Bluefish blitzes and albies keep NJ coast busy as fluke season closes

What's biting

What's next

High tide at CO-OPS station 8537121 lands around 7:23 AM local, with the low near 1:26 PM, so the early tide change is the window worth building a trip around over the next couple of days. With fluke season winding down per Fishermans HQ LBI and Capt Ron's, the next few days are about squeezing out the last keeper drifts before it closes, while the bluefish blitzes reported by Grumpys Tackle and OTW Northern New Jersey should keep firing on moving bait through the tide swing.

Albies have joined that mix on jigs and live peanut bunker per Fishermans HQ LBI, a bite that typically holds as long as water stays in the low-to-mid 70s. A waxing gibbous moon building toward full over the next few days should sharpen activity around the tide changes, making the dawn high and early-afternoon low the two windows worth planning a weekend trip around.

Context

Late September sits at the heart of the fall transition for Delaware Bay and the adjacent NJ coast, as summer holdovers give way to the first real push of migrating bait and predators. Fluke closing out on schedule for this stretch of the calendar, while bluefish and false albacore activity building is typical as water starts its seasonal cooldown, even though today's reading is still running warm for the date.