Latest fishing news from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association from Jim Hutchinson Sr.
The story right now for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is the weather. Between those strong south winds, waves of heavy rains, and lightning storms, the boats have been staying at the docks much longer than they would like.
When they have gotten fishing, they have found that inshore the action has been decent although you must work for keepers. The story offshore is much better for the boats able to make the trips.
Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” reports he and Captain George found some excellent angling on their last trip offshore. The catch of the day was tilefish, and they had a box full including many big fish. They are now planning tuna trips both inshore and offshore while jigging and chunking. They will be targeting tuna, tilefish, billfish, and mahi-mahi.
Captain Dave Witteborn of the “Benita J” has had postponements so far this season for his offshore trips due to the heat wave which has been creating high winds offshore and rough conditions. He reports having trouble getting a friendly weather window of back-to-back days. He has moved these trips to later in the season which will make for a busy couple of months.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports he has been busy recently with double bay charters. He says it has been exceptional on the rod bending account but tough for keepers. His anglers released close to 185 fluke over 4 charters with new and experienced fisherman but only boxed 4 keepers. He hopes the upcoming new moon will help and plans to move his fishing area to the ocean very soon.
Complete information on all the boats and captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be located at www.BHCFA.org
Captain Raymond Lopez reports the “Miss Liane” is now sailing for billfish and tuna. Their last trip out was excellent as they hooked onto a white marlin and blue marlin. They are sailing every week offshore for tuna and billfish, weather permitting.
Captain Gary Dugan has been fishing the “Irish Jig” while spending more time fishing the nearby artificial reefs as the fluke have begun their move to the ocean. He is also avoiding the greenhead flies in the bay. His bay fishing trips resulted in keeper fluke along with a healthy number of bluefish. He is now fishing for fluke on the reefs along with other bottom fish.
Captain John Lewis reports he has just moved his new boat, “Insatiable” to its berth at the Beach Haven Yacht Club. He has a few more items to take care of and will be sailing for fish very soon.
Captain Max Goldman reports the “Starfish” has been catching some nice black sea bass fishing various structure in the ocean. Although the daily bag limit is just one fish per angler, his anglers are also catching a variety of other bottom fish.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been fighting the winds recently and maintains fishing is better when those strong south winds shift to the northwest. He had a recent four-man party fishing a 4-hour bay trips and released a grand total of 112 short fish while keeping four to 23-inches. He is taking care of some routine maintenance on his skiff while enjoying the Fourth of July weekend with his family. He will be back at it on Monday.
The Junior Mates Program for the BHCFA is now in full swing with an avid group of youngsters eager to learn the details of fishing. Captain Max passed along the current accomplishments of some former Junior Mates. Max is now a full captain along with Nick Perello and Jonathan Kelly. Marlyn Graham is working toward her nursing degree while Nick Haws is studying naval architecture at SUNY.
Another former Junior Mate, Liane Lopez, is also a captain and has graduated from the University of Miami. She has been guiding parties in the Miami area and helping her dad Captain Ray Lopez on the “Miss Liane” while in New Jersey.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been fighting strong winds recently that have made fishing somewhat of a challenge. As the winds subside, and the water continues its upward rise in temperature, fishing will be productive.
Fluke continue to be the main inshore target with good numbers of smallish fish around. Locating those keeper sized fish will become easier as the summer progresses. Another positive note is the fact that the black sea bass season re-opens on Monday, July 1 in New Jersey waters. The daily bag limit will only be one for a time, but it will be nice to be able to take some sea bass filets home in the cooler.
There are already signs that the fluke have started to leave the bays and head east into the ocean. Often the early fish leaving the bay are larger fish.
Other action on the Long Beach Island fishing front includes the presence of bluefish. They seem to pop up at various times. Smaller blues are being located by feeding birds especially around the inlets. Others have been found feeding on bunker schools just off the beach.
The tuna action has been good both offshore and at times closer to shore. This fishery will only continue to improve as the summer unfolds. Look for days with mild winds to be the ones when fish are caught.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been putting in the time getting anglers on fish at the north end of Long Beach Island. Captain Brett finished the week up with 5 charters in 2 days. He noted the rain and winds made for continual tough fluking as his anglers averaged about 35 shorts per trip with 2 to 3 keepers up to 21 inches. He plans to “work the bay for at least another week or so before changing over to ocean fluke fishing.”
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
It appears that summer weather has finally arrived in the Beach Haven, New Jersey, area. This means the water temperatures are on the rise, and fishing excitement will be increasing. The main target in bay waters currently is fluke. These fish are in the bay waters and inlets. In a brief time, they will be making their annual migration back to the cooler ocean waters.
Other fish to be targeted include some striped bass in the ocean, a goodly number of bluefish of varying sizes, and a good bite on tuna further offshore. There are still black drumfish around and some surprise catches of cobia.
One change coming up is a regulatory one, as the black sea bass season pauses on June 20, to be re-opened again on July 1.
Captain Max Goldman reports the “Starfish” has been fishing the inshore structure with success on a mix of summer flounder and black sea bass. He has also been on the head boat “Miss Beach Haven” which is catching fluke in Little Egg Inlet. With many of these fish on the smaller side, they are looking for the larger fish to begin their migration from the bays into the ocean. This will happen as the water temperature rises.
