Last weekend was finally one with nice weather in Beach Haven, and the fishing responded in a positive way for anglers and the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association.
The back bay summer flounder action has been some of the best in years as it seems like most of not all of the customary hotspots are producing some nice fish. Most of the time the ratio of keepers to throwbacks has been higher than in recent years, and 4-5 pounders are no longer a rarity.
Captain George Finck of "Sparetime Charters" tried trolling in front of Long Beach Island just off the beach with Frank Smith and friend looking for some big striped bass. About 11:00 am the wind and seas picked up so with no sign of any bass. They made a move to try the calmer bay waters to see if there were any fluke or bluefish around. The fluke seemed to have lockjaw, but they found some feisty bluefish to provide some action. Captain George took his grandson Will and friend Nick down to Great Bay drifting for fluke. They had a nice catch of fluke and the boys also enjoyed the action on skates and sand sharks.
The striped bass action off Beach Haven has been up and down. One day there will be pods of bunker with big, hungry bass under them. The next day there seems to be no sign of bass. Most of the captains have been trolling Tony Maja bunker spoons in order to cover more ground as they look for the bass.
The wreck and artificial reef action has been steady with a nice pick of black sea bass along with ling, some cod, and a few blackfish.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at its website at www.BHCFA.org