I caught my last winter flounder on a blistering, humid August afternoon. A winter flounder in the midst of summer? Fishing has gotten that crazy with all of the rules and regulations bestowed on us by New York state environmental laws.
Prior to 1996, a winter flounder was simply a flounder. A blueblack flounder if anyone wants the specifics. So what happened? In 1996 the New York Seafood Council won the right to rename fluke to summer flounder. This caused confusion. What was the difference between flounder, winter flounder, and summer flounder? A flounder was just that a flounder until 1996 when a flounder became a winter flounder and a fluke became a summer flounder. I don't blame them. Who would want to order sauteed fluke in a restaurant? Not me and not most others. So fluke was changed to be called summer flounder so restaurants could now offer "Lemon tinged flounder" on a customers plate. Sure sounds better than lemon tinged fluke.
So I don't blame the Seafood Council for wanting to change the name of a fish. I'm sure more plates of fluke, oops, I mean sumer flounder, have been served in New York restaurants since the name switch.
So where does that leave the original flounder, the flattie of lore and gastronomical legend, the bottom dweller known to love the muddy bottom, sucking up worms and broken shellfish? The original flounder underwent a name change. It became known as winter flounder oddly enough since many are caught in the beginning of summer when they move out of the back bays.
Today, however, there are so few flounders, I mean winter flounders, the species is ready to be showed in photographs at the Natural Museum of Dinosaurs, as a species vanished from the face of the earth like the dodo bird. So what happened to them? There are many explanations, opinions, to the demise of the popular ground fish. The seal population explosion for one. Seals are the natural predator of winter flounders. Just look at how chubby those seals are getting at the back bays of Nassau County. Those seals are getting so fat and without using a diner card. No wonder the seals always look like it's laughing.
Most of the winter flounders are gone at least for those supporting only hooks and sinkers. Maybe it's different for the seals. They have a better underwater view on what is moving around, and the harbor seals still show up every winter, so I would guess the winter flounders are still there. I could, however, only guess the food that keeps the seals swimming in the area. It could be winter herring maybem or even tautog blackfish. If it's winter flounder I have to give the seals credit for being a better angler than me.
With this in mind, I will still head out on April 1st to try my luck in nabbing a flattie. Last year, I was fishing next to a guy who caught one, the only one I'd seen the whole year. I will try simply because I like flounder fishing. I've been flounder fishing for years and years, and it's a tough habit to break. I don't expect to catch one this year, yet I will try. As someone who has been fishing for so long, I always remain optimistic.
Even to the point of senseless stupidity, yet it's the optimistism of thinking I'll catch a fish that keeps me fishing each and every year. My optimistism gives me strength, and it shows my weakness. Call me crazy nonetheless I will be flounder fishing in spring when the season finally reopens on April 1st in New York. If I luck out and catch one, I'll probably end up as stunned as the hooked flounder, flopping and wiggling in the cool, spring breeze.
