipe - I recommend adding fresh parsley and some red pepper flakes to taste as well. And some salt too. I can't recommend this recipe highly enough!

 
Yes, my buddy that passed me this recipe freezes his cooked fish cakes as well.
Although I do love the taste of Ling, it's time to put some Fluke in the box. Here is my update from yesterday.

Had my mate Tom and good friend Mitch join me yesterday for a prospecting trip to Montauk in preparation for the upcoming charters this summer. Thankfully the weatherman smiled on us and provided a nice comfortable day on the ocean.

Started at one of my favorite and reliable drops south of the point and almost immediately Tom is getting bit but alas just a short Fluke. Then a few small Sea Bass kept annoying us for the next hour. Around that time, I got a good hit and put the first keeper a decent 20” Fluke in the box. However, after that we saw the bite drop off even with the short Sea Bass and Fluke for the next 45 minutes, so it was time for a change.

Moved further south and once again we started getting hits almost immediately but this time within about 10 minutes Tom hooks up with a better fish. After a nice battle I slip the net under a 22” Fluke in the 4# class and our spirits are lifted. Knowing how tough finding Fluke has been this season we chose to really work this drift line the rest of the day. Ultimately it produced 4 more keeper Fluke to 5# along with 4 nice Keeper Sea Bass. Mitch worked his tail off trying to find that elusive keeper Fluke and despite his frustration on that front he did manage to put 2 of the nice keeper Sea Bass in the box. Mixed in were many more shorts of both species which kept the rods bending and anticipation high!

So, while it wasn’t the trip I had hoped for, we did put some quality fish in the box and were treated to a nice calm ride back to port. We shall see what the next ocean adventure brings come next Friday.

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Although I do love the taste of Ling, it's time to put some Fluke in the box. Here is my update from yesterday.

Had my mate Tom and good friend Mitch join me yesterday for a prospecting trip to Montauk in preparation for the upcoming charters this summer. Thankfully the weatherman smiled on us and provided a nice comfortable day on the ocean.

Started at one of my favorite and reliable drops south of the point and almost immediately Tom is getting bit but alas just a short Fluke. Then a few small Sea Bass kept annoying us for the next hour. Around that time, I got a good hit and put the first keeper a decent 20” Fluke in the box. However, after that we saw the bite drop off even with the short Sea Bass and Fluke for the next 45 minutes, so it was time for a change.

Moved further south and once again we started getting hits almost immediately but this time within about 10 minutes Tom hooks up with a better fish. After a nice battle I slip the net under a 22” Fluke in the 4# class and our spirits are lifted. Knowing how tough finding Fluke has been this season we chose to really work this drift line the rest of the day. Ultimately it produced 4 more keeper Fluke to 5# along with 4 nice Keeper Sea Bass. Mitch worked his tail off trying to find that elusive keeper Fluke and despite his frustration on that front he did manage to put 2 of the nice keeper Sea Bass in the box. Mixed in were many more shorts of both species which kept the rods bending and anticipation high!

So, while it wasn’t the trip I had hoped for, we did put some quality fish in the box and were treated to a nice calm ride back to port. We shall see what the next ocean adventure brings come next Friday.

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Making lemonade out of lemons!!!
 
Well, I guess its an improvement

Sailed today with Stephen, son of Capt.XXX, to my home office, which hasn't as yet felt like its really so. Decided its a "No Ling" day, complete concentration on the fluke was the intention.

We fished hard and had them really coming thru the morning, resulting in just a pair of keeps, one just over 20" and one a hair under. There are decent fish moving onto those grounds, at one point I had three 18.5" fish in a row - really fat heart breakers that I of course threw back. Once we lost the morning breeze and whatever was left went against the tide, that was basically it, game over. Hard to catch fluke pulling the baits over their backs. I don't believe the near-New Moon was much help either, now that I think about it.

Anyway, I feel that its improving - but it has a looong way to go, that's fo' sho'. Pix attached - for sympathy, I guess.

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Stephen has long arms. :rolleyes:

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Well, I guess its an improvement

Sailed today with Stephen, son of Capt.XXX, to my home office, which hasn't as yet felt like its really so. Decided its a "No Ling" day, complete concentration on the fluke was the intention.

