Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · New Jersey

Cedar Point

39.95°N · 74.19°W · Cape · Coastal waters from Manasquan Inlet to Little Egg Inlet NJ out 20 NM

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Best score today · 1 AM · Atlantic croaker

60/100Good
Now
309 AM EDT
Best window
6-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.0 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score30Fair
Tide1.0 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind13 kn NEgusts 28 · steady
Sea stateRough5.7 ft · 8 s
Air temp63°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NJFW before you keep a fish.

Source: NJFW · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in New Jersey

Spot profile

Cedar Point

Depth
2-6 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a cape in Coastal waters from Manasquan Inlet to Little Egg Inlet NJ out 20 NM, New Jersey. Depth in the nearest water is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are striped bass, yellowfin tuna and bluefish. It is peak season now for yellowfin tuna, little tunny, red drum and scup, and shoulder season for striped bass, bluefish, Atlantic bluefin tuna and king mackerel. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Yellowfin tuna peak from July through September. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin feed in blue water along canyon edges, the shelf break, current edges, deepwater platforms and FADs, usually from the surface to about 300 feet. Troll ballyhoo, spreader bars and cedar plugs early in the day, then chunk butterfish or sardines, fish live hardtails, or drop jigs to marks. Around Gulf platforms and in the canyons the night bite on chunks and jigs is often better than the day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Crossway Creek

    Bay · 4.3 mi

    49
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 49
    • Striped bass 46
    • Black sea bass 44

    13 kt NEH 10:30 AM · 0.4 ftL 4:48 PM · 0.1 ft

  • Flag Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    43
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 43
    • Yellowfin tuna 43
    • Bluefish 42

    13 kt NEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:08 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Money Island

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    43
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 43
    • Yellowfin tuna 43
    • Bluefish 42

    13 kt NEL 3:56 PM · 0.4 ftH 10:08 PM · 1.1 ft

  • Coates Point

    Cape · 4.0 mi

    35
    Top: Atlantic bluefin tunaShoulder season
    • Atlantic bluefin tuna 35
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35

    20 kt NEH 10:04 AM · 0.4 ftL 4:30 PM · 0.1 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NJFW before you keep a fish.