Sea bass limits and mako sharks headline Sandy Hook's summer run

What's biting

What's next

The fluke trend has been climbing week over week: OTW Northern New Jersey's reports show fluke fishing moving from "on the upswing" (July 2) to keepers "becoming more common from the surf to the reefs" by July 16. If that trajectory holds, expect the flatfish bite around Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook's reef structure to keep improving into the weekend, particularly on stronger drift days — Capt Ron's daily logs make clear that current speed, more than bait choice, has been the swing factor between a slow day and a three-fish-limit day this month.

Black sea bass should stay dependable through the next few days; Blue Chip's "limiting out on almost every trip" pace typically holds through mid-to-late summer as long as water temps stay in their comfort range, so anglers fishing structure and wrecks close to the bay mouth have a good shot at fast action even on an off tide.

Striped bass are the wildcard. Grumpys' surf reports have them still on clams, which is a solid but not explosive pattern for mid-July — that's typical as bass settle into deeper, cooler water for the season. Watch early morning and evening tide changes for the best window; daytime summer heat tends to push stripers off the beach and into channel edges and current breaks until temperatures ease.

The mako shark action Blue Chip flagged is worth planning a dedicated trip around if that's the target — summer is a prime window for makos working bait schools off Sandy Hook, and a multi-fish day like the one reported suggests the bite is active rather than a one-off. Offshore, bluefin and yellowfin remain in range 15-40 miles out per the last few OTW Northern New Jersey updates, with OTW Saltwater's regional roundup noting bluefin spreading north from New Jersey toward the Gulf of Maine — a sign the tuna grounds are holding fish rather than emptying out.

For weekend planning: prioritize the first hours after first light for striper and bluefish activity in the surf, target the bay's stronger tide stages for fluke, and treat this as a good stretch to book a sea bass or shark trip while both bites are running hot.

Context

Mid-to-late July in Raritan Bay and around Sandy Hook typically means fluke and black sea bass carry the inshore bite while striped bass settle into a quieter summer pattern, having moved off the immediate surf into deeper, cooler water — this year's reports track that seasonal script closely. The improving fluke trend across OTW Northern New Jersey's July 2, July 9, and July 16 reports (from "trending upward" to keepers "becoming more common") is a normal mid-summer progression as flatfish settle onto structure and current lines.

The mako shark run Blue Chip Sportfishing describes is consistent with typical Sandy Hook-area summer patterns, when bait schools draw sharks inshore, though the angler-intel feeds don't offer a prior-year baseline to say whether this year's shark action is running ahead of or behind a typical July.

One notable seasonal marker: NOAA's 2026 Atlantic bluefin tuna retention-limit adjustment took effect June 1 and runs through year-end (per NJ Saltwater Fisherman), which is the regulatory backdrop for the bluefin activity currently being reported 15-40 miles offshore.

Beyond that, the available feeds don't include state-agency creel survey data or prior-season comparisons for this specific region, so we can't say with confidence whether this July's overall catch rates are running above or below a typical year — the intel here reflects a snapshot of current conditions and trend direction, not a year-over-year benchmark. Anglers should treat this as a solid, on-schedule mid-summer bite rather than an unusually hot or slow stretch.