Flounder Reg Changes

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
is it against the law to intentionally catch a flounder with a rod and reel and let them go during the "closed" season?
or is just too much to ask for a rec guy to throw back a 15 inch flounder?

I guess it’s about like asking a guy who intentionally targets crappie to let a 12”er go because of a closed season. Now a bass fisherman may fish to release them, but there aren’t too many folks that target crappie for the fun of the fight.
 
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Justin

Old Mossy Horns
I’ve caught more flounder this year than I ever have before . Maybe that’s just because I’ve been going to the right spots . Either way it has been fun!!


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You’re not supposed to have to spend time on the water to find fish. They’re supposed to bite whatever you throw whenever you throw it wherever you throw it. ?
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
I don’t understand exactly how any fish that is being severely overfished(which is what the SAMFC is saying about summer flounder) can have any harvest by any group until the stock has recovered.
As to the NC regs, the changes are being driven by the feds and this is The NCDMF plan to recover the stocks. Honestly I think they should shut it down for everyone for a couple of years and then open it up for a short season and increase the size limit to 20 inches and reduce the bag limit to 2 fish.
The fact of the matter is that the days of going to the coast and catching coolers and coolers of fish are a thing of the past. There are to many people taking to many fish for the stocks to do anything but collapse. Until everyone understand that then we will continue to see this kind of thing happen


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Wanchese

Twelve Pointer
Rec. fisherman have never caught enough flounder in any given year to warrant a season closing in Aug and the comm. not catching there limit and can fish till end of year....that tells me that someone setting the limits rules to screw the recs.
Commercial season going from 11 months to 30 days and you think recs are the only ones getting screwed?


A 30 day season, mid September to mid October, I'll be surprised if many of the poundnetters even set their nets.
 

Wanchese

Twelve Pointer
I don’t understand exactly how any fish that is being severely overfished(which is what the SAMFC is saying about summer flounder) can have any harvest by any group until the stock has recovered.
As to the NC regs, the changes are being driven by the feds and this is The NCDMF plan to recover the stocks.
This is about SOUTHERN flounder, not summer flounder. The Feds don't have much, if anything, to do with these regulations.



NC's commercial Summer Flounder aren't even caught here, they are caught off the coast of New England and landed here.
 

bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
This is about SOUTHERN flounder, not summer flounder. The Feds don't have much, if anything, to do with these regulations.



NC's commercial Summer Flounder aren't even caught here, they are caught off the coast of New England and landed here.

Sorry got the species mixed up but this is being driven by the SAMFC. Reg changes are coming all over the coast from NC to the east coast of Florida. T


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oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
I guess it’s about like asking a guy who intentionally targets crappie to let a 12”er go because of a closed season. Now a bass fisherman may fish to release them, but there aren’t too many folks that target crappie for the fun of the fight.
well actually there are.
my backyard fishery Jordan hosts many who don't have to kill every legal crappie they catch.
 

Longrifle

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Commercial season going from 11 months to 30 days and you think recs are the only ones getting screwed?


A 30 day season, mid September to mid October, I'll be surprised if many of the poundnetters even set their nets.
I'm seeing more nets and more licenses being sold everyday of Yardsale sites....
 

sky hawk

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
well actually there are.
my backyard fishery Jordan hosts many who don't have to kill every legal crappie they catch.

Big difference in “killing every legal fish” and a closed season. I know plenty of people who throw back legal fish, but they probably would not be fishing if it was a closed season. My take on flounder fishermen is that’s probably the case there as well.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Big difference in “killing every legal fish” and a closed season. I know plenty of people who throw back legal fish, but they probably would not be fishing if it was a closed season. My take on flounder fishermen is that’s probably the case there as well.
naw these cats would go anyway since they aren't fishing for food. they enjoy finding and catching dozens and dozens of crappie.
that apparently doesn't translate to the salt though. at least for flounder. Trout and channel bass fishermen go/have been thru this and seem to be fine with adjusted seasons (trout) and low limits(CB).
 

CRC

Old Mossy Horns
Yep you can't keep and eat "big" red drum anymore but folks love to fish for them
 

hawkman

Eight Pointer
Goodbye, flounder.

Sigh. Finally got a boat, had one good flounder trip last year and was ready to really do well in the coming years. My target fish.
 
