Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Cape · New Jersey

Deepwater Point

39.70°N · 75.51°W · Cape · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 7 PM · Black sea bass

80/100Great
Now
5010 AM EDT
Best window
7-9 PMFlood tide
Tide now
High5.3 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score50Good
Tide5.3 ftHigh
CurrentFlood1.7 kn · toward NNE
Wind11 kn NNEgusts 22 · steady
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
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

Deepwater Point

Depth
1-50 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · drop-off
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 Deepwater Point

Deepwater Point is a cape in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth in the nearest water is 1-50 ft, with a drop-off. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Baker Range

    Channel · 16 mi

    78
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 78
    • Scup 76
    • Atlantic croaker 68

    11 kt NNEL 3:11 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:10 PM · 6.5 ft

  • Baker Shoal

    Bar · 15 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Scup 73
    • Spot 73

    11 kt NNEL 3:11 PM · 0.8 ftH 9:10 PM · 6.5 ft

  • Marsh Point

    Cape · 7.8 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 71
    • Little tunny 67

    11 kt NNEL 4:03 PM · 0.7 ftH 9:49 PM · 5.8 ft

  • Kelly Point

    Cape · 4.0 mi

    69
    Top: SpotPeak season
    • Spot 69
    • Scup 68
    • Little tunny 66

    11 kt NNEL 4:24 PM · 0.7 ftH 10:14 PM · 5.9 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.