The fishing in Beach Haven has been a mix of types of fish along with sizes including small fish, large fish, and some in between.
Captain Jimmy Zavacky has been keeping his boat the "Reel Determined" busy for the past week. He had a group out fishing in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club's annual White Marlin Invitational Tournament last weekend. He had one nice white marlin hooked up Friday afternoon but could not get it to the boat. His main excitement came from a 400-pound manta ray with an 8-foot wingspan that was hooked and brought to the boat.
Captain Ray Lopez had local Bob Stewart and Noah and Gabriel, a father and son team, out for a fun filled day of fluke fishing. Cool ocean temperatures slowed the bite at first, but they found warmer water in the inlet. Ten year old Gabriel caught his first keeper fluke.
Captain Bob Gerkens of the "Hot Tuna" reports the bigeye tuna bite is still on. An evening trip to a southern canyon produced three bigeyes ranging from 155 to 200 pounds. The charter was arranged by Nick Garofolo for his sons Nick, Scott, and Trevor. Each got to fight and land their first bigeye under the tutelage of mate Dante Soriente.
Captain Gary Dugan of the "Irish Jig" reports his fluke bite over the past weekend was improving as he was seeing more fish on the ends of the lines. The big fish of the weekend was a 7-pounder caught by Gail Brandli who was fishing with the Beltram party. The only thing holding Captain Gary back at times has been slow drifts.
Captain Carl Sheppard of the "Starfish" and his party had a good time on Sunday when they found themselves in the midst of a school of spinner sharks which were jumping out of the water. The sharks ranged mostly from 3-5 feet in length with a couple a little larger. They had one hooked up and brought it to the side of the boat where they estimated it at 5.5 feet long.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net
