The summer flounder season in New Jersey will be closing on Tuesday, September 23, and the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association look like they will be catching fluke right up to that date.
Captain Fran Verdi of the "Francesca Marie" has been running "open-boat" trips to the inshore artificial reefs recently and returning with filled coolers of fluke on every trip. The fluke are plentiful and fat.
Captain John Lewis took the Swartz family out to the reefs last Sunday for a day of good fluke action. All five anglers on board caught fluke as well as black sea bass which had to be released. Seven year old Mike took top honors with 21and 23 inch fluke. One day when it was too windy to go outside for fluke, he kept so he kept the Osterhage party in the bay and where they enjoyed catching blowfish, kingfish, sea bass and other bay critters in a fun afternoon.
Another day Captain John went canyon fishing for Dan Allen's birthday present from his wife. They found the whales and squid but the big eye tuna had moved. They did get some medium sized yellow fin tuna while having a great time in the ocean.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.fishbeachhaven.com.
