Category: Fishing Reports

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The fishing in Beach Haven has returned to normal as clear weather and warm temperatures have become the order of the day once again. Stronger than usual winds are present, but the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are using their know-how to find fish.

The offshore bite continues to be hot. Captain Bob Gerkens fished the “Hot Tuna” in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational Tournament with a crew of Andres Hernandez, Pete Nork, Erick Pollard and Matt Ruark. Early on Friday three yellowfin tuna to 52-pounds were boated and a little later four big eye tuna were on at the same time. Three of the four were boated at about 90-pounds. Having used up the boats holding capacity, the “Hot Tuna” headed back to dock at 11:00AM, even though the Tournament permitted fishing until 3:30.

Captain Jimmy Zavacky fished the “Reel Determined” in the same tournament and took a fifth place based on his tuna catch.

Closer to shore, the “Starfish” with Captain George at the helm, had a group of seven anglers from Pennsylvania out on a beautiful weather day. The fish were ready to bite, and over 80 fish were caught. The party returned to the dock with nine keeper black sea bass, one fluke and two Spanish mackerel in the box.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” Sportfishing has been spending much of his time fishing the bay and inlet waters with family groups. He has been fighting strong winds but scoring with various techniques to beat the conditions. He had the Winkler family from Pittsburgh out with two young children on a bay and inlet charter. The family ended up boating over 30 Fluke with seven year old Hudson catching a pair of 19-inch fluke and a cocktail bluefish. The Sigillo family from Beach Haven West with three children were out with Captain Brett. They fished a few different areas and released some 71 Fluke while boxing 3 keepers one bluefish. All fish were caught on bucktails.

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

July has come to an end. Let’s look forward to August ahead! Now’s the time to enjoy summer time fishing the waters of Long Beach Island.

The bay, inlet and ocean are all productive places to fish. The main target species are fluke, bluefish and striped bass with a few others in the line up. We now have tog…

August 1st means Black Fish (Tog aka Tautog) is open. The current recreational fishing regulation is one fish a 15″ minimum size length; August 1 to November 15. We have live green crabs as well as tog rigs and jig in stock.

Fishing The Bay

Barnegat Bay fishing is in full summer mode. There’s loads of bait (small spearing and peanut bunker) and small game fish like resident striped bass and small bluefish are having a field day. These fish offer light tackle fishing fun with small lures. Most are some but we’ve seen occasional mid 20″ range to almost legal keeper sized striped bass. Also a few bluefish nearing the five pound mark popped up.

The bay is stacked with snapper blues. These little ferocious feeders are just about everywhere from the docks and bulkheads as well as the bridges. They are even along the sod banks, inlet and surf.

The traditional summer time “day on the bay” shellfish activities are strong. Clamming and crabbing are all great choices. Stop by for assistance in learning how to get out and enjoy the area’s awesome activities. Anyone looking to get out clamming but doesn’t have a boat? Give Captain Greg a call at Fish Head Charter, 609-389-9963.  $50 per person for two hour clamming trips.  $300 four hour up to four people. Quality clam rake provided. Must purchase NJ Shellfish License separately.

Crabbing seems to be at it’s best right now with lots of customers reporting solid catches of nice size blue claw crabs. Most positive reports are coming from the west side of the bay. This should not be a surprise. It’s always far better than the Island’s east side. Island side we have heard good trapping in the less frequented. Steve Taylor of Delran stopped in the shop today and reported having a lot of fun with the crabs. “It was good crabbing with some big ones!” His largest was a monster 7.25″ blue claw! Get out to your honey hole and soak some bait!

Fluke are plentiful but most catches are on the short side. Don’t give up! Work through them and adapt to find the keepers. August is the month where they look to exit the bay and stage up in the ocean.

Fishing The Inlet

David Ho (@symplexfishing) with multi species angler Leo Sheng (@extremephillyfishing) and friends had a good day on the Jetty Sunday yesterday. “We caught 40 fluke today! Some sea bass and bluefish too.”

Grey Colston was on the Jetty today fluke fishing and limited out! “The inlet has been good. I got two 20″ and one 22″ fish among a lot of shorts.” Grey was recently on the surf hunting fluke. There too he also found some keeper size fish using Gulp! softbaits.

Fishing The Surf

On the surf fluke fishing continues strong as the main stay fishery. Anglers share positive surf fishing fluke reports on a daily basis coming from just about every town on LBI. Work the suds using jigs tipped with Gulp! or a love minnow.

Steve George recently weighed in a 20.75″ 3.56 pound fluke that he caught on the mid-Island surf. Steve got it on Gulp! and mentioned he’s also catching kingfish on the baits intended for fluke.