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Sportsman

Old Mossy Horns
While we’re complaining about the poor job DMF appears to be doing, I’ll bring up the declining inshore fisheries of Hatteras and Ocracoke. The vast majority of shark species are protected, they say there aren’t many left. Go watch huge schools of dusky sharks corral up and maul the red drum in/around the inlet. I was there all week and friends who are lifelong guides are telling me the puppy drum fishing has been nearly nonexistent over the last few years. The sharks and cormorant birds are killing the fish. Cormorants, like the sharks, are also protected. Those things can flat wipe out bait and small game fish.
 

Justin

Old Mossy Horns
While we’re complaining about the poor job DMF appears to be doing, I’ll bring up the declining inshore fisheries of Hatteras and Ocracoke. The vast majority of shark species are protected, they say there aren’t many left. Go watch huge schools of dusky sharks corral up and maul the red drum in/around the inlet. I was there all week and friends who are lifelong guides are telling me the puppy drum fishing has been nearly nonexistent over the last few years. The sharks and cormorant birds are killing the fish. Cormorants, like the sharks, are also protected. Those things can flat wipe out bait and small game fish.
Yes.... the duskys are killing the tuna offshore and the sandbars are eating anything and everything inshore and offshore as well. Piss on a shark
 

darenative

Twelve Pointer
Yep, the damn shark population is getting out of hand. A couple summers back, 4 or 5 big bull sharks had a school of puppy drum pushed up under a neighbors dock in about 3' of water. It looked like something you'd see on shark week on the discovery channel.
The water was blood red around the dock with upper slot drum jumping like mullet trying to escape 8' bull sharks. Those sharks ran up and down that section of shoreline all day eating drum. Needless to say, but the drum fishing sucked around our place for a while.
 

JohnBoat

Banned
Sharks and cormerants....? That's what yall are gonna blame?? If they are effecting the fishing that bad the real question is why can't our fish stocks hold up against natural predation? We shouldnt have to kill off every predator to have decent fishing. I'm also assuming y'all know that having Apex predators is a very good thing for the system as a whole. Sharks and birds wouldnt be an issue if we had decent fisheries. Y'all are pointing the finger at the wrong issue.
 

darenative

Twelve Pointer
Sharks and cormerants....? That's what yall are gonna blame?? If they are effecting the fishing that bad the real question is why can't our fish stocks hold up against natural predation? We shouldnt have to kill off every predator to have decent fishing. I'm also assuming y'all know that having Apex predators is a very good thing for the system as a whole. Sharks and birds wouldnt be an issue if we had decent fisheries. Y'all are pointing the finger at the wrong issue.
Some apex predators are a good thing but at the level our large coastal species of sharks are at...not so much.
I take it you've never seen the plague of migrating cormerants we get each fall and spring at the coast. Flocks that extend as far as the eye can see in either direction. If you dont think that impacts our fisheries long term you need your head examined.
Nobody is saying these are the sole reasons for fisheries declines, but each has an impact and it's larger than most think.
 

JohnBoat

Banned
Some apex predators are a good thing but at the level our large coastal species of sharks are at...not so much.
I take it you've never seen the plague of migrating cormerants we get each fall and spring at the coast. Flocks that extend as far as the eye can see in either direction. If you dont think that impacts our fisheries long term you need your head examined.
Nobody is saying these are the sole reasons for fisheries declines, but each has an impact and it's larger than most think.

I've seen the cormerants. Pretty much the only time I'm down at the coast is during the fall and spring, as I'm only at the beach to fish 90% of the time. I'm not saying they dont impact our fisheries. I'm saying their impact is a natural impact and the fact that some are placing blame on them over other issues is a little ridiculous. If we had better water quality management in the state along with better fisheries management I doubt we would be discussing sharks and birds. That's my point.
 

Sportsman

Old Mossy Horns
Some apex predators are a good thing but at the level our large coastal species of sharks are at...not so much.
I take it you've never seen the plague of migrating cormerants we get each fall and spring at the coast. Flocks that extend as far as the eye can see in either direction. If you dont think that impacts our fisheries long term you need your head examined.
Nobody is saying these are the sole reasons for fisheries declines, but each has an impact and it's larger than most think.

Next time you’re in Dare/Hyde County, ask a few seasoned watermen their opinion on the sharks and cormorants, and what the difference is today compared to years ago. There were no cormorants and the sharks were “managed”.
 

darenative

Twelve Pointer
Next time you’re in Dare/Hyde County, ask a few seasoned watermen their opinion on the sharks and cormorants, and what the difference is today compared to years ago. There were no cormorants and the sharks were “managed”.

This directed at me?
 
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