BHCFA Report

It seems like summer is now upon us and The boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been finding good action on both fluke and black sea bass. Anglers who want to target black sea bass, however, only have until June 19 when the season closes for a couple of weeks.

Currently, the bulk of the hot fluke action has been in the bay waters, but warm weather will change that quickly. Recent warm days are heating up the bay waters, and, as the water temperatures go up, those fluke will be migrating into the ocean.

The daily bag limit for black sea bass has been 10 fish per angler, but that drops to only one fish when the season reopens on July 1. Recent reef fishing for the sea bass has been particularly good with other species around including ling, blackfish, and even some cobia.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports terrific action on fluke in the waters just inside Barnegat Inlet. His parties have been fighting winds and tides but have been seeing steady rod bending action. Despite large numbers of just undersized fish, his anglers are returning with fishing dinner. He had local legend Bill Figley, founder of the New Jersey artificial reef program out this week along with Bill’s daughter Theresa and grandchildren Hunter and Mila. They boated five keepers while releasing over 20 undersized fish.

Captain Steve Palmer of the “Miss Beach Haven” and “Outer Limits” reports there are still a few striped bass around as well as some bluefish. He notes he is looking forward to the upcoming “Tuna Open” sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club.

Captain Dave Wittenborn of the “Benita J” notes he is making final preparations for the start of his offshore fishing season. He will be fishing in the “Tuna Open” and adds that all species of tuna count including yellowfin, big-eye, longfin, and bluefin.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is available at www.BHCFA.org

Memorial weekend has arrived, and the fish are in Long Beach Island waters for the boats and captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. Now that the weather is cooperating, look for some serious fishing. Fish in the area include striped bass, black sea bass, bluefish, black drum, and, of course, summer flounder.

Some of the BHCFA boats have been able to get some fishing done, headlined by a recent reef fishing trip aboard the StarFish, led by Captain Max Goldman. Captain Max had the Southern Regional High School Fishing Club out for a true “drop and reel” trip.

Over 150 fish were caught by the avid group highlighted by 38 keeper black sea bass up to 21-inches. They also boated a pair of ling along with numerous blackfish which were released.

Captain Max passed along sincere thanks to Johnny O Tackle for donating rigs, Knot Easy Bait Company for donating bait, and especially the Beach Haven Yacht Club for donating fuel. All the efforts made for an unforgettable fishing trip for the young anglers.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” was able to fit in a pair of trips this past week around the weather. He had Robert Boyle and crew out on a 4-hour charter on a super windy bay. The guys powered through it to box 5 solid keepers to 23 inches and release close to 35 fish. Superb fishing for the conditions. The second trip was with the Jeffrey Mangold crew with a calmer day with hungry fluke. The guys released over 40 fish while boxing 8 keepers to 24-inches.

Now that summer is almost here, most of the BHCFA boats are filling their trips for the upcoming months. Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org

The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are currently able to offer their anglers a varied assortment of fish to target.

Leading the list right now has been a solid bite on fluke, or summer flounder. These fish have been pouring into the bay waters, including a good number of big fish with only poor weather slowing the fishing.

The striped bass have made their appearance along with a black drumfish bite. The upcoming season on black sea bass promises to be exciting after several months off. The early season on the fish opens on Saturday, May 17, and runs until June 19. The daily bag limit on these tasty fish is 10 with a minimum size of 12.5-inches. This fishing will be best on inshore wrecks and artificial reefs.

In addition, there have been a few spurts of action on big bluefish racing into the inlets. These fish will suddenly appear and provide frantic action, especially when it is topwater.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been able to fight the winds and rain showers to get out on the water and catch his share of fluke. One party found conditions “a little challenging with the wind and seaweed,” but his anglers worked with Captain Brett’s custom baits to box 8 keepers to 23-inches and released another 30 fish.

On a day charter trip that was cancelled due to weather, Captain Brett took his 4-year-old son Jake out for an hour. The pair managed 2 keepers topped by Jake’s 23-incher.

Complete information on the boats and captains of the BHCFA can be found at www.bhcfa.org. This site gives complete information on the fishing opportunities along with complete contact information.

Although summer is still two months away, the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are viewing Easter weekend as a glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel.

Some boats are painted up in the water and stocked with new accessories and fishing gear. Others are undergoing the finishing touches in preparation for the splash while a couple are already in the water and undergoing shakedown trips.

Captain Max Goldman has the “Star Fish” in the water and has trips set up in the immediate future. He is looking to get in on the inshore blackfish action. Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” has already taken a couple of trips and has striped bass and blackfish to show for his efforts.

