New Jersey's shore is striped bass country: Sandy Hook catches the fall run first, and from there to Cape May every groin and inlet joins the migration. No license needed for salt water: just the free registry and a tide chart.
Reports current for Friday, September 4
Live verdicts from this morning's reports.
New Jersey's striper doorstep: seven miles of federal beach where the fall run hits first.
New Jersey's southern tip: rips where the Delaware Bay meets the ocean, spring drum thunder, and a fall run that funnels the entire coast past one point.
The inlet that built Jersey surf culture: Old Barney's rocks, treacherous shoals, and the bay-to-ocean exchange that feeds LBI's whole fishery.
New Jersey’s deep secret: 180 feet of clear water hiding state-record lake trout and browns an hour from Manhattan.
New Jersey’s largest lake: Hopatcong holds walleye, hybrid stripers, muskie and bass in the Highlands.
Monmouth County’s bass water: Manasquan Reservoir holds largemouth, pickerel and hybrid stripers in 720 acres.
South Jersey’s biggest lake: Union Lake holds bass, pickerel and crappie in tannic Maurice River water.
The New York-New Jersey border lake: Greenwood holds walleye, muskie and bass in the Highlands.
New Jersey’s first state park lake: Swartswood holds walleye, bass and hybrid stripers in Sussex County.
New Jersey’s wild trout stream: the Musconetcong runs browns through 42 miles of Highlands valley.
Species activity across the state's covered waters. Peak of the year: October.
1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.
Seasonal surface curve for this state's dominant water type (estimated).
| Water | Type | County | Live gauge | Peak month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Hook | Coastal | Monmouth | modeled | Apr |
| Cape May | Coastal | Cape May | modeled | Apr |
| Barnegat | Coastal | Ocean | modeled | Apr |
| Round Valley Reservoir | Reservoir | Hunterdon | modeled | Apr |
| Lake Hopatcong | Lake | Morris | USGS | Apr |
| Manasquan Reservoir | Reservoir | Monmouth | USGS | Mar |
| Union Lake | Lake | Cumberland | USGS | Mar |
| Greenwood Lake | Lake | Passaic | modeled | Apr |
| Swartswood Lake | Lake | Sussex | modeled | Apr |
| Musconetcong River | River | Warren | USGS | Apr |
New Jersey compresses the Atlantic seaboard into 130 miles: the fall striper run down its beaches is the state religion, with Sandy Hook and Island Beach the twin cathedrals. Inland surprises persist: Round Valley's lake trout depths, the Delaware's shad run and smallmouth, wild brook trout in Highlands brooks, and pickerel in the Pine Barrens' tea-colored ponds. And it is all license-free in salt water: just register and fish.
April-June: stripers follow bunker up the beach; the Delaware shad run peaks; trout season opens inland. Summer: fluke culture on every bay and reef, night stripers for insomniacs. September: albies and bonito zip the inlets. October-December: the run: sand eels, birds, blitzes and beach buggies from the Hook to Cape May. Winter: Round Valley's lakers and the tying bench.
October through early December, moving north to south: sand eels and peanut bunker against the beach, birds diving, and stripers with them. Northwest winds after a blow are the classic signal.