A sudden drop in water temperatures made finding hungry fish difficult early last week for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. By the weekend the temperatures had risen some, and action began to pick up.
Captain Fran Verdi of the "Drop Off" made several trips recently with some action on each day. Chris Gadd and Jack Walters joined mate Zach Ruba on an open boat trip for stripers last Friday. They caught no stripers but Gadd did boat a black drumfish that tipped the scales at 64-pounds at the Chum Bucket Bait and Tackle in West Creek. They also boated many bluefish to 10 pounds along with dogfish to 3 feet.
The next day Captain Fran had the O'Neil party out for a day packed with action on big bluefish and dogfish. They released many bluefish but returned to the dock with 17 blues to 7 pounds. Sunday's action was slower as the "Drop Off" tried trolling with little success in the ocean and returned to the inlet where they picked off 3 nice bluefish along with several dogfish.
The "Miss Beach Haven" with Captain Frank Camarda found plenty of bluefish last Saturday in the 5-7 pound range. Teddy took the pool with a 9-pounder. Charlie and Ida had a pair of blues over the 7-pound mark.
Sunday was a repeat of Saturday, and everyone on the boat went home with a bag full of fat bluefish fillets. The fish were a little smaller, in the 4-6 pound category. Scotty Tohottie of Beach Haven took the pool with a 7-pound bluefish. This weekend Captain Frank will be bottom fishing for sea bass starting Saturday, May 22.
