Strong winds have been prevalent in the Beach Haven area for well over a week. First the winds were pretty much from the southwest and now they are howling from the northeast. When the captains of the Beach Haven Charter fishing Association are able to get some fishing in, they are finding a decent assortment of fish.
Captain Fran Verdi ran an "open boat" trip recently for his first wreck fishing trip of the season on the "Francesca Marie." Sean Carey and Randy Ritz fished on wrecks in 65-80 feet of water. They found some outstanding blackfish action with many of the fish keeper-sized. Unfortunately, with the season closed, all of the blackfish went back in. They also found a decent bite on black sea bass and managed a nice amount of them. Captain Fran had the Mannix party out another day looking for striped bass to the north. He located some bait up in Ortley Beach but found no bass under them. Unless the bass make a sudden comeback, he plans on focusing on sea bass as well as fluke and tuna.
Captain Carl Sheppard had Irv and Muriel Stoops of Palmyra, NJ, out on the "Starfish" for a wreck fishing trip looking for black sea bass. He learned that the wrecks either had very few fish or were loaded with the sea bass. In just a couple hours of the fishing the pair of anglers caught over 40 bass, of which 15 were large blue backed fish.
Captain Gary Dugan of "Irish Jig" Sportfishing braved the winds a couple of days seeking fluke in Great Bay waters. He reports that they had steady action with plenty of throwbacks and a few nice flatties making it to the cooler for dinner. There was also a mix of bluefish and smooth dogfish to keep the rods bent most of the time.
The renowned Junior Mate Program of the BHCFA is now accepting applications for its 2015 class. The first class will be on Thursday, June 25, at the Beach Haven Maritime Museum. This program is for teenagers looking to learn more about fishing and become competent to serve as mates on fishing boats. Captain John Lewis says there are some changes in the program this year that will make for some enjoyable evenings. One big night will be Thursday, July 2, when Captain Michael Yocco of the championship boat "MJ's" will speak on canyon fishing. Complete information on the Junior Mates Program as well as the BHCFA can be found at www.BHCFA.net