New Jersey fishing reports
659 reports for New Jersey — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Crappie Turn On as NJ/DE Freshwater Shifts Into Fall Mode
Fall's transition is underway across the region's freshwater fisheries, and crappie are leading it. Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports the bite "really started shifting into fall mode" as of September 20, with anglers stringing nice crappie out of the Nanticoke River on twister jigs fished under floats. Upriver on the Delaware, Dave's Sport Shop in Doylestown says the Riegelsville stretch is fishing well as the river settles into better shape heading into October, a positive early signal for the corridor. At Lake Wallenpaupack, Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper Sportfishing is already looking past the current bite: he expects walleye to begin mixing in alongside largemouth, smallmouth, hybrids, and crappie once October arrives.
Tautog push moves into Delaware Bay as fluke season closes
NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121 has Delaware Bay water sitting at 70.9°F, still carrying late-summer warmth into the last week of September. Higbee's Bait and Tackle, via The Fisherman — Southern NJ, reports bluefish and weakfish mixed into a broader bottom bite for anglers drifting smaller baits, while a heavy push of tautog has moved onto the bay's structure, chewing sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish running to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle, in the same report, confirms the weakfish showing and notes a targeted bite starting for anglers throwing soft plastics near the lighthouses. Today marks the close of New Jersey's fluke season, per The Fisherman (Northeast), with most Atlantic Coast anglers fighting an abundance of short fish through the run.
Bluefish and Albies Turn On as Fluke Season Closes at the Shore
New Jersey's fluke season closes today, September 25, and the fall lineup already looks ready to fill the gap. Fishermans HQ LBI's surf report from mid-September still noted unusually warm water, 75°F on the Ship Bottom beach, with bonito and false albacore feeding on jigs before anglers switched over to live peanut bunker. Bluefish are the clearest story on the boards: Surf City Bait and Tackle, reporting via The Fisherman — Central NJ, calls the metal bite a sure sign the fall run is heating up, while Boulevard Bait and Tackle, One Stop Bait and Tackle, and Riptide Bait and Tackle each report tailor-to-chopper blues from 1 to 3 pounds hitting mullet, bunker chunks, and cut bait in the surf from Sea Isle to Brigantine. Stripers are stirring too. Jingles Bait and Tackle logged the LBI Surf Fishing Classic's first striper weigh-in of the season at 8.15 pounds, and Pier 47 Marina says stripers are already feeding heavily at night on paddletails and Mag Darters around the lighted docks in the Wildwoods, with the higher tides producing the better catches. Tautog have moved onto structure as well, with One Stop Bait and Tackle noting blackfish feeding hard on crab baits, and weakfish are showing a modest uptick, with Higbee's Bait and Tackle finding them mixed into Delaware Bay drifts and Big Dave's Tackle noting a targeted bite starting on soft plastics near the lighthouses.
Fluke Season Closes Strong as Blues and Albies Push Into Raritan Bay
Fluke season closes today in New Jersey, and Capt. Ron out of Atlantic Highlands is finishing strong. Friday's trip was 'game on right from the start to finish' after a short run to deeper water, with shorts and keepers over the rails all day. Water at Sandy Hook, per NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680, reads 67.3°F, still warm enough to hold fluke tight through the close; earlier in the week the same boat put a 4½-pound fluke in the pool. Bluefish are pushing in behind them: Grumpys Tackle in New Jersey reports blues are in, and Capt. Rick Falcone of the Golden Eagle, fishing out of northern New Jersey, says the bite switched around big time this week, with good numbers of slammers working the chum slick alongside albies. Albies are showing along the coast too, as Fishermans HQ LBI worked a livewell of peanut bunker into steady albacore action on light spinning rods. And the fall run's opening notes are here: Jingles Bait and Tackle weighed in the LBI Surf Fishing Classic's first striper of the season, an 8.15-pound fish caught on a plug.
Crappie bite building on Delaware-area waters as fall sets in
Crappie are already shifting into their fall pattern on regional waters. Smith's Bait Shop, working the Nanticoke River, reports anglers stringing up nice-size crappie on twister jigs fished under floats as cooling water pulls fish into tighter schools. Further north, Hyper Striper Sportfishing notes walleye are just starting to mix into catches at Lake Wallenpaupack, an early sign of the fall turnover rather than a full bite yet. Freshwater systems tied into the Delaware River corridor and Pine Barrens are entering that same transition, with water cooling and fish keying on structure and current breaks.
Fluke doormats and thick tog mark Delaware Bay's fall pivot
NOAA's CO-OPS station 8537121 has Delaware Bay water at 71.6°F, still warm for late September. Fluke are the story this week: The Fisherman (Northeast) reports a 13-pound Delaware doormat took top-fish honors, with reefs, wrecks and ocean lumps producing keepers ahead of the state's September 25 flounder-season close. Higbee's Bait and Tackle describes a mixed bag on the bay: spot, croakers, kingfish, bluefish and weakfish coming to smaller baits on the drift, while anglers anchored on structure are finding tautog thick, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle adds weakfish showing for drifters and a building soft-plastic bite near the lighthouses.
