Delaware Bay tautog and weakfish build as fall settles in

What's biting

What's next

A nor'easter moving through the region this week is the main driver on the water. It's the same system canceling trips up and down the Jersey coast, and once winds ease it should push bait and fish around the bay the way Jingles Bait and Tackle expects it to refresh water farther north. Look for the tautog bite to keep building around structure as the bay continues its seasonal cooling from today's 61°F reading, and for weakfish to stay active on soft plastics as the wind and tide push bait around.

Today's tide runs from a high near 8:54 AM to a low around 2:57 PM Eastern, so the morning push and early-afternoon drain are the windows worth working structure and lighthouse areas. With the Full Moon overhead, tidal swings run stronger than usual into the weekend, which typically sharpens the bite around structure once the weather settles down.

Context

Late September in Delaware Bay typically marks the shift from summer flounder fishing toward the tautog-and-weakfish pattern now developing, as water eases into the low 60s. Striped bass are moving through the broader Mid-Atlantic on their fall migration, though that push usually reaches the bay later in the season as water keeps cooling into October. A stalled week of nor'easter weather is a normal wrinkle in that transition, not a break from it.