The fall bite that the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association has been waiting for has arrived. The striped bass are here in many sizes, and these fish are hungry.
The body of fish which had been massed to the north of Ocean County has begun to make its way to the south into the welcoming arms of the BHCFA captains. While the best bite is still a short ride north of Barnegat Inlet, more and more fish are showing up right off the shores of Long Beach Island.
An indication of the number of fish around is the final count from the recent Sea Shell Striped Bass Derby in Beach Haven. A total of 93 boats weighed in 94 fish with 58 of these coming on Sunday morning.
Prior to the last couple of days, the bite had been mostly restricted to boats trolling bunker spoons and Mojo's. Now there are pods of bunker close to the beach, and there are bass under them. This has made it exciting for "snag and drop" fishing in water depths of 20-60 feet. At times the bass are right on top of the water making for fun on plugs and poppers.
Besides the bass action there are whales and dolphins around also feeding their faces on the bunker. Captain Gary Dugan of the "Irish Jig" recently ran up to just south of Barnegat Inlet and found "massive pods" of bait with some whales putting on a show. Captain Gary said he took a beautiful 44-inch striper home for dinner.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net
