Fluke tips for catching and cooking

The summer flounder (fluke) bite off Block Island has been good for three to four weeks and now keeper sized fish 19” and over are being caught at the mouth of the Sakonnet River, Narragansett Bay and along the southern coastal shore. Anglers are allowed six fish/person/day, and two 17” fish are allowed when fishing from shore in ‘special areas’ only.

For regulations, visit Marine Fisheries Minimum Sizes & Possession Limits | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management).

Here are some quick tips from the experts on how to catch summer flounder (fluke). 

First, you need to plan, plan, and plan your trips. The idea is to select five to six places you will fish based on wind and tide being in line. This is important, as you want to drag your bait over the front of the fluke as they set up, looking into the current. I then go to the first place I hope to catch fish based on catching experience and recent fishing intelligence and then go to the second, third, fourth places, etc. until we catch fish.

Second, larger fish usually come on edges of structure. This includes inclines and declines around channel banks and ledges, the foot of jetties where it meets sand, between ledges, drifting over humps and bumps, fishing bridge abutment areas where bait gets tossed, etc.

Third, be ready to fish multiple rigs and baits. This means being ready to use multiple-colored rigs, jig types, and stingers. And be ready to tip them with a variety of baits, including squid, gulp or the ground fish you are starting to catch, i.e., sea robins, scup, bluefish, etc. The idea is to try a number of rig and bait arrangements until you discover what the fish want on any given day.

Fourth, find the fish, and repeat the pattern… location, depth, drift over same area where you caught fish, repeating the pattern. And match the hatch tipping with squid, blue fish, bass, silversides, mummies, minnows, gulp. Once you identify what bait combination is working, stick with it, repeating the pattern.

My favorite fluke recipe … fresh Flounder Sandwiches

Ingredients

• 1 to 1 ½ lbs. of fresh flounder fillets
• Two fresh lemons or lemon juice
• ½ cup flavored Italian bread crumbs
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• Olive oil, 1/3 cup
• One sliced large tomato
• Three to four leaves of lettuce
• Tartar sauce (or mix mayonnaise and relish to make your own*)
• Sandwich bread, my favorite is hamburger buns

Preparation

• Combine and mix flavored Italian bread crumbs and flour
• Put olive oil in pan and heat prior to cooking fish
• Lightly moisten filets with lemon juice on both sides so fish coating sticks
• Lightly bread fillets with coating on both sides and place in frying pan
• Cook 4 to 6 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the fillet. Once cooked (fish is flaking, do not overcook), place on your choice of lightly toasted bread (we like light rye or wheat at the Monti house).
• Spread tarter sauce on second slice of bread and top with lettuce and tomato slices. Cut sandwich in half and garnish plate with olives, pickles and chips.

New study on shark depredation in recreational fisheries

A new scientific paper published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science provides a comprehensive overview of the breadth of shark depredation in recreational fisheries in U.S. Atlantic waters over the past 100 years.

Anglers and commercial fishers have identified an alarming increase in shark depredation i.e., a shark eating an angler’s catch before it gets to the boat or shore.

NOAA Fisheries collaborated with regional experts, combining their collective knowledge and data, to characterize shark depredation across the Atlantic from Maine to Texas, and the U.S. Caribbean. The goal was to clarify high-level drivers of historic trends in shark depredation and identify the species and management entities affected. 

While shark depredation impacted U.S. fishermen for generations, both commercial
and recreational anglers are increasingly concerned with economic losses from shark depredation as shark populations rebuild. 

Visit https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsag060 for the article.

Where’s the bite?

Freshwater: This is an exciting time of year for freshwater fishing, as our waterways have come alive with all types of insects. Trout fishing is very good in ponds restocked in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In Massachusetts visit Trout stocking report | Mass.gov and in Rhode Island visit Designated Trout Waters | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.

Striped bass and bluefish

East End Eddie Doherty, Cape Cod Canal fishing expert and author, said, “The canal has gone back to hit or miss, but that could change in a heartbeat! Last week Dave ‘Bing’ Tomasia jigged up a 45-inch striper to the edge and Matt ‘The Cat’ England brought home a slot on a pink Savage.”

Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown, said, “The striped bass bite at the Southwest Ledge is outstanding with it hard not to catch fish. All methods are working, trolling tube & work, umbrella rigs, and live lining eels. Dillon Conti caught a 38-pound bass this week at the Southwest Ledge. The bite is also very good from shore with reports of a 40-pound fish being caught at the Charlestown Breachway using an eel at first light.”

Striped bass are on the move in the bay this weekend, with reports of a school at Conimicut Point Saturday night with fish being caught at the Newport Bridge pylons Sunday.

Summer Flounder (fluke), scup, and black sea

“Anglers catching keeper fluke along the southern coastal shore are having to work though a lot of shorts, with a similar bite at Block Island in the wind farm area. The black sea bass bite for keepers is good there and at the East Grounds, with large scup being caught off Nebraska Shoals,” said Elisa Cahill of Snug Harbor Marina.

I fished Sunday in the Newport Bridge area and came up short, with no keeper fluke and short black sea bass only.

Greg Spier, expert angler, said on the RISAA blog Sunday, “Fished the incoming tide off Newport. Had to have been over 100 boats fishing out in front of Newport . We were targeting Fluke using squid and bucktails with white Gulp. About 4 short fluke and caught 36” stripha on fluke rig. We were all wondering if it was a huge fluke before it surfaced. Did not see a bunch of fluke being caught. Over 100 boats, out front today.”

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net  or visit www.noflukefishing.com .