The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been facing some un-springlike weather over the past few days along with a slowdown in the striped bass bite in the ocean.
Seemingly spoiled by the spate of unseasonably warm days, some strong winds and lower temperatures have made it seem like April again. One result of this has been a distinct slowdown of the hot action on the big schools of stripers just offshore the beaches of Long Beach Island. The logical explanation is that the recent fish mass has moved north, and another will be along in a week or so to replace it.
There continues to be a bite on schoolie bass in the bay waters along with some black drum and bluefish. Captain Fran Verdi of the "Dropoff" reports he has been using up some clam chum looking for these fish. Captain Fran says he is looking forward to May 5, which will be official start of the 2012 summer flounder season. Early spring is when the larger fluke are caught in the backbay waters.
There have been scattered reports of some big fluke being caught over the past few weeks by anglers jigging for stripers.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com or by calling 877-524-2423.