Fluke habits

[Reckless]

 Now when fluke come into the bay do they hang out in one area? Do they wonder around looking for food? Why do the larger ones seem to stay outside?
 

[Noworries2009]

 Everything you say is true. However, larger fluke are always available inside but harder to catch.That's how they have survived.Big baits=Big fish. Larger live baits like snappers, spots,mullet,peanut bunker can be tops. When you can't catch any of these Berkley Gulp can be a great alternative. They all work . Check out the thread on favorite Gulp. 

[striperdad]

 

[ajz3]

Thanks for the tip, good info as always. 

[bassnblues]

Same as any other fish. Come into the bay and shallows in the spring and the bigger ones move out as the water warms.

[Luna Sea 5]

 

[Capt. Carl]

The way it was explained to me....and...Belive it or not....usually the first smaller fish of the year caught are the spawned fish from last year...they have been in the estuaries from october thru the winter getting a little bigger...technically the migratory fish are mostly on the move back in when we start catching the smaller early season shallow water fluke. Generally speaking, the size of the fish will determine how far offshore the fish will winter after spawning....with the giants making their way out to the canyon ledges....and they are usually the fish that will show up a little later in the spring due to the longer travel time.The smaller to medium size fish will winter between 250- 500 ft of water.These fish arrive early and head into the bay for warmer water and better bait supply to start their feast....usually when the larger fish arrive, the water temps in the ocean are acceptable for them and the baitfish are plenty...so they dont really have to search for those things and can "hang" in the ocean as you say. Hope this tidbit helps you understand it better!

[fathergll]

^^interesting explanation. I never knew why such a large percentage of the the large fish always hung out way into the ocean.


That is the one thing that reallys blows if your an inlet exclusive angler for Fluke. You have to deal with the fact you are targeting much smaller fish on average with a ridiculous size limit.  The fact that its common to see 50 to 1 keeper ratio is insane(Sometimes even more).

 

I bring home around 5 per year after catching 250-300. This is mainly because by the time the fluke are big enough to keep they are most likely found outside the inlets since "the size of the fish will determine how far offshore the fish will winter after spawning"

 There are just so many fish in the 14"-16" area in the inlets. If you could police it, having a 17" inlet size and 19" ocean size would be a lot more fair for distributing the amount of fish taken.

Thats the one nice thing about Stripers. Land guys can get the big boys just like the boat guys. Wasn't the world record caught off a Jetty? Any chance in hell a world record Fluke being taken in 15 feet of water? 

[FishOn]

"any chance of a world record fluke being taken in 15 feet of water".

Isn't that what makes fishing addicting? The pursuit of the elusive but still obtainable. I say anything is possible. My biggest fluke last year came from drifting a strip of fresh snagged bunker just outside the breakers of ibsp.

[Luna Sea 5]

Big fish can be caught in Shallow water.  Remember this though, if your fishing from a Pier, jetty or dock, those particular spots get fished out a lot quicker because up the abundance of people who fish there.  Boaters drift for fluke.  Its the moving of Large bait that gets the attention of a large fluke.  This is something  you cant do from a sea wall, dock or jetty..

[fathergll]

"any chance of a world record fluke being taken in 15 feet of water".

Isn't that what makes fishing addicting? The pursuit of the elusive but still obtainable. I say anything is possible. My biggest fluke last year came from drifting a strip of fresh snagged bunker just outside the breakers of ibsp.

Right thats true, I'm just trying to make a point on how much of a difference there is of the average size of Fluke between the inlets and ocean.

It like how many doormats do you hear getting caught in the inlets like say Shark River or Manasquan? Its very rare. Out of all the boats and shore fisherman you hear of a few caught in an entire season. But a single party boat is almost guaranteed to have a doormat in the 8 lb range caught per month.

[fathergll]

Big fish can be caught in Shallow water. 

Yeah they can be caught in Shallow water. I mean I got a fluke in the 9 pound range in 12 ft of water before. I know a guy got a 12 lb one last year in the Manasquan. They are just much more rare than in the deeper water.

