Sea Bass Limits and Fluke on the Rise as Raritan Bay Hits Summer Stride

What's biting

What's next

The clearest trend heading into the final days of June is warming water. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands tracked a 5-degree bounce from 56°F to 61°F in a single day mid-week before Father's Day, and conditions climbed further to 62°F on the holiday itself, with fluke found on nearly every drift. If that trajectory holds, bottom temps across Raritan Bay should push into the mid-to-upper 60s through the weekend, a range where summer flounder concentrate on hard bottom and channel edges. Anglers targeting keepers should work rocky structure with small Gulp sand eels and plain Gulp, the exact setup Capt Ron's has been dialing in on Atlantic Highlands grounds.

The Waxing Gibbous moon building toward full later this week means tidal exchanges will strengthen through the weekend. That stronger current can cut both ways for Raritan Bay drifters: Capt Ron's noted that a hard west wind combined with a running tide made conditions difficult on one mid-week outing, even when fluke were actively feeding. Plan drifts around tide transitions (the first and last hour of a flood or ebb) when current speed moderates and baits slow to a natural presentation. Structure-focused sea bass trips tend to shine on building tides, so incoming water is worth prioritizing.

Offshore, a bigger picture is taking shape along the NJ coast. OTW Northern New Jersey's June 18 report flagged the bluefin bite picking up to the south, and Fishermans HQ LBI noted that bluefin tuna have moved in behind a massive squid invasion off the Jersey coast, putting fish within 20 to 30 miles on drifted bait. For boaters comfortable with offshore runs, a calm-weather window this week could open a realistic shot at school bluefin within reach of Raritan Bay-based rigs.

Closer to the beach, striped bass and bluefish are still showing in the surf on plugs, clams, and chunks per OTW Northern New Jersey. Expect that bite to taper gradually as water temps climb through early July, pushing bass north and deeper. This weekend may offer some of the last reliable striper sessions along Sandy Hook before summer heat fully takes hold.

Context

Late June in the Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook corridor is classically a transition period, when the spring striper push fades and summer flounder move to center stage. The temperature window Capt Ron's has been tracking (56°F to 62°F over the past two weeks) sits right at the inflection point where forage and target species redistribute toward summer structure. This back-and-forth between cold and warm water is a familiar June pattern in the bay: strong west winds push warmer surface water out and allow cooler bottom water to well up, then calmer days let temps recover. It is a cycle that rewards mobile anglers willing to relocate when conditions shift.

Historically, the first two weeks of June deliver the best quality striped bass of the spring season through the Sandy Hook area, with the run tapering after the solstice. Fishermans HQ LBI noted in their June 1 report that a large body of bass typically moves through in the first and second weeks of June. OTW Northern New Jersey confirmed stripers still taking clams in the surf as of June 11, suggesting the tail of the 2026 spring bite held on a bit longer than some years, likely aided by cooler-than-normal water temps that lingered into mid-month.

Sea bass coming on strong by mid-June (Blue Chip Sportfishing reporting near-limit hauls on almost every trip) is consistent with a healthy summer pattern for the nearshore reefs off NJ. Late June typically represents peak inshore sea bass action before summer heat pushes larger fish to deeper structure.

The mako shark activity (three releases in a single day via Blue Chip Sportfishing) is notable but not out of character for this stretch of the season. Makos follow dense squid and bunker schools into NJ coastal waters each June, and the squid invasion reported offshore by Fishermans HQ LBI suggests that bait concentration is well-established this year. If the squid hold into July, pelagic action within range of Sandy Hook could extend well past its typical window.