The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are preparing for a sudden influx of good fishing. Water temperatures in the Beach Haven area are slowly rising into the mid 50’s, and that means the fish will be getting more active. At this point good numbers of striped bass are being caught in the bay waters even though most are still under keeper size. While bluefish have still not made an appearance, black drum are beginning to show up in decent numbers already.

 

Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” fished very recently near the mouth of the Mullica River for some steady action. He managed to boat 20 bass ranging in size from 22-25 inches. He said clam was the ticket to the action.

 

Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Charters has been out on the water and says the “back bay bass bite has been pretty good when you can make it out as there are lots of15-20-inch bass hitting soft plastics at some of the structure locations. He has heard good things about blackfish action in the ocean on clams, green crabs and white crabs. He has plans to spend a little time looking for some early bluefish.

 

In other BGCFA news Captain Carl Sheppard reports the “Star Fish” has just completed her annual Coast Guard inspection and is certified again this year for up to 19 passengers. He is looking forward to black bass season opening in May.

 

Captain Lindsay Fuller reports the “June Bug” is in the boatyard in North Carolina getting her traditional winter maintenance completed.  The boat is getting a completely new enclosure since the existing one was literally ripped away when a huge vertical wave came up on its nose in the dark on the way south for the winter. Once all work is completed, the “June Bug” will return to Beach Haven for the fishing season.