Spearfishing NY 2024 06 09 3.5 hours in the water for 1 fluke

June spearfishing.
3 hours in the water, not a single shot.
I got in the water, I saw a group of bluefish. The current was strong and taking me out, the bluefish were speeding the opposite way.
I did not have a clear shot, but I should have tried my luck.
The visibility was not great, but very good at times in some pocket in between the rocks.
I saw striped bass. Some probably close to or of legal minimum size. But I did not want to make a mistake. I already had striped bass in my fridge and freezer.
I saw a couple of decent sea robins, which I like to eat, but I passed hoping for a larger one. But after 3 hours in the water and no fish I regretted not taking one.
I was cold, there were so many currents. warms at times at the surface and very chilly at the bottom.
I decided to go out again. I saw a decent fluke, it was not buried under the sand or concealed. I took a stone shot. I was cold and dehydrated. I got out at 7 pm. The beach had disappeared from 2 weeks ago. I had to climb up the slippery rocks with the gear and the swell crashing.
The fluke was 20.5 inches long, minimum legal size 19, in July 19.5.
I saw so many large blackfish, but the season is closed May to October.
I wish smaller striped bass of 23-27 inches were legal. I could cook them whole, no need to fillet them. less work. I see so many of them. much more than porgies, triggerfish, bluefish, sheepsheads which are more laxly or not regulated. Striped bass appears so abundant for so many months. Bluefish and porgies are present more sporadically and usually during the warmer months. Triggerfish also, but they tend to get fished out at a specific location, so I see less.
Fluke/summer flounder is an ambush predator. It tastes really good. It has a mouth that opens really wide, like a snake.
But i prefer to target fish that swim above or in front of me.
track by @official_dj_olive
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