The fishing scene in the Beach Haven area has now evolved into what is often referred to as the “shoulder season.” The captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are eager to take advantage of this special time of the year.
There are several elements that make these few weeks so special. First, the weather. The nights have started to cool off but as a rule, the days are sunny with temperatures neither too cool nor too hot. The waters remain warm while the weather makes for comfortable fishing conditions.
With the waters still warm, many varieties of fish remain around to provide fishing action usually found more to the south. The mahi and tuna reach their peak in early fall while species such as cobia, wahoo, red drum, and sheepshead, to mention a few, make appearances.
Although the summer flounder season concludes on September 25, black sea bass daily bag limits rise to 10 per angler until October 31. This will make for good action for bottom anglers.
Finally, Labor Day marks the end of the summer season for many visitors, making for less boats and anglers on the water. This will make more choices for captains preparing to fish.
In recent action, Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” a group fishing on an after-school ocean fluke charter. Despite some strong winds near the end of the trip, the anglers ended with 8 quality keepers, one at 18-inches, the rest 20 to 23.
The headboat “Miss Beach Haven” is now offering 6-hour ocean fluke trips for several days coming up soon. Recent trips have seen some decent catches.
Captain Dave Wittenborn had his annual Labor Day Fluke Fest. Three generations of the Wittenborn family made only three drifts across the reef and ran out of bait. With non-stop all the time the group finished with 5 keepers and another 5 nice sea bass. Captain Dave is looking forward to upcoming offshore tuna trips.