We suggest for those looking to target kingfish… gear up with small hooks and Dyna Bait Bloodworms, BonaFide Bloodworms or Fish Bites. They are all working great and half the price and hassle of live bloods. For live blood worm lovers we are trying to keep them in stock .

Did You Get Your Shark Fill?

Discovery’s Shark Week is over but it’s still shark time here. Did you get your fill?  Get off couch and get in on the real action! It’s summertime and sharks are here in our waters. Some much larger than most want to admit. Surf shark fishing is very good in the bay, on the surf and in the inshore waters. Gear up and get out there.

Michael DeFrance recently sent in this message… “I’ve been in for bait, tackle and advise everyday this week. Finally got what i was after! Thanks guys for a nice big brown shark!”

Offshore Fishing

When the weather allows boats are getting out and finding fish. Mark from the Forked River Tuna Club was in the shop today to get a new top shot installed on his Avet lever drag fishing reel. While here he shared a photo of a recent catch. He caught this bluefin Monday yesterday fishing the middle ground (not inshore, not offshore).

I have been on the water more days than not during the last week. Fluking is fluking, when the bite is on it is hot and heavy with shorts far outnumbering keepers. For fluke, I still sticking to what mother nature has to offer and that is live bait. If I’m on summer break from school why is school is session on most of my trips? What I mean is, there is a lot of cooperative schoolie stripers to be had when you are in the right place and the right time. Been getting most of them on soft plastics like Bass Kandy Delights (BKDs). Here are two pictures from last night’s trips with Lots of blues around the inlet with sizes ranging from less than a pound to 5-6 pounds. Whether you like them or not, cow now rays are in mass.

On the nature side of things: I have officially launched my kayak eco tours (see what I did there, LOL). I am running them through the Long Beach Island Foundation of Arts and Sciences. Details can be found at this link: LBI Ecotours Having been on Barnegat Bay for around 40 years now and having some of it’s brackish water running through my veins my tours showcase the magnificent wildlife Barnegat Bay has to offer. Although I guide these tours, I let mother nature set the stage.
Launching, mid-island the 2-hour tour take you around Cedar Bonnet Island which is part of the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. O, speaking of Forsythe….. I have been chosen to sit on The Friends of Forsythe committee for a 2-year position. Cool beans

I have some open slots available for guided fishing trips this week and right now I am running my ecotours on Thursdays,

Screaming drags,

Capt Alex 609=548-2511

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters has anglers dialed in scoring stripers, blues, fluke, seabass and tog! Our inshore action continues to reward Light tackle enthusiasts looking for some salty fun with light spinning tackle while employing different techniques and presentations .

I have a couple of Happy Hour Specials [ 5pm – 8pm]  still available this week for the family or anyone not looking to spend the entire day out on the water but still wants to get there [ sunsets are spectacular!!]

3 spots available for tomorrow mornings 9am – 1pm.  Call only asap!!

609-290-1217

Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,

Captain Steve Purul

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters

Looks like the weather is finally going to stabilize, for a few days, anyway. Sunday and Monday, July 29 and 30, are showing very little or no storm activity. The wind is coming around to an easterly direction with mild velocity. It looks like we could get out to Barnegat Ridge tomorrow (Sunday) at least, and maybe further in search of bonita and sharks. Sharks are mostly dusky, browns, spinner, Atlanic sharpnose, and browns. Anywhere from 20 to 150 pounds. All catch and release species. If we get into the bonita, they go in the cooler as they are delicious. Any way you prepare tuna, you can prepare bonita, including sashimi. Monday is even nicer, so I am looking to get out to the mid range 50/60 mile grounds in search of tuna. Open Boat or Charter either day. Sunday’s Barnegat Ridge bonita/shark trip 6AM to 1PM, $175 person. 4 people max. Monday’s Mid-Range tuna trip. 4AM to 4PM (usually later) $350 person. 4 people max. Reservations are required. All fish are shared on both trips.

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Although this week has been a bit of a washout with high winds and torrential rain, the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association were catching fish well before the bad weather.

On the inshore artificial reefs the main attractions are black sea bass and summer flounder. Captain Jimmy Zavacky had the Damiano group out on the “Reel Determined” on a day featuring sunny skies and calm seas. In addition to many throwbacks, they took home fluke and sea bass fillets for fish dinners.

Captain Carl Sheppard had a crew of 14 anglers out for an afternoon of fishing last Friday. The water temperature was a warm 72-degrees and the winds were less than 10 knots. About 70 fish were caught with 10 keeper sea bass and 2 fluke being large enough to take home.

