New Jersey fishing reports
659 reports for New Jersey — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Sea bass bite carries Sandy Hook as NJ fluke season winds down
Water off Sandy Hook is holding at 67 degrees this morning, per NOAA CO-OPS station 8531680, still mild for the turn into October. Black sea bass are the story right now. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands worked a 55-foot drop this week and found a strong keeper-and-short bite that ran steady until the tide change, and Blue Chip Sportfishing says sea bass charters are "doing very good," with most trips putting enough fish in the cooler for everyone aboard. Fluke added to the bay mix too. Capt Ron's called one recent outing close to a season finale, with shorts, keepers, and quality sea bass biting all day on a deeper drift, but New Jersey's summer flounder season is closing out, so check the exact date before keeping any. Grumpys Tackle reports blues in and has a bucktail sale timed to the fall run, a sign shop owners expect striped bass activity to build as the water keeps cooling.
Fall Turnover Settles Over the Delaware River and Pine Barrens
The seasonal shift that matters this week is the fall turnover moving through the Delaware River and the Pine Barrens river systems, as cooling nights push surface temperatures down and start mixing the water column top to bottom. That transition typically kicks smallmouth bass into a heavier feeding pattern as they key on baitfish schools staging in deeper runs and along current breaks, while walleye begin shifting toward low-light and after-dark activity as the fishery moves out of summer's slow, stable pattern.
Sea Bass Carries Jersey Shore Boats While Fluke Season Winds Down
Water temperatures are holding at 66.7°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8534720 and 66.2°F at station 8536110 as of this morning, still comfortably in range for an early-fall bite. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands has been grinding through patchy weather this week — nine straight lost days at the dock, then back on the meat with steady keeper sea bass in 55 feet of water — and called one outing "Friday's Awesome Fishing," a full-day fluke bite from start to finish that may be one of the last big ones of the year; Fishermans HQ LBI is already flagging the "Final Days Of Fluke" as the season winds down. Offshore and mid-shore, Blue Chip Sportfishing says sea bass charters are "doing very good," with most trips filling the cooler for everyone aboard. On the bait and blitz side, Grumpys Tackle confirms blues are in and timed a bucktail sale to the fall run, while Fishermans HQ LBI reports bluefish blitzes moving with mullet along the surf.
Tautog and stripers hold as Delaware Bay settles post-storm
Delaware Bay's water temperature reads 66.9°F this morning per the NOAA tide station at the mouth of the bay, still mild enough to keep several species working as the fall transition gets underway. Per The Fisherman's Southern New Jersey report, Big Dave's Tackle says the bay and back bays have produced the week's best action, with a good tautog bite at the bridges and bay lighthouses on sandfleas and green crabs, and plenty of baitfish pushing up into the inlets. Hands Too Bait and Tackle, also filing for Southern New Jersey, reports striped bass to 30 inches holding along the sod banks and reef-site black sea bass stacked up on the local wrecks. Along the Delaware Bay surf, Hands Too Bait and Tackle's report for that stretch lists blackfish, weakfish, stripers, bluefish, croakers and kingfish all in the mix heading into this week's blow, and Old Inlet Bait and Tackle logged bluefish on metal lures during the incoming tide on the Delaware side. Fluke season has closed for the year, per Waterfront Marine's note on keeper flounder caught before the closure.
Striper push builds in Raritan Bay as fluke season winds down
Sandy Hook's NOAA tide station read 64.2°F this morning, and the fall transition anglers have been waiting for is arriving across Raritan Bay and the surrounding beaches. OTW Northern New Jersey's report, published Sept. 24, notes the recent nor'easter slowed early fall action but points to improving fall-run striped bass fishing alongside lingering bluefish and false albacore as conditions settle. Fishermans HQ LBI has been working false albacore on live peanut bunker, the same bait pushing out of the back bays and drawing fish to the surf. Fluke is closing out, though: OTW Northern New Jersey's Sept. 17 report flagged only a week left in the season, and Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ has been chasing the last of it on short rides to deeper water, with black sea bass rounding out the box as fluke slows. Blue Chip Sportfishing NJ reports sea bass charters getting enough for everyone on board this week.
Delaware River smallmouth, Pine Barrens crappie wake up post-storm
The nor'easter that soaked New Jersey this week is clearing out, and freshwater reports from the Delaware River corridor are turning positive. Dave's Sport Shop in Doylestown, quoted in The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, says catfish and smallmouth bass gave anglers decent fishing on the Delaware this past week, with improved water levels opening up good access for both boat fishermen and waders. The same shop logged decent bass and crappie action in nearby lakes. Down in Cape May, Hands Too Bait and Tackle reported bass and crappies on the bite in local lakes and ponds ahead of the storm, with the region's cedar-colored Pine Barrens waters already showing the first signs of a fall turnover before the blow rolled through and shut the action down for a stretch.
