Labor Day is just a few days away, and that has always been the official end of the tourist season in Beach Haven. It certainly does not mean the end of the fishing season, however. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are eagerly looking forward to the upcoming days for some of the best fishing of the year.
Although some fluke still remain in the bay waters, the bulk of the population have made their move to the ocean waters. Traditionally, this means that boats fishing the inshore structure and artificial reefs will be enjoying some of their best fishing of the year until the season closes at the end of September.
The past few days have seen some sporty conditions in the ocean thanks to a steady diet of northeast winds. As the winds shift to the south and west, the fishing conditions will show great improvement.
Captain John Lewis has been fishing the “Insatiable” on a steady basis through some of the rough seas with some intrepid anglers aboard. The Marquis family with nine-year old Ashton and 12-year old Aliza bagged 10 fluke with two keepers and four nice keeper sea bass. On another trip the Hoven party of two boated 17 fluke despite the building wind and seas. Captain John says he is itching to get back out again now that the winds have dropped.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” sport fishing who has been fishing the north end of Long Beach Island had a couple of his charters cancel. He had Gino Arbasetti and Lou Marero on a 4-hour bay charter. With some good tidal conditions, they found fish and caught close to 25 fluke in rain-soaked conditions. Two fish made the cut to go in the box. All fish were caught on the S&S Bigeye bucktail.
Besides the ocean fishing and fluke around, the local bays are also ripe with fish. Many of these fish are small, but great fun on light tackle. In addition to the ever-present blowfish, there are weakfish, small stripers, black drum, triggerfish, and tog to be found if you know where to look.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org.