A Fluke Cocktail That Will Enhance Your Catch

Summer flounder or fluke is a great fish to catch and eat. They can be caught from a boat (usually while drifting) or from shore with little knowledge, so they are an ideal catch for beginners and children. This year the fluke season starts June 17 in Rhode Island and runs through December. To keep a fluke it must be at least 21” and the catch limit is six fish per person per day.

Use these fluke facts and strategies to enhance your catch and keeper ratio.

In May, fluke move in shore from deep Continental Shelf waters where they spend the winter. They stay inland until October and then move back to the deep water. They are a flat fish with two eyes on the same side of the fish. They are bottom fish that do not look aggressive, but they will chase bait aggressively and eat the same bait that blue fish and striped bass eat. The difference is that they eat off the bottom.

I have caught several blue fish, particularly when retrieving my fluke bait rig as I brought it up through the water column. Last year, on a light tackle fluke rig, my brother-in- law hit a monster blue fish that nearly pulled both of us overboard.

A rubber squid with a wide gap hook, color beads and a spinner blade is my favorite bait. I have found florescent green to work best. This bait has a float inside so the bait hangs just off the bottom and it attracts a lot of attention as it has to, because it is fished on the bottom, where the fluke are, where it is often dark.

I spice-up the artificial bait with what I call a Captain Dave’s fluke cocktail. This consists of a previously frozen minnow or silver side (ideally the size of a finger) placed on the hook horizontally so it would appear to be swimming horizontally when on the bottom. (This tactic was taught to me by Gary Leatherberry of Ericson’s Bait & Tackle of Warwick a couple of years ago). This simple change in bait position has doubled my keeper ratio.

Next, I place a three to four inch squid strip on the hook and top it off with a three to four inch strip of fluke belly (the white skin of the fish). This completes the fluke cocktail. Be careful not to stack so much bait on the hook that the fluke cannot bite it. One may ask where you get fluke bellies. Next time you clean your catch, cut the left over fluke belly into strips and freeze them in zip lock freezer bags along with a bit of salt water. Fresh fluke bellies would be ideal, but frozen ones can get you going until you catch a fish that can be used for this purpose.

Water movement or bait movement is essential to catch fluke because they often stay in the same place for a while and you have to go to them. From shore, bait should be slowly dragged across the ocean floor (so rocky areas are out of the question for shore and boat fishing). From a boat the wind and/or current will move the boat and bait on the bottom. If slack tide or no current/wind, boat movement created by starting the engine can enhance your odds. Slowly put the boat in and out of gear to create movement. A good tactic is to move the boat in a circle; this slows the bait movement and allows you to cover a favorite area or hot spot over and over.
So when you get a bite on a drift, you should mark the spot and recreate the exact drift line again. Because remember, the fluke are often stationary and you want to go back to where they are if you are getting hits.

Sometimes there is too much wind, current or boat movement and your bait is not holding bottom and you are blowing by the fish. In this case shore and boat anglers should increase the sinker weight until you can keep the bait on the bottom. Often times, boat anglers employ underwater parachutes that fill with water to slow the boat speed (these can be found at local boating/fishing /bait & tackle shops).

When you feel a bite wait and let the fluke eat the bait, if you jerk the rod to set the hook you may pull the bait out of the fluke’s mouth. So after you feel the fluke bite and then the line tightens, move the rod upward to set the hook and start reeling in, keeping the pressure on the fish as the fluke will try to shake the hook loose.

Where’s the Bite
Striped bass continue to be plentiful in the Bay. The East Bay area from Bristol Harbor to Providence is hot with a few fish in the 40” range and fish in the 30’s fairly common. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Bristol/Coventry/Providence, said customers were catching fish by live lining menhaden and chunking with menhaden, with eels and with tube & worm. Dave related customer Mary Sokolowski of Providence caught her first salt water fish (a keeper striped bass) last Tuesday. Ray Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle Warwick weighed several customers’ fish in the 40” range this week. I had the privilege of taking publisher John Howell fishing this week and he caught a 41” striper on the shipping channel bank just off Poppasquash Point. Craig Mancini of Continental Bait & Tackle reports that customers continue to land big fish off Gaspee Point. Mike Shepard reported that his son Ian caught a 25 lb. bass off Breton Reef. Mike related that the fishing off Newport is now fantastic with a lot of bait in the water. Surf fishing is still one day on and one day off on Aquidneck Island. Big bass are also being caught on Block Island. David Appolonia and his friend Brian Hogan caught a 48”/42 pound striped bass this past week on the Southwest Ledge, other big fish were caught during the outing too.
Fluke (or Summer Flounder) season starts next week, June 17, 21” minimum size, six fish per person per day.

Caption Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing stories, comments and questions are welcome… there’s more than one way to catch a fish so e-mail Captain Dave at ­­­dmontifish@verizon.net .

How and where to fish for fluke (6/15/09)

Fluke (or summer flounder) season started June 17, so here are a few tips that have worked for me. Last week’s column featured Captain Dave’s fluke cocktail recipe… a fluorescent green plastic squid rig, baited with a horizontally hooked minnow, a squid strip and topped off with a strip of fluke belly. This arrangement doubled my keeper ratio. Something about that horizontally hooked minnow or silverside that attracts the big ones.

