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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Channel · New Jersey

Brandywine Range

39.17°N · 75.25°W · Channel · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 7 AM · Atlantic croaker

72/100Great

Now: 584 AM EDT
Best window: 4 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now: Flooding2.4 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Brandywine Range scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time4ANOW

Score58Good

Tide2.4 ft ▲Flooding

CurrentSlack0.1 kn

Wind13 kn NEgusts 24 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s

Air temp59°Mild

WeatherOvercast80% chance of rain

Water74°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

NOW

10A

11A

12P

10P

11P

12A

2.2

1.8

1.0

○0.1

0.7

1.1

1.0

0.7

○0.1

0.6

1.3

1.7

1.9

1.6

0.8

○0.2

1.0

1.4

1.0

0.4

1.1

1.8

2313

2312

2413

2513

2412

2311

2612

2914

3216

3217

3216

3016

2915

2815

2715

2614

2513

2412

2312

2.1

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.4

2.3

2.2

79%

80%

78%

73%

65%

55%

40%

74°

73°

74°

73°

72°

Hour

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.

Always check with NJFW ↗Fishing license ↗

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

Peak
Shoulder
Off
Not here
This week

Atlantic croaker in New Jersey →

Spot profile

Brandywine Range

Depth: 20-40 ftSlope
Structure: Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · slope
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 Brandywine Range

Brandywine Range is a channel in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 20-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are spot, scup and sheepshead. It is peak season now for spot, scup, sheepshead and red drum, and shoulder season for weakfish, black sea bass, Atlantic croaker and bluefish. Spot peak from August through October. Scup peak from June through October. Sheepshead peak from July through September.

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.
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.
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

View all on map →

Elbow of Cross Ledge
Bar · 0.5 mi
69
Top: ScupPeak season
- Scup 69
- Bluefish 63
- Sheepshead 63
13 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft
Cross Ledge
Bar · 0.9 mi
69
Top: ScupPeak season
- Scup 69
- Bluefish 63
- Sheepshead 63
13 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft
Main Maull Range
Channel · 2.6 mi
67
Top: SpotPeak season
- Spot 67
- Scup 65
- Sheepshead 63
13 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft
Cross Ledge Range
Channel · 4.0 mi
65
Top: ScupPeak season
- Scup 65
- Spot 65
- Sheepshead 63
13 kt NEH 7:45 AM · 5.8 ftL 1:46 PM · 0.8 ft

Open in the tide map

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.