{"id":1948,"date":"2016-05-20T00:25:51","date_gmt":"2016-05-20T04:25:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=1948"},"modified":"2016-05-20T02:30:46","modified_gmt":"2016-05-20T06:30:46","slug":"fishing-friday-5-tips-for-the-start-of-fluke-season-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2016\/05\/fishing-friday-5-tips-for-the-start-of-fluke-season-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Fishing Friday: 5 Tips for The Start of Fluke Season Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"An<\/a>

An angler shows off his fluke caught in Barnegat Bay. (Photo: Jersey Shore Fishing Magazine)<\/p><\/div>\n

For Jersey Shore anglers, this Saturday will be\u00a0something in the realm of the Super Bowl, opening day of baseball and a summer sunrise all in one. It\u2019s the kickoff of the 2016 summer flounder season \u2013 the true unofficial start of summer, when anglers can begin targeting and keeping the most popular (and for many, the tastiest) fish in the sea.<\/p>\n

When I served as editor of Jersey Shore Fishing Magazine from 2008 through 2012, \u201cThe Fluke Issue,\u201d as we called it, was the biggest issue of the year. And every year we\u2019d often field the same question from many of our readers: \u201cHow do I catch keeper fluke early in the season?\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, it can be tough at times. It\u2019s often a tough call to chance finding a large fish out at the reefs and wrecks, or sticking the rivers and bays where most of the fish are hanging out this time of year. Truthfully, there are no silver bullets in catching \u201cMoby Fluke\u201d (as my dad refers to a doormat) but keeping a few basic pointers in mind can raise your chances of bringing a catch home for dinner.<\/p>\n

With that, we present five great tips taken straight from our \u201cFluke Issues\u201d that will should\u00a0point you in the right direction:<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Choose Your Baits Wisely<\/span><\/h3>\n

I like to use fresh fish strips along with soft-scented baits such as Berkley Gulp this time of year.<\/p>\n

Any fish strip will work as long as the scales are still on it. Early in the season I keep my strips in a pennant form no longer than 3 inches. When using strips, try to thin the meat so the strip will flutter when jigging lightly, mimicking a live baitfish. Squid strips will also work nicely, especially scented varieties.<\/p>\n

Scented soft baits like Berkley Gulp in a shrimp form usually will outproduce a Berkley swimming minnow. Live minnows will work, but usually not as well as strips or soft scented artificials in the earlier part of the season, as the fluke aren\u2019t as\u00a0aggressive as they\u2019ll be once the warm water arrives. Minnows will work better when the water hits\u00a0the mid-60s.<\/p>\n

If using a bucktail to entice those early season flounder, start by using white or a combination of white with chartreuse\u00a0or pink. If you\u2019re not getting results, start trying different colors. I\u2019ve had days when only pink or green would work.<\/p>\n

2\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Just Like Snowbirds, Fluke Follow the Warmth<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fluke, early in the season, are looking for the warmest water they can find. I like the outgoing tide best with water coming off shallow bays into the deeper channels. Early in year, you won\u2019t find as many hungry fluke in deep holes; sides of channels will work best as the fish will be sitting there waiting for shrimp, small crabs or shiners coming off the flats. Another group of areas that can be productive are the mouths of small creeks.<\/p>\n

Incoming tides can be productive, as well. Especially on sunny days, think of reversing your strategy, as the fluke will usually be sitting in the same areas but may be right on the top edges of a shallow bay flat. When dealing with incoming tides, keep in mind that the first two hours in and the last 2 hours on the way out, will be the most productive times to fish.<\/p>\n

3\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Minimize Your Hardware<\/span><\/h3>\n

Fluke start arriving in early April from their offshore spawn the past winter. Once they arrive they are usually worn out and slow to feed. But keep in mind the only reason they come inshore is to feed and fatten up for the next spawn. Once they recover from their long trip they are ready to eat, and that\u2019s where we anglers come in.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the type of rig you use, it should have a long leader. My favorite rig is a two-way swivel with a bare 5\/0 gold hook on a 36 to 40 inch, 40 pound line made of fluorocarbon. I will add a\u00a0 <\/span>3\/4 inch in-line float to the leader. In addition, I will add 12 to 14 inch leader to the same swivel as well as a bucktail on the end. I try to keep the bucktail as light as possible in order to avoid dragging the rig through the mud.<\/p>\n

There are numerous other combinations of rigs and, in colder water, it is best to minimize the hardware on whatever rig you use to reduce turbulence in the water while lightly jigging.<\/p>\n

4\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Try Somewhere New<\/span><\/h3>\n

One of the most rewarding aspects of spring fishing is the satisfaction you receive when you\u2019ve finally tracked down your target fish. The weather \u2013 especially this year \u2013 has the fish as confused as all of us. If you\u2019re in a boat, nose around the channel edges and into coves. Try to find an area that is a pathway from one of the main channels, but not too far out of the way. Use your sounder to look for areas of bottom structure, especially where you know there are mussel beds on the sea floor. Just inside Manasquan Inlet, for example, are sizable mussel beds toward Flag Island and Gull Island where fluke are very plentiful. Watch for boat traffic, of course, but switch things up and \u201cthink like a fish\u201d to increase your chances of catching one.<\/p>\n

5\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Play the Odds When They\u2019re in Your Favor<\/span><\/h3>\n

For reasons known only to the flounder (and probably the bait fish), the largest flounder are particularly active during the slack period of the high tide.\u00a0 <\/span>They must have a feeding advantage, so if at all possible plan your trip to cover the high tide period. Make sure you get out plenty early to set up and find the right spot and get your drifts planned out to be ready when the fish turn on.\u00a0 <\/span>With experience you can even plan your day for tidal changes in different areas. Yes, with all the above suggestions, experience and paying attention to details you may actually get those doormats in the box this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

~<\/p>\n

Credit goes to two excellent New Jersey angles \u2013 Bill \u201cBucktail Willie\u201d Shillingford and\u00a0Capt. Dave Showell, owner of Absecon Bay Sportsman Center in Atlantic County \u2013 for their contributions to those five tips.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll update you on how opening day went on Sunday (or Monday morning) once reports begin rolling in. This week, we must give a special shout-out to The Dock Outfitters in Seaside Heights, who have signed on as a sponsor of our fishing section this season. They\u2019ll be providing us with excellent reports, photos, and more all season long.<\/p>\n

One more thing: the regulations for fluke this year. A keeper is 18-inches or higher, and anglers can keep five\u00a0fish each, per day. Shore-based anglers fishing only at Island Beach State Park<\/strong>\u00a0may retain 2 fish greater than or equal to 16 inches (total length) while the season is open.\u00a0The full list of regulations for the season can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Jersey Shore anglers, this Saturday will be\u00a0something in the realm of the Super Bowl, opening day of baseball and a summer sunrise all in one. It\u2019s the kickoff of the 2016 summer flounder season \u2013 the true unofficial start of summer, when anglers can begin targeting and keeping the most popular (and for many, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boating-fishing","category-featured"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/fluke.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgsn9q-vq","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}