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CobiaShoulder seasonGut · New Jersey
Downs Gut
38.96°N · 74.87°W · Gut · Delaware Bay waters south of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Cobia
- Now
- 309 AM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing3.0 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Downs Gut scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.2 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
38Wind: 14 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
53Seas over the limit · capped at 30Water temp: 68°F, primeLight: MorningSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.0 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
40Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NJFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Downs Gut
- Depth
- 2-8 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · 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 Downs Gut
Downs Gut is a gut in Delaware Bay waters south of East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE, New Jersey. Depth is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 17 species here; the best right now are striped bass, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, scup and sheepshead, and shoulder season for striped bass, black sea bass, bluefish and king mackerel. 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. Bluefish peak in May 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Southwest Cove61
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 61
- Striped bass 59
- Black sea bass 53
11 kt NEL 12:19 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:53 PM · 5.0 ft
- Long Point57
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 57
- Bluefish 56
- Black sea bass 48
14 kt NEL 12:19 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:53 PM · 5.0 ft
- Jarvis Sound56
Bay · 0.4 mi
Top: BluefishShoulder season- Bluefish 56
- Striped bass 55
- Black sea bass 48
14 kt NEL 12:19 PM · 1.0 ftH 6:53 PM · 5.0 ft
- Middle Thorofare55
Channel · 0.4 mi
Top: Striped bassShoulder season- Striped bass 55
- Black sea bass 53
- Bluefish 51
14 kt NEL 11:58 AM · 1.0 ftH 6:31 PM · 5.1 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.