Fluke closes out hot at Sandy Hook as blues take over the bite

What's biting

What's next

A nor'easter moving through the region this week is the wildcard. The Fisherman — New Jersey edition and reports out of Northern NJ boats both point to lost fishing days from the storm, but the same system could be the trigger the fall run has been waiting on: displaced water and stirred-up bait often kickstart the striper migration that has been stalled by unusually warm, stable conditions. Watch for that shift to show up within days of the blow clearing, especially around the evening high near 7:40 PM as the Full Moon's stronger currents work the tide.

Low tide sits near 1:39 PM, so a dawn-to-midday window fishes a dropping tide before the afternoon low, with the better push building through the evening high. With fluke season now closed, expect the fleet to lean harder into bluefish and keep picking at bonito and albies wherever bait balls hold, following the pattern Northern NJ boats are already describing. If the post-storm water clears and cools even modestly, that is the signal to start checking rips and inlets for the first real push of migrating stripers.

Context

This is the seasonal hinge point for Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook: summer species like fluke are closing out on schedule, while the striper fall run that typically builds through late September is running a bit behind pace this year, held back by water that has not cooled as quickly as usual. Bluefish and false albacore filling the gap is a normal late-September pattern in this region even in years when the striper push arrives late. A stalled fall run is not unusual on its own; a passing storm is often exactly what breaks a stagnant early-fall pattern into gear.