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BHCFA Report Update 8/30/18

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report Update August 30, 2018

     by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

As summer in Beach Haven nears its end, the inshore fluke action is reaching its peak for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. The fish are large and plentiful around almost any type of structure in the ocean. The season will continue until September 22.

Captain John Lewis on the “Insatiable” reports weather, clients and fish all came together for a busy and successful week. Every trip produced keeper fluke, many of which were 20-23 inches long, and plenty of shorts to keep everyone occupied. Additionally, there were a lot of small sharks to make it exciting.

Captain Jimmy Zavacky got in on some of the torrid fluke action recently on the “Reel Determined” with the Arnold group. He and fellow BHCFA Captain Ray Lopez helped the group fight some rough seas to boat 10 keeper fluke along with some black sea bass and a bluefish. Another day the Robertson crew also managed 10 keeper fluke for a great day on the water.

Captain Ray Lopez had the Rietmann family out on the “Miss Liane” for a day of non-stop trolling experiencing knockdowns every few minutes. The crew returned to shore with 7 nice mahi. Another day the Andrew Simon charter combined some trolling with bottom fishing. They picked up a few fish on the troll along with some fluke.

The Junior Mates of the BHCFA had a large role in the recent 3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania tournament benefitting the fight against cystic fibrosis. Several association boats were filled with junior mates fishing in the event, and the teens later assisted at the awards ceremony and even cleaning the fish. Three BHCFA mates swept the junior angler division with Tyler Spicer first, Max Goldman second and Aiden Hunsberger third. Association boats “Reel Determined,” “Miss Liane” and “Insatiable” along some mates’ family boats participated.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.com.

No Limits Sportfishing – Fishing Report

Sorry for the lack of reports, I have been busy and fluke fishing has been good recently. All of our trips have been full of action with several trips producing quality keepers as well. Some trips we saw lots of shorts but the keepers did not want to cooperate and bite. Saturday we had a tough go with finding keepers due to all the boat traffic from several tournaments going on and trying to find wrecks that weren’t plugged with boats with the short time frame that we had to fish.

This past weekend I had Tom, Kevin, and John from Manahawkin out on a 4 hr Fluke trip. It was their first time jigging for fluke and they were able to catch and release over 30 shorts up to 17″. They fished hard and we had steady action the entire trip but the keepers just didn’t want to cooperate. The keepers will bite next time guys!

There are only a few more weeks left to our fluke season and as the bite keeps heating up now is the time to get in on the action before the season closes. Lots of quality fish are being caught. I still have some dates available in September. Call or text Captain Mike to get in on the action! (609)-709-7264

Lighthouse Sportfishing Report August 27, 2018

If variety is the spice of life, then the Debbie M was around 500,000 Scoville Heat Units (the scale used to measure the spiciness/heat of peppers) this past week! My clients got into fluke and 1-5 lb. blues early in the week, then Saturday was an “off the beach” shark trip. Sunday, I put Joe T’s group on sharks; bonito; and blues. Talk about variety, and that’s my specialty. Fluke are everywhere. Still, good numbers of them in the early season haunts, around the inlet, as well as around inshore structures. The inlet continues to be ground zero for summer bluefish with a splash of schoolie bass at times. The blues have been holding here because there is an abundance of sandeels and bay anchovies. Been like that all summer. Question: if a bay anchovy swims into the ocean isn’t it really an ocean anchovy? Know what I’m saying?

So, about that Saturday shark trip. The DeCicco clan went 2 for about 10. It was one of those days. End result was a 6 to 7 ft. Dusky and a 5 ft. + brown. We had a spinner shark on for three jumps, or should I say spins? Very cool to see a 5 ft. shark jump out of the water. And only about a mile and a half off the beach I might say. Speaking of shark’s jumping……during Sunday’s trip we witnessed sharks jumping out of the water several times as they actively worked over schools of bunker. It was a Nat Geo moment indeed seeing the sharks feeding. After landing 1 nice brown shark, we went on the troll a few miles off the beach. Trolling yielded 2 nice sushi grade bonito. We finished the trip with a couple of blues on poppers and BKDs at the inlet.

I’m now booking fall striper trips. Shoot me an e-mail or text, or call me if you want me to pencil you have a date you want.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex  609-548-2511

 

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters – Inshore Pelagic Invasion !!

