Now that Debbie is history, the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can continue doing serious fishing. Long Beach Island has been assaulted by high winds for quite a while, but weather predictions for the upcoming week look very promising.
In fishing action before those south winds arrived, there were decent fish catches being reported. Captain Ray Lopez had the Ed Mesunas group out on the “Miss Liane” celebrating an upcoming wedding. The bachelor party group filled the fish box with tuna and came home with all smiles.
Captain Brett Taylor reported he “ran a pre-tropical storm Debby 4-hour charter for Dianna S. and her son, targeting fluke and tog. The mother-son duo released 53 short fluke, keeping 1 for the table. They switched to tautog, and, after learning the techniques, the pair released 19, keeping one at 15.25-inches.
Captain Max Goldman reports that Captain Carl Sheppard of the “Starfish” upgraded his gear with top-of-the-line Penn reels and Tsunami rods. Max promises the new equipment will help both seasoned and beginning anglers. The new gear has already caught a goodly number of fish on ocean structure and in the inlet.
This coming week is the annual White Marlin Tournament sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club. Not only will many of the captains of the BHCFA be participating, but the Junior Mates will also be on hand as volunteers assisting with various chores. This includes helping with docking boats, checking in fish catches, and general maintenance work.