First fall striper reports reach Sandy Hook as sea bass bite holds

What's biting

What's next

With the nor'easter cleared and winds settling out of the W/NW, Raritan Bay and the waters around Sandy Hook should firm up over the next two to three days, and the black sea bass bite both Capt Ron's and The Fisherman are reporting should carry through the week on that more settled weather.

The first 50-inch-class striped bass reported along the north coast usually mean more fish are stacked up behind them, so look for bigger bass to start showing inside the bay and along the Hook itself if that push keeps building. Tonight's low tide falls near 6:24 PM local, and with a waning gibbous moon overhead, the hours bracketing that tide swing are the better window to work structure for sea bass or cast into any bait pushes for bass and bluefish.

Grumpys Tackle timing its bucktail sale to the fall run is a reasonable signal that local shops expect that action to build over the coming week. Fluke anglers should plan around the closed season rather than the bite; check current state regulations before targeting fluke again.

Context

Early October is typically when Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook flip from a summer groundfish pattern into the fall migration. Fluke closing out in late September tracks with the usual local schedule, and black sea bass holding strong into the first week of October is normal for this stretch of coast. The first reports of striped bass over 50 inches are an encouraging, on-time signal for a fall run that recent storms have been pushing bait hard to trigger. Bluefish showing up alongside that push typically follows the same pattern, as both species ride the same bait fronts moving down the Jersey shore this time of year.