Captain Dave Kreines had the Gray family out on the “Byte Me” for some bay and inlet fishing. The inlet produced only sea robins and a short fluke. Captain Dave headed back into the bay for one of his hot spots where a keeper fluke was boated immediately followed by a good number of other fish.

Captain Ray Lopez had the Kuzcko family from Forked River out for fluke and sea bass in the bay and the ocean plus a 40-pound cow nose ray that took a bait in the bay.  The next day the McPolin group went on an inshore trolling trip and catching some skipjack and three dolphin including a 25-pound bull.

Captain John Lewis had a few good trips to the inshore reefs for fluke and sea bass. The Kaufman family landed several nice sized fluke and lots of sea robins but the highlight WAS a butterfly ray, about 4 feet wide, taking 15-minutes to get to the boat. The Whooley family from Phoenix  had a good day with 4 keeper sea bass and 3 fluke plus a steady pick of shorts and sea robins. Captain John adds that he has made believers about eating sea robin fillets. He says they can be cooked many ways and are delicious.

Captain Bob Gerkens continued his successful trips offshore last week on the “Hot Tuna” with a trip to the 30-Fathom line on a 12-hour charter. The Robertson brothers boated two yellowfin tuna to 35-pounds along with a nice “gaffer” mahi. “Gaffer” refers to the fact a gaff was necessary to boat the fish.

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

Here’s the fishing report update for Friday July 20th. The inshore, offshore and from shore summer time fishing continues.

Fishing Inshore

Fluke and sea bass is the main game inshore fishing wise. Fishing isn’t the best but anglers are catching. Some captains who know structure are putting catches together.

One of these is Captain Mark from Laura Sportfishing. He’s always on the meat. He’s get his crew’s on good bottom fishing. On a recent trip they boated a 23 lb cod.

The Carolyn Ann III reports, “A slower bite the past two days with mostly shorts and sea robins.”

Fishing Offshore

The 49th Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational is five days away! More info posted below.

The 2018 offshore fishing season has been on fire and it continues on. With poor weather coming, today was the last good weather day.  Those that got the day in really hit pay dirt! A quick look at social media and you’ll be jealous.

Captain Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation reported, “Trip of a lifetime! This one will be heard to beat… going 17 for 22 on bigeyes. We had to stop fishing due to shortage of storage. Big eye tuna were following us for two hours right under the boat as we mohawk them on jigs.” First mate Dan said, “The jig bite was unreal.”

Mike Kelly (store staff alumni and mate aboard the Canyon Runner) reports the tuna bite is on… The 60 maxed out the box with 9 big eyes and a bunch of yellowfin. The 48 caught 14 bigeyes!!! It’s the best it’s even been. Boats are knee deep in big eye tuna!

Fishing From Shore

Summertime surf fishing on LBI is mainly fluke and kingfish with the occasional small bluefish.

Taylor Mitchell from Barnegat caught this junior doormat this morning off the mid-island surf. He caught the 25.5″ 6.18 pound fluke on a bucktail with Gulp!

Steve George puts his time in on the surf and it shows. from a few days ago. : He reports, “Plenty of action on the beach. The fluke are chewing and I continue to find aggressive northern kingfish hitting GULP! baits.

The surf zone is full of big rays. Most of the cow nose variety; however others are around too. Sharks are present and pulling lots of line.

Fish Head Charters

Now back from ICAST and catching up I’ve finally got some time to get back out on the water. I fished Thursday and Friday (today).

Thursday I had Rhonda and Bill from Newton MA for a light tackle fly charter. We tried our best but could not do much because the weed was atrocious! Everywhere we went there was grass. Some patches looked like islands that you could run around on. The crew worked through it and managed to finish the day with one bluefish and one bass. They were stoked so it was a success.

Friday (Today) I headed out with store staffers Kelley and Mike. Made bait quick with two throws of the cast net. With a full livewell of peanut bunker we headed out to the reef. With very few reports we wanted to go take a look for ourselves. On our way out the inlet we came across bass on top slapping bait and small birds were active. First cast and Frezza was hooked up. Shortly after Kelley was on. After getting our fill we point out to the Garden State North. Turns out fishing wasn’t all that. Kelley got a 21.5″ fluke which was the only keeper (one right at 18 went back ). In all we had seven shorts, one keeper sea bass (could of filled the boat if we targeted them) a handful of sea robins. It was fun but we hoped for more. My fingers are crossed for good ocean fluking after this blow. It should be heating up by now.

