Fluke 18-inch rule negates the bounty -- Newsday.com

• Anyone interested in catching fluke on opening day last weekend was in luck. The fish were biting hard and fast. But anyone interested in keeping fluke had a much tougher time as the 18-inch regulation relegated some otherwise very big fish to throwbacks and left many anglers frustrated.
• The distance between 17 1/2 and 18 inches never seemed as great as it did this week. So many fish were just-shorts, forcing fisherman to first squint at the lines on the ruler, then wince at the idea of tossing the catch back. The good news is that in another few weeks, those fish will be big enough to find their way to someone's plate. By the end of the summer, the 16-inch fish will probably be long enough to keep. The bad news is that fluke season ends in early September, so any fish smaller than 16 inches this week won't likely reach the regulation by the time the recreational fishing ends.
• While many anglers were tossing fluke over the side as if they were bailing water from the engine room, there were a few locations where keepers were plentiful. Just outside Shinnecock Inlet on opening day, the Shinnecock Star found plenty of 18-inch fish. Bill Nixon had a 9-pound, 4-ounce, fish Saturday afternoon to go with an 8-pounder and a 6-pound, 8-ounce fluke by other anglers on the trip. On Sunday, Mike Chan hooked a 9-pound, 2-ounce fluke. In the Greenlawns area off Shelter Island, Bill Joyce caught a 10.44-pounder and Wego Fishing in Southold weighed about five fish of more than 8 pounds from that same area during the weekend.
• Eighteen inches will be a difficult benchmark to meet throughout the summer. Heck, it was difficult to meet this week. But it is still early for productive fluke fishing in many areas. Sure, anglers may have to alter their techniques or their locations to put some filets on the table this year. But fishermen who know their craft and put in their time will find the keeper fish. That's the one constant in fishing. [Tom Rock NY Newsday]