Early fall striper signs and tog bite on Delaware Bay's sod banks

What's biting

What's next

Expect the bite to build as the water cools. The Fisherman (Northeast)'s NJ/DE Bay forecast reports winds out of the W/NW to start the week and says the first 50-inch-plus striped bass of the fall are already showing on the north coast, which reads as the fall run getting underway. Fin-Atics expects stripers to feed heavily once the storm clears, and plenty of bait is still in the back bays.

Tide timing for today: NOAA predicts high water at 4:43 AM and low at 11:04 AM EDT. The sod-bank bite Pier 47 reported came on the flood, so plan the afternoon session around the incoming tide after the late-morning low. Hands Too Bait and Tackle hopes the surf bite bounces back this week, with the pre-storm mix of tautog, weakfish and stripers the first to return.

Context

Early October is when the Delaware Bay fall run normally builds. Water drops off its summer peak, baitfish start moving out of the bay toward the inlets, and the striped bass and bluefish that feed on them follow. At 68°F the bay is still warm enough for late-season summer fish to linger alongside the first fall arrivals, so expect a mix of patterns rather than one clean blitz. Larger migratory stripers typically arrive ahead of the schoolies, which fits the 50-inch-plus fish reported to the north. Tautog tend to settle onto bridge pilings and structure as the water cools, which matches the bridge and lighthouse bite reported in the bay. The timing shifts year to year with temperature and bait movement, so treat these early signs as the start of the run, not its peak. Check state regulations before keeping any fish.