# Summer Flounder



## Smicky (Aug 28, 2002)

Hey, talking about all this flounder fishing has got me hankering to go fishing. Anyone out there know when summer flounder starts in New Jersey this year? Thanks


----------



## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Smicky!

Haven't heard squat on what this year's dates/regulations will be for fluke in NJ. There was a court case brought by an environmental group that wanted to cut the fluke catch in half for recreational fishermen. That would be half the season, half the posession limit. Don't know how far the lawsuit made it, but I'm expecting another increase in minimum size (to 17 inches) with the same season and the eight fish limit. I'd LIKE to see a midsummer closure for two or three weeks (like Chesapeake Bay) so the end of season would be extended into October when the big fluke hit in the ocean.

The middle of the summer sees keeper to throwback ratios climb really high (especially in the back bays), and unfortunately a lot of fisherman don't know how to correctly handle fish that have to be released. I've seen a lot of short fluke handled with dry rags, and I've seen plenty of hooks ripped out of gut-hooked fish that are thrown back into the water to die. I use bronze Eagle Claw Kahle hooks ($4.50/50 hooks), and cut the leader so the hook can rust out quickly. Nickel/Cadmium and "tinned" hooks are toxic, and take a long time to corrode, often causing fatal lesions (if the fisherman decides to leave it.)

My money is on May 10th......


----------

