Summer has officially arrived in Beach Haven, and the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are turning their attention to the summer species of fish. This means offshore big game fishing with sharks being tops on the menu right now. Some big makos have been reported in the area along with other species.
Captain Bob Gerkens has brought his "Hot Tuna" back to Beach Haven after its winter stay in North Carolina. On the trip up Captain Bob had Drew Moore and Brian Medford of Beach Haven along with two North Carolina anglers. They headed out to the Gulf Stream and trolled north for two days hitting the good waters off North Carolina before fishing the Norfolk, Washington, and Baltimore Canyons. Most of the production of Mahi and Blackfin tuna was in the Southern waters. The crew did get into some good water in the Baltimore, but none of the hits came tight.
Last Saturday Brian Medford again joined Captain Bob along with Brian's son Ian and two other Southern Regional High School football players, Matt and Joe Clappsy. The group went on a shark run where they fought and released 3 nice blue sharks, the largest approaching 200 lbs.
Captain Ray Lopez had the "Miss Liane" out last Saturday with a group including Lindsay Blank, Matt Blank, Bart Pio, Eli Blank, Lila Blank, and Noah Blank. The anglers were out for a 4 hour bay and inlet charter. They took a run to the tires, where they caught many sea bass, and other species. They finished the day with fluke fishing in the inlet. It turned out to be a fun family trip on the water.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.