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Raritan River Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Central New Jersey's river from the North and South branches to Raritan Bay, with stocked trout upstream, a catch-and-release gorge and dam removals reopening the lower river to shad.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Flow
313 cfs
Air / High
43 / 56 F
Wind
WSW 3 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01403060, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 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 River feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The river is running 313 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind WSW around 3 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 56. Water sits around 51 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:23 PM-1:23 AM and 10:59 AM-12:59 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassGood

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Hybrid striped bassSlow

In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Tomorrow: Warmer at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Water and weather

Live readings from Raritan River below Calco Dam at Bound Brook NJ.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01403060.

1,1732,9924,811313 cfs10/1010/2010/3011/09

Today’s flow against 88 years of November 9

At 313 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 01403060 (Raritan River below Calco Dam at Bound Brook NJ) is at the 39th percentile for the date: normal. In half of the 88 years of approved record the daily mean on November 9 was below 395 cfs; the highest was 22,600 cfs and the lowest 102 cfs.

p10 157median 395p90 2,201

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 01403060; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp43 F
High / Low56 / 40 F
WindWSW 3-14 mph
Pressure1010.0 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 8%
Sunrise / Sunset06:37 / 16:46
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~51 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Raritan River this week

The best day on Raritan River this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
11:23 PM-1:23 AM and 10:59 AM-12:59 PM
Minor period
6:47 AM-7:47 AM
Sun
06:37 to 16:46
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Showers, 17 mph
Rain chance
8%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

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

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

When to come: the Raritan River 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
Hybrid striped bass
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 51 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~51 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 River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 60 F, wind to 16 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 59 F, wind to 14 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 70 F, wind to 7 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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 fishing license, plus a trout stamp to fish for trout. NJ freshwater rules read 2026-10-05: American shad may not be taken in the Raritan (season closed outside the Delaware River main stem); hybrid striped bass below the Duke Island Park dam March 1-Dec. 31, one fish 28 to 31 in.; Ken Lockwood Gorge on the South Branch is catch-and-release. Check NJDEP fish consumption advisories before keeping fish.

Access

Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA on the South Branch (the road through the gorge is closed to through traffic; park only in designated areas), Natirar County Park on the North Branch, and Duke Island Park on the main stem.

About this water

A central New Jersey river formed by the North and South branches, flowing east through Somerset and Middlesex counties to Raritan Bay. The page's gauge is USGS 01403060, Raritan River below Calco Dam at Bound Brook.

Fishing Raritan River: the full guide

Branches, gorge and main stem

The Raritan's North and South branches join in Somerset County and the main stem runs east past Bound Brook and New Brunswick to Raritan Bay. New Jersey stocks trout on both branches: the South Branch from the mill dam above Route 517 at Long Valley down to the North Branch, and the North Branch from below Ravine Lake Dam in Natirar County Park. About 2.2 miles of the South Branch inside the Ken Lockwood Gorge Wildlife Management Area are catch-and-release only. In 2026 the main-stem Raritan in Somerset County was added to the fall trout stocking program, which begins October 13.

Dam removals and migratory fish

NOAA reports that NJDEP used a natural resource damages settlement to remove three Raritan dams between 2011 and 2013, and that after the Weston Mill Dam on the Millstone River, a Raritan tributary, came down in 2017, NJDEP teams found shad migrating and spawning upstream. The Raritan River Fish Passage Initiative aims to remove the Cole's Mill, Nunn's Mill, Head Gates and Rockafellows Mill dams by 2027 and to replace the failing fish ladder at the Island Farm Weir, the river's first barrier upstream from the bay, for American shad, alewife, blueback herring and American eel.

Shad and stripers: the rules

Seeing shad again does not mean keeping them. New Jersey's freshwater rules close the American shad season in every fresh water except the Delaware River main stem. Downstream of the Duke Island Park dam, hybrid striped bass follow a special rule: March 1 through December 31, one fish from 28 to 31 inches.

Common questions

Can I keep a shad from the Raritan?

No. New Jersey closes the American shad season in all fresh waters except the Delaware River main stem, and marine waters outside the Delaware also prohibit keeping American shad.

Where is the trout water?

The North and South branches are stocked in spring, the 2.2-mile Ken Lockwood Gorge section of the South Branch is catch-and-release, and the main stem in Somerset County joined the fall stocking list in 2026.

Why were dams removed?

To let American shad, river herring and eels reach spawning water again. NOAA and NJDEP partners plan more removals and a new fishway at the Island Farm Weir by 2027.

Is fishing good at Raritan River 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

Round Valley Reservoir16 miRaritan Bay18 miSpruce Run Reservoir21 miLake Hopatcong28 miMusconetcong River28 miSandy Hook29 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01403060 β€” Raritan River below Calco Dam at Bound Brook NJ
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-11-09 at 11:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.5511, -74.5483 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.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

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.