New York’s fluke season comes to a close this week but there is still time to get in your last licks, and the weather over the next few days looks like it will cooperate right up to Wednesday’s closing gun.
Just to clarify because there seems to be some confusion among anglers – Wednesday, September 21 is the last day of New York’s fluke season but some folks are interpreting the phrase “fluke season closes on the 21 as meaning you can’t fish for them on the 21.
The season runs from May 17 through September 21 so you can fish for fluke on Wednesday. Your best bet will be in the ocean or at Montauk, and fishing big baits like whole squid, live snappers or fillets of bluefish, mackerel or bunker could help you end the season with a Dream Boat contender.
September 21 is another significant day if sea bass are on your agenda. The black sea bass season in federal waters (beyond the state three mile limit) runs from May 15 through September 21, and reopens on October 22 through December 31. That makes Wednesday the last day you can target sea bass beyond the three mile limit until October 22.
The loss of these two fisheries for the next two weeks will certainly leave a void but help is on the way. The long awaited blackfish season which is now limited to less than two and a half months kicks off on Wednesday, October 5 and runs through Wednesday, December 14.
The popularity of blackfishing has grown dramatically in recent years, and many sinker bouncers put them at the top of the list when it comes to favorite species. By the time sea bass season resumes in federal waters on October 22, sinker bouncers should be in their glory with blackfish, sea bass, porgies, and in some cases cod, all available to them.