THE 49TH ANNUAL BEACH HAVEN WHITE MARLIN INVITATIONAL

The oldest White Marlin Invitational fishing tournament in America kicks off on Tuesday, July 24th and runs through Saturday, July 28th. Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational Tournament (WMIT) enters its 49th consecutive year building off the success of 2017’s
tournament, and represents some of the finest offshore fishing in the Northeast while playing host to hundreds of offshore enthusiasts, spectators, guests and the public enjoying the festivities at the Beach Haven
Marlin & Tuna Club. A first class tournament in a first class way!

2018’s tournament honors and respects the heritage of this storied event, while maintaining the format changes introduced in 2017 in response to prior year’s participant feedback. The two most significant changes, which are in-place again for 2018, were well received by tournament participants in 2017. First, and perhaps most importantly, the tournament added a day. The tournament for many years was fish two of three days, but that can be bruising to run offshore on back-to-back days if the seas are sporty, so the registration and captain’s dinner were moved to Tuesday and made the fishing a pick of two of four days between Wednesday and Saturday. Secondly, a second weigh station was added at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle to encourage boats in Northern NJ to participate. Last year there was a Nor’easter during the second half of the tournament, but 6 great boats fished the WMIT from the /Brielle Manasquan area including Crisdel, The Right Place, Let it Ride, Placid C’s, Goin in Deep and Jersey Nutz, who was the overall winner in 2017.

While significant payouts ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 are very much a part of the tournament for catches of white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, and dolphin, there is also a treasure chest payout of up to
$23,000 which can be won by any participant – regardless of entering the Calcuttas. In addition to the traditional Calcuttas, there are new categories for dolphin and wahoo as well as for boats 29’ and under in size, signaling that the tournament is far from limited to the big sport-fishing boats.

The White Marlin Invitational holds a special place in the annals of offshore fishing history. Captain, sportswriter and BHMTC member Karl Anderson wrote in 2017 about the history of the WMIT: “Many early club members had also been fishing up and down the coast and invited offshore anglers to come to Beach Haven to sample the good fishing. Awaiting them was a nice clubhouse, great meals each night and good camaraderie with a group of dedicated offshore fisherman.” The WMIT is, in many ways, different than the larger White Marlin Open and The Mid-Atlantic tournaments. “I hear from a lot of White Marlin Invitational participants that they fish the WMIT year-after-year because they love the camaraderie, the fishing can be excellent in late July, and there is something special about the atmosphere at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club after coming in from a great day offshore”, added Dave Ridley, tournament director. “This is not to take away from the WMO or MidAtlantic, as those are both very successful, well run tournaments that we hold in high regard; however, they have the infrastructure to handle hundreds of boats, while we are a non-profit club with more limited funding, so we are happy to have 50-75 boats participate.” The BHMTC has hosted as many as 105 boats in the WMIT in the years before Sandy, but that was the far upper limit of what the BHMTC can handle logistically, and we don’t strive to be the biggest tournament – we just want to put on a great event year after year that offshore fisherman from up and down the east coast circle on their calendars as part of their tournament fishing circuit as a “must-fish”. “We also love that the WMIT is the last week in July (July 24th – July 28th in 2018) since many participants have told us they love fishing the WMIT, followed by the White Marlin Open two weeks later, and finally the MidAtlantic two weeks following that. “It’s the triple-crown of fishing in the Northeast, added Ridley.”

With over 20 boats preregistered to date, the WMIT committee expects to have over 50 boats fish this year. While there was a year or two where we had about 100 boats, there have been two fairly significant challenges in recent years which have taken a while to climb back from. First, super storm Sandy totaled our clubhouse in Beach Haven, which is where we have hosted the tournament since the start. Even without a clubhouse, the BHMTC still hosted the event successfully the year following Sandy. Through the dedication and time of our members, a new clubhouse was built a few years ago. The second significant challenge had been navigating Little Egg Inlet’s heavy shoaling, which kept a number of larger boats away. However, this winter, the inlet was dredged so we hear many of the larger boats are returning to the WMIT. To have a mile-long, 350 foot wide, and 29 feet deep inlet freshly dredged inlet is huge, added Ridley.

Additional information is available on the tournament website (www.TheWMIT.com) In-person registration will take place at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club on Tuesday, July 24th at 6 pm followed by the captain’s meeting and dinner. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 25-28th), the BHMTC is open to the public and free of
charge so spectators are encouraged to come down to BHMTC to watch weigh-ins between 4:30-8pm daily, enjoy an adult beverage at the cash bar, get a bite to eat at the food trucks, buy tournament merchandise, or
just bring friends and family down to watch the fish weigh-ins.

