New Jersey fishing reports
397 reports for New Jersey — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Delaware Bay flounder and sheepshead heat up on the NJ side
Keeper flounder are stacking up on the reefs along Delaware Bay's NJ side this week, with Big Dave's Tackle (via The Fisherman — Southern NJ) reporting the nearshore and offshore structure producing plenty of legal fish, even as the back-bay flounder fishery stays mostly catch-and-release thanks to a heavy short crop. Sheepshead have turned on in the back bays too, per that same report, while croaker remain the bay's most dependable player — Higbee's Bait and Tackle (also via The Fisherman — Southern NJ) notes plenty of croaker biting along Fortescue Beach on blood or lung worms, plus kingfish, spot, and smaller weakfish mixed in around the reefs. Party-boat pool winners ranged from a 5-pound flounder to a 3-pound weakfish and a 15-pound black drum, underscoring the mixed-bag variety typical of the bay in early August. White perch action in the creeks has also been very good. Overall it's a solid, varied bite with something biting on nearly every tide.
Fluke bite holds strong in Sandy Hook Bay as sea bass fill in
Capt. Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands — right on Sandy Hook Bay — has strung together a good week of mixed-bag trips: Thursday's board showed a 5lb 3oz fluke pool winner with his daughter Noelle close behind at 4lb 4oz, and earlier in the week Bill Venezia topped the boat's monthly leaderboard with a beefier keeper before the wind picked up the drift. Sea bass are filling out coolers alongside the fluke on nearly every trip, per the same Atlantic Highlands reports. Regionally, The Fisherman's Northern New Jersey boats are mixing bluefish, bonito and mackerel in with bottom catches of fluke, sea bass, triggerfish and tog, while Grumpys Tackle up in Brielle notes bluefish and the occasional striper are still around but thin, and snapper blues haven't shown yet this season. That's a fairly typical early-August lineup for Raritan Bay — fluke and sea bass doing the heavy lifting inshore while the bigger migratory bite waits on a temperature push.
Pine Barrens pickerel wake up while Delaware River smallmouth wait out the mud
Cedar-water pickerel are back on the feed in the Pine Barrens this week. Justin at Allen's Dock says pickerel fishing in the nearby cedar waters has been good as water conditions improve, with campground lake and pond largemouth also cooperating. Down in Cape May, Hands Too Bait and Tackle reports the route 47 cedar waters in good shape and producing pickerel on live killies and topwater baits, while nearby Dennisville and Ponderlodge lakes and area ponds are giving up nice largemouth thanks to the same improved water. Up on the Delaware River proper, it's a different story: Dave's Sport Shop in Doylestown says the river ran dirty after recent storms, putting the smallmouth bite on hold, though nearby Lake Nockamixon kept producing bass and hybrids when conditions cooperated. Net effect: still-water pickerel and largemouth are the better bet right now over river smallmouth until things clear.
Sea Bass Limits Out As Sharks Turn On Along the Jersey Shore
Blue Chip Sportfishing is calling sea bass action red hot right now, with the boat limiting out on almost every trip, and shark fishing has busted wide open too — Friday's charter boated three Mako sharks that were released. Fluke remain the summer workhorse up and down the coast: Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands is seeing pool-winning fish in the 4-to-6-pound range, while Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven reports steady action with a 19-inch keeper on Gulp and a 4.9-pound bay trophy, though most fish are still running short. Triggerfish are holding tight to the rocks and jetties per Fisherman's Headquarters in Central NJ and Boulevard Bait and Tackle down south, with tautog now mixing in on the inlet structure. Offshore, mahi are thick around the pots off Cape May per Hands Too Bait and Tackle, and bluefin continue showing along the Barnegat and Sea Isle ridges. Crabbing remains excellent in the back bays.
Croakers and Drum Keep Delaware Bay's NJ Shore Busy
Higbee's Bait and Tackle in Fortescue is reporting a strong, varied Delaware Bay mix right now — blues, croakers, weakfish, flounder, sheepshead and the occasional black drum, with party-boat pool winners running from a 5-pound flounder up to a 15-pound drum, and croakers stacking up along Fortescue Beach on blood or lung worms. Big Dave's Tackle backs that up with plenty of Delaware Bay croaker action mixed with kingfish, spot and smaller weakfish, plus what they're calling an exceptionally strong back-bay sheepshead bite. Down toward the bay mouth in Cape May, Hands Too Bait and Tackle has weakfish toothing up bloodworms at the seawall and croakers thick on the bayside beaches, with sheepshead and triggerfish mixed into the tog bite and inlet flounder still producing on bucktails. Higbee's also notes very good white perch action in the creeks — a nice bonus target while the bay's bottom bite stays busy.
Raritan Bay fluke bite delivers pool winners as sea bass stay hot
Water temps held at 75°F on NOAA buoy 44065 overnight, and the fluke bite in Raritan Bay stayed locked in — Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ put anglers on quality fluke this week, with Justin taking over the monthly pool lead at 5lb 1oz and Cobie logging four keepers for high hook. Sea bass are mixed into the same drifts, and Blue Chip Sportfishing reports sea bass fishing "red hot," with boats limiting out on nearly every trip. Bluefish remain a steady presence — Grumpys Tackle notes bluefish and the occasional striped bass working bunker in the surf south of the bay, while croaker and spot fill out the bay bite. Wind is running around 16 mph, keeping drift speed up on the open boats, and current plus 10oz-plus leads are needed to hold bottom during faster tide stages, per Capt Ron's crew.
