Fluke fishing will continue to the end of the season with the three fish at a minimum of 18 inches. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, who could have shut down our fluke season for being out of compliance with the ASMFC Summer Flounder Management Plan, instead accepted the compromise plan worked out with NMFS as being sufficient to meet the goals of the plan -- providing a rare victory by a state against an ASMFC ruling.. It was the resolve of DEP Commissioner Bob Martin and the backing of the Christie Administration that allowed the state to avoid the 19-inch minimum required by the ASMFC for our region with New York and Connecticut. Officials from those states declined to join N.J. in fighting the ASMFC, emphasizing the importance of N.J. becoming a region of its own. It's hard enough trying to come up with regulations suitable for both north and south Jersey without having to accommodate the completely different fluke fisheries of Long Island Sound and Montauk. Not everyone was happy with saving the 18-inch minimum due to the September days lost in the compromise agreement. Fluke pros looking for big fish aren't concerned with minimums, and may have their best shot at a trophy in September. Tackle shops and some party and charter boat skippers may also prefer a longer open season. The Marine Fisheries Council considered those factors before approving the compromise. Fluking has been generally tough this season, and there are often only a few keepers on a party boat, most of which are likely to be barely 18 inches. As noted in last week's column, Capt. Stan Zagleski had one big hit of fluke on his Elaine B II from Bahrs in Highlands when they moved into Manasquan River last month, but only three of the 60 keepers would have made the ASMFC's 19 inches. The fluke tournaments can now go on as planned, starting with this weekend's two-day Sandy Hook Anglers contest at Atlantic Highlands Marina on Saturday and Sunday.  Call Brian Dunn at 732 787-4008 for details. The Raritan Bay Anglers Club holds its Charity Fluke Tournament on Saturday after the Thursday night captains meeting at the Moose Lodge in Perth Amboy. The big money Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament follows next Saturday with a $145  power boat entry fee paid by July 19 plus a kayak division for product prizes with an early entry fee of $50. The captains meeting is next Friday at 7 p.m. in thr Point Pleasant Elks. Call 732 899-7638 for information . The statewide JCAA Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament isn't until Aug. 5, but the $130 early entry boat fee only applies to July 24 before going up to $160. The offshore tournament season starts July 25 to 29 with the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club's White Marlin Invitational. Call Dave Ridley at 908 963-5924, or visit wmit@bhmtclub.com. At Brielle, the Big Jamaica is making special golden tilefish trips by reservation at 10 p.m. Sunday nights, but Capt. Ryan Bogan didn't have to go that far to see a smaller blueline tilefish of about 3 pounds that was caught from Jamaica II in just 70 feet. Anglers working bucktails are bagging most of the fluke limits along with the two sea bass allowed. Larry Groh from Levittown, Pa. took over the monthly Mega-Pool lead on Sunday afternoon with a 6 5/8-pound fluke. The monthly winner not only takes the cash, but also earns a year of free fishing on Jamaica II.  Tank Matraxia of Lyndhurst joined the American Littoral Society crew to help Rutgers researchers put 50 live sea bass board Capt. Chad Hacker's Tagged Fish  out of Highlands this week. Those sea bass are now swimming in the huge rank at the Sandy Hook Marine Lab where they will be studied just as bluefish were in that tank decades ago. Matraxia also was able to put his ALS tags into 7 sea bass, a fluke and a blackfish that day. He just received his 181st ALS tag return -- a 15-inch fluke he tagged in the Shrewsbury River on June 7 that was hooked again on again on July 3 in the same river. Though 19-inch fluke have been tough to come by even from boats, I released ome that size  in the Spring Lake surf this week while casting a new 1/8-ounce Storm Searchbait plastic jig in chartreuse. After doing nothing in Shark River Thursdy morning, I went back to the surf for fluke and thought I had a good one hooked on the Searchbait before it turned out to be a school striper -- a surprise catch in a trough along the beach with the sun high in the sky. A little later, another bass slammed the jig in the wash -- but I got only one fat 16-inch fluke during the brief attempt. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, reports fluking has been good in Manasquan River, where Pete Boswell of Point Pleasant used squid and spearing to boat an 8-pound fluke. Melillo noted that Point Pleasant Canal has lots of blackfish waiting for the season to open for a single tog on July 17.