Spanish Mackerel ,Atlantic  Bonito [ [ both excellent raw/sashimi or cooked] and even Mahi have invaded our inshore waters for some exciting site casting opportunities  for those looking for a short ride to the pelagics , Now is the Time!!!  Cobia have also joined the ranks but unfortunately  we have yet to get one to bite. How long will this action last is anyone’s guess but it is an amazing time of year to be out on the brine to see “what else can I catch”? These trips keep Captain and angler at the “ready” for a quick casting opputunity for a well placed presentation for the savvy angler or can also be be scored on the troll.

 Last years inshore albie bite was nothing short of world class with our anglers skills and tackle being testing regularly. These tackle testing dragsters are a light tackle enthusiastic dream ! Will this year provide even more excitement ? Hold tight and let’s hope!!

Bluefish , striped bass and fluke continue to provide staedy action are also ready to answer the call to “what else can we catch” but do require a bit of couching to lesser experienced angler.
Blowfish and a interesting assortment of other species provide “guppy” [kids] involvement  and family fun.
Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,
Captain Steve Purul
Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters
609-290-1217

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 26, 2018

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 26, 2018

Late summer is a great time to fish Long Beach Island and the Central Jersey Coast. Whether drifting the bay, walking the surf or looking deep offshore, there’s no better time to go saltwater fishing. Introduce family and friends to the sport with an experience that can’t be beat!

Currently the abundance and variety of species is mind boggling. It’s keeping ichthyologist on their toes.

Land Based Fishing

Anglers with boots on the ground, fishing the waters of Long Beach Island in the summer usually target fluke, bluefish, weakfish, striped bass and kingfish. All of these game fish are currently here, with so many more.

Anthony Smith stopped in the shop again (see Aug 15th report) with a great catch. The Jetty Jockey slammed them again… triggerfish, black drum and sheepshead! He had two black drum both about 10 pounds, an 8 pound sheepshead as well as some good size triggerfish. He also caught a couple of short tog. Anthony report, “I got a big weakfish and a couple fat kingfish of the surf last time out.”

Other land based anglers fishing the Barnegat Inlet are catching bluefish, fluke and resident striped bass.

On the surf anglers are catching fluke, kingfish and blues.

Ocean Fluke Fishing

Late summer is the best time ocean fluke fishing. When the drift is good the fishing is good too. Some reports are good while some are spotty.

Joe Medica reported a great day on the water Friday, “18.5, 21 and a 25 inch 5 pounder. We also had a ton of throwbacks.”

The crew from the Jen-Jen stopped in. They fished the Garden State North and had six keeper fluke as well as some keeper sea bass. They reported, “We had wind against tide. Power drifting made it happen!”

Talk in the shop over the weekend was buzzing about a good bite at the Garden State South and Little Egg Reef. There was talk about boat limits from both reef sites.

Here’s a photo of shop regular Bob Long with a pool winner. Bob took the trip north to the Land Of Doormat aka Nantucket and was rewarded with solid two days of fishing.

In The Bay

Blowfish action continues in the bay. Anglers reported struggling due to the weekend boat traffic but still caught. Snappers and small fluke add to the action.

Crabbing was good last week but slowed into the weekend. We expect it to pick up again as we come down off the full moon. Traditionally crabbing can be difficult near the full moon as crabs do not eat as much. The summertime moons are their shedding and mating time. Year’s biggest softies!

Shark Fishing

The shark fishing is on fire. Both in the bay and the ocean brown sharks offer anglers lots of catch and release fun.   Other sharks are here in good numbers too. Sand tigers, black tip, spinners and threshers are being caught.

Mark Temme was wrestling thresher sharks on his stand up paddle board. He went 0 for 7 snag and drop fishing Sunday.

Inshore & Mid Shore Fishing

Bonita, mahi, mackerel (spanish, chum, king), cobia, pilot fish, banded rudders and almaco jacks are near. Anglers are catching trolling, chunking and casting lures to hook up.

Here’s store staffer Kelley with a bonita he caught on a Deadly Dick Lure.

Store staffer Dave was out on the water Saturday morning and got a nice cobia not far off LBI. It went for a live eel. Dave and crew also caught one small mahi about 5 pounds, some fluke and sea bass.

The bounty of bones are giving up awesome light tackle fun. This insane inshore fishery continues on. An abundance of bonita and chub mackerel are found from the beach all the way out to 15+ miles.

The mid range tuna grounds are producing. Both yellowfin and bluefin tuna are 30-50 miles off. Boats are trolling and chunking are hooking up but jig and pop techniques have outproduced. Quality mahi reports from the tuna boats too.

Brian William got this tuna on a popper fishing with Shore Catch.

