The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are morphing from their summer fishing habits into the wild and wooly action of fall fishing in New Jersey.
Fluke season is over, and the current black sea bass season will be suspended on October 14. This all means that the prized striped bass and big bluefish will soon be arriving. There are currently schools of bunker just off the beach that are holding some 15-pound bluefish along with a few stripers.
The striped bass have not yet arrived in the bay waters but will be here shortly once the water temperatures drop another couple of degrees. The bay is still filled with bait, and there are stories of stripers to the north so it should be only another week or so.
Meanwhile, Captain George Finck had a nice charter a couple of days ago on the "Sparetime" with C J LaCosta who took along his two boys and his father. Their trip began on an ocean reef where they picked up some nice bluefish and black sea bass. When the winds got strong and made fishing a bit uncomfortable, they finished the trip in the bay where they had a good catch of blowfish along with some sand sharks.
The captains report the prime fishing dates in November for stripers are filling up fast, and they recommend that anglers pick their dates to fish now before they lose the chance.
Additional information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com or by calling 877-524-2423.