Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder 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 · Black sea bass

74/100Great
Now
498 AM EDT
Best window
10 AM-1 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High5.7 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score49Good
Tide5.7 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward NW
Wind13 kn NNEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast92% chance of rain
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in New Jersey

Spot profile

Back Creek Point

Depth
5-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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 scup, spot and little tunny. It is peak season now for scup, spot, little tunny and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. Scup peak from June through October. Spot peak from August through October. Little tunny peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Tarpon Cove

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic croaker 62

    13 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Nantuxent Cove

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    74
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 74
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic croaker 62

    13 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Sayres Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Spot 69
    • Little tunny 63

    13 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 PM · 6.4 ft

  • Ben Davis Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 69
    • Spot 69
    • Little tunny 63

    13 kt NNEL 2:10 PM · 0.8 ftH 8:16 PM · 6.4 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.