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Raritan Bay Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Sep 14, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

New Jersey’s striper bay: Raritan holds bass, bluefish and fluke inside Sandy Hook.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 7:27 PM
Air / High
73 / 74 F
Wind
NW 15 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8537121, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
14
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.

Raritan Bay sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings clear skies, wind NW around 15 mph, rising pressure near 1018 hPa and a high of 74. Tides: high 12:29 AM and 12:53 PM, low 6:56 AM and 7:27 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 waxing crescent, the solunar majors run 1:11 AM-3:11 AM and 1:11 PM-3:11 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.

Striped bassGood

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

Tomorrow: Similar at 72 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Sep 15, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8537121 (Perth Amboy, NJ). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Mon
HIGH12:29 AM6.2 ft
LOW6:56 AM0.3 ft
HIGH12:53 PM6.5 ft
LOW7:27 PM0.6 ft
Tue
HIGH1:12 AM5.9 ft
LOW7:34 AM0.6 ft
HIGH1:35 PM6.4 ft
LOW8:12 PM0.8 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp73 F
High / Low74 / 63 F
WindNW 15-20 mph
Pressure1018.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 4%
Sunrise / Sunset06:36 / 19:07
MoonWaxing Crescent, 8%
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.

Mon Sep 14 · Overcast, 74/63 F, wind 15 mph, rain 4%

Fair or better. A 15 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Raritan Bay: 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.

When to come: the Raritan Bay 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
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 Raritan Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Sep 13

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.

Sat, Sep 12

5/5 Excellent. Go now. Everything lines up: pressure, wind and light are in your favor. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 12 mph.

Fri, Sep 11

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 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

New Jersey saltwater registry required. Striped bass, bluefish, fluke and blackfish are size- and season-regulated: check current NJDEP rules.

Access

Launches and marinas at Keyport, Morgan, Atlantic Highlands and Perth Amboy; shore access along the south shore.

About this water

A sheltered bay at the mouth of the Raritan River behind Sandy Hook, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, New Jersey.

Fishing Raritan Bay: the full guide

A bay at the harbor mouth

Raritan Bay lies between New Jersey and Staten Island at the mouth of the Raritan River, sheltered behind Sandy Hook and forming the western end of the New York Bight. It is one of the most productive striped bass grounds on the coast, with bluefish, summer flounder, weakfish and blackfish filling out a genuinely varied season.

The spring striper run

Raritan Bay is famous for its spring run: as water warms in April and May, big striped bass stage in the bay to feed on bunker before moving on. Live and snagged bunker, plugs, soft plastics and flies all take fish, and the bite can be extraordinary. It is heavily fished during the run, and courtesy on the water matters.

Summer and fall

Summer brings bluefish, fluke on the channel edges and sand bars, and weakfish in the deeper water. Fall returns striped bass on the migration south, often busting bait on the surface. Blackfish take over the rocks and wrecks in late fall. Shore anglers work Keansburg, Union Beach and the Sandy Hook side.

Middlesex and Monmouth logistics

Launches and marinas serve the bay at Keyport, Morgan, Atlantic Highlands and Perth Amboy, with shore access at municipal beaches and piers along the south shore. New York City sits at the far end. Wind against tide builds a short steep chop quickly here: watch the forecast on small boats.

Common questions

When is the striper run?

April and May, when big bass stage in the bay on bunker: it is one of the coast’s best-known spring runs.

Can I fish from shore?

Yes: Keansburg, Union Beach and the municipal beaches and piers along the south shore all produce.

Is it rough water?

It can be: wind against tide builds a short steep chop quickly. Check the forecast in a small boat.

Is fishing good at Raritan Bay 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

Sandy Hook12 miRaritan River18 miManasquan Reservoir22 miToms River33 miRound Valley Reservoir34 miLake Hopatcong39 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8537121 — Perth Amboy, NJ
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.4700, -74.2200 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
Written and reviewed by a person against the sources above. Errors are published in the verification log, not quietly corrected.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.

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