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Sandy Hook Fishing Report

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

New Jersey's striper doorstep: seven miles of federal beach where the fall run hits first.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 8:58 PM
Air / High
78 / 78 F
Wind
WNW 10 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8531680, 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.

Sandy Hook lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind WNW around 10 mph, rising pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 78. Tides: high 1:36 AM and 2:03 PM, low 7:32 AM and 8:58 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.

Striped bassGood

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

Tomorrow: Similar at 76 F. 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 8531680 (Sandy Hook). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH1:36 AM4.4 ft
LOW7:32 AM0.8 ft
HIGH2:03 PM5.4 ft
LOW8:58 PM1.0 ft
Sat
HIGH2:40 AM4.3 ft
LOW8:50 AM0.9 ft
HIGH3:07 PM5.4 ft
LOW10:10 PM0.8 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low78 / 76 F
WindWNW 10-17 mph
Pressure1010.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 49%
Sunrise / Sunset06:26 / 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 · Overcast, 78/76 F, wind 15 mph, rain 49%

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 Sandy Hook: 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 Sandy Hook 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 Sandy Hook today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

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 80 F, wind to 14 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 74 F, wind to 17 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 18 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

NJ is license-free for saltwater but requires (free) registry. Striped bass: one fish 28-31 inches under current coastwide slot: check for updates.

Access

Gateway NRA parking areas (beach buggy permits for fall), North Beach and the tip rips, bayside pull-offs.

About this water

Sandy Hook unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, Monmouth County, NJ. The gateway of the fall run.

Fishing Sandy Hook: the full guide

The hook that catches the run

Sandy Hook juts seven undeveloped miles into the apex of the New York Bight: the first stop for every migrating striper, bluefish and albie moving along the Jersey shore. Federal parkland means no houses, no jetty gaps: just bars, sloughs, the rips at the tip, and bayside sod banks that fish when the ocean is upside down.

Run seasons

Spring: bunker schools drag big stripers along the ocean side (April-June). Summer: fluke in the rips and channels, small blues everywhere. Fall: the main event: sand eel and peanut bunker blitzes that can erupt anywhere from the tip to Sea Bright, October into December. Albies zip the rips on calm September mornings.

The migration gate

Sandy Hook guards New York Harbor's fish highway: spring stripers round the point chasing bunker (April-June), fluke carpet the sandy channels all summer, and the fall run stacks albies, bass, and blues against the beaches in feeding-frenzy weeks. Surf casters work the ocean side at dawn; light-tackle boats drift the rips off the tip: every tide moves fish past this sand spit.

Common questions

When does the fall run peak at Sandy Hook?

Mid-October through Thanksgiving most years: northwest winds after a blow, birds on bait at first light. When the sand eels arrive, the tip can blitz for days.

When is the fall run at Sandy Hook?

October-November: sand eels and peanut bunker pull the striper migration against the beach. Northeast blows concentrate the blitzes: the day after a storm is the traditional call.

Is fishing good at Sandy Hook 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 Reservoir25 miFire Island40 miRound Valley Reservoir45 miLake Hopatcong46 miBarnegat49 miGreenwood Lake51 mi
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