The most accurate comment that can be made regarding striped bass fishing off Beach Haven for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is that it is hard to figure out the fishing tendencies.
There are pods of bunker to be found the length of Long Beach Island. It is just a matter of traveling along the beach and looking for their telltale signs. The only tough part has been the strong winds lately churning the wind surface and making spotting difficult. Once the bunker pods are found, sometimes there are bass under them, and sometimes there are not. Sometimes the fish under them are feeding, and other times they are not.
Captain Fran Verdi of the "Francesca Marie" has had a couple of productive trips recently when the winds permit. He found that the key to actually catching fish was to get there early. Once the sun was well into the sky, t he huge numbers of other boats on the scene seemed to drive the fish in every direction. Both of his recent trips have resulted in a pair of nice for the cooler.
Captain Gary Dugan had the "Irish Jig" out recently and despite some rough conditions managed one very nice striper on the snag and drop that weighed a hefty 43-pounds. The fish was measured out to a length of 48-inches.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