Boaters drift for fluke.  Its the moving of Large bait that gets the attention of a large fluke.  This is something  you cant do from a sea wall, dock or jetty..

What do you mean the moving of large bait. Why can't you do that in the inlet along a sea wall for example?

[FishOn]

I think alot of fluke fishing as with any species has to do with presentation at any spot. When land based it can be difficult to have your bait moving at the same speed and direction as the current, the way the prey species would be moving in and out of an inlet on a moving tide. You wouldn't normally find a spearing moving cross current on an outgoing tide for example. Fluke will chase down prey but they primarily face into the current cause that's the direction the prey will be coming from.  If you're moving your bait cross current, old wise fish may pick up on something being not right and pass on your offering. They didn't get to be big by being dumb...at least with the fishing pressure in this area. Just my two cents

[fathergll]

^^^I never thought of it that light.  I always looked at fishing the inlets as "there just isn't doormats here" mentality instead of maybe the presentation is off. Its probably a combination of both.

[bassnblues]

Another point also is that fishing for fluke from land just isn't as effective as fishing from a drifting boat.

Whether it's 15' of water or 50', a boat can cover a lot of territory and show his bait to a lot more fish that a land based fisherman.

[The Broken One]

I have caught More legit doormats (10# or greater) INSIDE raritan bay then outside,have had days inside ya wouldnt believe, Ask Art, had 3 over 10# on one drift in the bay with him and his brother, and 2 weeks before that had 5 with 2 over 8# and 3 over 10# by myself on 2 drifts, had my second largest at 13.1 # inside right after my Buddy duffy landed a 9 lber and was rubbin it in  .... though have caught my largest 14.3lbs a mile off the highlands bridge outside....

big baits as said above for big fish in the bay are the best bet... Snappers are the prime bait and usually deep water or right on the channel edges.... my Buddy BDB has bucktails jumbos to 11 lbs inside also....

DONT SELL THE BAY SHORT.... the big fish are there, just need the right presentation....

[Hotrod]

Cool Tom.  great Pics

[Art Berkman]

I have caught More legit doormats (10# or greater) INSIDE raritan bay then outside,have had days inside ya wouldnt believe, Ask Art, had 3 over 10# on one drift in the bay with him and his brother, and 2 weeks before that had 5 with 2 over 8# and 3 over 10# by myself on 2 drifts, had my second largest at 13.1 # inside right after my Buddy duffy landed a 9 lber and was rubbin it in  .... though have caught my largest 14.3lbs a mile off the highlands bridge outside....

big baits as said above for big fish in the bay are the best bet... Snappers are the prime bait and usually deep water or right on the channel edges.... my Buddy BDB has bucktails jumbos to 11 lbs inside also....

DONT SELL THE BAY SHORT.... the big fish are there, just need the right presentation....

Tom put us on some of the Biggest Fluke I ever caught ! The  drift we took  yielded a 8.25 lber,11.5 lber,12.5 lber & 13.75 lber !

[Dogfish]

I did well last season with keepers inside Barnagat. I use a high-low which I tie myself: bucktail (1/2-3/4 oz.) on bottom with a teaser approx. 12 inches up on a 4-6 inch trace both tipped with gulp. I have taken fish of all species and sizes including some very large fluke on this presentation. The productive channels, current breaks, drop-offs and fish holding structures around the bay are all well known. The difference between fisherman taking consistent keepers and those complaining about size limits has more to do with shades of presentation than fishing in the bay or the open ocean. I see guys with store bought high-low rigs using 3-4 ounce bank sinkers throwing back short fish all day long. If you want to catch big fish in shallow water don't use presentations designed for deep water. The point I'm trying to make is that a bay has more in common with a river than it does with the ocean and fishermen who understand this concept and tackle up accordingly will have a much tastier season.

[flukeydukie]

if you fish from the surf most of the flounder will be really small. is this mainly the presentation or the depth of the water.