# fluke season starts this weekend



## flatfish (Nov 14, 2002)

anyone going to be fluking this weekend?
i'm going to give it a try . anyone heard of any reports of fluke being caught in surf or from boats?


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## HelpOnTheWay (Feb 23, 2004)

I've heard of exactly 2 fluke caught and released so far this season. Both were bigger fish, Barnegat Bay and Great Bay respectively. I'm gonna let it warm up a bit before giving it serious effort. Many more reports will come in whent the season opens and folks start dragging minnows on the bottom.


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings HelpOnTheWay!

Forget the killies this early in the year. Use a white bucktail with a strip of mackeral or herring. You got to get them interested this time of year....


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## HelpOnTheWay (Feb 23, 2004)

Good call Jake. But that was supposed to be a SECRET  
I don't know if I'll be able to hit a mackerel boat this year, and I never trust B&T macks. Sometimes I get a good deal on freshies at a fish market.
White or chartreuse shad dart with a grass shrimp or two is another good one to start the season. Oops...


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## Duke of Fluke (May 22, 2002)

I can't stop thinking about fluke! I'm going to wait another week possibly two, but they are definately on my mind. I love fishing shallow water with 8-10lb tackle and spearing....I mean uh,,,,,minnow and squid Seriously though, nothing beats well preserved or freshly caught spearing as fluke bait. I used to umbrella net my own, but I live much further away these days and don't have the time to catch bait. A single spearing on a smaller hook with a very small weight or tipped on a shad dart and you are in business. I can't wait to get out! In fact I think I'm going to send my buddy Neuman an e-mail and see if I can Ho a ride until my boat is ready.


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings HelpOnTheWay!

A half-dozen frozen grass shrimp (white perch size) strung on a hook and fished under a bobber also makes a great early bait, especially after the tide has been in all morning and starts to ebb in the early afternoon. I've seen fluke cough up gobs of tiny shrimp when the water was so cold that the killies were still hibernating. I've got no idea how they catch that many shrimp, but it seems to get them by until the minnows appear.

Shad darts are catching on big time in the back bays. Plastics are being used a lot, too. Chartruese/Lime Green was a hot color last year, even though its the same color as most of the weed I pull of my hook. 

Sandworms will take fluke early in the year, too. Again, I don't know how they can tell them apart from all the cabbage down there....


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Jamey!

I've never caught fluke on spearing south of Pt Pleasant. They seem to be the preferred bait up north, while killies rule south Jersey. It'll be interesting to see what the boat provides -- the last two years killies were scarce early in the season.

Ever use "ribbons"? Technically it is illegal to carry any part of a fluke out for bait. I've done good digging through the racks from the morning trips, but I figure fresher bait would be better. There's always the option of using the belly from the first keeper, but keepers are hard to come by most days.

I'll post my results from Saturday -- that will either convince you that waiting was good, or have you kicking yourself!


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

I like the Bucktail/cut fish combo,but I'm used to drifting or cast n retriving minnow/squid along the bottom.I've also caught nice Flatfish on Plastics too like Bass Assasins on a 1/4oz head.


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## HelpOnTheWay (Feb 23, 2004)

Last July I sacrificed half of my first keeper for strip baits, and it paid off with an 8.2lb fluke, my biggest ever. Worth it? You bet!


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings All!

Never made it out last weekend, but hoping to get out Sunday. Maybe Jamey (Duke of Fluke) was right about waiting, although there were keepers caught aboard the Fish-n-Fun both days, and a 5.5 pounder was weighed in at Capt Andy's. One fellow missed the big money by .06 pound.


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