The most exciting fishing word in the Beach Haven area is a red-hot bite on tuna, both in the canyons and even closer to shore. Some of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association captains are finding good action on bluefin, bigeye, and even some yellowfin tuna.
BHCFA junior mate Kieran Chenoweth-Hafner reported on an offshore tuna trip on the “Miss Liane” with Captain Ray Lopez. The crew had a blast catching fish all day. They went 9 for 9 on bluefin ranging from 18-20 pounds and 2 for 2 on big eyes. Junior mate Kieran Chenoweth-Hafner caught one 105-pounds while fellow junior mate Zach Rietman boated a 135-pounder. Captain Ray says the offshore bluefin tuna bite is one not to be missed.
Captain Nick Perello did an overnight trip on the “Pension Plan” ending up with a couple small bluefin along with a 71.5-inch bluefin tipping the scales at 218.5-pounds. The big fish was reeled in by mate Cheyne Lenhard. Captain Nick also managed to pick up one longfin. This was an especially noteworthy week for Nick as his new Coast Guard documentation came in and he can now function as an independent charter boat captain. He has made the journey from a Junior Mate to a full-fledged BHCFA charter captain.
Elsewhere in the ocean the bite of black sea bass on the inshore wrecks and structure continues strong. Captain Carl Sheppard and first mate Max had a local group of friends out fishing on the “Starfish.” After trying unsuccessfully for stripers, the crew switched over to bottom fishing. A few dozen sea bass were caught with several nice ones brought home for dinner.
Captain Gary Dugan reported he had an inshore trip on the “Irish Jig” looking for black sea bass, and despite a slow start, the anglers brought enough fish over the rails to make it a nice trip. Captain Gary notes that some were very good-sized fish.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been fishing practically every day with double parties many days. He is finding good fluke action in shallow waters with ten or more keepers a day common. A recent 4-hour trip with Gino and Robert Arbasetti in the bay resulted in 9 keepers up to 24-inches in the fish box. Captain Brett reported that 12-year-old Matt did a great job catching a few keepers on S&S bucktails.