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Fluke

    THE SCUTTLEBUTT

    Call Them Fluke or Summer Flounder — They’re Back

    Charlie Souza says goodbye to Mr. Chips, but fishing won’t leave him

    By

    Well, it’s official: the fluke are back. After a 10-year absence, they are turning up both in Cape Cod Bay and on the backside beaches. This past week, good catches were reported at Herring Cove, Wood End, and Long Point. I don’t believe anyone has tried the old fluke spots off Beach Point yet, but I think it’s a good bet because the numbers are high at all three of the aforementioned spots.

    Fluke, for those readers who aren’t familiar with this fish, are a flounder — specifically paralichthys dentatus, a left-eye fish that some call summer flounder. They are quite different from the blackback flounder we also used to catch around here, pseudopleuronectes americanus, a right-eye fish also known as winter flounder. Fluke have large mouths and teeth and are predators that chase smaller fish and crustaceans. The winter flounder have small mouths and no teeth and graze along the bottom.

    Fluke fishing was very good here for many years. Then, suddenly, they stopped coming in, for reasons that still escape us. And for whatever reason — we will probably never know why — they are now back. There is a 17½-inch minimum, and the vast majority of the fluke we are catching now are in the 13-to-16-inch range, though there have also been a few 18-to-20-inchers.

    The high number of shorts we are seeing doesn’t surprise or concern me, because that’s how it seems to go when a species first returns to an area. When striped bass started to make a big comeback here, we had a few years of catching nothing but schoolies. I remember catching small schoolies at Long Point and the mouth of the Pamet when the bass started their comeback. Eventually they were replaced by much bigger fish. I believe the same thing will happen, and we will start to see bigger fluke as early as next year.

    I’m excited about the prospect of good fluke fishing again next summer — though only time will tell whether their sudden reappearance this fall is a fluke.

    What I do think we should be concerned about is the effect all these seals and cormorants will have on the fluke’s comeback. It’s no secret that the number of these predators — I consider these to be overpopulations — is a big reason we do not have blackback flounder here anymore. I do not need a study to tell me what was going on: for years I watched cormorants coming up to the surface in the harbor with small flounders in their mouths, one after another after another.

    Capt. Mike Rathgeber is at front; clockwise, starting from his left: George Driscoll, Nico Pace, Vaughn Cabral, Rich Wood, Charlie Souza, Tommy Smith, Joe Francis, Russ Zawaduk, Leo Rose, David Lauricella, Zeno Schwebel, and Dave Gibson.

    Last Sunday we had our annual charter boat captains’ dinner at Montano’s, where we celebrated another year of working together cooperatively to make sure everyone who comes to the Outer Cape to fish has a good experience. This really is a case of a rising tide lifting all boats: if we all do well, that helps everyone.

    There was about a zillion years of fishing experience at that dinner table. We took a moment to recognize and show some respect and love to Charlie Souza, who sold his iconic boat, the Mr. Chips, this summer and has retired from commercial bass fishing. Charlie and his boat were fixtures of the waterfront community for decades, and we’ll miss seeing him out there. I’m sure he’ll hitch a ride with someone and go wet a line every now and then. When it’s in your blood, it never leaves you.

    CHEF AT HOME

    Two Schools of Fluke

    Now’s the time for summer flounder, pan fried the old-fashioned way or plated raw in a crudo

    By

    I haven’t had much luck fishing this summer. There have been a few bluefish, sure. As for striped bass, I haven’t caught one keeper. They say the fluke are in their usual spots, including off the Pamet, right near my grandparents’ house. Which reminded me of fishing for dinner with Humpa.

    Marinated fluke
    Go light on the peach-onion-herb marinade so the fresh flavor of the fluke will shine through. (Photo Teresa Parker)

    Fluke are sandy colored side swimmers, well camouflaged against the sandy bottom where we used to find them, just about a half mile to a mile from shore. They’re not really exciting to catch, to be honest. You bounce your jig along the bottom and when you feel the line wiggle, you reel it up and that’s that. But like Humpa always said, “If you don’t catch what you want, catch what you can.”

    The challenges with fluke happen after you get them home: they’re tricky to fillet properly. First you slide the fillets off the bone, then you skin them. If you’re not good with a knife, there may not be much left when you’re done. Humpa made us practice. Getting it right was important; nothing should go to waste.

    Once you have your fillets, do something simple with them. For me, it’s hard to decide how they’re best. My grandmother would have pan fried them. The classic preparation is easy to do and it’s hard to beat that crispy golden crust as a counterpoint to the tender, flaky fish.

    It would be wrong to say crudo is better. It’s just a totally different pleasure. I take half-inch-thick slices of the day’s fluke, cut on the bias, and pound them gently with a rolling pin to tenderize them a little, then chill them well. They get their seasoning of fresh lemon and lime juices just three to five minutes before serving time — so the fish doesn’t cook as it would with a longer-marinated ceviche.

    Right now, there’s a peach tree in our yard that is producing bushels of fruit. They taste like summer, but they hint at fall. I wanted to capture that with this recipe. So, to my usual crudo dressing of ponzu or lemon and lime, good olive oil, and sea salt, I’m adding just a spoonful of flavors from the early-September garden: minced peach, fine-diced red onion, and mint.

    Maybe nobody races out to catch fluke. But they do get themselves to the table pretty fast when you tell them you’ve got flounder for supper.

    Pan Fried Flounder

    Serves 4

    1½ to 2 lbs. flounder fillets

    1 cup panko breadcrumbs

    2 eggs, beaten

    1 cup oil for frying

    Kosher salt and fresh black pepper

    Put the panko in a wide bowl and season it well with the salt and pepper. Beat the eggs in another wide bowl.

    Dip the fillets first in the eggs, then in the panko, patting extra panko on top to get a firm coating.

    Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet — this can be olive oil or any vegetable oil you like — until it is shimmering (but not smoking!) and slip the fish into the pan. Fry until golden, 2-3 minutes, and carefully turn the fillets for another minute or two of frying.

    Remove to a plate or paper towel to allow excess oil to drip off, and plate. A dollop of mayo with chopped pickle and a squeeze of lemon juice stirred in is a nice quick condiment.

    Summer Flounder Crudo

    Serves 4 as an appetizer

    Though crudo means raw in Italian, it’s important to dress the fish just a few minutes before serving so that it doesn’t over-marinate. The peach, onion, and herbs are added sparingly, so they’re just reminiscent of salsa, but they don’t take over the plate.

    3/4 lb. flounder fillet

    1/4 cup ponzu

    or 1/4 cup fresh lemon and lime juice, combined

    Fresh peach, red onion, and mint or basil

    3 Tbsp. top-shelf extra virgin olive oil

    Pinch of crunchy sea salt

    Roll the fillet gently with a rolling pin to tenderize it. Then cut it on the bias it into half-inch-thick slices. (Putting the fillet into the freezer for a few minutes to make it very firm will allow you to slice it perfectly.)

    Arrange the slices of fish so they overlap just slightly on a large chilled platter or on individual plates. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

    Squeeze the lemon and lime juices (or measure the ponzu) into a bowl. Cut a few thin slices of peach into tiny cubes, to make about 1/4 cup, and add them to the bowl. Mince a slice or two of scallion or red onion to make about one tablespoon and add it. Do the same with a few leaves of mint or basil. You need only about a tablespoon of this mixture per serving.

    To serve, spoon the citrus-peach mixture over the fish, drizzle the whole thing with the olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt.

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