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Barnegat Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

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.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 9:00 PM
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
WNW 5 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8533615, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Barnegat lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 78. Tides: high 1:28 AM and 1:54 PM, low 7:32 AM and 9:00 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Prime sight-fishing: tailing fish on shallow flats, schools pushing water. Weedless spoons, shrimp under a popping cork, cut mullet in the guts.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8533615 (Barnegat Inlet, USCG Station). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:28 AM2.1 ft
LOW7:32 AM0.4 ft
HIGH1:54 PM2.8 ft
LOW9:00 PM0.5 ft
Sat
HIGH2:35 AM2.0 ft
LOW8:45 AM0.4 ft
HIGH3:03 PM2.8 ft
LOW10:09 PM0.5 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low78 / 75 F
WindWNW 5-11 mph
Pressure1011.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 47%
Sunrise / Sunset06:27 / 19:23
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 78/75 F, wind 17 mph, rain 47%

Fair or better. Cloud and a rain chance can stretch the morning bite well past breakfast: keep moving baits tied on.

Species guide

The species that matter on Barnegat: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Prime sight-fishing: tailing fish on shallow flats, schools pushing water. Weedless spoons, shrimp under a popping cork, cut mullet in the guts.

When to come: the Barnegat calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
Bluefish
Redfish (red drum)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Barnegat today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 21 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 21 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

New Jersey requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

NJ Saltwater Registry (free). Striped bass one-fish slot (verify current year). Tautog: tight seasonal limits: check NJ regs by month.

Access

Barnegat Lighthouse SP jetty walk, Island Beach SP 4x4 (permit), bay ramps at Waretown/Barnegat, LBI street-end accesses.

About this water

Inlet between Island Beach State Park and Long Beach Island, Ocean County, NJ. The heart of the Jersey Shore's fishing identity.

Fishing Barnegat: the full guide

The inlet and Old Barney

Barnegat Inlet cuts between Island Beach and Long Beach Island under the gaze of its 1859 lighthouse: the north and south jetties hold stripers in the sweep, tog on the rocks, and fluke spilling across the flood. The inlet's shoals demand boating respect (it is one of the coast's trickiest), but the moving water pays every tide.

Island Beach State Park surf

North of the inlet, IBSP runs ten undeveloped miles of surf: mobile-permit 4x4 fishing for the fall striper run, summer fluke in the cuts, kingfish on the calm flats. The pocket at the park's south end (against the jetty) is the proven stand: bait funnels along the rocks and everything follows.

Barnegat Bay behind

The bay spreading behind LBI serves the light-tackle year: spring stripers on the sedges before the ocean run, summer fluke drifts through Double Creek and Oyster Creek channels, blowfish and kingfish for the family sonar-free fleet, and October's bay-side blitzes as bait flushes toward the inlet. Sedge-island kayak water at its Jersey best.

A Barnegat year

April: bay stripers waking, first fluke rumors. May-June: the ocean run arrives, bluefish gorging in the inlet. Summer: fluke everywhere, tog picking on the jetties, night tides for bass in the rips. Fall: the run: mullet then peanut bunker then sand eels, stripers and albies on the beach, tog turning on as it closes. Winter: ling and cod party boats, and jetty planning.

Common questions

Is Barnegat Inlet safe for small boats?

It demands respect: shoals shift, outgoing tide against a sea breeze stacks steep water, and the Coast Guard stays busy. Locals run it daily by reading conditions: newcomers should pick calm windows and follow traffic.

Where do I fish the fall run at Barnegat?

The IBSP pocket and the jetties when bait is in the inlet's grip; the LBI beachfront when the schools slide south. Sand eels late in the season bring the Ava-jig classic: bass within a cast of the beach.

Is fishing good at Barnegat right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Manasquan Reservoir27 miSandy Hook49 miUnion Lake55 miRound Valley Reservoir70 miCape May71 miFire Island75 mi
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