2026 New Jersey saltwater seasons — when harvest is legal
These are 2026 NJDEP printed recreational open seasons — legal keep-windows, not a bite forecast. Size and bag still live on Attention Anglers 2026. We will not pretend Cast Cruise sampled these reefs.
By Sebastian · Published September 14, 2026
Public-source briefing only. We have not surveyed this water. DEP reef maps are marked not for navigational purposes. Confirm corners, depths, and deployments on the current NJ Fish & Wildlife reef PDFs and a live NOAA chart before you leave the dock.
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What the state published
- Year
- 2026 NJDEP Attention Anglers sheet and Recreational Seasons Summary Chart
- What this is
- Legal recreational harvest windows printed by the state — not a bite calendar and not our catch log
- Black sea bass 2026
- May 15–June 21: 10 fish at 12.5 in; June 22–Sept 22: 1 fish at 12.5 in; Sept 23–Oct 31: 10 fish at 12.5 in; Nov 1–Dec 31: 15 fish at 12.5 in
- Tautog 2026
- 15 in; 4 fish Jan 1–Feb 28; 4 fish Apr 1–Apr 30; 1 fish Aug 1–Nov 15; 5 fish Nov 16–Dec 31
- Summer flounder 2026
- Open May 4–Sept 25. 3 at 18 in most marine waters; 3 at 17 in Delaware Bay; 2 at 16 in at Island Beach State Park
- Scup 2026
- 30 fish at 10 in, Jan 1–June 30 and Sept 1–Dec 31 (closed July–August on the printed chart)
- Striped bass 2026 (summary)
- 1 fish 28–31 in. Atlantic Ocean 0–3 miles: no closed season. Greater than 3 miles: closed. Other marine waters: Mar 1–Dec 31. Delaware River special March / June–Dec windows.
People do fish these public reefs by season. The honest version of that sentence is: New Jersey prints open seasons every year. This page copies the 2026 sheet. It is not when we caught fish, and it is not a promise the bite is “on.”
If the Attention Anglers 2026 PDF disagrees with this article, the PDF wins.
2026 keep-windows (printed)
| Species | 2026 open season (NJDEP) | Notes on the same sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Black sea bass | May 15–Dec 31 | Bag 10 / 1 / 10 / 15 across four date windows at 12.5 in |
| Tautog (blackfish) | Jan 1–Feb 28; Apr 1–Apr 30; Aug 1–Dec 31 | Closed March and May–July; bag 4 / 4 / 1 / 5 at 15 in |
| Summer flounder (fluke) | May 4–Sept 25 | 3 at 18 in most waters; IBSP 2 at 16 in; Delaware Bay 3 at 17 in |
| Scup (porgy) | Jan 1–Jun 30 and Sept 1–Dec 31 | 30 at 10 in; July–August closed on the chart |
| Bluefish | Jan 1–Dec 31 | 5 private/shore, 7 for-hire; no minimum size on the sheet |
| Weakfish | Jan 1–Dec 31 | 1 at 13 in |
| Winter flounder | Mar 1–Dec 31 | 2 at 12 in |
| Striped bass | See notes | 1 fish 28–31 in; ocean 0–3 miles no closed season; >3 miles closed; other marine Mar 1–Dec 31 |
Striped bass greater than 3 miles from shore is closed on the 2026 sheet. Several public reefs sit around or beyond that line depending on the site. Read the digest before you assume an offshore reef is a bass trip.
River herring is CLOSED. Circle-hook rules for striped bass are a separate NJDEP page.
What is “around” vs what you may keep
NJDEP’s marine-life list (Able 1992 compilation on the state site) calls black sea bass, tautog, summer flounder, scup, striped bass, bluefish, and weakfish abundant or present in New Jersey waters. That is occurrence, not a monthly bite chart, and not a keep permit.
Artificial-reef program copy still says reefs provide habitat for black sea bass, tautog, and lobster. Lobster has its own LMA seasons on Attention Anglers — not copied in full here.
How to use this with the reef pages
- Pick a public reef: Axel Carlson, Barnegat Light, Manasquan Inlet Reef, Sea Girt, Sandy Hook, Garden State North, Garden State South, Little Egg, Atlantic City Reef, Great Egg.
- Check this year’s PDF, not a screenshot from 2023.
- Register free with NJSRRP if you are 16+.
More registry detail: NJ saltwater fishing rules.
Sources checked
Electronics and comms, not $10 staples
VHF while you run a legal reef trip
Icom IC-M330G
$228.12 when checked on Amazon for the black GPS model
Mark public reef structure
Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv
$999.99 when checked on Amazon for the GT54 transducer bundle