Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · New Jersey

Back Creek Point

39.30°N · 75.28°W · Cape · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 6 AM · Atlantic croaker

74/100Great
Now
536 AM EDT
Best window
10 AM-1 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding4.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score53Good
Tide4.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NW
Wind13 kn NNEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast73% chance of rain
Water74°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

Back Creek Point

Depth
5-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Back Creek Point

Back Creek Point is a cape in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are little tunny, scup and spot. It is peak season now for little tunny, scup, spot and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and weakfish. Little tunny peak from September through October. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Scup
Scup school over hard and mixed bottom, rock piles, mussel beds, piers and jetties, usually in 10 to 60 feet of water. Fish a high-low rig with small hooks and squid or clam strips on the bottom, and chum with clam to hold a school under the boat. If nothing bites within 15 minutes, move to the next piece of structure.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sayres Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Scup 66
    • Spot 65

    13 kt NNEH 7:59 AM · 5.7 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Ben Davis Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Scup 66
    • Spot 65

    13 kt NNEH 7:59 AM · 5.7 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Tarpon Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 71

    13 kt NNEH 7:59 AM · 5.7 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Nantuxent Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 71

    13 kt NNEH 7:59 AM · 5.7 ftL 2:10 PM · 0.8 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.