The most striking aspect of the current fishing scene facing the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is the wide variety of choices confronting them. Although fluke have begun their migration from the bay to the ocean, many remain in the bay waters. They are joined in the bay by hordes of blowfish, a few weakfish, and some triggerfish. In the inshore ocean waters, there are fluke and black sea bass around structure along with an assortment of fish being taken on the troll including bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and bonito. Offshore in the canyons there are tuna, mahi, and a few billfish.
Congratulations to Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” who recently took third place in the prestigious Sunshine Fluke Tournament out of Tuckerton. The total weight of Captain Gary’s two fish was 7.915-pounds in a field of 102 participating boats.
Captain Ray Lopez has been finding fish in the bay, inshore ocean, and on out to the canyons. Earlier in the month he had a group of several anglers out to the canyons after yellowfin. It was a beautiful day with calm seas and clear water. The fish cooperated as they returned with 4 nice yellowfin. Other days on inshore fluke and sea bass trips anglers caught multiple keeper fluke to 23-inches, black sea bass, and ling.
Just yesterday Captain Carl Sheppard and first mate Max had the Al Blumenfel party out for an action-packed day. The started wreck hopping and quickly limited out on black sea bass. They then trolled up 11 bluefish for dinner and released many more. One of the highlights of the day was a pod of bunker being corralled by a large whale and a school of manta rays.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” Sportfishing had a couple of excellent days in the bay this week. One fluke trip resulted in a total of 40 fluke with a pair of keepers. They had to release several that were about ¼ of an inch short. Another day Captain Brett anchored up for blowfish and his party managed a total of 221 blowfish for the table. It was a lot of cleaning fish, but plenty of good fish meals.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.