Fluke season gets off to hot start with limit catches made opening weekend

The fluke season got off to a good start with lots of fishermen giving it a shot and many fish being reeled in.

Most of the drifting was done in the bays and rivers but fish were pulled in from the surf. More than a few anglers came home with their limit catch of three fish at 18 inches or greater.

Capt. Jerry Postorino on the Fish Monger charter boat took a party to the Manasquan River on opening day and said the fluke were biting right out of the gate on the outgoing tide. He observed good short life with a mix of keepers and some catches of two fluke at a time. The shorts certainly moved the action along with members of his fishing party catching and releasing as many as 20 fish, in addition to their keepers. He finished the morning at the bottom of the outgoing tide and with a 18 keepers landed amongst the group.

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The nets were also busy in the Raritan and Sandy Hook bay grounds. Capt. Hal Hagaman on the Sea Tiger II party boat said it was a "banner day" and one of the best opening days in a long time. He had five anglers catch their fluke limit on the morning drifts on Saturday. The big fish for the morning trip was a five pounder. He went back out for the afternoon trip and said there were more boats on the water. He had one fare catch a limit and said most everyone on the boat went home with dinner.

Sunday's rainy and breezy conditions were less than ideal but Hagaman said a fair size group of anglers showed up to give it a shot. The bite wasn't as good as the day before but he put fish in the boat and some anglers had two keepers for the effort.

Surf anglers had a pretty good weekend at the ocean's edge. The striped bass was the main target but the bluefish showed up in the surf and at least one tackle shop reported a fluke catch. Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park weighed in a 3.3-pound fluke for Tom Yensel who landed the flatfish on clam bait.

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But along with several keeper bass, the bluefish were in the wash on both weekend days. Grumpy's weighed in a 7 pounder for Bill Mack. The action was pretty good on Long Beach Island. Jingle's Bait & Tackle in Beach Haven weighed in three fish that were brought in toward the end of the day on Saturday. Rich Sherman and Dan Halick were fishing together in Spray Beach, according to the shop when they got one hit after the other. Their fish weighed 10 and 8 pounds, respectfully. Jeff Rummel then reeled in a 10 pounder in Beach Haven. All four of the bluefish landed were on bunker bait.

Golden

The Gambler party boat went offshore this weekend for tile fish. The conditions were a little windier than they expected said Capt. Bob Bogan, but his fares still managed to haul in some golden tilefish from the deep, depths of the canyon slopes.

Bogan said what was supposed to be 15 knot winds and 4 foot seas, turned out to be 20 knot winds out of the east with 7 foot seas. The morning was slow-going but then they started finding them. Anglers needed 4 pounds of lead to hold bottom but Bogan said everyone stuck with it and they caught some really nice golden tilefish. Most fishermen had at least two fish. The high hook had five, two of which were over 40 pounds.

"As the fish were reeled within 20 feet of the boat, they looked like under-sea flying saucer," Bogan said, referring to their size and shape.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Fluke season gets off to hot start with limit catches made opening weekend