Outdoor World

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Outdoor World column for publication June 19

FLUKE AND FLOUNDER – THE TWO FISH WE DON’T HAVE IN SOUTHERN MAINE

 DATE: June 15, 2003

TO: Journal Tribune

FROM: Stu Bristol

SUBJECT: Outdoor World column for publication June 19

SUGGESTED TITLE: FLUKE AND FLOUNDER – THE TWO FISH WE DON’T HAVE IN SOUTHERN MAINE

Tourists to southern Maine ask me all the time, "Where can we catch some "Flatties"?" Unfortunately, the flatties they are talking about are either Fluke or Flounder, fish that were once abundant in southern Maine but are now nearly depleted. Waters from Ogunquit to the New Hampshire border hold the most viable population of flat fishes today.

Looking like pancakes with fins, fluke and flounder are one of the tastiest fish in the ocean, as I witnessed first-hand a couple weeks ago after fishing Boston Harbor with my good friend Dick Pinney, outdoor columnist for the Manchester NH Union Leader, and Pete Santini, owner of Fish N Finatics Tackle shop of Everett, Massachusetts.

To say these fish look odd is an understatement. A steam-roller used for compressing blacktop driveways came to mind when the first fish came on board. "They look like road kill of the ocean." I remarked as fish after fish came over the railing, a total of nearly 50 fish in the 2-4 pound range in less than five hours. Two species of flounder are plentiful in the area surrounding Logan Airport where we fished, the Summer Flounder and the fluke, which are usually caught later in the summer about September.

Summer Flounder are dark colored on their top-side and white underneath. Both eyes are situated on the right side of their flattened head and Peter and Dick were kind enough to point out that Summer Flounder lack the sharp teeth to be watched for when Fluke fishing. The lateral line of the Summer Flounder also has an arch just above the pectoral fins while the Winter flounder lateral line is straight all along its body.

In Maine waters it is the Winter flounder that was prominent back when numbers were up and can still be found in the shallow bays of southern Maine, especially around Perkins Cove in Ogunquit. The Maine state Record for Winter Flounder is 4 pounds, 3 ounces, caught by Lisa Boughner in June of 1989. As with most saltwater species, flounder are encountered most often at the changing of the tides. On this trip the incoming tide brought on the fish.

We anchored up somewhere along the section of Boston Harbor known as the Faun Bar, a long underwater rockpile that juts out underwater just off Deer Isle. Huge jets barely cleared our heads, lifting off every minute or so. It took me several tries to hook my first fish. The contrast between my normal light tackle and delicate fly-line leader to the between 3 and 6 ounces of flat round sinker used to keep the baits on bottom in the strong current.

We used tandem rigs that featured a triangle swivel with two lines coming off and the third leg holding the round sinker. Bait was either seaworms or clam strips. As with other forms of natural bait angling, it took a lot of bait to keep the fish interested. As when fishing any bottom-dwellers other species of forage fish found our baits, sometimes more often than the flounder.

Skates were the most common on that day and we hooked and released three or four dozen. Anglers from southern Maine can drag their own boats to Boston Harbor and will probably have to pay a fee to launch. We were fortunate to be aboard the Drop A Line, a 26-foot Bayliner Trophy owned and operated by Capt. Dennis DeCarney of Reading, operating out of the Atlantis Marina in Winthrop. My suggestion for those interested in fishing Boston area is to give either Dennis DeCarney a call at 617-270-1800, visit his website at www.dropaline.net, or Pete Santini at Fishing FINatics 617-381-1997 or www.fishfinatic.com.

Last fall we tried our hand in the Harbor between Boston and Lynn for fluke and shallow water cod. The wind blew and made bottom fishing very difficult but we still landed a couple dozen fluke and half as many cod (red in color)in the 4-6 pound range. That outing began with plenty of bluefish and striped bass action as the birds were working and fish were busting all over the harbor.

The abundance of fish early in the day gave Santini a chance to show off his namesake, the Santini tube. Similar to surgical rubber tubes used by southern Maine anglers from striped bass, the Santini tube featured a couple of small Colorado style spinner blades at the top end and a small hole cut a third of the way down the side of the tube. This adds noise and vibration when the tube is trolled.

Will they catch more fish than traditional tubes? Not being a great fan of trolling for anything but salmon I’m not a good person to ask, but the tubes are now being sold at Saco Bay Tackle Company. Anglers who troll the Saco a lot should give them a try and let me know your opinion.

By the way, my largest fish of the day was a 35-pounder taken on 8-pound spinning gear and a small rubber shad. Will fluke or flounder become common in Maine waters again? Some say yes and some say it really depends on the water temperatures and level of pollution. If numbers do increase, I, for one, will become a fan. Content goes here, and here and here and here!

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