The WMIT is possible in part due to the generosity of our platinum sponsors including United Rentals, Morrison’s Marina, South Jersey Yacht Sales, Jersey Cape Yachts, Construction Risk Partners, Marine Max, Fisherman’s Headquarters and Mack Boring.

2018 WMIT – Schedule of Events

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

(Reserved for Tournament Participants and Sponsors)
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Registration in Person – Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club (BHMTC)
8:00 PM – Captain’s Meeting and Dinner – BHMTC
Live music – Garage Kept Band
Double Nickel Brewery

Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Fish Day Option 1
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live music

Thursday, July 26, 2018
Fish Day Option 2
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live music

Friday, July 27, 2018
Fish Day Option 3
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live Music – Franklin Turnpike Band

Saturday, July 28, 2018
Fish Day Option 4
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food and drinks available at BHMTC
Awards Ceremony – Approximately 9 PM
Live Music – Ryan Zimmerman followed by The Pickles Duo

We ran to Barnegat Ridge on Sunday. Two to three foot long swell, very fishable. Had John Post, his son-in-law Tim Smith, and grandson, 13 year old Timmy Smith all of Mountainside, NJ. Stopped about a mile and a half shy of the North Ridge as I usually do. This way the lines go out in the deep water and we troll towards the high ground. As Nick was setting out the fourth rod in the spread, a cedar plug, it went spooling off in his hand. He locked it up and Timmy boated a nice bonita. As we drew closer to the Ridge, there were slicks and chicks. This is best case scenario wherever you are fishing, but especially here. The slicks were so fresh that you could smell them 30 yards away and there were a dozen to twenty chick birds picking at them at any given time. I could here the rods going off in my head…….but it never happened. Killer fish and bait readings throughout the water column. I gave it two hours of tight turns and nothing. There were quite a few spinner sharks thrashing and crashing so this is the only thing I could suspect might have been putting off the species we were looking for. I brought a can of chum and some fresh bunker out with us so I asked our crew if they wanted to try sharking and they were game. It took about twenty minutes and the first rod went off, Timmy jumped on the rod and brought a 60 lb dusky to the boat. Then two rods went off at the same time, we lost one and Timmy finessed a 120 lb dusky to be released on the other. We were doing it all with 20 to 30 class gear so it was a lot of fun. Nick and I were watching the balloons and we both happen to see a fish jump over one of the balloons. I said “that was a mahi” and he said ‘Yeah, I know”. He had eaten a hunk of bunker on a 9/0 circle hook rigged on 200 lb mono. Once again, Timmy was on the rod and boated this 8 lb square head baby bull mahi. This kid was a true angler. Smooth on the rod. Here he his on one of those dusky sharks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06cE7EZZ-VI

If we had stayed on the troll, it might have been a one bonita day that was over in the first five minutes. That bucket of chum and fresh bait turned it into a decent catch with plenty of action. Thank God for Plan B!

Yesterday (Wed) I had Nick Honachefsky of the new series Saltwater Underground on board. He was hosting friends Sean Reilly and WWE pro wrestler Jake the Snake Roberts, along with Jake’s son Dustin. Jake caught a nice striper on light tackle at the Barnegat Inlet jetty. We moved back into the bay and hammered away at short fluke jigging leadheads and Gulp for a few hours.

Running Open Boat to Barnegat Ridge tomorrow, Friday July 20. Leaving at 11AM, returning at 6PM. Trolling for bonita, mahi, or any other high speed fish that are in that neighborhood. I’ll have the chum and bait on board if we want to try a few hours of light tackle sharking. $175 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. You can call for a spot right up until we leave. I’m available to call until 9PM tonight (Thurs) or as early as 5AM tomorrow (Fri). Sat is booked. Sun and Monday, July 22 and 23 are potential bay/inlet charter days as the ocean will be a little rough from Saturday afternoon on through the next few days.

Looking to run offshore for tuna next week Open Boat or Charter Sat/Sun/Mon, Trolling and chunking. Probably running 80 miles plus each way unless things heat up closer. Leaving at 2AM, returning around 4 PM, sometimes later, so if you have to be back at a certain time, you won’t make it. $400 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Reservations required. Everything is provided. If you have a favorite rod and reel, and it’s appropriate, you can bring it. Hoping we get a nice stretch of weather, we are due.

Pics:

Timmy Smith of Mountainside, NJ with bonita and mahi.

Jake the Snake Roberts and Nick Honachefsky with striper

Capt. Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

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