WINTER FLOUNDER - NO FOOLIN

WINTER FLOUNDER - NO FOOLIN'

                 

        April 1st has always been called April Fool's Day. There were lots of laughs through my many years when  Mom, Dad, Bride, Kids, friends and enemies "fooled" me and uttered the words, "April Fool". 

         More recently and again this year, April 1st marks the beginning of the winter flounder fishing season, and when one  views the brief but very real fishing regulations, one would wish it were indeed an April Fool's joke.

          Please understand that I have fished for this springtime favorite food fish for  more than six decades. I come from a time when there were no limits on the species. I remember Mr. Decker's boat rentals along Canal Road on Saugatuck Shores. His was one of many.   Overton's in Norwalk rented boats by the dozens. The Westport Tackle Shop often sold sand worms by the "flat" instead of by the dozen. Fishermen and families would drive down  on weekends from inland communities o spend th day flounder fishing in the harbor.

       

A limit catch under today's regulations

 Flounder were always fun to catch ---- so much fun that the Norwalk Hour spomsored  a popular flounder derby every year. Dozens of boats participated with lots of prizes and fun Local anglers would pick up a dozen worms and drive to Pasacreta Park or would fish from Cribari Bridge in Saugatuck  or Compo Beach and  fill a bucket to feed friends and neighbors on an afternoon when the tide was right. The average catch was maybe 6 or 8 flounder, plenty for multiple family dinners.

          There was never a shortage in the supply of flounder then, even though there were far more flounder fishermen than there are now.   It looked like they might recover back in the 70's with a couple of plentiful seasons and fat healthy fish, but then fishing dropped off again. Reactions from fisheries biologists was even more amazing. Today, the daily limit for winter flounder is two fish and the minimum legal length is 12-inches. It is hardly worth the purchase of a dozen sandworms, let alone  gas for the car or boat, some clam chum,  rod, reel, hooks, line and sinkers  Admittedly, the same tackle can be used for other species that will be arriving throughout the summer season, but flounder are a food fish and a realistic limit should at least feed an average family of four.

         

Four old fishing pals L-R: Copp McNulty, Allie Kriewald, Lou Tabory Sr., Vinny Santella

One of the last Norwalk Flounder Derbies.

 Nobody really knows what caused the flounder shortage.  Coincidentally, the drought occurred in conjunction with banner years  for striped bass and bluefish.  An enormous population of cormorants also showed up in the area and those critters eat lots of fish in an average day.  Commercial draggers underwent big changes in equipment allowing them to fish areas they had never fished before.

           They don't require sophisticated equipment. An inexpensive spinning or boat rod and reel, a package of flounder hooks, sinkers and bait. Early spring finds them up inside the rivers and their migration is slow, ending up a mile or so off the beaches by Memorial Day. Heavy rains push them out a little but faster, but they're easy to locate and in a good season on a good day, they practically pave the bottom.
          April 1st is now the official opening day of flounder season. After this mild winter they should already be on the move , exiting the rivers and marsh areas to their summer haunts in the outer waters.
This year, with trout season already running strong in fresh water, and the less than  realistic limit on flounder, I'm not sure how much play the spring run will get, but this species is most rewarding out of the frying pan and well worth a trip or two.

Pasacreta Park on Riverside Avenue in Westport is a  popular early season spot for flounder. Captain Eugene Pasacreta was a friend and colleague, a fine musician, a talented artist and an outstanding Police Officer.
                                                                  DWA