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Cape May Fishing Report

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

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.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 9:16 PM
Air / High
86 / 86 F
Wind
W 9 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8536110, 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.

Cape May sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 86. Tides: high 2:17 AM and 2:50 PM, low 8:12 AM and 9:16 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: Cooler at 79 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 8536110 (Cape May Ferry Terminal). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH2:17 AM4.4 ft
LOW8:12 AM0.6 ft
HIGH2:50 PM5.6 ft
LOW9:16 PM1.0 ft
Sat
HIGH3:25 AM4.3 ft
LOW9:16 AM0.7 ft
HIGH3:59 PM5.6 ft
LOW10:28 PM1.0 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp86 F
High / Low86 / 74 F
WindW 9-14 mph
Pressure1011.7 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 79%
Sunrise / Sunset06:31 / 19:26
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, 86/74 F, wind 16 mph, rain 79%

Slow. High rain chance; fish the front edge before it arrives.

Species guide

The species that matter on Cape May: 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 Cape May 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 Cape May 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 86 F, wind to 17 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 81 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

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 89 F, wind to 10 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 Recreational Registry (free) required. Striped bass: one-fish slot (28-31 inches, verify current), no harvest in federal waters. Summer flounder: annual size/season: check NJ Fish & Wildlife.

Access

Cape May Point State Park beaches, Second Avenue jetty, back-bay ramps (Cape May, Wildwood), party/charter fleet at the harbor.

About this water

Victorian resort at the tip of the Cape May Peninsula, Cape May County, NJ. Where the Delaware Bay hands its water to the Atlantic.

Fishing Cape May: the full guide

The rips

Off Cape May Point, bay and ocean collide over shoals into standing rips that concentrate bait like a conveyor: stripers and blues in the seams spring and fall, fluke on the edges all summer. The fleet drifts them daily; surf casters work the same energy from the point's beaches when fish push tight. It is the state's most reliable moving water.

Delaware Bay's spring drum

May brings the black drum spawn to the bay side: 50-80-lb fish crushing clam baits at dusk on the flats off Villas and the Cape Shore. It is a thunder-in-the-dark fishery of heavy rods and patience, and it has run every spring for as long as anyone's grandfather remembers.

Fluke summers, tog winters

Summer belongs to fluke: the Cape May Reef, the rips' edges, and the back-bay channels behind Wildwood produce keepers for the drifting fleet. When water cools, the wrecks and jetty rocks flip to tautog: the fall tog run out of Cape May is South Jersey's late-season anchor, running until winter locks it.

The funnel in fall

Everything migrating south down the Jersey coast rounds Cape May: October-November stacks stripers, albies, and blues against the point and beaches. The Second Avenue jetty, Poverty Beach, and the point's coves become a rotating blitz-watch: birds up, metal out, and the season's best fishing measured in minutes of chaos.

Common questions

When is the black drum run at Cape May?

Mid-May through early June on the bay side: dusk tides, whole surf clams, 50-lb-class fish. It is a boat fishery mostly: charters out of the harbor and Fortescue specialize in it.

Where does the fall run hit Cape May?

The point itself: albies and stripers pin bait against the rips and beaches October-November. Watch the birds off the lighthouse and be ready to run the sand: blitzes move faster than parking decisions.

Is fishing good at Cape May 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

Broadkill River18 miDelaware Bay19 miRehoboth Bay21 miIndian River Inlet25 miUnion Lake32 miSilver Lake33 mi
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