Local fishermen landed more than 100,000 pounds of fluke this summer at Menemsha. The landings by 10 small draggers and about five handline fishermen represents one-seventh of all the landings made in the state. The state quota for fluke was 702,614 pounds.
The report on local landings came out of a state fisheries public hearing held in Tisbury on Monday afternoon.
An uninvited guest named Bill was the talk of the waterfront on Wednesday afternoon.
No, this was not former President Bill Clinton, for he is welcome.
The concern was Hurricane Bill, spinning in the Atlantic as a category four hurricane, more than a thousand miles away. While forecasters appear confident the storm will stay safely at sea through the coming weekend, the storm’s significant size and power still are of concern to local mariners with big or little boats.
The commercial and recreational fluke season ended this week. Fish markets are quickly going through their supply; if you want to buy fluke check with your local market. The last fish caught commercially was landed Tuesday. The last recreational fluke was landed yesterday. Anglers now shift their attention almost exclusively to striped bass, bluefish and bonito.
The arrival of false albacore is a few weeks away.
On Saturday, there were two anglers out trying to get their limit of fluke, before the season closed.
The summer flounder, also called fluke, season is about to come to an end. The state will close the commercial season on Tuesday, August 11. The recreational season will close three days later.
Commercial fishermen cannot land any more fluke after 8 p.m. Tuesday. As of the end of last week, 85 per cent of the quota was taken in two months of fishing. The season opened on June 10 and the fishermen have had little trouble getting their 300-pound daily trip limit.
Quite a few of the fishermen boarding the party fishing boat Skipper in Oak Bluffs on Wednesday morning before 8 a.m. were repeat customers. They toted their own coolers loaded with refreshments, and towels for keeping their hands clean.
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Fishing season has finally hit its stride. And if they can keep from getting lost in the fog, anglers are finding dinner. There are reports of bonito. Striped bass are still around, although in deeper water. Somebody caught a nice bluefish in Nantucket Sound on Wednesday morning. Someone else was seen toting five gallon buckets full of black sea bass.
