As many anglers expected, opening day of fluke season saw mixed results. The hot spot was north of Gardiners Island, where quite a few keepers in the 4- to 6-pound class were caught in 20 to 60 feet of water.
“We had a really good day,” said Mike Boccio of the Prime Time III, in Orient (www.primetime3.com). “At least 45 keepers came over the rail and several anglers filled their limit with chunky 4- to 7-pound summer flatties. More than a hundred shorts helped keep the rods bent throughout the day.”
In addition to the fluke, Boccio’s fares scored with plenty of 2- to 3-pound bluefish – the perfect size to bring home and cook on the grill. Cliff Deptula limited out with fluke, drilled a few blues, and took home a 6-pound weakfish. Jim Betz and son, Emerson, age six, combined for six keepers to 4 pounds. Boccio called Emerson "the star of the day," noting this was the budding angler's first fishing trip and he bested several of the boat’s regular customers.
Inside Peconic Bay, anglers working the Greenlawns area scored with a few keeper fluke to six pounds but found mostly toss backs in the 17- to 19.5- inch class.
Anglers working the south side of Montauk managed a pick of fish to 9 pounds but keepers were sparse and action, in general, was slow.
On the north shore, fluke scores were decent off Port Jefferson. The Celtic Quest (www.celticquestfishing.com) managed several keepers and a mess of shorts for a small crowd. Anglers working around Mount Misery Shoal found fluke bullets tipped with spearing drew a fair number of strikes and produced a keeper here and there. Smithtown Bay offered a slow pick but several keepers were taken on spearing and squid combos in 12 to 20 feet of water. The waters from Smithtown Bay east to Wading River are loaded with bait and many anglers reported shorts and keepers alike were spitting up small sand eels. This area seems primed for fast action in the near future. A few days of warm weather should help kick catches into high gear.
Fluking was hindered along the south shore by an ocean heave resulting from high winds and rain earlier in the week. Shinnecock saw some decent scores with some keepers taken in 35- to 60-foot depths. Plenty of 19 – to 20-inch fluke were caught and released. Very few keepers were reported from Moriches west to Jones Inlet and action with shorts was surprisingly picky. The water in this stretch was still discolored from the last round of rain and wind. When the water clears up, catches should improve.
While fluke fishing was disappointing along the south shore, it should be noted that mixed bag bottom fishing was quite good. The Point Lookout open boat, Super Hawk (www.superhawkfishing.com), had a fine mix of sea bass, blues, stripers, blacks, porgies and even cod while working in 40 to 75 feet of water on Thursday. Captree’s Laura Lee (www.captree.com) also scored well.