Sea bass and stripers stay hot as bluefin push into range off NJ

What's biting

What's next

The fluke bite that OTW Northern New Jersey flagged as trending upward from the surf to the reefs on July 9 should keep building over the next few days now that the extreme heat and rough weather that preceded it has broken. Grumpys Tackle's surf anglers are already doing well on bucktails and scented soft artificial baits, and the Berkley Gulp color breakdown from On The Water is worth leaning on for reef and back-bay drifts as water clarity settles out after the weather.

Sea bass should stay a reliable limit-out fish through the weekend if Blue Chip Sportfishing and Capt Ron's keep reporting the way they have, though Capt Ron's own week showed how much a tide change and wind direction can swing a trip from red hot to slow, so plan around the turn of the tide rather than a fixed clock time. With the moon working through its waning crescent phase toward the next new moon, expect tidal flow to build over the coming days, which typically sharpens the bite window for both sea bass and the striped bass still being picked up on clams in the surf.

Offshore, the bluefin push described by Fishermans HQ LBI and echoed in OTW Saltwater's July 8 Northeast Offshore Report (tuna fishing described as "on fire" from Maryland to New England) looks likely to hold as long as the squid stay stacked off the Jersey coast, with 20 to 30 mile runs to the grounds and bait-drifting remaining the go-to tactic. Anglers chasing bluefin should double check current recreational retention limits before keeping fish, since NJ Saltwater Fisherman notes the 2026 Atlantic bluefin daily limits are subject to in-season adjustment, and On The Water reported the Southern New England trophy-class fishery closed as of July 3.

For a bonus offshore option, Blue Chip Sportfishing's recent Mako shark action (three released on one trip) suggests shark fishing is worth a look on the same runs anglers are already making for tuna and sea bass this week.

Context

For the Jersey Shore in mid-July, a strong black sea bass bite, active striper action in the surf, and an inshore push of bluefin tuna are all in line with what this stretch of summer typically produces, though the timing and intensity of a few pieces stand out. Fishermans HQ LBI's note that bluefin moved in "hot on the heels of" a squid invasion is a notable early-season driver worth flagging, since a bait-driven inshore tuna push isn't guaranteed every July. The extreme heat and foul weather that OTW Northern New Jersey described just before its July 9 report also lines up with a fairly normal mid-summer pattern of a rough stretch knocking the surf bite down temporarily before it rebounds, which appears to be happening now with fluke.

NJ Sea Grant's State of the Shore reporting for 2026 notes the coastline entered the season in strong shape after a winter with only limited storm impacts, and forecasters are calling for a near-to-slightly-below-average Atlantic hurricane season, both of which support stable conditions through the rest of the summer. Beyond that general backdrop, there isn't a direct source in this week's intel making an explicit year-over-year comparison, so we'll note that honestly rather than guess at whether this season is running ahead of or behind a typical July.