New Jersey fishing reports
622 reports for New Jersey — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Striped bass fall run waits on the surf to settle after the nor'easter
A nor'easter that hammered the Jersey Shore over the last weekend of September put fishing on hold, and the coast is only now settling. Fishermans HQ LBI (NJ) reports the big surf, flooding and beach erosion are easing, with good post-storm fall fishing back on Long Beach Island. OTW Northern New Jersey reports the storm put all fishing on hold. Striped bass is the one species the reports name, and it is slow for now.
Sea bass and fluke leading Jersey Shore charter reports after the storm
Water at Atlantic City reads 66.4°F and Cape May reads 67.5°F on NOAA CO-OPS, and Fisherman's Headquarters says the storm pulled water temperatures down. Sea bass are the most consistent bite in the reports. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ describes a very good all-day bottom bite with keepers for everyone aboard, and Blue Chip Sportfishing (NJ) says sea bass trips are filling the boat, with fluke coming over the rail on half and full-day charters. Capt Ron's also landed fluke up to 4 pounds on its quick-response trip. Before the blow, stripers and bluefish were the story. Pier 47 Marina reported striper action on the sod banks during flood tides, and stripers and blues were caught on mullet-style plugs.
Early fall striper signs and tog bite on Delaware Bay's sod banks
Delaware Bay is reading 68°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121, and the first fall striper signs are showing. Per Pier 47 Marina in The Fisherman — Southern NJ, the sod banks produced very good nighttime striper action on the flood before the storm, mostly 16 to 29 inches with the occasional slot keeper. Hands Too Bait and Tackle expects that sod-bank bite to continue once the winds lay down. Tautog were working too: Big Dave's Tackle reports a good bite on the back-bay bridges and bay lighthouses using sandfleas or green crabs on tog jigs. Before the storm, The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf reported blackfish (tautog), weakfish, stripers and blues keeping Cape May anglers busy on most tides.
Sea bass and fluke bite returns as fall stripers stir
NOAA station 8531680 reads 67°F this morning, and the bottom bite is coming back after the nor'easter. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ reports good all-day sea bass fishing on its open-boat trips, with keepers and small fish mixed in, and several fluke up to 4 pounds on a recent Quick Response charter. Blue Chip Sportfishing (NJ) says fluke and sea bass are being caught on its half-day and full-day trips. Hands Too Bait and Tackle reported sea bass stacked on the Wildwood and Cape May reef sites before the storm. The fall striper push has not fully arrived. The Fisherman's New Jersey edition logged the first 50-inch-plus fish of the fall along the north coast, and Fin-Atics expects stripers to feed hard once the wind lays down. Before the storm, Fisherman's Headquarters had stripers and bluefish on mullet-style plugs.
Smallmouth bite holds as ponds turn over after the nor'easter
Freshwater anglers are getting back on the water after a nor'easter shut most of the week down. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, Dave's Sport Shop reports decent smallmouth fishing in the Delaware, and better water levels had given boaters and waders good access. Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper Charters says smallmouth have been very good on Lake Wallenpaupack, with a few crappies mixed in, and the storm never reached that lake. Hands Too Bait and Tackle in Cape May had bass and crappies on the bite in local lakes and ponds before the storm, and says the cedar waters were the first to show the fall change.
Post-storm fall stripers and sea bass wake up on the Jersey Shore
Water at NOAA CO-OPS station 8534720 reads 67°F this morning, and the fall bite is picking up after last weekend's nor'easter kept most boats at the dock for about a week. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ had a strong fluke day and said it may be the last of the 2026 season, with fish pushed into deeper water once the shallow spots were worked out. Blue Chip Sportfishing (NJ) reports sea bass charters doing very well, with most trips putting enough fish in the box for everyone aboard. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, Pier 47 Marina had very good striper action on the sod banks during flood tides before the storm, mostly 16 to 29 inches. Hands Too Bait and Tackle says anglers are eager to get offshore for sea bass as soon as the wind lays down.
Stripers, tog rebound on NJ's Delaware Bay as nor'easter clears
A nor'easter that flooded Cape May County docks and kept most Delaware Bay boats tied up all week is finally clearing, and the NJ-side bite is coming right back. NOAA's Cape May station reads 68.7°F as of Friday evening, still solid fall-run water. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, Big Dave's Tackle says the bay and back bays produced the week's best action before the storm, with kingfish, croakers and spot mixing with a good tautog bite off the bridges and lighthouses on sandfleas and green crabs, and plenty of baitfish pushed up the bay and into the inlets. Pier 47 Marina and Fin-Atics, in the same report, both flagged strong nighttime striper action along the sod banks on flood tide, fish running 16 to 29 inches with a few over 31. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf, Hands Too Bait and Tackle had blackfish, weakfish, stripers, bluefish, croakers and kingfish going before the storm cut up the bayside and beaches.