Offshore Fishing

The big eye bite in the deep light up! Steve Fernandez on the Five Seas reports, “We had a biomass of bigeyes eating buffet style behind the boat for three miles. It was a fairy tale trip. We caught about forty big eyes on this trip alone, 75% were released.

The Reel Innovations was in on the bite and also smoke the big eyes.

The crew aboard the Reel Fishers went two for two on marlin and two for two on yellowfin. “Not excellent fishing but we worked hard and put together a catch.”

LBI Fishing Report – Update August 22, 2018

LBI Fishing Report – Update August 22, 2018

Numerous reports of black drum in the bay. Most anglers are looking for sheepshead and triggerfish around the bayside snags are pulling drum. One customer in the shop today reported catching a 15-20 pound drum on the mid-island bayside. We recently heard about Jim Huthinson Jr’s catch… “On the hunt for Jersey sheepshead but we ambled into a nice lil backwater black drum!”

Tim Daly stopped in for new line on his surf reel today. While here he reported fluke fishing on the surf has been good. “Recently the swell has made fishing bucktails tough but I’m still finding fish using Gulp.” Once things settle down we expect surf fishing fishing to be good right into September.  Fortunately this year we have some extra days to keep us fishing (hopefully into the Mullet Run).

Another customer in the shop also spooling said he got a five pound fluke today on the reef, “This fluke season has been slow for me, but recently there’s much better fishing. Finally starting to find some nice fish.”

Store staffers Kelley, Mike and Dave out yesterday and found some good fishing. Frezza won the pool with this one…

Fish Head Charters

Tuesday John and Nick jumped aboard for a four hour bayman trip (clam/crab). We started off with a slow pick of crabs but it got better as time went on. In the two hour attempt we boxes three dozen keepers, most of which were good size eaters. The clamming was also good. We filled a KB White bushell basket and called it a day. It was a fun day on the bay while the north east wind was cranking.

Wednesday return clients Tom G. and son we in for four hour early morning light tackle trip. We loaded the bases getting into striped bass, bluefish and fluke but struck out looking for a weakfish (they are around).  The strongest present was made by bluefish ranging in the 1-3 pound range. Two were in the five pound class. Tom’s son finessed two striped bass; one on a bucktail tipped with a Jig Strip and one on an Daiwa SP Minnow lure.

3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania

The 3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania fishing tournament is this weekend. The Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club puts on a great time!

August 24th Captain’s Meeting

August 25th Fishing Day, Awards and BBQ, Bar & band

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters – Variety is the Spice of Life!!

If you are a ” what else can I catch” kinda of angler [ me] the opportunities presently on hand make it hard to decide!!

Joining  our usual suspects   [ striped bass, blues, fluke, seabass, tog …..] in the bay/inlet/inshore fishing grounds that have entertained Reel Fantasea’s anglers all season  is an exciting mix of other species that offer more rod bending entertainment.
Sheepshead, triggerfish, are joining the wrecks, rocks and structures we commonly fish for more regular species.
Along the beaches bird plays have given away feeding southern speedsters locations such as Spanish mackerel , bonito, small mahi, chub mackerel to the delight of the light tackle enthusiast looking for some exciting sight casting opportunity.
Trolling and or chunking has really started to heat up closer to shore [ within 20 miles of the beach] for more pelagic excitement for king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, mahi, bonito and false albacore.
Sharks are also readily available for those looking for a bit more pull on the rod!!
The tide stage this week plays well for anglers looking to get a quick fix on one of our “happy hour specials” 5-8pm .
Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,
Captain Steve Purul
Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters
609-290-1217

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 18, 2018

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 18, 2018

Fishing Tackle Flash Sale!!!!

It’s on… Beat The August Heat! The sale is valid until Monday August 20 so act now and shop now online with coupon codes…

Reels 18% Off: AHEAT18
All Else 25% Off: AHEAT25

Barnegat Bay Blowfish

Blowfish popped up this past week in the bay and the action continues with good fishing this week weekend. Today (Saturday) and yesterday anglers got into very Barnegat Bay Blowfishing.

Dave Werner had his kids on the water today. They enjoyed an epic bite on the water and an awesome puffer fish fry feast for dinner.

Here’s a photo from Jeff showing some blowfish that are about to hit the fillet table.

Jeff Warford reported, “A fun day on the bay catching puffers!” He asks… how’s your day going!

