As the nights in Beach Haven start dropping into the low 50's, the thoughts of the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association begin to turn to fall fishing. Fluke season will be ending on September 26, but as the water temperatures cool, striped bass should be arriving soon. The offshore tuna trips should continue to produce well into November.
Captain Bob Gerkens had a bachelor party head offshore for tuna on his boat, the "Hot Tuna." Nick Nastasi of Waretown was expecting a fluke fishing trip on a friend's boat and was surprised to learn that a group of his friends had instead arranged for an offshore trip as his bachelor party. Captain Bob headed to a northern canyon and initially hit a few lobster pots that were holding Mahi. Using light equipment the group boated 27 Mahi, a few of which were "gaffers," before setting up for the evening troll. Under the guidance of mate Dante Soriente, the troll resulted in Nick getting to successfully fight and boat a 190 pound bigeye tuna. A yellowfin was also caught on the troll. Joining Nick on the bachelor party trip were Mike Thompson, Rickey Matthews, Steve Rupinski, and Mike Nastasi.
Captain Fran Verdi reports he still has a few open dates remaining on the "Francesca Marie" for inshore fluke trips before that season closes. As long as the current weather pattern holds, he expects the fishing to be the best of the summer. Undersized fluke continue to dominate, but some nice fluke approaching doormat size have been picked up recently on both the Little Egg and Garden State South reef sites.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.bhcfa.net
