The past week has seen the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter
Fishing Association concentrating in the ocean. First mate and chief bottle washer of the "Miss Beach Haven," Sal Rosa, reports that the fishing has been slow as the big head boat looks for fluke and sea bass. The anglers are catching some fish, but nothing like it will be in another week or so.
Captain Fran Verdi of the "Drop Off" had a party on Saturday that encountered a case of "mal de mer." Just as they were starting to pick a few nice bass and fluke after several spots, his group experienced some seasickness. Captain Fran headed in for the calmer waters inside the inlet where they picked up 10 fluke that were all short of the 18-inch mark. They had managed a few keeper sea bass early in the day.
The "Drop Off's" adventures on Sunday were more productive. Captain Fran hit his first wreck in 70-feet of water and worked his way out to a small snag on the bottom in 90-feet of water where they hit a bonanza. Thanks to the calm conditions, they were able to stay right on top of the snag. They ended the day with 39 keeper sea bass and 5 ling. Their top fish was a very respectable 4-pound black sea bass. They used clam, mackerel, and Gulp baits.
The "Star Fish" under Captain Carl Sheppard, who occasionally shares the duties with Captain Vic Bertotti, has been doing well with a main course of bluefin and yellowfin tuna caught offshore. On Sunday Captain John Koegler took the "Star Fish" out looking for bluefin. On the way he mugged up on 15-pound bluefish. Captain John said the blues were "mad and unhappy" as they fought fiercely jumping out of the water at times.
Captain Carl fished the Little Egg Reef one day for fluke and found the fish scarce. When he moved off to some wrecks without fish pots around, he found some keeper sea bass and fluke mixed in with the throwbacks.
Captain John had the "Pop's Pride out for some flounder fishing at the Little Egg Reef around the Rutgers Buoys and managed a handful of keepers along with a number of throwbacks.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com or by calling 1-877-LBI-BHCFA (1-877-524-2423).
