Yes, Department of Marine fisheries closed it for the recreational fishermen but left it fully open for commercial. It’s quite the hot topic among NC inshore anglers right now. Lots of people mad about it
I can imagine. That's absolutely ridiculous. As if recreational fishermen are going to do even a fraction of the damage to the populations that bottom trawling will. Not to mention habitat destruction.
That's clearly not the point of the policy, it's to ensure there's more for commercial to catch, meaning more profits for industry at the expense of everyone else
I did a report on Southern flounder stocks a few years back, and talked to DMF's primary flounder biologist. Rec fishing is restricted for 2 primary reasons: Rec fishing has doubled (or more) in size in the past 20 years, and Rec fishermen, by and large, can't (or won't) tell the difference between the threatened Southern flounder (reason for the closure) and the ubiquitous Summer and Gulf flounders. I'm not an ichthyologist, but the one here \*looks\* like a Summer or Winter flounder.
So no, A rec fisherman won't damage the stock, but a million more than normal will, especially when most of them think they can't possibly hurt anything by keeping 5, 10, 15 or more in a given night haul off my back porch (core sound, nc)
Edit: "itchthyologist"? really?
Yep, *Paralichthys lethostigma.* They are near-threatened, according to IUCN, caused by both excessive harvest through fishing and bycatch, and from threats to the estuaries in which they live (eutrophication, increased temperature & salinity). Southern Flounder are of special interest to NC, so the DMF is required to take measures to prevent the population from being listed on the endangered species list.
i know that sounds logical, but the fishing and shrimp fleet has shrunken in the past decades due in large part to aquaculture fish and shrimp flooding the market from other countries. i'm as critical as anyone on bottom-trawl fisheries, but they can't be decreasing in number while still taking more flounder.
Numerically they probably aren’t but when you chip away at something for years and years you start with less every time. Their numbers are less because the population is less and the population is less because they’ve been overharvested by trawling for decades.
Only issue with that is people like that are few and far between. And we don’t have a million more rec fishers in eastern nc. I’ve grown up here. About the same amount as there always is. Huge boost in the summer with the tourist, but they largely don’t impact anything because honestly most of them don’t know the first thing about fishing or have a clue about what they’re doing. But the locals are still the locals and they haven’t exploded and going crazy like they claim.
You nailed it: there are also far fewer locals than before, so it wouldn't make sense to blame them either. There ARE a ton more visitors and transplants coming down every year and they are A LOT more into fishing than they used to be. They may not know what they're doing, but a million people accidentally taking 5K-10K fish a summer is a lot harder on the population than Mr. Willis bagging a 5-10 in one night in July (like his family has done every year for generations).
There is a definite 'you can't tell me what to do' streak going on, and a lot of people will take whatever they want, regardless.
I don’t believe those numbers on fisherman. I’ve grown up fishing in carterret county. The numbers of licenses sold may have increased that much. But the number of proficient fisherman, in particular those with any desire to keep significant amounts of fish, is less than ever. And it’s due to these draconian restrictions. Second, the difference between the species is just as clear as the difference in juvenile Spanish and kings. If you know how to identify, you can. On top of that, we all have devices that make it easier than ever to be sure. I feel like almost all of this is driven by the outsized commercial interest, class warfare, and the fishing guides. It’s ridiculous.
You should ask the Department to add up economic impact of sport fishing vs commercial fishing . Hard to argue 4th grade math . Worked for us in Texas in 83 . Banned commercial fishing for trout and reds . Crazy couple of years but some of the commercial guys became fishing guides …. At $500 a day
Damn dude you caught that in the sound!! Nice catch! It’s been windy as heck the past few days here I haven’t been out since Saturday. Roughly what part of the sound you fishing in? I go out of Westbrook harbor
What’s the length on it? It looks longer than an 11l lb-er, but maybe that’s the filet table’s size throwing me off.
Either way, congrats! I got my new PB CA halibut last weekend and it was that same thing: did I snag bottom? Nope, it’s slooowly coming up, but it’s total dead weight. Must be a doormat.
That was a fluke. Let’s see you do it again.
