Spring, Fishing and Weather

I can agree with some bag and size limits, but I can't stand some of the "seasons", when the government tells you that you can't fish. There are plenty of fluke around now but you can't keep them. New York fluke season is open and the boats are catching. They let the commercial boats fish for fluke now, and they put a hurting on them before our season opens next week. There is no harm in keeping one or two now when they are here, but they extended the fluke season into late September this year, and everyone knows that if just one hurricane passes offshore, it's just a waste of time. The sea bass season opened yesterday and there are plenty around, but it was hard to get them to bite in a building south wind. That should get better after the new moon and a change in the weather. Speaking of weather, most of the state got pounded by strong storms yesterday. As the squall line approached the coast, I prepared for the worst. We actually observed rotation in the clouds over head, but as usual for this time of year, the cold waters of the ocean and Barnegat bay sucked the energy out of the system and just ate it up. All we had here was heavy rain, just like ringing out a wet towel. I am expecting a good catch this weekend when the winds return to a westerly direction.