The Fourth of July weekend is almost here, and that means the summer of 2025 has definitely arrived for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. Right now, there is a variety of fish to be found including fluke in the bays, fluke around the ocean inshore artificial reefs, and great reports of offshore tuna action.
Captain Bob Gerkens and the “Hot Tuna” fished the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club’s tuna fishing tournament and found plenty of action. Although they were unable to boat the targeted bigeye tuna, they did get their share of meat with 10 yellowfin tuna.
Captain Dave Wittenborn reports he set a new “Benita J” boat record golden tilefish weighing in at over 38-pounds. Dan Sweeny was the angler who reeled the big fish in. Captain Dave also fished the Benita J in the BHMTC tuna contest and ended up placing 3rd in the yellowfin category, taking home close to $3,000.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” ran a 3-hour charter this week for Sheila M and her son Ray. He squeezed the trip between his teaching duties and graduation responsibilities at night. He found an active area only about 25 yards long. His anglers released close to 20 shorts and boxed 4 keepers to 23.5 inches, with young Ray catching his limit.
The first session of the Junior Mates Program took place this week with a group of enthusiastic young mates-to-be. This program is an exciting opportunity for teenagers to learn about and participate in fishing. There are still openings for this summer’s classes. Details can be found on the this website.