The Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association has announced it will once again be sponsoring its Junior Mates Program this summer in Beach Haven, NJ.
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The BHCFA is a group of fishing captains from the Beach Haven area who have banded together to further the sport of recreational fishing while also assisting in a variety of local worthwhile causes. The Junior Mates Program is a series of classes designed to teach youngsters many of the techniques and ideas related to fishing while also preparing them to serve as mates on fishing boats.
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Most of the classes are on Thursday evenings at the New Jersey Maritime Museum in Beach Haven and feature mostly hands-on learning. Classes will begin on Thursday, June 28, with a last class on Thursday, August 16 followed the next day with a Junior Mate fishing tournament.
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The classes begin at 7pm and include a variety of topics including knot tying, bait preparation, fish cleaning, first aid, and other subjects. One of the highlights will be a two-night session where the teenagers will take the New Jersey Boater Safety Class and earn their official boat operator’s license.
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Class signup is for teenagers who are 13 years of age and over by August 1 of this year. Most of the students remain in the program for several years as normally it takes three seasons of training to become achieve Charter Boat Mate Certification. Â
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There is a cost of $25 to register for the program along with a cost for the US Coast Guard approved drug testing program including the “pre-employment†test.
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Complete information can be obtained from the BHCFA website at www.BHCFA.net or by calling either Captain John Lewis at 609-670-5980 or Captain Jimmy Zavacky at 609-915-2498.