Hutchinson's Fishing Report
The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are
slowly but surely making their transition into the summer mode of
fishing. Captain Fran Verdi took the Nutaitis party on the "Cousins"
out for some sea bass on the Little Egg Reef recently and fought the
fog most of the day. He had the reef to himself as they boated 13
keepers out of a total of 24 fish. Another day he took the Hugh Brown
party out of "The Drop Off" to the ocean for some fluke fishing.
Fishing the inshore lumps brought only small fish and they picked up 8
sea bass on the reef. They finished the day in the Middle Grounds
where they found no action. Captain Adam Nowalsky of the boat "Karen
Ann II" out of Great Bay Marina reports a mixed bag. He had Vinnie
Kugler and sons from Kugler Lures out for a respectable catch of sea
bass doing some wreck fishing despite some tough conditions. The Wayne
Jepsen party from NJ Transit made a stop in the inlet to catch 3 dozen
bluefish to 2-pound before heading offshore for 10 sea bass per man.
Bill from Mystic Island boated the season’s largest sea bass, a
4-pound, 13-ounce fish. Additional information on the association can
be found at www.BHCFA.com
June 30, 2008
Captain Adam Nowalsky of the "Karen Ann II" of the Beach Haven
Charter Fishing Association reports fluke are appearing on the
reef-sites off Beach Haven. The numbers are not great yet, but the
keeper percentage is higher than in the bay. In addition, there is
always the chance of a few sea bass showing up. He says the best bet
for big bluefish is the Barnegat Ridge while some boats are traveling
to the Spencer and Wilmington Canyons for yellowfin tuna. Captain Fran
Verdi on the "Drop Off" made a couple of trips to the Little Egg Reef.
One day he had Bill Ross and Skip Deckman out for some sea bass and
fluke. Another day he had Steve Richter out for sea bass. Using salted
clam he caught 24 despite difficulty in getting good drifts. Jim
McAndrew was with Captain Fran for a trip in Great Bay for fluke.
McAndrew boated 10 throwbacks and one keeper. Verdi’s final trip for
stripers was with Pete Menges and friend Charlie. Despite chasing
bunker all over, they could find no bass. They finished the day with
some reef fishing for sea bass and a fluke. Captain Dave Wittenborn
from Captain Dave’s Charters did well on fluke on the Garden State
South Reef topped by a 5-pound fluke. At first they thought they were
snagged on the bottom until the fish started tugging back. His
highlight of the week was watching a large thresher shark clear the
water in pursuit of a bunker school. Additional information on the
association can be found at www.BHCFA.com
June 23, 2008
The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association report
a variety of fish are being targeted in the ocean and Great Bay
waters. Captain George Finck of "Sparetime" Charters took his son
Steven and two friends out for a full day trip. They caught six
striped bass between 32 and 39 pounds on snagged bunker along with
many bluefish up to 12-pounds. Another day he had the Mike Werner
party out and while stripers were tough to come by, they had a nice
catch of bluefish 9-12 pounds by trolling. Captain Frank Camarda on
the "Miss Beach Haven" fished five wrecks last Saturday in order to
pick up some keeper-sized sea bass along with numerous throwbacks.
With the higher water temperatures and drop in numbers of sea bass, he
will be fishing for fluke in upcoming trips. Captain Adam Nowalsky of
the "Karen Ann II" out of Great Bay Marina reports continued action on
sea bass on the local wrecks and reefs. They have been picking through
many small fish to end up with 15-keepers per angler. Captain Fran
Verdi on the "Cousins" had the Luley party out for a day of sea bass
fishing on the reef. With only three stops they boated over 70 fish
with non-stop action. Another day he had an open boat charter and
tried live lining bunker for striped bass. They found no bass, but had
great fun with 5-foot brown sharks. Additional information on the
association can be found at www.BHCFA.com
June 16, 2008
The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have
been finding a variety of fish recently. Captain Carl Sheppard of the
"Star Fish" has been catching good numbers of black sea bass along
with bluefish. On one trip a 22.5-inch sea bass was caught by the only
female angler aboard. Captain Fran Verdi has been fishing mostly for
striped bass on the "Drop Off.". He had Peter Menges, Jerry Barlow,
and Jason Johnson of Moorestown out Saturday for the High Point
Volunteer Fire Company striper tournament. Despite the heavy fog,
Jason’s 33.5-pounder was good enough for fifth place. He caught the
fish on a live snagged bunker. Another day Verdi had a party out and
not finding bass, they switched to bottom fishing. They scored well on
41 nice sea bass. On Friday he had Chris Gadd, Ed McGinley, Jennifer
Gasper, and Gene Mancini out bottom fishing, and they boated 36 sea
bass while fishing several spots on the Little Egg Reef Site. The
"Miss Beach Haven" and Captain Frank Camarda fished Sunday with a crew
of regulars. The boat had to move a couple of times into deeper water
before finding solid fishing. Andy Vasquez was the pool winner with a
4-pound sea bass. Average catch was 7-15 keepers per person. Further
information on the association can be found at www.BHCFA.com
June 8, 2008
Captain Carl Sheppard of "The Starfish" from the Beach Haven
Charter Fishing Association had fishing over the past weekend that
ranged from great to fair. On Friday his party caught bluefish and
over 75 catch and release sea bass. One monster 22.5 incher was caught
by the only female angler aboard. On Sunday, only 20 sea bass came
over the rail in addition to numerous sharks and sea robins. Captain
Adam Nowalsky of the "Karen Ann II" out of Great Bay Marina also found
up and down wreck fishing recently. Tony Marhan of Long Branch and
Mark Zuccarello of Philadelphia each had limit catches of sea bass to
4-pounds. The wrecks have been hit hard and are giving up less fish.
Nowalsky has heard of good fluking in the back bay, but the 18-inch
limit makes keepers few and far between. Captain Frank Camarda of the
"Miss Beach Haven" reports finding quality size sea bass in 75-85 feet
of water. Pool winner Sunday was Greg Ivanchik of Holgate with a
3-pound fish. Captain George Finck of "Sparetime Charters" took
friends out and snagged and live lined bunker for a 32-pound beauty.
Captain Bob Gerkens ran his boat the "Hot Tuna" up from Morehead City,
NC. On the way he picked up some mahi, false albacore, amberjack, and
some yellowfin tuna. He also picked up some bluefish for mako shark
bait later this month. The "Hot Tuna" is now berthed in Beach Haven
and ready for action. Information on the association can be found at
www.BHCFA.com
June 1, 2008
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