Subject: SeaBright, New Jersey

Submitted by Bill K (ip 24.187.152.101)

• Fished on 8/23/2008

  Water Temperature: 70
  Water Clarity: Not too clear
  Seas: 2'-3' swells
  Weather: Clear, easterly breeze
  Fishing_for: Fluke
  Boat: CinSan
  captain: Bruce
  

  Report:
  We tried the SH Channel early and caught some shorts and searobins. There were no nets going down on the party boats and our fish were shorts so we didn't need a net either so we left. The drift was fine but the size and quantitiy of fish was absent. We moved to inside the Shrewsbury Rocks and started to pick fish. Another wiggle a bit north off SeaBright put us on a sizeable bunch of fish. We fished from 35'in to 15'. It was drop and reel fishing for cookie cutter fish of 16.5" to 17". At times there were three fish on at a time. Killies worked well but the Gulp mullet with a fresh peanut bunker did the trick for me with seabass and fluke. I took off the plastic octopus skirt I had used earlier to avoid short strikes on the peanut. At one time I was fishing a naked peanut and nailing fluke on that too. What a great day! Our friend who fishes once or twice a year was disappointed that he didn't catch a keeper although he caught more fish today than he has in the last three trips combined. It was tough to convince him that he did well. Our total keepers were enough for a couple of meals and that's all we needed. I've complained about the regulations and limits but who needs a limit catch of fish this big? If the size limit was dropped, the fluke would be slaughtered! We can't do that! Impose a slot limit so everyone can take home something, while preventing all of the big fish from being killed. I think too many big fish are being removed from the fishery and we are being left with lots and lots of sub-legal fish. The regulations allow us to only take big fish. We have to start culling fish from different age groups or we will have taken all of the big fish and left only 16"-17" fish. If the size limits are increased again, like they have been every year, I don't expect too many of the throwbacks to grow enough to be legal fish in one year. Any comments?

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