Sunken untended gill net for fluke?

H'Islander · 06-17-2007, 09:18 PM

Question for E-Conn or those who might have some commercial experience....Is untended submerged gill netting for fluke legal in CT?

I was drifting for fluke with some friends off of a local beach. We all snagged "bottom" at the same time - There was little current, and the snag seemed to be moving, so we were pulling this thing up thinking it might be a ghost trap or other rigging. As it came up we noted it was a gill net and thought it might be adrift until we noticed it was weighted to the bottom. We took the coordinates down and dropped the net, we thought it sank away but it must not sink fast and it got tangled in the props when we tried to motor away. Now we had to cut it loose as we were drifting near some rocks. as we were cutting it loose we noticed it had fluke tangled in the mesh and it dawned on us that this net was set on purpose for fluke.

I called the CT poachers hot line and asked it that practice was legal - they didn't know and were supposed to call me back but they never did.

These fish that we saw had to have been in the net for days, they were deeply tangled, scarred and bruised heavily from the net.

I've never heard of an untended gill net.

gman · 06-17-2007, 09:20 PM

that is insane, glad you were able to get out of that mess

ReelCrazySportfishing · 06-17-2007, 09:38 PM

That sucks.
I dont think gill netting fluke is legal.
call the tip line tomorrow if they dont get back to you.

06-17-2007, 09:43 PM

I dont know much about gill netting for fluke. They do it for monkfish. What was the size of the mesh? where was it located? pm me with info

H'Islander · 06-17-2007, 10:01 PM

Not meaning to keep secrets - mesh was about 6" and was off of Ocean Beach. intersection of cormorant rock and Work-out-world. Tons of fluke rigs snagged into the net - this thing musta been there for a long time. Torturous to the fish to say the least.

vrc-rods · 06-18-2007, 07:17 AM

Thank god you were able to get free from it before something worse happened. Thanks for reporting it to the authorities, hopefully something will be done about it it. It's nothing but a fish and sport killer.

FMF · 06-18-2007, 07:25 AM

maybe it was a lost net?

H'Islander · 06-18-2007, 12:28 PM

I don't think so - it had an iron weight attached to the bottom hem of the gill net (proably had a series of weights at interval) and floats along the top and It seemed to lead to a nearby buoy (like a lobster pot buoy) with no recognizable reg markings

06-20-2007, 03:21 PM

I was in new bedford the other day and talked to a captain of a gill net boat. This is what he said he personally has never heard of such a thing. His thought was one of two thing. Either a washed up gill net for monk fish or someone is poaching stripers. One or the other. Its not for fluke. Fluke would not be able to gill them selfs. They would swim up to the net and bump into it. And back off.

H'Islander · 06-22-2007, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boonebird

I was in new bedford the other day and talked to a captain of a gill net boat. This is what he said he personally has never heard of such a thing. His thought was one of two thing. Either a washed up gill net for monk fish or someone is poaching stripers. One or the other. Its not for fluke. Fluke would not be able to gill them selfs. They would swim up to the net and bump into it. And back off.

Well...he's wrong about one thing - there were at least two very large fluke tangled and alive in that net - the mesh was 6 tor 8 inches.

This thing was WAY inshore, inside Long Island Sound, in very shallow waters (30 ft) so the buoys would not have worked for a monkfish net (lines were not nearly long enough for deep water fish) unless they target the monkfish that come into shallow waters to spawn (they do that...the young grow in the estuaries and were once referred to as cape-cod ministers because of the territorial grunting noises that they make when colonialists would harvest clams on sundays instead of going to church)
and I would think thargeting any spawning species would be illegal.

this is what the net looked like....

06-17-2007, 09:18 PM	#1
H'Islander NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Scotland, CT Posts: 376	Sunken untended gill net for fluke? Question for E-Conn or those who might have some commercial experience....Is untended submerged gill netting for fluke legal in CT? I was drifting for fluke with some friends off of a local beach. We all snagged "bottom" at the same time - There was little current, and the snag seemed to be moving, so we were pulling this thing up thinking it might be a ghost trap or other rigging. As it came up we noted it was a gill net and thought it might be adrift until we noticed it was weighted to the bottom. We took the coordinates down and dropped the net, we thought it sank away but it must not sink fast and it got tangled in the props when we tried to motor away. Now we had to cut it loose as we were drifting near some rocks. as we were cutting it loose we noticed it had fluke tangled in the mesh and it dawned on us that this net was set on purpose for fluke. I called the CT poachers hot line and asked it that practice was legal - they didn't know and were supposed to call me back but they never did. These fish that we saw had to have been in the net for days, they were deeply tangled, scarred and bruised heavily from the net. I've never heard of an untended gill net.

06-17-2007, 09:38 PM	#3
ReelCrazySportfishing User Gallery Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Haven Posts: 1,933	That sucks. I dont think gill netting fluke is legal. call the tip line tomorrow if they dont get back to you. __________________ www.ReelCrazySportfishing.com Connecticut Charter Fishing www.fishermansparadisect.com

06-18-2007, 07:17 AM	#6
vrc-rods NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 78	Thank god you were able to get free from it before something worse happened. Thanks for reporting it to the authorities, hopefully something will be done about it it. It's nothing but a fish and sport killer. __________________ VRC- Handcrafted Fishing Rods www.vrcrods.com

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06-17-2007, 09:20 PM	#2
gman NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,196	that is insane, glad you were able to get out of that mess

06-17-2007, 09:43 PM	#4
Boonebird Unregistered User Gallery Posts: n/a	I dont know much about gill netting for fluke. They do it for monkfish. What was the size of the mesh? where was it located? pm me with info

06-17-2007, 10:01 PM	#5
H'Islander NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Scotland, CT Posts: 376	Not meaning to keep secrets - mesh was about 6" and was off of Ocean Beach. intersection of cormorant rock and Work-out-world. Tons of fluke rigs snagged into the net - this thing musta been there for a long time. Torturous to the fish to say the least.

06-18-2007, 07:25 AM	#7
FMF NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 1,404	maybe it was a lost net?

06-18-2007, 12:28 PM	#8
H'Islander NBS Member User Gallery Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Scotland, CT Posts: 376	I don't think so - it had an iron weight attached to the bottom hem of the gill net (proably had a series of weights at interval) and floats along the top and It seemed to lead to a nearby buoy (like a lobster pot buoy) with no recognizable reg markings

06-20-2007, 03:21 PM	#9
Boonebird Unregistered User Gallery Posts: n/a	I was in new bedford the other day and talked to a captain of a gill net boat. This is what he said he personally has never heard of such a thing. His thought was one of two thing. Either a washed up gill net for monk fish or someone is poaching stripers. One or the other. Its not for fluke. Fluke would not be able to gill them selfs. They would swim up to the net and bump into it. And back off.