Summer flounder fishing has ended for the year in New Jersey, but big black sea bass are filling the void for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.
Captain Carl Sheppard had Boy Scout Troop 65 from Haddonfield out for a bottom fishing trip last Saturday on the "Star Fish." The boys and family members managed to catch over 250 black sea bass in just 4 hours of fishing. Despite a stiff Northwest wind, the boat rode comfortably once anchored up.
Fish were caught as soon as the lines hit and water with a ratio of keepers of about three to one. In addition to the sea bass there was a good showing of triggerfish. Captain Carl advised his anglers to keep a hooked trigger in the water as often the rest of the school with swim with the hooked fish making them easier targets. An extra excitement was proved by some feisty bluefish up to 2.5 pounds which provided more thrills for the scouts.
Captain Fran Verdi on the "Francesca Marie" had a group out for some black sea bass fishing on Friday, and they limited out on sea bass by 11am and also boated 8 triggerfish. Captain Fran had to work to find where the fish were located, but once he got set up, it was drop and reel fishing. Usually they could not get the baits to the bottom before the fish hit.
Captain Fran reports he is getting anxious for the striped bass to arrive and feels the action should be starting in another week or so. Until then he plans to fish for sea bass. He has heard of stripers being caught off the sod banks late in the evening and early in the morning.
Captain John Lewis took the "Insatiable" offshore last Sunday for a day trolling trip due to the slow chunking so far. Despite a favorable forecast by the weather man, strong winds and high waves made fishing offshore very difficult. Despite the conditions, the party managed a white marlin and a 20-pound mahi-mahi. Ironically, the talk on the radio was of a good night chunking with several boats actually limiting out on yellowfin tuna
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com or by calling 877-524-2423.