Fall stripers push into Sandy Hook waters as nor'easter clears
Water read 67.3°F at the NOAA CO-OPS station late Thursday night, with Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook climbing out from under last week's nor'easter. Capt Ron's out of Atlantic Highlands got back on "the meat" this week after nine days stuck at the dock, reporting an all-day sea bass bite in 55 feet of water with keepers and shorts for everyone aboard, though the bite died off at the tide change. That same outfit closed out fluke season on its last clean day before the storm with what it called some of its best action of the trip — shorts, keepers and sea bass from start to finish. Grumpys Tackle has blues in and already has its bucktails 30% off for the fall run. Per OTW Northern New Jersey's recent weekly reports, fall-run striped bass are building along the beaches, bluefish and false albacore are still mixed in, and black sea bass season is lining up well as conditions settle, arriving close to on schedule for this point in fall.
Delaware River smallmouth, crappie turn on as water levels rebound
Catfish and smallmouth bass are coming steadily off the Delaware River near Doylestown, according to Dave's Sport Shop, with improved water levels this past week giving both boat anglers and waders solid access after a tougher stretch. The same report credited those better flows for decent bass and crappie action in Nockamixon. Elsewhere in the region, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic noted that area lakes and ponds had just turned over and were starting to give up good numbers of fish right before this week's nor'easter rolled through and shut most activity down. On the tidal end of the Pine Barrens, Allen's Dock on Bass River reported solid action in the cedar-stained water ahead of the storm, with boats pulled from the water in anticipation of the blow.
Fall striper run kicks off at the Jersey Shore as nor'easter clears
Water temperatures read 68°F across both Jersey Shore CO-OPS stations as the coast digs out from this week's nor'easter, which OTW Northern New Jersey says "put all fishing on hold" over the weekend and left Northern NJ boats like the Golden Eagle and Ol' Salty II tied to flooded docks in Belmar. The timing favors anglers: The Fisherman (Northeast) reports the season's first 50-inch-and-over striped bass already showing along the north coast, and Fishermans HQ LBI says Long Beach Island's surf is settling into good post-storm fall fishing as October opens. Ahead of the blow, The Fisherman — Southern NJ had Pier 47 Marina logging stripers from 16 to 31 inches on bucktails and darters along the sod banks during flood tide, while The Fisherman — Central NJ had Jingles Bait and Tackle mixing bluefish in with stripers on mullet-type plugs. Bottom fishing never slowed through the storm. Capt Ron's Atlantic Highlands NJ logged an all-day keeper black sea bass bite with limits for much of the boat, and The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf had tautog and bluefish coming off the Atlantic City rocks pre-storm. Fluke is winding down for the season, while false albacore and bonita are still working on live peanut bunker, per Fishermans HQ LBI.
Stripers show after the storm as Delaware Bay shakes off the nor'easter
Delaware Bay tackle shops are back in business after last week's nor'easter pinned boats to the dock, and the fall bite is resuming fast. Big Dave's Tackle, in this week's Southern New Jersey report from The Fisherman, has anglers working sandfleas and green crabs on tog jigs for a strong tautog bite, with baitfish pushing into the back bays ahead of what should be a striped bass push. Hands Too Bait and Tackle, reporting to The Fisherman's NJ/DE Surf feed out of Cape May, had striped bass, bluefish and weakfish keeping rods bent right up until the storm hit. The same shop's Southern New Jersey report said local wrecks and reefs were stacked with black sea bass ahead of the blow, with quick limits expected on the Cape May Reef Site once winds ease. The Fisherman's regional forecast flags the season's first striped bass over 50 inches showing to the north, an early signal the fall migration is building. Fluke season is closing out: Waterfront Marine had keeper fluke earlier in the week before the closure. Bay water read 68°F this afternoon via NOAA CO-OPS station 8537121.
Fall run building as sea bass holds strong off Sandy Hook
Sandy Hook's NOAA CO-OPS station is reading 66.7°F this afternoon, a comfortable transition temperature as Raritan Bay shifts from summer species into the fall pattern. The weekend's nor'easter has cleared, per OTW Northern New Jersey's October 1 report, which noted the storm had put all fishing on hold along the Jersey Shore. Before the blow, Capt Ron out of Atlantic Highlands was running solid bottom-fishing trips in around 55 feet of water, mixing keeper and short black sea bass with everyone going home with dinner, and he flagged his recent outing as possibly the last strong day of fluke fishing for the 2026 season. Grumpys Tackle is already running a bucktail sale timed to the fall run and reporting bluefish showing up in numbers. That lines up with OTW Northern New Jersey's prior report noting improving fall-run striped bass action alongside lingering bluefish and false albacore as the season turns over.