The fishing year is not yet over for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. The fall of 2022 has become one of the better ones in recent years for striped bass fishing. There are large fish being caught in the ocean on live bait and trolling lures while keeper sized ones are in and out of the inlets and some of the back bay channels.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” has been fishing in both Great Bay and the ocean. His recent catches have been between 42-44 inches. Captain Gary believes the bigger fish are the forerunners of the smaller fish, 28-38 inches, which are keeper size. He plans to continue his trips until Christmas and believes the best fish will be later in the season as the fish continue to migrate south. Captain Gary has an ample supply of bonus tags for his anglers to use on fish 24-27 inches long which are a great size for the table.
Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” has had a pair of recent striper trips that produced some nice big fish. One trip had George M. from Waretown, Andy G. from Barnegat and David B. from Alexandria, NJ. Another successful trip had anglers Linda, George and 8-year-old Michael from Forked River. Michael boated his first bass ever, 37-inches long. Captain Ray is taking striped bass reservations for up to 6 people.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” has been working hard on his days off from teaching school to put together some good catches of stripers and blackfish. He notes that some days are easier than others. The Dan Unger charter on a 5-hour striped bass trip ended with quite a few released striped bass and seven keepers to 34 inches. Followed by a limit of tautog. Another trip produced close to 15 striped bass. They kept 5 tagged fish to 27-inches and 3 fish 29-32 inches. Captain Brett notes he has a few open dates as he will be running trips until Christmas.