Captain Brett had an after-school trip with Bob Dodds and friends and began with great tidal conditions for striped bass. The water temperatures were a tad cold and the water slightly dirty, but they still had a few bites and managed a small schoolie bass. In the last hour they switched over to blackfish and picked through a few with some keepers in the mix.

The group did see some 20 seals around the waters inside Barnegat Inlet which provided an interesting experience. In a previous “scouting” trip Captain Brett managed a few bass from 20-29-inches on plugs.

At this point there has been action on stripers and blackfish, along with a good bite on black drum in the Great Bay area. This is a good time of the year to check your calendars and set up a fishing trip with your favorite captain.

Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org 

Recent blustery winds have made ocean fishing for striped bass off Long Beach Island an “iffy” proposition, but when conditions allow, some of the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been finding limit catches on bass.

Captain Dave Wittenborn has had his “Benita J” out on some solid trips the past two weeks. Pano’s charter boated plenty of big stripers, but they had to weed through the big fish for one to take home for the dinner table. Oddly enough, they also caught a nice sized flounder which had to be quickly released. The burst of fall weather seemed to help Captain Dave’s next trip when some schoolie sized bass appeared.

The Miller charter was “an old-fashioned striped bass trip with hats, gloves, and winter jackets…the way it should be,” noted Captain Dave. There were birds all over the water, and the “Benita J” trolled and jigged light tackle getting a limit of both slots and bonus tag fish. He had special praise for two standout lady anglers on the trip.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” ran a 3-hour late afternoon striped bass charter with J. Burke, his son Braiden, and Uncle Gary. The ocean was too rough for comfort, so they stayed inside and worked several areas. The fishermen did a great job connecting and boxing 4 striped bass up to 27.5 inches.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org

Fall is advancing quickly toward winter in Beach Haven, NJ, but one would never know it by the recent warm temperatures and nice weather. Some captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been taking advantage of the conditions by running successful fishing trips.

There are several appealing fishing targets for anglers. Tuna appear daily, often just a few miles off the coast. The bulk of the striped bass migration is in full swing following the schools of bunker. The challenge is to weed through the large fish to find keepers in the 28–31-inch slot.

On the bottom fishing front the daily limit for black sea bass has increased to 15 fish while the tautog daily limit increases to 5-fish on November 16.

Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” reports that he and Captain George are taking trip reservations for inshore bluefin tuna, stripers, and wreck fishing. Their past several trips have been “very productive.”

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” says his anglers of been enjoying the great fishing and weather. On one trip “in the shadows of Old Barney” he released over 55 short and keeper tautog while keeping their 5-man limit to 17 inches. He has also been doing well on bass in the inlet and nearby waters and also taking trips to nearby wrecks

Captain Dave Wittenborn has been finding nice bluefin tuna fishing aboard the “Benita J.” He reports finding an “amazing fishery only a few miles outside our inlet.” He will soon be targeting striped bass but hopes to get one or two more tuna trips in. A recent trip saw a bass measuring out at 51-inches, a new “Benita J” record.

Captain Jonathon Kelly reports an “awesome day” on the “Outcast” with a beautiful 66-inch bluefin very close to shore. His most recent trip saw 4 fish hooked up just as they started fishing with a 68-incher in the boat by 7am.

“The stripers are coming! The stripers are coming!” Not to be confused with the Revolutionary refrain of “The Redcoats are coming,” this is the statement of the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.

With cool nights dropping the water temperatures, and schools of bunker just to the north of Long Beach Island, the striped bass action off the coast should be hopping in no time.

There has been some striped bass action in the Beach Haven area during the past couple of weeks, but this has been mostly on native fish in the bay waters. While this is fun action using lighter tackle and artificial offerings, a high number of these fish are under the legal keeping size of 28-31 inches.

It is when the migrating schools of bigger fish start to arrive from the north that the real excitement explodes. These fish will follow the bait, so the captains have their fingers crossed that the bunker arrive soon and stay around for an extended period.

At this time of the year, various striped bass fishing tournaments take place. Anglers without a boat in the water who would like to participate in one can utilize a boat and captain from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. The captains will supply the boat, gear, and expertise while the anglers supply the fish catching.

The first of these tournaments is coming up on Friday, October 25, when the 27^th annual Sea Shell Club Striped Bass Derby takes place. The three-day event is one of the premier tournaments on the northeast coast with proceeds going to a worthy cause. Contact one of the BHCFA captains to check availability for the weekend.

Besides the upcoming striper action, Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports he is still finding sea bass in the ocean as well as outstanding blackfish action around Barnegat Inlet.

Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org