Delaware Bay Black Drum Bite Best in 15 Years as Back-Bay Flounder Improve

What's Biting

What's Next

The drum bite shows no signs of slowing and should remain the primary target through the coming days. Per Hands Too Bait and Tackle via The Fisherman — Southern NJ, these fish are holding less than a mile off the beach in 10 to 18 feet of water, making them accessible to most recreational boats without a long run. The key variable is tide: fresh clams fished on the moving water — both incoming and outgoing — have been the formula. With the moon in its Last Quarter phase, tidal swings are moderate rather than extreme, producing steady, fishable current rather than the ripping flow that can make anchoring difficult. Plan to be on the water roughly two hours before and through each tide change. Evening and overnight sessions have been producing the best drum numbers, so a sunset departure is worth building your schedule around.

For summer flounder, the trend line is positive. Waterfront Marine (via The Fisherman — Southern NJ) flagged a useful detail: outgoing tides are running roughly five degrees warmer than incoming tides, which means the shallow back-bay systems are heating faster than the open Bay. Timing drifts to coincide with that warmer outgoing flow should concentrate keeper-class fish near creek mouths and inlet edges. Minnow-and-squid or spearing-and-squid combos have been the top rigs, while Boulevard Bait and Tackle's customers report success on house-made salmon strip bellies. Fin-Atics noted via The Fisherman — Southern NJ that the newly reopened Ocean City Fishing Pier immediately produced flounder, giving shore-based anglers a viable option.

Striped bass remain a presence, but the clock is ticking. The Fisherman's NJ/DE Bay forecast lists stripers among the active inshore species through early June, and Grumpys Tackle confirms a larger class of bass has moved into the surf, with clams and bunker chunks still the most productive baits. Concentrate efforts on early morning or late evening tides as warming water will gradually push fish off their spring holding spots. Bluefish in the 2- to 4-pound range are scattered through the bay and inlet zones; follow diving birds and keep cut bait handy — they make for excellent action when the drum or flounder bite goes quiet.

Overall, the next two to three days represent a strong window. Target drum after dark on moving tides, run flounder rigs on the outgoing through bay creeks and near inlets, and keep an eye on the surf edges for the last of the spring striper push.

Context

The NJ side of Delaware Bay has a well-established late-spring black drum tradition, but a bite described as the best in at least 15 years by a veteran local shop stands apart even by Delaware Bay standards. Black drum typically migrate into the Bay from roughly April through June, with peak action in May through early June as water temperatures climb into the upper 50s and low 60s. The fact that a strong bite with 60-pound fish is still running into the first week of June suggests either an unusually robust migration year or lingering slightly cooler water holding fish in the Bay longer than average. No buoy temperature data was available for this report, but the continued presence of large fish this late in the season is notable.

Summer flounder follow a predictable arc in this region: numbers build through May, with the mix of short fish heavily outnumbering keepers early in the season, then quality improves through June as fish fatten and settle into bay structure. The current pattern — abundant shorts with select keepers mixed in — is consistent with a normal early-June transition. A 6-pound back-bay flattie, reported by Boulevard Bait and Tackle via The Fisherman — Southern NJ, is a quality fish by any local measure and suggests the better fish are starting to show. The warmer outgoing tide signal noted by Waterfront Marine is a typical Delaware Bay phenomenon: shallow back-bay systems heat faster than open water, making the outgoing a reliable cue for flounder positioning.

Striped bass are historically at the tail end of their Delaware Bay presence by the second week of June. The current reports of a larger class moving into the surf, per Grumpys Tackle, align with the well-known late-spring pattern where the final push of the migration often delivers the season's heaviest fish before the population moves north for summer. The Fisherman's NJ/DE Bay forecast also noted sheepshead continuing to push farther north into New Jersey waters — a trend consistent with the species' gradual range expansion in recent years as nearshore summer temperatures have warmed.