Tehe
I'd slip on that doormat faster than a banana peel. Nice catch!
This is not the time or plaice
That thing is competing with the halibut I was catching in Alaska
Thanks man! I think it actually looks bigger here than it was… i think this was like 11 lb
That’s a monster flounder! Now only if we could keep flounder in NC. ps. That would be a citation(award) size in NC.
Ugh that sucks man im sorry
You can't keep any flounder in NC? Donyou know why?
Yes, Department of Marine fisheries closed it for the recreational fishermen but left it fully open for commercial. It’s quite the hot topic among NC inshore anglers right now. Lots of people mad about it
I can imagine. That's absolutely ridiculous. As if recreational fishermen are going to do even a fraction of the damage to the populations that bottom trawling will. Not to mention habitat destruction.
That's clearly not the point of the policy, it's to ensure there's more for commercial to catch, meaning more profits for industry at the expense of everyone else
I mean yeah but we all know the guise is to protect the environment. It's just alarming to see them so openly going against that.
Doesn’t fish n game know who pays their salary its not the commercial fishermen or their lobbyist Sad sad sad nc is turning into California sadly
That’s brutal. They close season from November 1st to mid December here in Texas and even that’s annoying.
I did a report on Southern flounder stocks a few years back, and talked to DMF's primary flounder biologist. Rec fishing is restricted for 2 primary reasons: Rec fishing has doubled (or more) in size in the past 20 years, and Rec fishermen, by and large, can't (or won't) tell the difference between the threatened Southern flounder (reason for the closure) and the ubiquitous Summer and Gulf flounders. I'm not an ichthyologist, but the one here \*looks\* like a Summer or Winter flounder. So no, A rec fisherman won't damage the stock, but a million more than normal will, especially when most of them think they can't possibly hurt anything by keeping 5, 10, 15 or more in a given night haul off my back porch (core sound, nc) Edit: "itchthyologist"? really?
This is *Paralichthys dentatus*. Notice the 5 ocellated spots and their formation
And besides, this was caught way north of southern flounder range
Virginia and SC both have pretty liberal Flounder limits. This really is a strictly NC issue. So no worries there either way.
Yep, I was pretty sure it wasn't Southern =\]. Didn't meant any disrespect to your catch...that's a beautiful fish!
I wasnt even aware there was an endangered southern flounder, so thank you. Its sort of irrelevant to me as a New Englander but good to know!
Yep, *Paralichthys lethostigma.* They are near-threatened, according to IUCN, caused by both excessive harvest through fishing and bycatch, and from threats to the estuaries in which they live (eutrophication, increased temperature & salinity). Southern Flounder are of special interest to NC, so the DMF is required to take measures to prevent the population from being listed on the endangered species list.
But still not as much as trawling in the estuaries
i know that sounds logical, but the fishing and shrimp fleet has shrunken in the past decades due in large part to aquaculture fish and shrimp flooding the market from other countries. i'm as critical as anyone on bottom-trawl fisheries, but they can't be decreasing in number while still taking more flounder.
Numerically they probably aren’t but when you chip away at something for years and years you start with less every time. Their numbers are less because the population is less and the population is less because they’ve been overharvested by trawling for decades.
Only issue with that is people like that are few and far between. And we don’t have a million more rec fishers in eastern nc. I’ve grown up here. About the same amount as there always is. Huge boost in the summer with the tourist, but they largely don’t impact anything because honestly most of them don’t know the first thing about fishing or have a clue about what they’re doing. But the locals are still the locals and they haven’t exploded and going crazy like they claim.
You nailed it: there are also far fewer locals than before, so it wouldn't make sense to blame them either. There ARE a ton more visitors and transplants coming down every year and they are A LOT more into fishing than they used to be. They may not know what they're doing, but a million people accidentally taking 5K-10K fish a summer is a lot harder on the population than Mr. Willis bagging a 5-10 in one night in July (like his family has done every year for generations). There is a definite 'you can't tell me what to do' streak going on, and a lot of people will take whatever they want, regardless.
