Last week the weather turned cool, and it began to seem like fall in Beach Haven. As the inshore water temperatures began to drop, a surge in striped bass started to excite fishermen. Suddenly this week Indian Summer arrived, and the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association wondered whether to fish for fall or summer species. Current weather predictions call for a return to typical weather patterns this weekend.  

 

What is happening on the fishing scene is a choice of venues to fish in. The inshore artificial reefs and wrecks have been loaded with big black sea bass, but they have been out of season. This Saturday, October 22, the sea bass season returns, and bottom fishing should be very exciting to say the least. This involves short trips from the inlet and return trips with filled coolers.

 

While certainly the bulk of the striped bass have not yet arrived in the Beach Haven area, enough have shown up to make fishing for them a viable choice. Some nice bass have been caught on the beaches of Long Beach Island while others have been trolled up on spoons and stretch lures. There are also a goodly number of smaller bass scattered around bay waters being picked up near sod banks on lures.

 

Finally, there are tuna and mahi-mahi in the canyons. BHCFA captains have plans in the works for trips in the upcoming days. Right now the weather is looking promising for trips offshore, but fall weather can be tricky, to say the least.