New Jersey Fishing Report — June 11: Fluke & Stripers

The summer flounder (fluke) season is in full swing along the Jersey coast, and the bite has been the inshore highlight this week. Fish are coming from the back bays, inlets, and nearshore reefs and lumps on Gulp-and-bucktail combos and minnow-squid rigs. The better keeper-class fish have favored the inlet edges and the deeper nearshore structure on the moving tides.

Striped bass are still around for the tail end of the spring run, holding along the beaches, in the bays, and around the back-bay structure. Bunker chunks, live baits, and plugs worked the rips early and late have produced — anglers should check current striped bass regulations carefully before keeping any fish.

Black sea bass are feeding well on the wrecks and reef sites, offering reliable bottom action and good table fare on clams and squid. Bluefish are blitzing bait pods in the inlets and along the beaches, providing fast light-tackle fun for surf and boat anglers alike.

Offshore, the tuna and early mahi scene is heating up at the canyons and offshore lumps for the boats that can make the run on the weather windows. Nearshore, scattered kingfish and croaker have shown in the surf for beach anglers.

Fish the moving tides for fluke and the low-light windows for bass. The flounder and sea bass bite should remain strong through June as water temperatures climb.

Spots & Access This Week

The Barnegat Light ramp gives the quickest access to the inlet and the nearshore reef sites, and it stays busy through the summer. The Manasquan River ramp in Brielle serves the northern inlet and the Shrewsbury Rocks, and the Great Bay Boulevard ramp puts you into the back bay system south of Little Egg. Shore anglers have excellent access at Island Beach State Park with a beach buggy permit, and the Barnegat Inlet south jetty is walkable for anyone willing to pick their way out on the rocks. Fish are concentrating on structure and current seams — inlet rockpiles, reef sites, and the sloughs between bars in the surf — rather than spread across the open bay bottom.

Tackle & Tactics Notes

Fluke fishing on ocean structure asks more of your tackle than the back bay does. Step up to a three- to six-ounce bucktail depending on drift, tip it with Gulp, and run a teaser above it. Stay in contact with the bottom and hop the rig rather than dragging it. Drift control matters more than lure choice — if wind and tide are pushing you faster than about a knot, deploy a drift sock. On the reef sites, a whole squid or a spearing-and-squid combination on a high-low rig will take both fluke and sea bass. Surf anglers should fish a two-hook bottom rig with bloodworm or Fishbites in the slough and keep a metal rigged and ready for blitzing blues. Striped bass have largely gone deep and nocturnal for the summer, so the back bays and river mouths after dark are your best shot at them.

Conditions Outlook

Ocean temperatures along the beach should stay in the low seventies with back bay water running warmer, which will keep pushing keeper fluke out of the shallow bay and onto ocean structure. The afternoon sea breeze has been building most days and chopping up the drift, so plan the productive part of the day for the morning. Offshore weather windows have been reasonable, but check the forecast the night before rather than the morning of.

This Week’s Tip

When you drift a wreck for fluke, do not drift over the top of it. Set your line so the boat passes along the sand edge beside the structure. The bigger fluke lie in the sand adjacent to a wreck ambushing bait that comes off it, and fishing the edge rather than the wreckage itself costs you far less tackle while putting your bucktail in front of better fish.

More New Jersey Resources

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Also read: New Jersey Fishing Report — Week of July 30, 2026: Fluke on the Reefs, Canyon Tuna

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