Labor Day weekend has past, which means that beaches have mostly emptied with “badges” and “badge checkers” gone for another summer. We’ll run through the surf options heading into this first full weekend of September with pompano, fluke, kingfish, croakers, Spanish mackerel, bonito, and pompano the new seasonal targets before the migratory run of stripers begins. That plus tautog and sheepshead along the jetties and bridges, with more Raritan Bay shepherding reported this week. Yes, albies are on the move with plenty of bait along our inshore waters, which segues into a brief overview of what you’ll find in the September edition of The Fisherman. Regulatory updates in New Jersey leads us to Open Boat this week with catch and release bluefin tips, we’ll throw a dart into the weather dartboard with NOAA again this week, George has your freshwater update from the Poconos, and we wrap up this week’s report with 8 minutes of meeting updates regarding trout stocking in New Jersey and the forthcoming hearings on striped bass management in 2026.
