Raritan Bay fluke bite delivers pool winners as sea bass stay hot

What's biting

What's next

With water sitting at 75°F, expect the summer pattern to hold through the next few days rather than shift. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ has strung together a run of pool-winning fluke — Shawn Pearl, then Bill Venezia, then Jay, now Justin — which points to a steady flow of quality fish moving through the bay rather than a one-day fluke (pun intended). If that trend continues, the next few sailings should keep producing 4-6lb class doormats for anglers willing to work the drift.

Sea bass should stay strong right alongside it. Blue Chip Sportfishing describes the bite as "red hot" with boats limiting out on nearly every trip, and Capt Ron's crew is seeing "beauty" sea bass mixed into the same fluke drifts. That combination bite typically holds through August in this region as long as bottom structure keeps producing, so half and full-day boats targeting both species together look like the smart play this week.

Further up the coast, The Fisherman — Northern NJ reports mixed-size bluefish, bonito and mackerel on boats like the Golden Eagle and Miss Belmar Princess, which lines up with what Grumpys Tackle is seeing closer to the bay — bluefish on bunker with only the occasional striped bass mixed in. Stripers should stay light through the rest of August; the bigger push typically waits for the fall migration, so don't expect a striper turn-on in the next few days.

Wind and tide are the variable to watch. Capt Ron's crew flagged fast drift and building wind at tide changes this week, needing 10oz-plus leads to hold bottom when breeze opposes current. With wind currently near 16 mph, mornings look like the better window before afternoon breeze picks up — Capt Ron's boat is sailing daily 7:30-2:30, which tracks with that pattern. No incoming weather system is evident in the available data, so plan around tide stage and early starts rather than a forecast change over the next 2-3 days.

Context

Water in the mid-70s and a fluke-and-sea-bass combo bite is right on schedule for early August in Raritan Bay and around Sandy Hook — this is peak summer flounder season, and sea bass typically stay productive near structure through the month. The weekly progression of pool-winning fluke at Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ (a run of different anglers topping the board week to week) suggests a healthy, moving population rather than a single hot pocket getting picked over, which is a good sign for the rest of the month if it holds.

Striped bass activity being described as "occasional" by Grumpys Tackle also fits the typical summer lull for that species in this region — stripers generally thin out in the warmer months between the spring and fall migrations, so this isn't a red flag, just seasonal timing. Bluefish holding steady on bunker is consistent with a normal summer surf pattern too.

We don't have a direct year-over-year comparison in the available feeds — none of the cited sources reference how this week stacks up against prior Augusts — so treat "on-schedule" as a read on typical seasonal timing rather than a confirmed trend versus last year.