Unsteady weather continues to make fishing in the Beach Haven area an inconsistent situation for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.
Captain Carl Sheppard of the "Star Fish" has been fishing the bay recently and has found keeper fluke, along with many smooth dog fish. On Saturday Captain Carl ran off to the 30-fathom line in the ocean. At the 20-fathom line Star Fish and her party found plenty of black sea bass. When they reached the 30-fathom line some very big bluefish bit on their baits, and black tip sharks bit on the bluefish. It all made for an exciting day.
Captain John Lewis of the "Insatiable" had the Burger and Bednar parties out for some bay fishing. Both trips yielded some fluke and spot but no blowfish. At this point Captain John says he is hoping the wind changes direction so he can get out offshore for some bluefin and bigeye tuna. In the meantime he also took the Finklestien party out for a trip around Long Beach Island. The group enjoyed seeing the bay front homes as well as the entire ocean front. The trip was highlighted with some great photos of Barnegat Light and a waterfront tour of Viking Village.
Captain John Koegler is also lamenting the recent poor weather and looking forward to less winds and rising water temperatures in the ocean. Current reports put the ocean temperature at 56-degrees which is very low for mid-July. With the winds making things rough in the ocean and excess rain runoff making bay waters murky, he reports he has had to work hard for his fish.
The bluefish bite recently has been slow in the ocean, but just over the past few days there have been some good catches of big bluefish much further offshore than normal.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.fishbeachhaven.com.
