Bonito and albies keep LBI and North Jersey hot into fall

What's biting

What's next

With surf temps still sitting in the mid-70s per Fishermans HQ, the classic false-albacore-and-bonito pattern should keep running through the week rather than shutting off abruptly — these species typically hang around as long as bait stays thick and water stays warm, and peanut bunker is the bait everyone from LBI to the northern reefs keeps naming as the trigger. Expect that peanut bunker push to keep sliding south and thinning out over the next several days as days shorten, which is usually the cue for the bite to migrate from strictly-live-bait to jigs and glide baits as the smaller pods disperse.

Fluke should stay catchable through the next few days on both the LBI surf and the boats — Capt Ron's crew has been finding "quality fish" even on tough-drift days, and On The Water's Northern NJ report calls fluking on the reefs "consistent." That said, this is the tail end of the season typically, so anglers should check current state possession and size regulations before planning a fluke-focused trip this weekend, since closures can land with little notice this time of year.

The offshore bluefin window Hi Flier is working (27-30 inch fish, 30-45 miles out) is worth planning a weekend trip around if conditions allow — that's a tight legal-size window that can close on short notice as fish move through. Anglers chasing bonita and albies from the surf or close-in boats should watch for the first real cold snap; that's typically what pushes striped bass activity up along this stretch as water temps drop toward the mid-60s, though nothing in today's intel confirms stripers are showing yet. Keep an eye on tackle-shop reports (Grumpys, Saltwater Edge) over the next week or two as the transition unfolds — shops are usually the first to flag when the bait shifts and stripers start showing behind it.

Context

A 75°F surf reading on September 16 is on the warm side for this point in the Jersey Shore calendar, and Fishermans HQ LBI explicitly frames it that way, noting the ocean "hasn't gotten the memo" that fall is arriving — mornings are cooler and days shorter, but the water is still holding onto summer warmth. That's consistent with a late-arriving fall transition rather than an early one this year.

The species mix reported — bonita, false albacore, fluke, and early-run bluefin — tracks with a fairly typical mid-September pattern for this stretch of coast; these are the usual fall-run headliners before striped bass become the dominant story later in the season. On The Water's Northern New Jersey report from a week earlier (Sept 10) already had albies joining the bonito and Spanish mackerel mix, suggesting that transition was underway on schedule in that stretch even if LBI's water hadn't cooled as much.

No forum or historical-baseline data in this feed set allows a direct year-over-year comparison of run timing or intensity, so beyond the shop's own "still holding onto summer" framing, there isn't a reliable signal here for whether this run is stronger, weaker, or simply on the usual calendar versus prior seasons.