Weakfish crash Jones Inlet as bay water hits prime temps

The weakfish are back, and I mean really back. After years of hoping and waiting, we're seeing legitimate weakfish action in Jones Inlet for the first time since the early 2000s. The bite started three days ago when bay water temps climbed into the upper 60s, and it's been building every tide since.

I've been working the inlet mouth on the last two hours of outgoing, casting 5-inch white Gulp Swimming Mullets on 3/4-ounce bucktails into the current seams where the bay water meets the ocean. The fish are staging right at the drop-off, 12 to 18 feet, waiting for bait to flush out on the ebb. Best fish so far went 24 inches and pulled like a freight train — that classic weakfish head-shake that tells you immediately what you're into.

The key is reading the water. These aren't the scattered schoolies we used to pick at. These are quality fish, 18 to 26 inches, and they're feeding aggressively on sand eels and small bunker getting swept out of the bay. I'm seeing the best action from two hours before low through the first hour of flood, when the current creates that perfect feeding lane along the north jetty.

Fluke fishing remains solid throughout the inlet system. The Meadowbrook Bridge continues to produce steady action on the southeast side, where the current creates a natural feeding funnel. I'm drifting white bucktails tipped with fresh smelt through 15 to 20 feet of water, picking up fish in the 15 to 19-inch range. The keeper ratio isn't spectacular, but the numbers are there — 15 to 20 fish per trip if you work at it.

What's interesting is how the thermal structure is setting up. Bay water is running a solid 4 degrees warmer than the ocean side of the inlet, creating a gradient that's stacking bait on every flood tide. The weakfish are keying on this temperature break, positioning themselves right where the warm bay water meets the cooler ocean flow.

The Jones Beach surf has been inconsistent for stripers, but the sunset bite is starting to show signs of life. I'm seeing scattered fish in the 28 to 32-inch range working the wash on 2-ounce diamond jigs with white tails. The fish are sitting on the sandbar just before the trough, and you need to get your jig past the break to reach them. Low-light conditions are critical — the action shuts down once full darkness hits.

Bait situation is excellent. Peanut bunker are thick in the bay, and the sand eel schools are massive this year. I'm seeing clouds of bait getting pushed around by the tides, which explains why both the weakfish and fluke action has been so consistent.

Looking ahead, this new moon cycle should really fire things up. Spring tides mean stronger currents, which will flush more bait through the inlet and concentrate the feeding fish. I'm particularly excited about the weakfish potential — if this trend continues, we could be looking at the best weakfish fishing in Jones Inlet in over two decades.

The inlet has been relatively clean despite some weed issues early in the week. Navigation is straightforward, but watch the shoaling on the south side of the channel — it's built up significantly after the spring storms.

For the coming week, I'm focusing on that weakfish bite during the prime tide windows. The pattern is too good to ignore, and these fish haven't been here in serious numbers for years. This could be the start of something special.