Where are the keeper fluke in the ocean?

[IrishAyes]

Left Shark River Inlet with 5 aboard. Guys who know how to put meat in the box. We fished too many of our usual hot spots and fell flat on our faces. Total for the day was two keeper fluke and one very nice sea bass. Yes, we had our share of shorts, but where are the keepers at this year. Many fluke just shy of 17" were released last year. Where are all of these fish this year? They should be this year's keepers, but they are non-existant at this point. Perhaps these are the ones we all see in the supermarkets. 

We had all the bait you would possibly need for a decent catch. Squid, spearring, smelt, fresh bunker, frozen bunker, mackeral, shark belly, even had gulp and spros. Nothing would entice a decent fluke bite.

The drift was slow in the morning as there was very little wind. The wind (out of the south, AGAIN), along with the drift, picked up as the day progressed. It never got to the point where you needed more than 6 ounces of lead to hold bottom, but it did go from no drift to almost too fast a drift within minutes. The water temperature registered 72 degrees.

Then the dark clouds started moving in. We set course for the inlet and stopped at the inlet buoy, as the sky was now clear. Saw a pod of bunker that sounded before we got near enough to cast to them. Made a short, swift drift for fluke then called it quits.

Catfish Hunter, how about sending some of the flatties down my way so I can put a decent catch together this year. If you would do that, I would be willing to wait till the 12th of July for them. 

Hopefully, it is just all of this south winds we have been having that is turning off the bite. Will try again tomorrow. Another day, perhaps different/better results.

[PeggyLee]

You had a tough day Joe trying to put together a catch.
The regs.are hurting all of us.If you fish for a living or for the table the high ratio of shorts to keepers is big.South wind, no drift  doesn't help either.Had a good crew and all the  right bait.It worked before, and will again.Draggers and Netters???
Get em tomorrow.

[Bucktail]

Great effort Joe!  If anybody can find the big mamas it's you!   You've just run into a small stretch of bad luck.  I'm sure things will turn around for you soon.

-Bob

[CapBob]

Joe,

i know nobody tries any harder than you......great effort...........we have started to see a better keeper to short ratio up north............have had tons of fish which were last years keepers........

[Luna Sea 5]

I finally found the larger fish, deep, very deep water and the edge of the SH channels.  Everywhere else where shorts.

[twoforhooking]

Your not alone, we were all over sandy hook yesterday afternoon until 10 pm.  1 kepper & around 30 shorts.   I guess I'm not hurrying back for the weigh-in on the 12th unless something strange happens

[fishraiser]

I feel your pain Joe.We fished Sat. in tight to the beach was all shorts,moved off to some deep sticky stuff managed 1 keeper(6#er)then 17 1/2,17 3/4.but seems like the south wind is blowing everyday 


Yeah Joe, you can get all the fish you can catch up tight to the beach, but you're not going to keep any. They are all short. A lot under 16". Fun if you want to go out and catch, but not fun if you want some to eat. 

The deeper water is where I usually fish, not much luck out there right now.

[Pops Soul]

Nice Report Joe  I think it's going to be tough for us to put a 4 fish bag together for the tournament unless things turn around in a hurry, the guys up North seem to be putting a lot more keepers in the boat. If I recall it was late in the season last year before we really started putting keepers in the boat.

[IrishAyes]

You are right Skip, it was a little later in the season.