The first half of the 2026 season in reader pictures.
Following a brutally cold winter, March 1 kicked off another season of action in the New Jersey, Delaware Bay region with holdover striped bass. By the time the pre-spawning migration kicked into gear along the Delaware and Raritan, anglers had shaken the winter cobwebs to enjoy solid action along the bays and rivers heading into April.
May 4th brought forth another summer flounder season; whether you call them “flounder” to the south or “fluke” throughout the Northeast, it was a slow start overall for this favored food fish. The return of black sea bass in the middle of the month provided new options for those leaving the inlets, but the aftereffects of a brutal winter (read: cold bottom temps) kept reports mostly in check.
Striped bass stuck around through much of June along the northern grounds, while black drum made their presence known again from the Delaware Bay up the coast and along the front beaches. On the tails of those boomers came wave after wave of sheepshead reports through July, primarily in Atlantic and Cape May counties but up into Ocean County as well.
With plenty of options on the table to kick off the month of August – including the return of the one-fish bag limit on tautog at the Jersey Shore – many folks turned their attention to the east, where bluefin action became hot and heavy within just a few miles of the beach.
Sure, it’s been a little bit of “feast or famine” at some points of the year, but The Fisherman readers – according to the photos received at info@thefisherman.com – seem to be finding overall success.
