Celebrating this summer’s catches in hopes of an even better tomorrow in ’26!
Since the end of the fluke season at the Jersey Shore on September 25th, I’ve heard conflicting reports from friends on how the summer of 2025 played out. To the north on the Raritan Bay where some of the year’s biggest fish are typically registered it seems as if it was another grind, het heading off the Monmouth County beaches in late summer from the Rattlesnake to Sea Girt Reef there were good days and bad ones.
In Ocean County, late summer structure fishing was also hit or miss, while the early summer back bay bite was phenomenal in the northern stretches of Barnegat Bay, a tad slower to the south behind Barnegat Inlet. Back bay waters produced well for many folks from Great Bay to Great Egg Harbor Bay until the waters got too warm, while those drifting the ICW down along the Cape May County stretch reported fish throughout much of the summer in our weekly reports.
From inside Delaware Bay on out to the deeper water reef sites, the action continued until the late summer storms rolled through, while Delawareans themselves continue to have summer flounder on the menu given that the First State’s fluke season never ends. What’s in store for us in 2026?
We’ll hear more about any regulatory changes for the new season over the next month or two, but overall I have to say it was good one this year. Just think back to the southerlies of ’24 to give perspective on just how good we had it, and how great it can be again in ’26!
