Flounder season

usually make up their minds in early march

I'd say it's going to be similar if not identical to last year. We'll know in March.

SHOULD be indentical or a little less unless Phase 5 comes in much lighter than expected
After Phase 4 NJ was 29% over allocation .
New coastal allocations were up about 20%
Given that we may see slight reduction
AMSFC meets next week and NJ should begin holding Public meetings early March
Hope I'm wrong but that is how I see it right now

i heard it was going to be a 2 bag limt for flounder this year.

Not going to happen. That would be if we went with the coastwise suggestion, and the only state that would go for that is New York. It'll be state by state and we'll be right in line with last year.

I heard a rumor of 2 fish at 19" or 19.5". Id be perfectly content with that, but it sounds like that wont be happening this year. good news i suppose

schuylkill fisherman said:

I heard a rumor of 2 fish at 19" or 19.5". Id be perfectly content with that, but it sounds like that wont be happening this year. good news i suppose

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This is exactly what they want to hear. To go from 8 fish @ 17.5 to 2 fish @ 19.5 in just 2 years would be a crying shame. It would make the economy even worse then it is right now for the fishing comunity. Or it will make honest fishermen dishonest.

schuylkill fisherman said:

I heard a rumor of 2 fish at 19" or 19.5". Id be perfectly content with that, but it sounds like that wont be happening this year. good news i suppose

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Why would you be content with only 2 fish and then have to catch a beast, at that? Not knocking you, just don't understand the logic. As it is now, you have people drifting along throwing back fish after fish just trying to get a keeper. If the stock is healthy, as they say it is, why should we have to go through so many fish just to get a keeper? We might actually be doing more harm than good.

I enjoy a nice flounder sandwich from time to time, but never have use for more than 1 fluke, 1 fish will give me a bellyfiller meal and then some... It would just add to the challenge of trying to catch a keeper fluke

Gotcha.:thumbsup:

I'd be all for [email protected]". Plenty of meat for some fried flounder sandwiches, and there is less waste then with a smaller fish. People who aren't honest aren't going to be honest even if the limit were [email protected]" they'd be keeping [email protected]" So we need to factor in for that and adjust the limit accordingly.

I would also not complain about 2 fish at 19 or 19.5 BUT ONLY IF they lengthen the season to include all of May and September.

But as suggested above, it seems like a waste of breath to even discuss this because the regs are going to be very similar to last year.

Two fish might be ok for guys who can fish often but for people who only get out a few times during the season, it would be quite bad.

2 fish would put a lot of people out of business, it could possibly destroy the party boats & charter business who wants to pay good money to only catch 2 flounder plus the time, money & effort just to get down the shore to go fishing for 2 fish, that would be ok for locals but not someone that has to get up 4 am and drive over a 100 miles or more round trip

But at 18 inches, if you only get to fish a few times, the chances of getting 6 keepers each time is very slim. I think the days of being able to catch a whole bunch of fish for the table are baiscally over. Now the point is just the fun of fishing and being able to keep a fish or two for a nice fresh flounder meal once in a while.

This is why I would trade 6 keepers @ 18 for 2 keepers @ 19 or even 19.5 IF THE SEASON WERE EXTENDED by a month on each side.

But, again, I acknowledge that there is basically no chance of this. What I hate the most is that the season keeps getting shorter and shorter. To me, 6 fish at 18 and a shorter season than last year would be far worse than a smaller bag and bigger minimum length but with a longer season. Basically, I would just like to be able to fish from May thru September and have a chance at catching one I can keep.

2 fish would not work for those in the industry. Plus, it's ridiculous to even think about reducing the bag limit to 2 fish when fluke are at an all time high.

In in a perfect world, I'd say let it stay open year round, give us 5 fish at 16", and call it a day. Plenty of fluke around.

rchipbrown

I agree that people who fish just to be doing something they love limits do not mean much, I fish because it is what I love to do, I enjoy catch and release, and I keep very few fish but for those that fish for meat the cost of a trip just to keep 1 or 2 fish just would not cut it

5 @ 16" would be very good. It's a nice size fish and you'll just about gurauntee yourself a nice catch for the day. Even going with 14" wouldn't hurt anything.

I wonder how many people nowadays are "fishing for meat." Going to the fish store and buying a couple flounder filets would seem to be cheaper than even just the gas to get to the shore, not to mention rod, reel, line, tackle, bait, boat rental etc. My guess is that the vast majority of people nowadays are fishing for the sport and pleasure of it, not because they need to catch fish or they will go hungry. Its fun to keep some fish now and then and make yourself what you know is a great fresh fish dinner, but needing to keep 6 fish every time seems excessive to me.