The fall season is progressing in the Beach Haven area, and fishing remains strong as cooler weather is lowering water temperatures. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter fishing Association are finding inshore ocean reef and structure fishing to be drop and reel fishing while the offshore tuna action remains strong when weather allows trips to the canyons.
Meanwhile, the striped bass bite is slow but showing promise. There are stripers falling for spots in the bay and inlet waters. While these fish are mostly undersized, there are reports of larger bass heading south in the ocean chasing bunker pods.
To summarize, this is a good time to get out and catch some fish.
Dave Wittenborn had the “Benita J” out to the canyons recently for “lights out fishing” on an open boat trip. The crew tired of reeling in big fish and called it an early day. They brought home seven yellowfin for the table including an 85-pound jumbo. Also released was a 60-inch class bluefin tuna. Captain Dave left them biting for the third consecutive trip.
Captain Gary Dugan reports excellent bottom fishing outside Little Egg Inlet on pieces of structure. One day resulted in thirty black sea bass along with a nice blackfish and some triggerfish. According to Captain Gary, “young (not so little) Richie” caught his first trigger.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” had Alex Gal and his son Jack on an ocean charter. They boxed a full boat limit of thirty sea bass to 20-inches, plus added some triggerfish. On the way in, they stopped at a small snag for catch and release action with tautog.