Fall weather in the Beach Haven area has not been real conducive to good fishing thus far. Winds, rain, and heavy seas have forced more than one captain to either postpone trips or make adjustments. When the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been able to get fishing, though, they have found fish.
Captain John Koegler of "Pop's Pride reports he had a "fun trip" last Saturday. After finding the artificial reef area difficult to fish due to strong winds, he moved closer to shore where he found a heavy concentration of spike weakfish close to the beach. His party had non-stop action on the weakies including several keepers among the over 80 fish they released. There were also some small bluefish mixed in with the weakfish. Captain John said he is encouraged for the future by the sheer numbers of weakfish he has observed thus far this fall.
The "Miss Beach Haven" with Captain Frank Camarda fished last week with Wayne's group and found very good numbers of croakers and weakfish. They too released large numbers of weaks but did manage to find a nice bunch of keepers.
Captain Dave Wittenborn on the "Compass Rose" reports he plans to hold off on trips for a week or so until the striped bass begin to arrive. He said he had to cancel a few trips in early September due to the weather or just slow fishing. At this point, he is excited about the upcoming striper action, especially the hot November action.
Captain Fran Verdi of the "Dropoff" is also anxious for the striped bass to arrive. He is already taking some scouting trips looking for bass. He plans to fish both Little Egg and Barnegat Inlets this year and offering trolling, jigging, and white water fishing.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com or by calling 1-877-LBI-BHCFA (1-877-524-2423).