Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Channel · New Jersey

Inward Thoroughfare

39.95°N · 74.08°W · Channel · Coastal waters from Manasquan Inlet to Little Egg Inlet NJ out 20 NM

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia

55/100Good
Now
307 PM EDT
Best window
7-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 PM · now

Time7PNOW
Score30Fair
Tide0.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.3 kn · toward S
Wind20 kn ENEgusts 32 · steady
Sea stateRough6.4 ft · 8 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water68°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Cobia in New Jersey

Spot profile

Inward Thoroughfare

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Outer · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

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 Inward Thoroughfare

Inward Thoroughfare is a channel in Coastal waters from Manasquan Inlet to Little Egg Inlet NJ out 20 NM, New Jersey. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, outer water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Ortley Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    55
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 55
    • Striped bass 53
    • Black sea bass 43

    20 kt ENEH 10:25 PM · 0.4 ftL 5:09 AM · 0.0 ft

  • Shelter Cove

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    55
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 55
    • Striped bass 53
    • Black sea bass 44

    20 kt ENEH 10:25 PM · 0.4 ftL 5:09 AM · 0.0 ft

  • Great Swan Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    55
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 55
    • Striped bass 53
    • Black sea bass 44

    20 kt ENEH 10:36 PM · 0.4 ftL 5:16 AM · 0.0 ft

  • Coates Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    53
    Top: Striped bassShoulder season
    • Striped bass 53
    • Bluefish 51
    • Black sea bass 46

    20 kt ENEH 10:19 PM · 0.4 ftL 5:01 AM · 0.0 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.