Last Call for Fluke as Blues and Stripers Take Over the Surf
New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25, and shops up and down the Shore say anglers are making the most of the final days. Boulevard Bait and Tackle in Sea Isle City reports fluke stacked in the backwaters, with 3- to 4-pound fish holding near Townsend's and Hereford inlets, while Fin-Atics in Ocean City is still pulling 3- to 5-pound flatties out of Corson's Inlet. Bluefish have taken over as the marquee surf action: Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine has tailor-to-chopper blues hitting mullet and bunker chunks, Surf City Bait and Tackle says anglers throwing metal are connecting with multiples, a sign the fall bite is heating up, and Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven logged the LBI Surf Fishing Classic's first striper of the season, an 8.15-pounder. At night, Pier 47 Marina in the Wildwoods has stripers to 31 inches feeding heavily on staging peanut bunker and mullet around lighted docks and sod banks. Tautog are stirring too, with One Stop Bait and Tackle and Surf City both reporting blackfish starting to chew around the jetty rockpiles. Atlantic City's NOAA tide station reads 64°F this morning.
Fluke closes out strong as blues and albies run Sandy Hook beaches
Water at Sandy Hook is holding at 67.5°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680, still warm enough to keep the late-summer bite going as flounder season winds down. Fluke are having one last strong week: Capt Ron out of Atlantic Highlands scored fast, steady action on a recent trip with several anglers boxing their three-fish limit, though the bite has been inconsistent day to day depending on the drift and tide stage. The Fisherman — New Jersey edition notes the state's summer flounder season closes September 25, so this is the final stretch for keepers. Blues have taken over as the story on the beaches. OTW Northern New Jersey reports bluefish continuing to run the sand alongside a strengthening false albacore push, and The Fisherman — Northern NJ says the Golden Eagle's bluefish bite 'switched around big time,' with good numbers of slammers and albies working through the chum slick. Fishermans HQ LBI found similar action working live peanut bunker, converting a slow start into a loaded box of false albacore once anglers switched off jigs.
Crappie bite builds as fall settles into Delaware River waters
Crappie are turning on as the fall shift takes hold across the region's tributary waters. Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports anglers pulling stringers of good-size crappie from the Nanticoke River on twisters fished under floats, with the bite building noticeably as September closes out, a classic sign of the seasonal transition taking hold in the watershed.
Tautog push builds in Delaware Bay as tide windows set up
NOAA's Delaware Bay station (8537121) read 72.7°F overnight, still summer-warm water holding into late September. Per Higbee's Bait and Tackle, the bay is giving up a mixed bag of spot, croakers, kingfish, blues and weakfish for anglers drifting smaller baits, while boats anchored on structure are finding tautog moving in heavy and eating sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers, with fish to 4 pounds reported. Big Dave's Tackle describes the same pattern from the other side of the bay: plenty of croakers, spot and kingfish from beach and channel, plus a weakfish bite building on soft plastics fished near the lighthouses.
Jersey Shore Fluke Finale Meets Rising Tautog and Albie Bite
Both NOAA CO-OPS tide stations covering the Jersey Shore, 8534720 and 8536110, are reading 66.9°F this morning, warm enough to keep a wide mix of species working the surf and back bays. Fluke fishing is closing out with authority: Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands called Friday's trip "game on right from the start to finish" on a short run to deeper water, and the Central NJ fishing report from The Fisherman has Miss Barnegat Light wrapping its fluke season, calling September one of the best stretches of the year, ahead of the statewide close on September 25 (check current regulations before harvesting). Bluefish have picked up too: that same Central NJ report notes Surf City Bait and Tackle's customers connecting on metal lures, "a sure sign the fall bite is heating up," while The Fisherman's NJ/DE Surf report has Riptide Bait and Tackle seeing tailor-to-chopper blues chewing mullet and bunker chunks in the surf. Tautog are waking up on the jetties and reef sites: The Fisherman's Southern NJ report has Higbee's Bait and Tackle finding tog invading the Delaware Bay side on sand fleas and green crabs, and the NJ/DE Surf report has blackfish feeding heavily on crab baits at One Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City. False Albacore are running strong to the north, with The Fisherman's Northern NJ report on Golden Eagle Fishing and the OTW Northern New Jersey report both describing a strong albie blitz working the beaches and reefs.
Fall run stirs at Sandy Hook as bluefish and albies push the beaches
NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680 read 68.7°F Wednesday night, still warm enough to hold late-summer fish as the fall shift takes hold along the Jersey Shore. Bluefish are running the beaches in numbers per OTW Northern New Jersey's September 17 report, and Capt. Rick Falcone of the Golden Eagle says the bite "switched around big time" from artificials to bait, with slammers mixing alongside bonito and false albacore in the chum slick. Albies continue working the surf zone too. Fluke fishing holds decent on the reefs even as New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25, per The Fisherman — New Jersey edition, and Capt. Ron's Atlantic Highlands crews found keeper fluke over the rail through the week's closing days after working a short run to deeper water.