BHCFA Fishing Report – September 9, 2024 – by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Labor Day may have come and gone, but the summer fishing action for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter fishing Association has not slowed down. The throngs of summer visitors to Long Beach Island have left, but not the fish. The water is the warmest of the year right now, bringing a variety of fish for anglers.

Captain Dave Wittenborn had a fun time with his 82-year-old dad on Labor Day fishing close to shore. They had to pick through a multitude of shorts but were able to put a nice catch together. Captain Dave termed it a “really special day” for the two to spend the day together.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has returned to   his fulltime job as a teacher and is now running weekday afternoon trips along with weekend trips. He will do this until the fluke season ends and the start his night striped bass trips. He ended the summer trips with return angler Tim Murphy and fellow workers from Subaru Park on a 5-hour ocean charter. They worked a bunch of spots picking through shorts to muster four keeper fluke to 24 inches.

Captain Ray Lopez reports the “Miss Liane” has been catching a variety of fish including tuna, tilefish, ling, sea bass, fluke, and others. He is fishing both offshore for gamefish and running inshore charters for bottom fishing.

In addition to his fishing trips on the “Irish Jig,” Captain Gary Dugan has run a couple of tiki cruises. One trip was a special one for three local teachers who won a trip that Captain Gary donated to the local PTO. He termed them “dedicated teachers) and said they were great to have on board.

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