NJ fluke season winds down as blues and albies push through

What's biting

What's next

Today's tide swings low around 10:37 AM and high near 4:53 PM Eastern, under a First Quarter moon that keeps the swing moderate rather than the big springs of a full or new moon — a late-morning-to-afternoon window around the turn is worth planning around. With water still in the mid-70s, the fluke bite Capt Ron's and OTW's Northern New Jersey are reporting should hold through the closing days of the season before it drops off; check current state regs for the exact closure date before keeping fish. Blues should keep working through the surf as Grumpys Tackle describes, and the albie run Fishermans HQ LBI is seeing on live peanut bunker typically strengthens through late September as the water starts to cool.

Treat this stretch as one of the last clean fluke windows of 2026, with blues and albies carrying the surf game into October.

Context

This is the seasonal hinge point for Delaware Bay: summer holdovers like fluke are on their way out as the water begins its slow fall cooldown, while the classic autumn run of bluefish and false albacore builds through the surf and back bays. Striped bass, the marquee fall target for this stretch of coast, typically don't show in numbers this far south until temperatures drop further into October. A mid-70s reading in mid-September is normal for this point in the calendar, not unusually warm for the bay.