Although strong northeast winds made ocean fishing difficult recently, the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association found ways to put fish in the boats.
Captain John Lewis got a late start this fishing season due to purchasing and outfitting his new "Insatiable." He finally was able to hit the ground running at the end of July and has been busy taking out families with children. His customers have been having a blast with a combination of fluke, sea bass, croakers, blowfish sea robins and the kids' favorite, sand sharks. An oddity he caught last week was a fluke that was dark on both sides.
Captain Ray Lopez had the Souder party out on the "Miss Liane" for a half day of fluke fishing recently. Rough seas forced them inside to bay fishing where there was non-stop action. Along with the numerous shorts were two nice keepers. The next day the Panus party encountered the same type of rough seas and they also fished inside. The fluke bite was on the slow side but they caught a variety of fish highlighted by young Ryan's snapper blue.
Captain Carl Sheppard also had to fish the "Star Fish" inside the inlet last weekend thanks to the strong northeast winds. One day they boated over 50 fish without one keeper in the mix. On Monday they got outside with the Callahan and Disco groups where they found a very nice mix of triggerfish and porgies. On Friday Captain Carl had the honor to be selected for a burial at sea of the ashes of both parents of the Schlatterer family. Following the ceremony the group spent time fishing in remembrance of their loved ones.
Captain George Finck reports being very busy over the past week with "Sparetime Charters." His groups had plenty of action on local reefs and in the inlet catching anywhere from 20-60 fish a trip. They found out of season black sea bass, fluke and sand sharks making up their catch.
Captain Fran Verdi has been fishing the "Francesca Marie" practically every day. He says is he is not happy over the black sea bass closure, and he has been finding up and down results for fluke. He expects the fluke action to hit its peak in late August and September.
Captain Dave Kreines had the Topche family out on the "Byte Me" for a bay trip. They young girls were thrilled with the sand sharks and 6 year old Mica caught a nice keeper fluke but was more excited with his first sea robin. The adults kept busy helping the enthused children.
The Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association will hold a regatta this Sunday, August 16, in memory of Captain John Koegler who passed away last winter. A caravan of boats will leave from Morrison's Marina in Beach Haven and lay a wreath and flowers in one of John's favorite fishing spots. Anyone wishing to participate should contact Captain Jimmy Zavacky at reeldetermined@comcast.net
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
