The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association continue to catch fish both in the bay and in the ocean despite the continued nasty spring weather.
Captain Fran Verdi fished an open boat trip on Friday with Scott Gessner and his friend Mike for some striper fishing. The ocean was a bit choppy so they made their way to the Graveling Point area with a water temperature of 63-degrees.
They had a bucket of clam chum out and four lines in the water. The first bass to the boat was a giant 10-incher. It was quickly followed with a 31-incher.
The process was repeated later in the day with a very small bass followed by a 31-inch keeper. In addition they picked up a slammer bluefish that provided a great fight and was released.
On Saturday Captain Carl Sheppard took the Jim Kendra party out on the "Starfish" for some wreck fishing. Captain Carl reported his state of the art radar and GPS systems made the trip through the fog an easy one.
Once they reached 80-feet of water the fog vanished. All on board caught fish with about 50% throwbacks. The party boated a total of 47 fish up to just over 4-pounds.
They also encountered quite a few spotted dogfish.
Captains Brant Whittaker and Frank Camarda took the head boat "Miss Beach Haven" a little further south one day last week than they usually fish, and the move paid off with a decent pick of black sea bass for all on board. The pool winning fish was a nice 4-pound sea bass, and the average catch ranged from a handful up to a dozen or so keepers.
On Saturday they were greeted by huge waves in the inlet and thick fog. Once they cleared the outer bar the seas calmed down and the visibility got better. In 85 feet of water they had a slow pick on keeper sea bass. They caught a lot of fish but most were just under 12.5 inches. The high hook was Ted Alves, and the pool winner was 3-pound sea bass.
On Sunday the weather kept their anglers to a minimum, but the fishing was "awesome." Despite 20-knot winds, anglers filled buckets with fish and many were close to their limit of sea bass. Captain Frank says you never know what to expect when you fish in the ocean.
Captain Adam Nowalsky and the "Karen Ann II" got to the sea bass grounds this week and found good numbers of sea bass. Limit catches will be a bit more difficult this year with the increase in size from 12 to 12.5. A catch of 12-15 keepers per person is a good catch right now. Recent successful anglers include Bill Funk of Doylestown, Pa., with a pair of 3.5 pound sea bass, Dwight Soleta of Norristown, Pa., with a 4-pound sea bass, and Christina from New York City with a personal best 3-pounder.
Captain Adam reports the drum and striper action in the bay has been slow, but some 1.5-pound blues have started to show up. With the cold water temperatures, he recommends fishing the ebb tides for warmer water.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be obtained at the group's website, www.fishbeachhaven.com
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