Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Weekly Fishing Report By Jim Hutchinson Sr.
The captains and anglers of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association breathed a deep sigh of relief this weekend when Hurricane Elsa skipped by while packing only a small portion of what might have been.
The current emphasis by the captains continues to be bottom fishing in the ocean on inshore structure and drifting for summer flounder in local bays and inlets.
Captain Carl Sheppard had multiple bottom trips out recently on the StarFish. Each trip worked hard to secure dinner, including the Kovalick family which caught their limit of sea bass up to 19-inches, a 20-inch fluke, and a ling.
Captain Gary Dugan and the “Irish Jig” have also been finding success bottom fishing. In addition to much action from just short throwbacks, one group hauled in 3 respectable fluke and a nice sea bass for dinner.
Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing had Bob Dodds, his two grand-daughters including recent Southern Regional graduate Ashley on a 4-hour fishing charter. It started off slow, but the crew had close to 60 fluke with 7 nice keepers to 23.5-inches. All fish were caught on the S&S bigeye tipped with live bait.
Associate member Jim Hutchinson Sr., who handles publicity for the BHCFA, listened to the captains’ reports and got in on the fluke action recently at the Little Egg Reef. Fishing with pal Dave Rinear and Joe Hummel on the “Angler,” the group put three keepers to 20-inches in the fish box while releasing over a dozen short fish.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
The tuna are here and the marine forecast looks pretty good through the weekend. We are sailing Open Boat or Charter on Sat July 10 and Mon July12.
Mostly 20 to 30 lb class bluefins, and now there are 50 to 80 lb yellowfins in the mix. Trolling, jigging, and casting are all producing. Running about 35 to 45 miles each way. We will have gear for trolling, jigging, and casting.
Running Open Boat or Charter Sat July 10 and Mon July 12. $450 person. Depart at 4AM, returning at 4PM. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Pics are from our trip on Monday. 3 for 3 on 25 to 35 lb bluefins for Greg Toufayan with sons Sevan, Artin, and nephew Michael Nargizian, all from Bergen County, NJ.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report
Although the long awaited Fourth of July weekend arrived with dicey weather, it appears the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are now facing some decent fishing conditions in the days ahead.
The re-opening of the black sea bass season is good news as anglers now have an additional opportunity to take home a fish dinner.
The ”Miss Beach Haven,” a head boat captained by Frank Camarda, has been running a series of trips both in calm bay waters along with ocean trips to inshore artificial reefs. Fluke catches have been steady, along with some big black sea bass coming over the rails. Captain Frank runs a set daily schedule for his four-hour bay trips and longer ocean ventures.
Captains Carl Sheppard and Vic Bertotti have been running many trips on the “Star Fish.” All the trips caught fish and including Jeff Ventura whose party of four anglers caught 83 sea bass.
Captain Gary Dugan on the “Irish Jig” has been finding good numbers of summer flounder. A trip on Saturday produced steady action with three keepers to 20-inches.
Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing has been out of action the last few days as he is in South Carolina supporting son Luke in a big baseball tournament. Recent results indicate the team is doing well. Captain Tom Duralek of “NorthEnd Charters” has taken over some of Captain Brett’s charters including Bill Dabney and his son on a fluke trip. The duo jigged a few areas hard catching close to 20 throwbacks and two keeper fluke to 21 inches.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
We are running Open Boat or Charter SundaJuly 4 and Monday, July 5.
We can run to Barnegat Ridge and try trolling for bonita and albacore and anything else that might be there. I say “try” because we have not yet been there this season. It’s just the right time to go. We could push further off and troll the Resor Wreck area for a shot at 20 to 30 pound bluefin. From what I hear, you have to catch a lot of false albacore to put a few bluefin in the boat but I guess there’s worse problems to have than catching too many fish. It is still pretty much a troll bite, so if that’s not your thing, you might want to wait until it transitions more into a jigging and bait opportunity. If we hit the Ridge, we leave at 6AM, returning at 2PM. $300 person If we run to the Resor Wreck, we leave at 5AM, returning between 4-5PM. $450 person
Either trip is 4 people max, all fish are shared. Everything is provided. If you want to charter the boat for either day, we can fish for whatever you like, including fishing the bay and inlet for schoolie stripers, blues, and fluke. Or we can run offshore.
This awful stormy weather is on the way out and they have cleaned up the marine forecast to mostly single digit winds for each of these days and finally a break from the incessant SW winds. The wind is changing direction from all over the dial.
I’m headed to the dock to get her fueled up, iced up, and ready to roll.
