The summer of 2026 has now officially arrived, and the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are full speed ahead. Right now, fluke fishing is happening in both the bay waters and the local artificial reefs a short distance offshore.
Another hot fishery right now is the tuna bite. The positive aspect of this tuna fishing is that much of the action is closer to shore than the lengthy trips to the canyons. The weigh-ins from the recently completed Tuna Open sponsored by the Beach Haven Marlin and tuna Club showed those fish are around.
Bob Gerkens and crew fished the Tuna Open on the “Hot Tuna” catching a pair of bluefin tuna that weighed in at 50 and 62-pounds, earning the crew a 6th place finish along some Calcutta funds from the contest. In addition, they boated another three bluefin which were swiftly released.
Captain Steve Palmer of Jingles Bait and Tackle reports the initial trip on the “Miss Beach Haven,” an 82-foot headboat was a successful one. The action on board kept the anglers with bent rods reeling in an assortment of black sea bass and fluke. The boat is now moored at Beach Haven Watersports.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports a busy week of fishing as he worked hard in the Barnegat Bay waters to find keeper fluke for his clients. Most trips are having to work through 20 to 30 fish to find keepers. Last Friday he had a family of five working their way through dogfish and over twenty-five short fish to land one keeper. But what a fish it was. The last drift of the day resulted in a 30.5-inch fluke that tipped the scales at over ten pounds.
In addition to catching fish, the captains will be instructing a fresh class of Junior Mates starting Thursday, June 25 at the Beach Haven Maritime Museum.