Stripers and sea bass fire up as Jersey Shore boats wait out nor'easter
NOAA CO-OPS readings show 64.6°F at station 8534720 and 65.5°F at station 8536110, water still holding onto late-summer warmth as the fall run gets underway. The bigger story this week is the nor'easter that pinned Jersey Shore boats to the dock: captains reporting through The Fisherman — Northern NJ and The Fisherman — Central NJ described record street flooding at Belmar and Beach Haven, with charters like the Golden Eagle and Skylarker tied up all week. Before the blow, the bite was strong. The Fisherman — Southern NJ reports very good nighttime striped bass action on the back-bay sod banks during flood tide, fish running 16 to 29 inches on bucktails and Mag Darters. Blackfish, weakfish, striped bass, bluefish, croakers and kingfish kept anglers busy on most tides per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ put anglers on all-day black sea bass action on the last clear days before the storm, and Blue Chip Sportfishing NJ calls sea bass charters very good, with full-boat limits on half- and full-day trips. False albacore and bonito are still working the beaches too, per OTW Northern New Jersey and Fishermans HQ LBI's live-bunker trip.
Stripers and Tautog Turn On as Delaware Bay Storm Clears
Delaware Bay's NJ side is reading 66.7°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121 as of this afternoon, still summer-mild water that's kept the fall transition on a slow boil. On the back-bay side, Big Dave's Tackle reports the bay and back bays produced most of the week's action, with a good tautog bite off the bridges and lighthouses on sandfleas and green crabs fished on tog jigs, and plenty of baitfish pushed up into the inlets. Striped bass are showing along the sod banks on flood tide, per Pier 47 Marina and Hands Too Bait and Tackle, with fish running 16 to 29 inches, an occasional slot keeper, and a few over 31 inches, taking naked quarter-ounce bucktails up to 6-inch Mag Darters. Black sea bass were stacked on the wrecks in 90-plus feet of water ahead of last week's storm, per Waterfront Marine and Hands Too, with anglers waiting on calmer seas to get back out.
Sea bass fill the box off Sandy Hook as fluke season closes out
NOAA's Sandy Hook station is reading 63°F this afternoon with the next low tide due around 4:40 PM. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands closed out fluke season on a high note, describing a Friday session of shorts, keepers, and quality sea bass right before nine straight weathered-out days at the dock. Blue Chip Sportfishing backs up the bottom bite, saying sea bass charters are "doing very good" with most trips filling the box for everyone aboard, and reporting three released mako sharks from a recent trip. Up the bay, NJ Fish & Wildlife News' Shark River Access highlight notes that WMA has been holding tautog, bluefish, and striped bass alongside summer flounder all season, and Grumpys Tackle is timing a bucktail sale to the fall run building behind it.
Delaware Bay tog and blues turn on as nor'easter clears out
NOAA's Delaware Bay station (8537121) read 66.7°F this morning, with high tide at 12:13 PM and low at 7:05 PM local time. That reading comes after a soaking, wind-driven nor'easter — Eric Burnley reported over three inches of rain and gusts near 50 knots that shut down fishing across the Delaware, Maryland and Chesapeake region for most of last week, and Smith's Bait Shop said boats couldn't clear the bay in the rough seas. Where anglers did get out, Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported bluefish on metal lures during incoming water despite the blow, and Big Dave's Tackle noted a good tautog bite on sandfleas and green crabs at the back-bay bridges and lighthouses, with baitfish pushed into the inlets ahead of the storm. Hands Too Bait and Tackle, working the Cape May side of the bay, had striped bass, weakfish and bluefish mixed in with tautog before conditions turned.
Black sea bass surges as fluke season closes in Raritan Bay
Water temps at Sandy Hook read 62.4°F this morning, holding onto late-summer numbers even as the fall run tries to get going. NJ's fluke season closed Friday, September 25, per The Fisherman — New Jersey edition, and Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ describes the final days of the season going out "with a bang," full-boat limits of fluke and black sea bass before the shutdown. That boat is shifting to straight bottom fishing for black sea bass this week. Black sea bass itself has been a bright spot regionally: Blue Chip Sportfishing (NJ) calls the bite "very good," with most trips filling out, while Grumpys Tackle (NJ) reports "Blues Are In" for bluefish and is stocking bucktails ahead of the fall striper run. OTW Northern New Jersey's report from September 24 says the nor'easter that soaked the coast this past week slowed early fall action, but points to improving striped bass fishing plus lingering bluefish and false albacore as conditions settle.
Crappie bite paused by nor'easter, poised to rebound on the Delaware
This week's nor'easter reshaped freshwater fishing across the Delaware River and Pine Barrens, but not before crappie put in a solid showing. Ahead of the storm, Hands Too Bait and Tackle in Cape May reported crappie biting well in local lakes and ponds, per The Fisherman's NJ/DE Freshwater report. That action stalled once the blow arrived, with the shop noting it was 'like someone threw the switch' on the bite. Steve at Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic described a similar setup: local lakes and ponds had just turned over and were starting to give up good numbers of fish right as the storm rolled in, per the same report. Elsewhere in the watershed, Dave's Sporting Goods in Doylestown is already seeing renewed activity. Better water levels on the Delaware River are giving boat anglers and waders improved access, with decent crappie fishing continuing at Lake Nockamixon.