From one end of the Island to the other, reports of good, and even excellent, fluke fishing came pouring in, along with the photos to prove it. Some of the credit must go to the weatherman as Wednesday’s opener was the first in a string of three sunny days with temperatures far above the norm for this time of year. That certainly helped raise water temps, especially in the shallower bays, and the fluke took notice. Good action continued through this past weekend in many areas, particularly in Montauk where many limit catches of fluke to 7 and 8 pounds were being reported by charter and private boats.
Peconic Bay, especially the Greenlawns and Greenport area, served up many quality fluke over the course of opening week. The Greenport based Peconic Star II has seen a good bite on fish to 8 pounds since opening day, and the Shinnecock Star saw very good action on opening day with fluke to 6-1/2 pounds off the Greenlawns. Capt. John Paduano put a limit of fluke to 7 pounds aboard in just a half hour of fishing on Sunday afternoon off of Greenport, and also dropped a much bigger flattie.
Long Island Sound fluking got off to one of its best starts in recent memory, and in at least one case, produced a staggering number of fluke, although many fell short of the new 19-inch minimum size. Capt. Jim on the Huntington based open boat James Joseph II watched fares haul over 700 fluke, including 81 keepers, over the rail inside Huntington Harbor on Wednesday. Saturday’s trip saw 40 fares land over 80 keepers, and Sunday’s charter left the dock at 6 a.m. and was back at the dock by 9 a.m. with a limit of fluke. The fluke have ranged up to seven pounds. The boat fished Smithtown Bay between Sunken Meadow and Callahan’s Beach on the weekend. The Capt. Bob out of Mattituck reported a great opening day, with many fares limiting out, and three fish between 8 and 9 pounds landed. They saw the hot fishing carry into the weekend with fish to 9 pounds Saturday, and 8 pounds on Sunday. Charlie at Mattituck Fishing Station in Mattituck reported fluke fishing was on fire right from the opening gun with the best scores being made east of the inlet in 40 feet of water. Limit catches on fluke to 23-inches were not uncommon on Saturday and Sunday.
Down the South Shore, there were fluke to be caught but the action was dominated by shorts in most areas. Some better quality fish were found in the ocean, and also in the western bays, where better anglers racked up limits of fish from 19 to 21 inches.