First I want to wish everyone a happy and safe Independence Day / 4th of July Weekend
As the summer kicks into gear and heats up so does the fishing with plenty of fish now pretty prevalent everywhere. Oceanside, bayside by boat or from the Beach there is action to be found. Prior to a week of south winds and drastic Surf temperature drop (59°) the past few days the Fluke / Summer Flounder fishing was Hot. It did slow down but things are already improving but you just have to find them and then work it a little harder. Along with summers arrival are the Northern Kingfish which are here and hanging at your favorite Sand Bar. Summer Snapper Bluefish are also creating havoc attacking anything in their site. And it’s that time of the year were you can catch some more exotic or southern fish species as the waters warm again like Spanish Mackerel, Sheepshead maybe a Cobia – you never know what might be on the end of your line.
Right now I’m still locked in Fluke Fishing but am prepared for anything that might cross our paths. I have some prime July dates available with perfect tides to enjoy a morning surfcasting the LBI Beaches.
For more information Or to reserve your trip call me at 609-276-6983 and you can also email me at [email protected] Thank You, Have A Great Holiday
Dan from Western Pennsylvania with his biggest Fluke off the beach that he released Here is Will with his personal best size Fluke Surfcasting ( with his new rod/reel he bought at Fishermansheadquarters) and was “delicious” he said Happy Independence Day
Steve George / Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC
Here’s the Long Beach Island fishing report update for Thursday July 1, 2021.
We welcome July with open arms as we enter primetime summer here on LBI. Fishing aboard Fish Head Charters has been great with lots of fun. We are catching Barnegat Bay Slams regularly with striped bass, blues and fluke. Unfortunately no weakfish YET!
On the surf there’s fluke and kingfish. Store staffer Jack and Tyler got into kingfish on the surf fishing live blood on the surf. Live bloods are best! We have some good ones right now fresh in from Maine.
On the bay you can’t go wrong with live minnow for fluke. Blowfish are in the bay and anglers are catching. Expect this to improve as season progresses.
Soon the reef sites will be one fire. They are producing fluke and sea bass now and will only get better.
The LBI surf is chilly due to a upwelling event from the south winds. The surf temp is NOT 70 degrees. It is 58-64… Ship Bottom is 60 degrees!!! Do not believe what you see on the news or sources that can not be verified. These temps were confirmed by Ship Bottom Beach patrol and also my sounder on boat which was calibrated at the beginning of the season (as I do each and every season).
Offshore fishing reports are good when weather allows anglers get out there. Angers are reported some albies are mixed in certain areas.
This past week was a good one for anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. Both beach and boat anglers are getting out and enjoying good fishing for a variety of species. Right now at the beginning of summer the the local waters have the largest variety of species than any other time of the year.
Barnegat Bay has and continues to have solid fluke fishing. Recently the fluke fishing in the ocean has picked up. There’s kingfish and fluke on the surf with surfcasters occasionally catching striped bass and bluefish. Large sting rays and sharks were also caught and released by a handful (or more) of surf anglers fishing meaty baits. The summer time species are showing too; sheepshead, triggerfish, mahi, spanish mackerel, king mackerel cobia among others.
Huge Thanks to the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club for putting on one hell of a fluke tournament. Everything from the captain’s meeting to the award ceremony was professional, organized and top notch. It’s awesome to see this great event have a record number of boats and raise a record amount of money for a great cause, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations.
My crew (right to left: Matt S., Max B., Sloane E.) and I aboard the Endless Summer (aka Fish Head Charters) were more than honored to take the largest fluke, the largest three fish stringer and the largest fluke by a female angler.
The Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association held its first Junior Mates Program since 2019 this past week to an eager group of over 20 would-be mates. The open-air meeting took place at the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club. Prior to the actual instruction, some special presentations took place highlighting certain special achievements of the Association and the Junior Mates.
Beach Haven Mayor Colleen presented a proclamation to Association President Captain John Lewis honoring the Junior Mates for their reef replenishment project. In addition, framed newspaper articles about the deployment on the reef were presented to Tom Hughes of the Sea Shell Club who raised the lion’s share of the money for the reef work.
Although she was unable to be in attendance, Lewis also announced an award for Deb Whitcraft, head of the New Jersey Maritime Museum. She has been a fervent supporter of the Junior Mates for many years, donating use of her museum for Association classes and meetings.
In fishing news, Captain Dave Kreines had a couple of bay fishing parties out on the “Byte Me.” He had Tony and his grandson Anthony out for a half-day trip. Stiff winds and cool temperatures made for less-than-ideal conditions, but Captain Dave reports the pair enjoyed the day. Another trip with Paul and his son Dylan resulted in a few throwbacks along with a nice 20-inch keeper fluke. The pair caught their first ever sea robin and were enthused about it.
