New Jersey is in the middle of its summer stretch and the fishing has spread out. The back bays are warm and the better fluke have moved to the inlets, the rockpiles and the reef sites. Offshore, the canyon fleet has been finding fish on the flat days. A new moon at the end of the week means stronger tides through the inlets, and the fluke crowd will be planning around the drift.
What’s Hitting
Fluke are the primary fishery, holding on the inlet rocks, the reef sites and the deeper channel edges rather than the shallow bay flats. Bluefish are around the inlets and along the beaches, and kingfish and croaker are steady in the surf at first light. Offshore, yellowfin tuna, mahi and the occasional bigeye are being caught at the Hudson, Lindenkohl and Wilmington canyons, with good mahi around the pot lines closer in. The first bonito and false albacore have shown along the beaches, and striped bass are mostly a night fishery in the back bays and rivers right now.
Where to Find Them
Barnegat Inlet, Manasquan Inlet and the Shark River rocks are the reliable fluke structure on the moving tide. The Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reef sites hold bigger fish. The surf from Island Beach through Long Beach Island is producing kingfish and blues in the troughs at dawn. Offshore, the canyon edge has been the tuna water; look for the pot lines on the way out for mahi.
Tides & Conditions
Inshore water is running 72 to 76 degrees, cooler on an upwelling southwest blow. New-moon tides mean a fast drift in the inlets — bring extra weight. Seas have been 2 to 3 feet with a southerly building in the afternoon. Surf clarity has been good on light morning winds. Watch for a west wind day, which flattens the ocean and opens the canyon trips.
Tackle & Tactics
Fluke anglers should fish a bucktail and teaser combination with a squid strip or a live killie, adding weight until you are tapping bottom on the drift. In heavy inlet current that can mean 4 to 6 ounces. For canyon tuna, trolling spreader bars and ballyhoo covers the day and a chunk drift at the edge works the night. Surf anglers want bloodworms or FishBites on a two-hook bottom rig, and a small metal for blues and early albies.
Local Intel This Week
The Barnegat Light and Manasquan River ramps are the practical public launches, along with the state ramp at Forked River. Shore anglers are catching fluke and blues from the Barnegat Inlet jetty and the Manasquan rocks. Fish are concentrating on the inlets and reef structure rather than the open bay. Fluke, sea bass and striped bass carry size, bag and season restrictions that change during the summer — check current NJ Fish and Wildlife regulations before keeping any fish.
This Week’s Tip
On a hard new-moon drift, most anglers are under-weighted and fishing above the fish. If your line is streaming out at a 45-degree angle you are not on the bottom. Go up two ounces, get vertical, and you will feel the difference in the first ten minutes.
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