Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bar · New Jersey

Elbow of Cross Ledge

39.17°N · 75.24°W · Bar · Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE

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Best score today · 8 AM · Weakfish

77/100Great
Now
547 AM EDT
Best window
7 AM-12 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding5.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score54Good
Tide5.3 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.0 kn · toward N
Wind13 kn NNEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp57°Mild
WeatherOvercast65% chance of rain
Water73°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in New Jersey

Spot profile

Elbow of Cross Ledge

Depth
15-20 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Elbow of Cross Ledge

Elbow of Cross Ledge is a bar in Delaware Bay waters north of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 15-20 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cross Ledge

    Bar · 0.5 mi

    76
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 76
    • Spanish mackerel 66
    • Spot 66

    13 kt NNEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Brandywine Range

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    73
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 73
    • Spot 72
    • Summer flounder 66

    13 kt NNEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Cross Ledge Range

    Channel · 3.7 mi

    72
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 72
    • Spot 69
    • Summer flounder 67

    13 kt NNEH 7:45 AM · 5.8 ftL 1:46 PM · 0.8 ft

  • Main Maull Range

    Channel · 2.9 mi

    71
    Top: ScupPeak season
    • Scup 71
    • Spot 69
    • Summer flounder 64

    13 kt NNEH 7:37 AM · 5.4 ftL 1:34 PM · 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.