Anglers not used to fluke season being closed

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 10/2/07
BY JOHN GEISER
CORRESPONDENT

Some fluke fishermen are having trouble accepting the fact that the season is closed.

There were still fluke anglers drifting the rivers and bays for their favorite flatfish over the weekend, and a surprising number of fluke were caught in the surf, particularly in Ocean County.

The season closed at midnight Sept. 10, and a lot of full moons will wax and wane before it opens again. Some observers of the management scene predict it may not start until mid-June in 2008.

It is beginning to dawn on anglers who annually participate in the Governor's Surf Fishing Tournament that fluke will not be an eligible species in this 16th celebration of the event, which is scheduled for Sunday.

Thomas P. Fote, legislative chairman of the Jersey Coast Anglers Association, said Monday that some anglers have not gotten the word yet.

"We're going to have to warn everyone that the fluke season is closed," he said. "It's a darn shame for the kids. We tried to get an exception for the tournament, but they wouldn't do it."

Fote pointed out that a lot of prizes were given out to anglers catching fluke in the past. This year anglers will have to target bluefish, striped bass, blackfish, weakfish, and other species. "This is the first year that they couldn't catch fluke," he said. "But what can you do?"

He still anticipates that close to 1,000 anglers will participate in the event, which is regarded as a family tournament because of the large number of women and children who fish in it.

The JCAA sponsors the tournament along with the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association, the State Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, the state Division of Parks, and the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The event will be held at Island Beach State Park, as usual, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., with same-day registration beginning at 5 a.m. at Pavilion 1. Children 12 and under can compete free, youngsters from 13 through 17 must pay $5, and all others will pay $10 prior to tournament day and $15 on the day of competition.

There will be numerous prizes for competing anglers with divisions for various age groups.

"We would especially like to thank Quantum for their generous donation of 30 Quantum Vapor 40 spinning reels, seven-foot VSP702M two-piece rods and two Cabo PTs 40 spinning reels," Fote said.

Fote said he is looking forward to a congressional subcommittee hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Act, at which time the lawmakers will again focus on the problems with fluke management.

"There is so much wrong," he said. "The 2013 target, the 10-year-rebuilding schedule, the lack of peer review, the problems with the models — it's a mess."

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet Oct. 16-18 at New Bern, N.C., and the dogfish committee will lead off at 10 a.m. on the first day with a review of the monitoring committee's recommendations on spiny dogfish and development of quota specifications and related management measures for council consideration and action.

The full council will address monkfish stock assessment at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 17, and discuss the dogfish committee's recommendations at 11 a.m. the same day.

The council will not directly address fluke management, but discussion may arise during monkfish and spiny dogfish meetings when the effects of these abundant predators on juvenile fluke are considered.

Sunday was an outstanding day in the Hudson Canyon, according to Capts. Jimmy Gahm and Sean Carton who took the Jenny Lee from Robinson's Anchorage, Brielle, to the edge of the continental shelf.

They had Kevin McCarthy and friends from Staten Island, N.Y., aboard, and they opened the trip by catching four of five longfins that hit on the troll.

The sixth fish to hit proved to be a real challenge, and after a two-hour battle the crew was able to put a 200-pound bigeye tuna on the deck.

"We caught another 15 longfins on the chunk," Gahm said, "as well as three 70-pound yellowfins. Our boxes were full at 2 a.m."

Gahm said Shimano Butterfly Jigs accounted for a number of the longfins caught on the chunk.