Sea Bass Red Hot as Mako Sharks and Bluefin Arrive on the Jersey Shore

What's Biting

What's Next

The new moon falling on June 15 is the dominant tactical variable this week. Per On The Water's Striper Migration Map from June 12, the new moon and big tides this weekend should continue to move bass and bait toward summer haunts. Big tidal swings push bait schools along the beaches and through inlets, and stripers key hard on that movement. Surf anglers should target the peak flood and first hour of the ebb, especially around structure and cuts in the sand.

For surf fishing, clam baits remain the dominant presentation per Grumpys Tackle and OTW Northern New Jersey, consistently producing through the spring run. With a larger class of bass now in the mix as noted by Grumpys Tackle, upsizing to whole fresh clams or chunked bunker makes sense when targeting keeper-class fish in the suds. Lure anglers should look to bucktails and soft plastic swimmers along hard transitions at first light.

Offshore, the bluefin tuna bite deserves serious attention from anyone with an offshore-capable boat. Fishermans HQ LBI notes these fish moved in directly behind the massive squid aggregation now staged off the Jersey coast, and 20- to 30-mile runs from LBI-area inlets are putting anglers on fish. Drifting live or fresh squid is the primary tactic. The squid invasion is producing at a scale drawing notice from LBI all the way north to Cape Cod per OTW Saltwater, and as long as that bait concentration holds, the bluefin bite should remain accessible. That window could shift quickly once squid begin to disperse, so this week and next are the priority.

Sea bass fishing, already described as "red hot" by Blue Chip Sportfishing with trips limiting out consistently, should hold through the coming days. Reef structure is warm enough to hold fish, and party-boat and charter trips remain the most reliable path to a limit right now. OTW Northern New Jersey's June 11 report corroborates steady reef production across the northern Jersey coast.

Fluke are the species on the upswing. OTW Northern New Jersey and Fishermans HQ LBI both note the bite improving as warmer water pushes into bay systems and inlets. Bucktails tipped with Gulp and fluke rigs worked along bottom transitions in back bays and deeper inlets should see increasingly consistent action through the end of the week. Mako sharks are the bonus wildcard: when Blue Chip Sportfishing releases three in a day, conditions are right to target them intentionally on an appropriate offshore charter.

Context

Mid-June is a transitional moment for the Jersey Shore, and the 2026 season appears to be tracking right on schedule. The spring striper run historically produces some of its largest fish in the first two weeks of June before bass stage on summer structure or push farther north. Fishermans HQ LBI noted in their early-June report that "historically speaking we see a large body of striped bass the first and second week of June," and the 2026 run delivered: consistent surf reports from LBI through Atlantic Highlands ran through May and into this week with clam baits producing up and down the beach.

Sea bass season typically hits its stride in early to mid-June as reef structure warms and fish consolidate. "Limiting out on almost every trip" from Blue Chip Sportfishing suggests this is a stronger-than-average sea bass year by charter metrics. Capt Ron out of Atlantic Highlands noted mixed results on some days, with fish present on the sounder but reluctant to bite, which is not unusual when a sand eel forage glut stuffs fish before trips begin.

The arrival of bluefin tuna within 20 to 30 miles of the Jersey Shore is not unusual for mid-June, but the sheer density of the squid aggregation driving fish inshore this season is notable. Multiple NJ sources are flagging it, and the phenomenon is visible as far north as Cape Cod per OTW Saltwater. Historically, years with large late-spring squid pushes produce accessible bluefin fishing along the Mid-Atlantic coast in the June window before fish move offshore.

Fluke, while open and seasonally present by mid-June, typically lag behind bass and sea bass as a fishery until water temps push reliably into the 65 to 70 degree range. The current low-to-mid 60s readings cited by Fishermans HQ LBI sit right at the threshold where the bite begins to build, and improving reports from the rivers and back bays are consistent with that pattern. No NOAA buoy data was available for this cycle, so the Fishermans HQ LBI field observation is the only water temperature signal on the board.