Pickerel and largemouth keep biting as Delaware River runs off-color
Storm runoff has the Delaware River corridor murky this week — Dave's Sport Shop in Doylestown reports the river went dirty after recent rain, putting smallmouth bass fishing on hold, though nearby Nockamixon is still giving up bass and hybrids when conditions cooperate. Down in Pine Barrens cedar-water country near Cape May, Hands Too Bait and Tackle says largemouth are coming from Dennisville and Ponderlodge lakes (Ponderlodge sits inside the Cox Hall Creek WMA, per NJ Fish & Wildlife News) thanks to better water conditions, with pickerel also active on live killies and topwater baits in the tannin-stained creeks off Route 47. Allen's Dock echoes a good pickerel bite in those same cedar waters and adds solid largemouth action in local campground lakes and ponds. Up toward the Poconos end of the watershed, Hyper Striper Sportfishing reports smallmouth and hybrid stripers still producing well in Lake Wallenpaupack, best early and late in the day. It's a classic Pine Barrens split: stained, structure-heavy water fishing well while the main-stem river shakes off runoff.
Sea Bass Limits Out as Bluefin Fire Up Off the Jersey Shore
Black sea bass are limiting out boat after boat right now, with Blue Chip Sportfishing calling the bite 'red hot' on nearly every trip out of the northern Shore. Fluke fishing is a mixed bag along the coast: Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands is finding quality doormats to 6 pounds on slower-current days, while Jingle's Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven reports plenty of fluke but mostly shorts in the surf and bay, and Fisherman's Headquarters notes an impressive 12-pound fish mixed into an otherwise smaller-fish pattern. Striped bass remain in the mix on bunker per Grumpys Tackle, alongside bluefish and a strong croaker and spot bite in the back bays. Offshore, bluefin tuna are firing: Fishermans HQ LBI boated 30-to-35-pound bluefin on the troll, and boats working the Barnegat Ridge and Masseys are finding 30-to-60-pound fish on jigs, poppers, and chunk baits. Blackfish season has also opened along the surf line, with triggerfish and sheepshead mixed into inlet structure.
Fluke and sea bass carry NJ shore action into early August
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Delaware Bay today, so this update leans on what nearby NJ shops and boats are reporting along the coast this week. Fluke are the headline: Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands has put customers on 3- to 6-pound doormats on bucktails and slugged baits, and Fishermans HQ LBI is mixing keeper fluke with croaker and short bluefish. Grumpys Tackle says the surf fluke bite is showing steady improvement on bucktails and scented soft artificial baits, with occasional bluefish and striped bass still working around bunker schools, plus croaker and spot active in the back bays. Sea bass are red hot for Blue Chip Sportfishing, who report limiting out on nearly every trip. One LBI report had weakfish quiet while croaker cooperated instead. Expect similar back-bay and inshore patterns to carry over into Delaware Bay proper this week.
Fluke Bite Holds Steady as Sea Bass Turn Red Hot Off Sandy Hook
Capt. Ron out of Atlantic Highlands has put anglers on quality fluke all week, with Justin's 5-pound, 1-ounce flatfish claiming the new monthly pool lead to open August and "beauty" sea bass mixed in on nearly every trip. Blue Chip Sportfishing echoes the pattern, calling the sea bass bite "red hot" right now with boats limiting out on almost every trip, while a Friday charter also released three nice Mako sharks as shark season ramps up. Farther up the coast, OTW's Northern New Jersey report (July 30) has the fluke bite solid from the rivers to the reefs, with bluefin tuna working jigs and poppers inshore and party boats stacking 6- to 10-pound bluefish on diamond jigs. Striped bass are around but scattered — Grumpys Tackle notes only the occasional striper mixed into the surf lineup behind fluke and blues. Current and wind have been swinging drift speed trip to trip, so plan to fish heavy.
Topwater Bass and Snakeheads Heat Up Pine Barrens Waters
USGS gauge 01408000 is reading a lean 23.1 cfs this week, typical low-summer base flow for the small streams threading through the Pine Barrens toward the Delaware River system, with water temperature not currently reported at the gauge. That low, warm-water pattern lines up with what shops are seeing: a Delaware-side shop, Smith's Bait Shop, in this week's The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater roundup, describes surface fishing for largemouth bass and snakehead building through July in Garrisons Lake, Massey Mills, and Silver Lake, with perch and crappie starting to show as August arrives. Further up the watershed, Dave's Sport Shop reports early-morning bass action in the shallows at Lake Nockamixon, and Hyper Striper Sportfishing says smallmouth bass and hybrid stripers remain the backbone of the bite at Lake Wallenpaupack, with some real trophies mixed in. Pickerel and perch continue as a steady, if unspectacular, presence across the smaller Pine Barrens ponds per Allen's Dock.
Inshore Bluefin, Keeper Fluke Lead Jersey Shore Bite
Keeper fluke are coming from the rivers and reefs while bluefin tuna are hitting jigs and poppers inshore, per OTW Northern New Jersey's July 30 report — party boats there are also stacking 6-to-10-pound bluefish on diamond jigs. Sea bass fishing has been especially strong: Blue Chip Sportfishing out of Belmar says trips are 'limiting out' almost daily. Fluke remain the backbone of the summer bite south of there too — Capt Ron's in Atlantic Highlands logged multiple keepers over 5 pounds this week, and Grumpys Tackle notes steady surf fluke on bucktails and scented soft baits. Offshore, The Fisherman's NJ/DE Offshore desk has bluefin in the 40-to-80-pound class showing at the East Lump and 19 Fathom Line on ballyhoo and spreader bars, with mahi activity building around the Sea Isle Ridge pots. A rare tiger shark also came out of the NJ surf this week, per On The Water. Waning gibbous moon; check the local marine forecast before running offshore.