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Originally Posted by Flaptail
For years we would drift sandeels with egg sinkers over the bars at Bearses, Handkerchief and the other rips east and south of Monomoy. If you didn't catch a bass on the drift most often you would catch a fluke or another small flounder species known locally as Windowpane. Often a seal would come right up in the face of the rip with a flounder in his maw and many many many times they would rip the flounder or fluke you caught right off your hook as it came to or just under the surface.
Windowpane were so abundant while surfcasting Nauset and Monomoy as to be almost a nuiscence some nights. I don't know about Nauset as I don't fish there often enough anymore but in conversation with friends who frequent the place (KarlF any input here?) there just ain't anymore. Also there used to be a spring run of small Pollock along Monomoy and Nauset and you don't see them anymore.
But as I have written many times in my columm in OTW, a half mile off of Nauset with 300 feet of wire we could catch all the bass we wanted after tuna forays and the bait was there but no Mr. Piniped.
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Look, I agree that the seals have an impact, especially locally the way you desecribe. But the flounder situation in particular is the same up and down the coast. Western LIS, outer banks, etc all saw the same trends where you could catch coolers full of flatfish and now they don't exist. All the environmental factors you stated also play a part. I am sure the fishing is going to be affected where the seals are, but I do not think the presence of seals can be identified as the main factor in the lack of flounder.
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