By Jim Hutchinson Sr
It is unusual, but here we are in the middle of December, and the striped bass action is still going strong. Although most boats have been put into storage for the winter, there are a couple of captains from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association who are still fishing and catching big numbers of fish.
Captain Gary Dugan is fishing off the southern end of Long Beach Island on the “Irish Jig’ and experiencing great action on the water. Captain Gary’s quote on the current fish bite is to the point, “Fishing is still on fire!!” He had anglers George and Steve out this week, and the pair did an excellent job releasing many oversized fish while keeping three fish from 29-31 inches. Not to be outdone, Captain Gary and his son Brian went out on a quick trip another day looking for bass for the freezer. Brian did not disappoint as he manhandled some nice sized bass while catching the bulk of the fish.
In addition to the striped bass, Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” says he has been experiencing “superb togging” fishing out of Barnegat Inlet. He had Matt Windover, Mike W, Charles, and Paul on a 6-hour charter this week. They hit two areas and boxed their 5-man blackfish limit in under 3 hours with all action on the jig. Matt scored his personal best with a nice 11.5-pound female which was released, and Paul added a huge porgy to the box. In all they released twenty-five keepers from 3-8 pounds.
Earlier in the week Captain Brett had Aaron E and his sons Felix and Ez on an afternoon trip. The team jigged up stripers from 24 to 37 inches. They limited out with their eight fish (four slots, four bonus) and made a run to an open wreck. The tautog action produced a dozen fish, including two keepers.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org