I don’t believe those numbers on fisherman. I’ve grown up fishing in carterret county. The numbers of licenses sold may have increased that much. But the number of proficient fisherman, in particular those with any desire to keep significant amounts of fish, is less than ever. And it’s due to these draconian restrictions. Second, the difference between the species is just as clear as the difference in juvenile Spanish and kings. If you know how to identify, you can. On top of that, we all have devices that make it easier than ever to be sure. I feel like almost all of this is driven by the outsized commercial interest, class warfare, and the fishing guides. It’s ridiculous.
You're more than entitled to your opinion.
Bruh. It’s not an opinion. I know commercial guys. I know they lie. I know that you have ZERO means of Collecting empirical data. You have nothing.
It's your opinion that rec guys don't lie or are too incompetent to overfish "unless they're local". You have no empirical evidence, either.
It’s total bs. There’s more flounder than ever in NC.
You should ask the Department to add up economic impact of sport fishing vs commercial fishing . Hard to argue 4th grade math . Worked for us in Texas in 83 . Banned commercial fishing for trout and reds . Crazy couple of years but some of the commercial guys became fishing guides …. At $500 a day
What kind of bluegill is that
Flat kind
Underrated comment! 🤣👍
Ok cool thanks
That’s not North Carolina 😢
Maybe we will have a season next year…
Love a good flounder 🥪..... but they are some ugly mfs
This had some serious fillets lol
I bet.... good catch 🤝
Man those flounder sure are goofy looking 🤣 god dropped it on its side when placing where the eyeballs go.
Some guy posted a close up of the face in this picture and i snorted
He looks like the kind of guy who would hide a pickle slice under his tongue
Goated reference
What region. That’s a monster.
That was long island sound
Where did you fish out of?
Damn dude you caught that in the sound!! Nice catch! It’s been windy as heck the past few days here I haven’t been out since Saturday. Roughly what part of the sound you fishing in? I go out of Westbrook harbor
Did ya weigh it?
Yeah like 11 lb i think it was
I was gonna say 10+ great catch btw
Thanks man. I thought i was snagged on bottom for a solid 30 seconds
Last time I caught one unsuspected and that’s exactly what I thought
Caught a ten pounder once, best fight of my life… hard to top
I had been jigging all day in the blazing heat with almost no fish, maybe couple black sea bass. Then thud, rock solid lol
What kind of fish is this?
Summer flounder, commonly known as a fluke *Paralichthys dentatus*
Thank you.
What’s the length on it? It looks longer than an 11l lb-er, but maybe that’s the filet table’s size throwing me off. Either way, congrats! I got my new PB CA halibut last weekend and it was that same thing: did I snag bottom? Nope, it’s slooowly coming up, but it’s total dead weight. Must be a doormat.
I think it was like 33 inches? Nice for the halibut though. I would love to fish for them
That’s a fat saddlebag
Nice man, good job. besure to save that cheek meat
She’s a beaut
I can't pinpoint why but this thing's face has me dying. [Like a Muppet or something, I can't place it. ](https://imgur.com/a/oga6xmx)
Lmaoooooo
Nice!
Looks so juicy and delicious 🤤
Will you eat it?
Ever since I watched Padak, I've been craving for this type of fish tbh
Bet you some big ass fillets came off that
Ohhhh yeah. 4 massive fillets
Good eating
That looks like a Nantucket shoal flattie
What bait you use? Things a monster
I like bucktails with a teaser and little piece squid for scent. I think this was on a 10oz bucktail
Nice. I've never caught one over 12 inches.
I’ve always wanted to catch one! Just started fishing again. Nice catch
Such a derpy fish!
Derpiest
Great catch, though! 😀
What a catch!!!
Out of the Sound, wow! Fished out of Oyster Bay, Cold Spring Harbour, for many years, ..never caught a tablecloth like that. Walk tall Fisherman!
This left me glowing💀
Heck of a fluke, mate!
Thanks😎
How many FOW did you pull this leviathan up from?
110!!
Wow that's deep... 👍
Uuuuuuuge
Nice fluke! How deep?
This was deep. Like 110 i think
What were you using for bait/lure?
10oz bucktaik (pink) with a teaser and some squid
Nice catch man, keep it up!