Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Channel · New Jersey

Cross Ledge Range

39.21°N · 75.29°W · Channel · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic croaker

72/100Great
Now
583 AM EDT
Best window
5-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.4 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score58Good
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward SSE
Wind12 kn NEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 3 s
Air temp60°Mild
WeatherOvercast80% 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.

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

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

Cross Ledge Range

Depth
35-50 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 Cross Ledge Range

Cross Ledge Range is a channel in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 35-50 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

View all on map →
  • Cross Ledge

    Bar · 3.3 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Bluefish 66
    • Little tunny 66

    12 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Elbow of Cross Ledge

    Bar · 3.7 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Bluefish 66
    • Little tunny 66

    12 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Brandywine Range

    Channel · 4.0 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 67
    • Weakfish 67

    12 kt NEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Ben Davis Point Shoal

    Bar · 3.1 mi

    61
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 61
    • Little tunny 60
    • Scup 60

    12 kt NEH 7:59 AM · 5.7 ftL 2:10 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.