The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are now booking charters and "open boat" trips for a variety of fish both in the inshore ocean waters and in the bay.
Early in the fishing season many anglers may not be ready to book a full charter. With an "open boat" trip, the fishermen pay on an individual basis and will be part of a party with other enthusiastic anglers. It is a great way to cut the expenses and still get a great day on the water.
Over the past several days both the striped bass and black drumfish have finally responded to the rising water temperatures. Both bass and drum are being caught in the waters just inside Little Egg Inlet and up to the mouth of the Mullica River in the Graveling Point area.
In these areas the preferred method of fishing so far has been putting out a healthy slick of clam chum and fishing with fresh clams on the hooks. Circle hooks are advised for this fishing at this point due to the high numbers of undersized bass that are around.
Most of the drumfish have been in the 20-30 pound range but some have been boated that were close to 50-pounds.
There are bluefish scattered around the bay also with some showing up in the clam chum and others being caught by boats trolling small spoons in the area of the Middle Grounds.
There are pods of bunker in the ocean waters close to the beaches of Long Beach Island, but there do not seem to be any bass under them. The bass that have been caught thus far in the ocean have been caught while trolling with bunker spoons and umbrella rigs.
Additional information on the association and its captains and boats can be found at www.BHCFA.org