Fluke Fishing Report

Right on schedule for mid-August the local ocean fluke fishing picks up. The reefs and wrecks are producing with anglers also picking fish on open bottom areas (reports from 25-70′ of water, exact locations not shared). The crew aboard the Miss Barnegat Light reported Friday was the “best day of the year so far! Lots of keeper fluke and plenty of shorts too.” There’s some nice sea bass hitting the deck too. Today (Saturday) was “slower but still good action and a great day of fishing!” The Carolyn Ann III reported Friday was “one of those you should have been there mornings. Great Fishing!”

The anglers aboard the CAIII got into some good fishing!

Mark Spranger reported, “Another limit today on Magictail Bucktails! Some great action out there.”

Tyler Leary and Brendan Jelley fished out on the Garden State reef aboard the Jen Jen on Thursday.  Tyler got a 3.52 pound fluke and Brendan get a 4.46 pound fluke.

Dave Bye shared, “I fished outside Barnegat Inlet today and got two beauties; 8.01-lb and 7.02-lbs.”

Surf Fishing Report

Fluke, kingfish and small blues are on tap. The summertime surf fishing continues on Long Beach Island with more of the same. Steve George reports, “Some really nice size kingfish continue hitting Gulp! baits on the beach.” Anglers fishing small natural baits (like cut bunker and squid) are also catching fluke and small blues. These two species are effectively targeted with artificials too.

The ultra warm (75-77 degree) and very clean bluewater that’s currently along the central Jersey coast is holding species that hardly ever appear in a surf fishing report. This has land based multi-species anglers fired up and scrambling to add these rare catches to their inventory; bonita, chub mackerel, banded rudderfish, among others in the jack/mackerel/tuna families. Yes, some of these are on the beaches and jetties.

Inshore / Mid-Shore Fishing

John Larue reports, “I had a few solid days in the blue water. Tuna on top and solid bottom fishing!”Most recent reports had similar themes… the jig and top water bites were better than the troll.

Captain Mark of Laura Sportfishing was out in the ocean today. He caught a couple of bonita and a king mackerel.

Jon Kelly was out in the boat looking along the Island’s beaches. He found some bonita.

Jon Kelly had the bonita lined up.

Mike Fitzgerald fished aboard the Reel Trouble with Captain Billy today. They got into some great fishing. Mike shared this report, “We caught fish all day. Never went 15 minutes with out hooking up. We caught a bunch and released a bunch. Good fun consistent fishing.”

Nice catch aboard the Reel Trouble.

Fish Head Charters Report

Tuesday and Wednesday night were both very good bayside brown sharking nights. Tuesday Mike and Jay from Connecticut enjoyed a fun filled night releasing about a dozen sandbar sharks. Nearly the entire night was full of consecutive bites, even during a short rain storm. Wednesday night freelance content creator Jon Coen (The Sandpaper’s Liquid Lines) and crew aboard for filming of an upcoming Just Beneath The Surface episode. Stay tuned because this episode is gonna be the best one yet! Like most fish, they were camera shy. Not nearly as many bites the the previous nights but we made the most out of what we were served. We did manage two. One of which was a good size.

Friday’s early morning light tackle trip started out with cocktail blues crushing small lures. We looked around for some bonita and mackerel but didn’t find much (other than bait with small blues) within the first 1/2 hour. We decided to head off east and see what we could find. The whole ride looked fishy. About 10 miles off we stopped in some 78 degree beautiful bluewater where flying fish were dancing and there were a few slicks on the surface. It didn’t take long to see saw mahi on top. We blew one or two quick shots at them. Then had to spend some time to find them again. Fortunately we did.

A large school with at least ten mahi were spotted and cruising down sea towards us. I picked up and casted a popper into the breeze, landing perfectly in front of the school. One pop, two pop, three pop. One came up, nudged and away while another looked from along side. Pop, pop… another mahi came in from out of nowhere and fright trained it with an explosion. A strong strip set and I was into my first mahi on a fly rod. The fish took off, cleared my line and had me into backing within seconds. I catch up a bunch of line and the next thing I know it’s tail walking. This took the excitement to another level. It makes not only the first move but then two  more acrobatic dance flips. I got through the first and second but on the third the violent head shakes shook the hook. I was bummed in defeat yet stoked for the 1 minute mahi rodeo experience on the fly. While I’ve caught plenty of mahi while big game fishing this little 15 pound mahi had me amped for more bluewater fly fishing adventures.