Captain Carl Sheppard of the “StarFish” reports fishing has been improving on almost a daily basis. He has been busy fishing wrecks and catching summer flounder along with sea bass and blackfish which are now out of season. Most trips have produced multiple keepers along with an abundance of action from shorts.
In between successful fluke trips, Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” announced that he has taken over the Cape Horn Bait and Tackle Shop on Great Bay Boulevard in Tuckerton. He is now keeping his boat at the marina while making “some pretty cool changes” there and offering some topnotch services.
Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing reports he had a busy week with double and triple charters each day when the weather cooperates. With the fishing dependent on the temperature and water clarity, most trips are seeing 25 to 45 fish with 2 to 7 keepers The largest fish of the week have been in the 5–6-pound range.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org.
Saturday July 10th at 5am from Cape May to Keyport, New Jersey boaters will be on the prowl for the biggest summer flounder in our local waters. “The right fish could net the captain and crew north of $50,000”, says club president and founder Matt Sorrentino! The NJ Fishing Club’s inaugural Beat the Fleet Fluke Tournament is kicking off this year and the club is holding nothing back! With the cancelation of the Rhode Island and Delaware tournaments this will effectively be the largest Summer Flounder Tournament ANYWHERE!
Fluke Tournaments along the Jersey Shore are not uncommon. In fact most weekends between Memorial Day and Labor Day anglers have a multitude to choose from. There are a few things however, that make the NJ Fishing Club tournament stand out. For starters, the prize pool is guaranteed! Oftentimes you’ll see an advertised prize for first, second and third but when it comes time to collect, those numbers magically shrink. That’s because most tournaments advertise their prize structure based on the number of boats they think will enter… more often than not these numbers are simply a fabrication fo the tournament committee.
As advertised!
This time, the prizes will be paid out as advertised. $16,000 total across three regions to the anglers with the largest Fluke in each North, Central and South Jersey. With the largest fish in the state taking home the lions share of $4,500. There are prizes from 1-4th in each region and 1-3rd overall for the largest summer flounder. With a $1,000 bonus to the boat with the biggest fish who registers prior to June 28th!
Thats without even getting into the Calcutta’s (where the real money is made in any fishing tournament). These winner take all categories bring in big bucks and stiff completion. They also offer a multitude of ways to win. For this tournament, we’re looking at single fish, 3-fish bag, and a bycatch category. Entry into each Calcutta puts you in for the chance to win both regionally and overall. We mentioned earlier about a $50,000 fish. Let us explain how we came to that number, assuredly it’s not a fabrication like previously discussed.
Since this is the first year the tournament is running we can’t go off of last years statistics. However, we can look at other tournaments to gain some perspective. In the last 5 years similar state run tournaments have seen participation in around the 200 boat range, for a much smaller pay day. We also looked at regional tournaments like the Duke of Fluke, Flukeamania and the Bass River Classic which all see paticpation from 40-80 boats.
Based on this information, we’re shooting for what we believe to be a conservative goal of 180 boats. If we break these entries down based on the data we have available into our Calcutta options (40% going all in, 30% selecting option 2, 10% selection option 1 and 20% fishing no Calcutta’s and just attempting to win the advertised prizes and youth prizes) we arrive with a Calcutta prize pool of around $90,000. If a team is able to sweep both the single largest and 3 fish Calcutta categories, they’re payout could potentially be anywhere from $30-50,000 depending on the breakdown of signups. This thing could break down countless ways. Actually this thing could breakdown with potentially 36 different teams cashing in.
In addition to our prizes… each weigh station is offering a $100 gift card to the largest fish weighed at their location!!!
Let’s get into some questions we’ve had so far.
Is there a youth division?
There is not a separate entry for youth participants. Thanks to our sponsor Tsunami, there is a youth prize package in each region. This is awarded to the angler 16 and under in each region who catches the largest summer flounder. You will certify this on your weigh slips and include the anglers name and age. If weighing in for a youth, they must be present at the weigh in.
Is there a women’s division?
No! Women can do anything men can do. Stop asking this question.
How do the Calcutta’s work?
For those of you who don’t know, the Calcutta is basically a winner take all tournament within a tournament. Only those who signup for this optional class are eligible to win. In our tournament there are several, but we have them broken down into options.
Option 1 includes a $50 buy-in for both a 1 fish and 3 fish Calcutta. This is the cheapest Calcutta option*
Option 2 includes the $50 and also $100 Calcutta’s in each 1 and 3 fish.
