Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Cape · New Jersey

Dunks Point

39.36°N · 75.39°W · Cape · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 12 PM · Cobia

77/100Great
Now
355 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score35Fair
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.4 kn · toward ENE
Wind16 kn ENEgusts 30 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NJFW before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Cobia in New Jersey

Spot profile

Dunks Point

Depth
3-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

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 Dunks Point

Dunks Point is a cape in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 3-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are bluefish, striped bass and black sea bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for bluefish, striped bass, black sea bass and king mackerel. Bluefish peak in May and from October through November. Striped bass peak from April through May and from October through December. Black sea bass peak from May through June and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Oyster Cove

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 68
    • Spot 68
    • Little tunny 66

    13 kt ENEH 9:23 PM · 5.3 ftL 3:51 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Dunks Bar

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 62
    • Black sea bass 57
    • King mackerel 52

    16 kt ENEH 9:03 PM · 5.9 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cut Through

    Channel · 2.0 mi

    62
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 62
    • Striped bass 56
    • Bluefish 55

    16 kt ENEH 9:03 PM · 5.9 ftL 3:34 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Arnold Point Shoal

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    60
    Top: BluefishShoulder season
    • Bluefish 60
    • Black sea bass 54
    • King mackerel 49

    16 kt ENEH 8:38 PM · 6.7 ftL 3:18 AM · 0.7 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.