Saturday Ron Rett was aboard with 11 year old his daughter and her friend for a half and half trip (fishing and clamming). We started off right with a cocktail blue on the initial cast. The first hour was fun catch and release light tackle fishing. After having fun with blues we switched gears to fluke and picked at some short fluke then went clamming. Turns out clamming was really good and for size quality it was the best trip of the summer. The girls found a good section of small to medium size clams and we all put in a great effort. In about 2 hours we scored a two person limit 300; 1/4 smalls, 1/2 mediums and 1/4 large. We are all having a clam feast!

Upcoming Events

3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania was rescheduled and the tournament date is quickly approaching. … August 24th Captain’s Meeting…. August 25th Fishing Day, Awards and BBQ, Bar & band

Long Beach Island Fall Classic – The LBI Fall Surf Fishing Tournament Classic is right around the corner… 49 days away. Save The Dates: October 6th to December 9th. For news and updates be sure to check the Tournament website at www.LBIFT.com as well as the Tournament Facebook Page.

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Report – Aug 16, 2018

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report

Update: Aug 16, 2018

     by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Beach Haven has long been a retreat for visitors seeking relief from hot summer temperatures as they head east looking for cool ocean breezes. Late summer weather also brings with it an amazing assortment of different varieties of fish that normally inhabit warm waters. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association especially look forward to these fishing opportunities.

When you think of tropical type fish, the thought is you must travel far offshore to the canyon waters where the Gulf Stream influences are felt. What makes the arrival of these different fish exciting is that some of them are being caught not that far off the beaches of Long Beach Island.

Naturally, most of these fish are being caught on the troll, but a goodly number are being caught by boats anchored up or drifting either casting metal lures or using fresh bait. Catches of mahi-mahi up to 20 pounds are being reported as close as 15 miles off with smaller mahi being caught around the artificial reef sites just a few miles from shore.

Other pelagic fish such as bonita, Spanish mackerel, and albacore are similarly close by. There are reports of big triggerfish and sheepshead on the bottom around structure both at the reefs and jetties and even in some of the deeper holes of the bay waters. Chum slicks along with large fresh baits are magnets for a variety of sharks.

This is not to say that the native species are still not around in good numbers. Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports a busy week of trips with lots of fish coming over the rail. Most days had double digit counts with several days with more than 30 fish on 4-hour trips. The best news is that the fluke numbers are increasing and so is the size. Captain John notes that he picked up his first kingfish and blowfish of the season to add to the variety of fish being caught.

Complete information on the boats and captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 15, 2018

Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update – August 15, 2018

Fun summer fishing on LBI continues. Anglers enjoy their time on the water fishing inshore, offshore and from shore with a variety of species available to target.

Anthony Smith recently stopped in with a Jetty Slam!!! Fishing crabs he caught one keeper tog (2.5lb, 16″), a trigger (4.5lb, 19.5″) and a sheepshead (4.2lb, 17″). He dropped another solid sheepshead too.

Anothony Smith knows how to fish the Jetty!

On the surf most target bluefish, fluke, kingfish and sharks. Snapper blues offer entertainment for all ages with an abundance of these quick hitting critters. Here’s a photo of Patrick Henry’s first catch. Target these small yellow eyes with small metal or small hooks tipped with meat (bunker). Evening surf anglers are catching and releasing sharks regularly. Also on the surf… BONITA! It’s rare but they are cruising the beaches.

Pat and Dad Jay Henry had fun while visiting their home town of Ship Bottom.

This past weekend was the Hooked On Fishing Not On Drugs (HOFNOD)  kids fishing tournament.  It was another successful year with 170 kids participating. About 50 scored with fish included bluefish, kingfish, sharks and skates.

In the bay some new faces are showing up. Recently a few blowfish reports popped up! Dave Werk stopped in and got a new light tackle Penn spinning reel for fishing the back bay. He reported, “The south end bay is producing some great eating fish! Both blowfish and trigger fish! I had about a dozen blowfish last trip out. Also lost a sheepshead.” We’ve heard a couple other blowfish reports from Barnegat Bay too.

Offshore fishing seemed to be hit or miss this past week. Some customers reports a whole lotta nothing however a few boats got out and found some life. Chris DeGennaro reported, “Wahoo, Marlin, Mahi and water spout. What else can I ask for… Maybe a tuna? Not my day!” Dan and Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation did good their past couple of trips. It seems like they are always on the meat! Captain Jeff reported, “We found some life away from the fleet. Everyone on board was welcomes into blue water fishing right catching a tuna on their first trip. They held up their end of the bargain and jumped into the water to celebrate!”

Here’s store staffer Pat D. with a nice tuna he caught aboard the Reel Innovation!