Option 3 includes the aforementioned choices as well as a $250 entry into the 1 and 3 fish categories.
All options include a bycatch category we’ll discuss later.
Let’s say you enter Option 1 and you catch the largest single fish in the tournament, and in this example you also have the heaviest 3 fish bag. You will win the money from everyone who entered the $50 Calcutta, however, you will not be eligible for the $100 or $250 entry money. On the other hand, if you enter Option 3 and have the same results, you will effectively win all 6 Calcutta options and take all the winnings.
Not all the money however. Your entry money into the Calcutta’s covers you in both regional and overall contests. 65 cents for every Calcutta dollar entered will be paid out regionally. While 25 cents will go to the overall winner. The other 10 cents goes to the Fishing Club (We’re not doing this for free, sorry if that’s surprising news but hey it’s a lot of work!)
It is possible for there to be 22 different Calcutta winners!
Again, looking to level the playing field and increase your chances to win. Here’s something unique we are trying in this tournament:
Bycatch Bag Calcutta!
We’re often greeted with bycatch when looking for summer flounder. These fish are often met with disgruntled anglers then discarded. Well this is your chance to cash in on that “trash”. Our bycatch bag Calcutta is the combined weight of 1 Sea Robin and 1 Sea Bass OR the total weight of 1 Skate. The payout split is identical. You do not need to catch all 3 species, you can weigh in 1 sea robin, 1 sea bass or 1 skate and still be eligible for prize money. Entrants can also weigh in 1 sea bass and 1 sea robin together to increase your odds.
*If you choose to weigh in the skate, you may not weigh in the other species.
Why do a 1 fish contest instead of a bag limit?
We chose a 1-fish tournament as opposed to a 3-fish bag limit to level the playing the field. The thing is, the anglers with more experience and more time on the water are definitely more likely to come through with overall better quality than your weekend warriors or family fishing teams. Nonetheless, there is always some aspect of luck when it comes to fishing and it’s a lot easier to get lucky once then it is 3 times. Some words of wisdom… “Anything can happen at any time.” Position yourself with the right bait in the right spot and with a little luck the right fish is in your box and you’ll be on your way to cash a pretty hefty paycheck for your efforts. There is still a 3 fish Calcutta option which will more than likely carry a much higher payout than the tournament itself.
Where do you think the biggest fish will be caught?
If you haven’t caught on by now, we’re all about an even playing field. That’s why we chose an early season date for this tournament. The big fish can literally come from anywhere. The bay, the ocean, north or south. If we we’re gamblers (and we totally are) we would guess in an inlet, in about 20-30’ of water drifting live bait near structure, but only time will tell.
Here are some hot spots we give the nod; Raritan Bay, Navesink, Shrewsbury, Manasquan Rivers, Sandy Hook Reef, Shrewsbury Rocks, Sea Girt Reef, BB and BI buoys Barnegat Bay, Barnegat Inlet, Axle Carlson Reef, Barnegat Light Reef, Garden State North and South Reefs, Main Marsh Thoroughfare, Broad Creek at Intracoastal, Brigantine Bridge,, Absecon Inlet, Rainbow Channel, Corson’s Inlet, Townsends Inlet, Atlantic City Reef, Ocean Drive Bridge, Old Grounds, Reef Site 11
Any advice?
1. Fish as long as you are physically able to. Spend the entire day on the water if your body and time allows it. Anything can happen at any time. (Where have I heard that before?)
2. Talk to your local tackle shop. Stop into our weigh stations BEFORE the tournament! Tell them you’re fishing the tournament and ask for their advice. They’re business thrives on repeat customers. It is not beneficial to them if you go out and don’t catch fish. They’ll point you in the right direction and make sure you’ve got the proper gear!
3. Don’t forget about the calcutta’s. You have to be in it to win it.
The JCAA tournament lesson. The long running JCAA tournament offers a $50,000 prize if someone is able to catch a fish over 12 pounds. It’s unlikely but again… anything can happen at anytime. In order to win the prize, you need to put in something like $25 to cover the entry. It won’t take too much digging to look around and find the story of the guy who caught it and didn’t enter, and let $50,000 slip away.
4. Register now! Get your money in before June 28th and you’re eligible to win an extra $1,000. You know you’re fishing. There is no reason to wait!
Fishing Long Beach Island and the surrounding areas is good here at the beginning of the summer season. The past couple days I’ve had great fishing and reports from our customers are been positive. I had another good day today fishing Barnegat Bay catching both striped bass and fluke before the stormy weather came in. Right now there’s a lot going down for both beach and boat anglers. Here’s a Fishing LBI report update for Tuesday June 22, 2021.
