The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are continuing to have an assortment of fish to target. Besides fluke and striped bass, black drum and big bluefish are popping up daily. Now with the black seabass season opening on May 17 in New Jersey, a whole new target is available.
Catches of stripers outside the inlets have been slow apart from one BHCFA captain. Captain Jonathan Kelly of LBI Sportfishing recently boated a beautiful 52-inch striped bass while trolling in the ocean along with Liam Anderson. The fish was quickly photographed and released. Captain Jonathan is looking for anglers who would like to catch similar fish.
Captain Max Goldman reports his boat, the “Starfish,” just passed its US Coast Guard inspection with “flying colors.” This is Captain Max’s first year as owner and captain of the boat, which has been a part of the BHCFA for many years.
Meanwhile, Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” who fishes the Barnegat Inlet area, has been fitting successful fluke trips around his teaching duties. One party fished hard on a 4-hour charter and worked through 40 flatties to put 9 keepers in the box weighing up to 5-pounds. On another trip he had Bob Dodds and friends including young Will on a 4-hour bay trip. This trip saw 70 fish released with 12 keepers taken to 6-pounds.
All the captains in the BHCFA are accepting reservations for the summer, and some do have openings in the upcoming days.