It appears most of the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association will remain at the dock this weekend. A strong northeaster is currently buffeting the area and is not expected to ease up until Sunday or Monday.
At this time the two main options for fishing when weather permits would be remaining in the bay and seeing some strong action on smaller fish or traveling offshore to take a shot at tuna and billfish. The rain showers and possibility of thunderstorms are not conducive to even short trips in the bay waters. The strong winds and big swells make trips offshore also a no-go. The good news is that when the nasty weather does subside, those two options should still remain.
Captain John Lewis of the "Insatiable" reports he had his final fluke trip of the season last Friday and had difficulty in finding keeper fluke. He did say that it should have been a black sea bass trip as those fish were big and plentiful, but out of season. The sea bass season will reopen on October 22, and Captain John plans to concentrate on bluefish, porgies, and weakfish in the meantime. He is also looking forward to some inshore bluefin tuna action and offshore canyon trips for yellowfin and long fin tuna. He says there are some huge schools of bunker just off the beaches of Long Beach Island, and this might mean some good fall thresher shark fishing.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.