Captain Gary Dugan recently had a group fishing inshore structure for black sea bass which turned out to be a banner day. Between beautiful weather and good fishing, the group managed to put an impressive number of fillets in the cooler. The fish turned out to be a great dinner. One of the highlights of the day with a 5-foot tiger shark that was following fish to the boat.
The Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club is holding its “Tuna Open” which is the kickoff to the club’s offshore season. The fishing began on June 10 and will conclude on June 15. Judging by the number of tuna already weighed in, the offshore action is off to a good start. Two Beach Haven Charter Fishing Captains have weighed in fish. Captains Steve Palmer and Brian Casey brought fish to the scales during the week.
The Junior Mates Program for the BHCFA will be starting on Thursday, June 27. Information on the Junior Mates and the BHCFA can be found at www.BHCFA.net
Captain Gary Dugan reports the crew of the “Irish Jig” had another great week fishing. The fluke and sea bass fishing has been very good along with decent bluefish action along with a bunch of hefty blackfish that were released. His charters have been having a great time on the water making awesome memories. Captain Gary attributes it so “The Luck of The Irish.”
Captain Max Goldman has been fishing on the charter boat “Starfish” and the headboat “Miss Beach Haven.” The crew of the “Starfish” has been working hard to put black sea bass, short tautog, and sea robins on the hooks. Meanwhile the “Miss Beach Haven” has been catching fluke and sea bass.
Captain Brett Taylor reports challenging strong winds with a group fishing “Reel Reaction Charters. On a 4-hour trip they reeled in close to 25 short fluke while boxing 6 keepers and 2 bluefish. Another day he had a 5-hour sea bass charter. The crew fished seven different spots to box 32 sea bass, 3 ling, and a big porgy. The largest sea bass was just over 18-inches.
Captain Dave Wittenborn ran his first offshore trip this past Saturday out to the Wilmington Canyon. He was assisting the Long Beach Island Grade School deploy their drifter project as part of the NOAA drifter program. The drifter has a satellite device which broadcasts its position in real time. The students will be able to study ocean circulation and follow their drifter as it tracks around the ocean. Information on that program can be found at https://studentdrifters.org/tracks/
The Junior Mates Program will be starting June 27 for interested teens Additional information on that program along with details on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
Memorial Day weekend is almost here, and the captains and crews of the Beach Haven Charter Boat Association are looking forward to this unofficial start of summer 2024 on Long Beach Island.
At this point, the fishing action is as strong and varied as it has been in years. There are striped bass and black drumfish in the inshore ocean waters and the bays. There has been an unexpected run of big bluefish just off the beach, and the black sea bass season has entered on a high note with some great catches being recorded on ocean structure. Finally, the summer flounder action is right on schedule in the bay waters at both ends of Long Beach Island.
Captain Gary Dugan reports another great week on the “Irish Jig.” He says the fluke are hungry. He is running bay trips for fluke and for black sea bass on local wrecks. Captain Gary recently enjoyed taking some veterans out as they put fluke and bluefish in the box.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” Bob Dodds and crew on a 4-hour bay fluke charter. He tried some new areas for fluke, and the anglers released over 25 short fish and boxed 6 keepers up to 23-inches.
Meanwhile, many of the BHCFA captains are putting the finishing touches on their boats for the season. Captains Ray and George just launched the new “Miss Liane” this past Friday. They have openings in the next couple of weeks and will be targeting stripers, sea bass, and fluke.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
The summer flounder season has opened in New Jersey, but unfortunately for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association, the weather has not been any help. Cold temperatures, high winds, and high tides have made finding fish a challenge.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” was able to work one fishing group this week after his teaching duties. Working jigs, the anglers caught and released over 25 short fluke, managing one keeper for their efforts. Once the weather turns warm and more springlike, fluke fishing should become productive.
Meanwhile, one of the association’s captains has been making news. The captains and crew members are proud of the recent achievements of one of their own, Captain Max Goldman.
Max began his BHCFA career several years ago as a junior mate. He was interested enough to make the trip from his home in Barnegat all the way to Beach Haven to attend meetings and serve as a junior mate. He began on the “Miss Liane” with Captain Ray Lopez and then on the “Star Fish” with Captain Carl Sheppard.
Max continued working on the “Star fish” as a regular mate and began striving to become a captain. Once he earned the USCG 6-pack certification, Captain Max upgraded it multiple times and is now a licensed 100-ton captain. He is licensed for 19 passengers on the “Star Fish.”
While accomplishing all the above, he graduated from college last summer with his bachelor’s in business management. This spring he achieved his master’s degree in business management. Both diplomas recognized his performance as “summa cum Laude.”
His immediate plans for this summer call for him to be on “Star Fish” for 90% of his time along with trips as captain on the “Miss Beach Haven” and its tiki boat cruises. Captain Max says his long-term plans will probably involve the fishing or boating industry.
In addition, he serves as secretary of the BHCFA and helps coordinate the current Junior Mates program for youngsters
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
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