We fished hard and had them really coming thru the morning, resulting in just a pair of keeps, one just over 20" and one a hair under. There are decent fish moving onto those grounds, at one point I had three 18.5" fish in a row - really fat heart breakers that I of course threw back. Once we lost the morning breeze and whatever was left went against the tide, that was basically it, game over. Hard to catch fluke pulling the baits over their backs. I don't believe the near-New Moon was much help either, now that I think about it.

Anyway, I feel that its improving - but it has a looong way to go, that's fo' sho'. Pix attached - for sympathy, I guess.

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Stephen has long arms. :rolleyes:

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He looks a lot like his dad when he was younger
 
Well, I guess its an improvement

Sailed today with Stephen, son of Capt.XXX, to my home office, which hasn't as yet felt like its really so. Decided its a "No Ling" day, complete concentration on the fluke was the intention.

We fished hard and had them really coming thru the morning, resulting in just a pair of keeps, one just over 20" and one a hair under. There are decent fish moving onto those grounds, at one point I had three 18.5" fish in a row - really fat heart breakers that I of course threw back. Once we lost the morning breeze and whatever was left went against the tide, that was basically it, game over. Hard to catch fluke pulling the baits over their backs. I don't believe the near-New Moon was much help either, now that I think about it.

Anyway, I feel that its improving - but it has a looong way to go, that's fo' sho'. Pix attached - for sympathy, I guess.

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Stephen has long arms. :rolleyes:

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No sympathy required Lep, just respect for all of your efforts.

Interestingly, my Fluke season results have closely paralleled your own. Started out with a few trips with all shorts. Then on the last Monday in June finally put 2 keepers in the box and this past Friday 5 keepers out at Montauk.

So, hopefully the numbers of keepers will continue the upward trend for us both and all the frustrated Fluke anglers out there!
 
NJ Ocean Fluking improves
We had 36 keepers up to 27" on Sunday for 12 fares. You had to stay at the rail all day to get rewarded. There was one 15 minute stretch where everyone was hooked up all at once, probably 15 of the 36 Ks came up then, including my biggun. Salmon bellies worked well but Bluefin skin strips were great and stayed on hook all day. VERY few seabass and sea robins today. East wind was relentless but the Fluke were hangry today
 

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NJ Ocean Fluking improves
We had 36 keepers up to 27" on Sunday for 12 fares. You had to stay at the rail all day to get rewarded. There was one 15 minute stretch where everyone was hooked up all at once, probably 15 of the 36 Ks came up then, including my biggun. Salmon bellies worked well but Bluefin skin strips were great and stayed on hook all day. VERY few seabass and sea robins today. East wind was relentless but the Fluke were hangry today
Thats awesome but remind us NYAnglers what the minimum size of those 36 keepers is
🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️
 
As this site transitions to a more regional perspective ( Noreaster states vs NY only) , animosity is not appropriate Mitch. I post here because I fish NY waters in Raritan Bay. I also fish LI waters when visiting friends and family. The NJ regs are more favorable than NY's due to NY's complacency from years past. NJ Fluke minimum size is 18". I suggest a day trip here if keeper envy persists...
 
As this site transitions to a more regional perspective ( Noreaster states vs NY only) , animosity is not appropriate Mitch. I post here because I fish NY waters in Raritan Bay. I also fish LI waters when visiting friends and family. The NJ regs are more favorable than NY's due to NY's complacency from years past. NJ Fluke minimum size is 18". I suggest a day trip here if keeper envy persists...
Sorry
Any perceived animosity is absolutely NOT directed at you and I apologize if it came off that way. It is definitely keeper envy after another couple of frustrating local trips for me
in my local waters😎😎
The animosity is meant towards the regulations
 
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That we all fish the NY Bight and have different regs is just ridiculous. Having a mini-fleet of Jersey boats (including charters and on occasion head boats) on the Atlantic Beach Reef every Summer day, putting the net under fish we New Yorkers have to throw back is beyond effed up. Not to mention the wrecks and hard bottom off Long Island getting pummeled for weeks before our sea bass seasons even opens is, well, you know. I get that something similar happens in reverse for blackfish, but its really a fraction of the mugging we take on our Summer grounds.

I understand the politics, and I just don't care. Should be same fish population = same regs.

End of rant.
 

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