When fishing alone I like to deploy two lines. A rod and reel with the above bait arrangement placed in a rod holder. Then I rig a buck tail jig with a piece of pork rind, squid or fluke belly and jig off the bottom. Slowly raise the rod a couple of feet and then let the jig drop to the bottom keeping no slack in the line. The hit will usually come as the jig floats down.

Another tactic that will enhance your fluke bite is teaser baits placed a foot above the main bait with a foot long leader. Attach the teaser leader to the main line with a small three way swivel. The idea is to create action above the main bait that draws the attention of a fluke on the bottom. I often use a buck tail hook and attach a piece of pork rind or squid stip. The top hook often gets the hit.

Fluke like live baits and feed during a moving tide when the bait is moving. Fishing in a wind that is blowing against the current or tide can slow your vessel, creating little bait movement which results in no fish. The idea is to plan your fluke fishing trips with current, tide and wind in mind. Select prime fluke fishing spots that will keep your vessel moving depending on these variables.

Fluke like deeper water in the spring and early summer then move to more shallow water. My favorite fluking spots include the wall off Allen’s Harbor, Warwick Neck light, in front of Charlestown beach (just watch for the charter boats), off URI’s Bay Campus in Narragansett, off Beavertail’s west side and Austin’s Hollow off Jamestown.
The season runs from June 17 to December 31, minimum size is 21” and with a catch limit of six fish/person /day.

Saltwater Fishing Licensing
We continue to move closer to a saltwater license in Rhode Island. To manger our fishery it is essential to estimate annual catch which is done in part through surveys. In order to conduct surveys you need angler contact information, so this is why licensing is necessary. The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) said that the collaborative effort between them and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) to develop legislation for a license law in Rhode Island has been outstanding. Legislation that will likely be passed has features anglers have been advocating for. Highlights include:

· Funds generated by licensing would go into a restricted account and used for recreational fishing
· License cost would be lower than any other State
· Exceptions for under 16 years, over 65 years, disabled, military
· Easy on-line registration
· An annual report by DEM to the public and the Marine Fisheries Council

Proposed annual fees are $7.00 for residents, $10.00 for non-residents and a seven day resident or non-resident license for $5.00. Passengers on party or charter boats are exempt from the license law. Will keep you posted when this becomes law.

2009 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quota Specifications. The Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association reports that NOAA has published a final rule to establish 2009 fishing year specifications for the Atlantic bluefin tuna. The final rule sets a recreational daily vessel trip catch limit of one school bluefin tuna (27 to 47 inches), plus one large school/small medium bluefin (47 to 73 inches). NOAA originally proposed a daily limit of one fish for the season then raised the limit after analyzing rebuilding program guidelines.

Coast Guard to Maintain Loran-C Navigation System. A bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate (S.1194) will authorize appropriations to the Coast Guard to operate the LORAN-C system. Funds are allocated for the transition to eLORAN and to modernize and upgrade the LORAN infrastructure to provide eLORAN services. The bill proposes that $37,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011 be allocated for this purpose.

Take-a-Kid Fishing Day is this Saturday, June 20 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association members will be fishing in Greenwich Bay with children on board. Anglers will start and finish at Brewer’s Greenwich Bay Marina in Warwick at the mouth of Apponaug Cove.

Where’s The Bite
Freshwater bite is still good. Last week Harold Hemberger reported landing twenty largemouth bass fishing at both Waterman’s Lake and Stump Pond in Smithfield. Stump Pond bass have uncharacteristically been hitting deep, on deep runners like Rebels and Rat-L-Traps.
Striped bass. Ken Ferrara of Ray’s Bait & Tackle, Warwick, reported good striped bass fishing just outside and inside Apponaug Cove. The striped bass (and bluefish) bite has been aggressive at Narragansett using surface plugs says Harold Hemberger of Smithfield. Mike Shepard of Newport reports fish are still on Brenton Reef but have thinned out. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Bristol/Coventry/Providence, reports good striped bass fishing at the mouth of Narrow River using wooden plugs (last Friday a 34 inch bass was caught). Dave reported a 54 pound bass caught in the Cape Cod Canal. The bass are feeding on mackerel, menhaden and sea herring that are migrating through the Canal. Josh Powder has been fly fishing for bass in Greenwich Cove the past two weeks and has caught five keepers and forty-two fish.
Fluke season started June 17, 21” minimum size, six fish/person/day bag limit.
Father’s Day tribute. Hats off to Ben Cassese (12 years old) who took his Dad (John) fishing this week as a Father’s Day gift. Fishing affords fathers, sons and daughters quality time together and is a wonderful family learning experience. I would be remiss if I didn’t pay tribute to my own father, Gaetano Monti, for showing me the beauty of the ocean. Some of my fondest memories were spend with my Dad on our boat, the MaryLou.

Caption Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing stories, comments and questions are welcome… there’s more than one way to catch a fish so e-mail Captain Dave at ­­­dmontifish@verizon.net .

John and Ben Cassese
Father’s Day fishing trip. Fishing is a great way for fathers, sons and daughters to spend time together. Ben Cassese (right) took his dad John Cassese (left) fishing as a Father’s Day gift. Ben caught this striped bass at the mouth of Bristol Harbor.

David Appolonia and Brian Hogan
David Appolonia, South Kingstown (left) and Brain Hogan, Portsmouth (right) caught these striped bass off Block Island’s Southwest Ledge. The largest fish was 48”and weighted 42 lbs.