Bottom Dweller Makes A Comeback

I'll admit that I am among the anglers who in recent years have grumbled about the restrictive season limits on size and take of fluke, or summer flounder. Before long, however, the severe restrictions may be the reason why our complaints change to cries of joy. Well, maybe we won't be that emotive but we may be pretty happy. By 2013, according to a report updated July 22 by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the "summer flounder stock is expected to be fully rebuilt."

One of the tastiest fish in creation, eagerly sought by recreational anglers and pounded by commercial fishers, fluke had been declining for decades when federal and state fisheries agencies developed a management plan for the species along the East Coast. Proof that the plan has worked is the multitude of fluke just a tad under the size limit that have been caught in Long Island Sound this summer. It has been tough to return them to the water but they are going to grow up quickly, boding well for the future.

From reports I've had - and from personal experience - the number of keepers has been increasing. I landed one on Southwest Reef off Westbrook this Sunday. Dave LaRocca of Madison invited my wife and me out for the day on his boat, a 20 footer considerably more comfortable than our 30-year-old, 13-and-a-half foot Boston Whaler.

The keeper - and other fluke - all hit on snapper blue baits, for my mind the best there is for the species. Experienced salt water anglers know that fact well, but I and surprised at how many casual fishers do not realize that fluke are truly aggressive predators that take surprisingly large, active prey fish. They are, in fact, the Jaws of East Coast flatfish.

Sunday, we were looking for porgies and fluke. I dropped in a double hooked rig offering fluke two courses - a squid head and snapper. I did not feel the strike but when I brought up my bait to check, only the head of the snapper remained. The squid was untouched but the mangled snapper suggested fluke were on the bottom. As it turned out, they were.

Snapper blues are legal as bait if taken by hook and line. Like larger bluefish, they are subject to a 10-fish daily creel limit.  I have taken to using circle hooks for catching fluke because they make it easier to return fish safely to the water than traditional long-shanked hooks. All shorts should be returned to the water, even if they appear dead. Keeping a short is an invitation to be pinched by conservation authorities.

Speaking of law enforcement, remember that limits and seasons vary among Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island. If you fish from a vessel, remember that the creel limit that is enforced is that of the state where you land, not where you caught the fish.