Raritan Bay bass blitz fires as 68-degree water stacks bunker on the flood

The water finally hit that magic number — 68 degrees in the bay this week — and it's like somebody flipped a switch. The stripers that have been playing hard to get all spring are suddenly everywhere, and I mean everywhere. From the Raritan Bay flats to the back channels behind Sandy Hook, bass are stacked up on bunker schools like it's April all over again.

I've been watching this setup build for two weeks. The bay water climbed from 64 to 68 while the ocean side stayed stuck at 63, and that 5-degree gradient is pure gold. Every flood tide pushes warm bay water out through the inlets, and the bass are riding that thermal highway like a conveyor belt. The bunker know it too — they're thick as thieves from the Shrewsbury rocks all the way down to the Manasquan inlet mouth.

The bite's been best on the moving water, especially that first hour of flood when the warm bay water starts mixing with the cooler ocean stuff. I'm throwing 6-inch white Hogy soft baits on 3/4-ounce jig heads, working them slow through the current breaks. The fish want that bait moving just fast enough to look alive but not so fast they have to work for it. These aren't the aggressive spring fish — they're summer lazy, picking off easy meals.

Down at Manasquan, the inlet's been producing solid keeper fluke on the outgoing tide. The key is getting your bucktail down to the bottom before the current grabs it. I'm using 1-ounce chartreuse bucktails with 5-inch white Gulp Swimming Mullets, bouncing them along the channel edges where the current slows down. The fish are holding in 15 to 20 feet, right where the inlet channel starts to widen into the bay.

But here's the real story nobody's talking about — the squid. They're everywhere from Shark River south, and it's not just bait-sized stuff. The headboats out of Manasquan are running dedicated squid trips and guys are coming back with coolers full of jumbo calamari. The cool water we've had all spring kept them inshore longer than usual, and now they're concentrated in the 30 to 50-foot range. Azori squid jigs in pink and white are absolutely crushing them.

The sea bass bite is still on fire before the regulations change next week. We can keep 10 fish over 12.5 inches until June 30, then it drops to one fish through August. The Axel Carlson reef area has been producing limits in under two hours, with most fish running 14 to 16 inches. Drop a clam rig in 40 feet and hang on — these fish are aggressive and hungry.

Weakfish are starting to show up in the back bays, especially around the Barnegat Bay flats on the evening tides. They're small — mostly 12 to 14 inches — but they're there. Pink Deadly Dick jigs worked slow over the grass beds have been getting bites, though you need to be patient. These fish spook easy in the shallow water.

The porgies are thick around any structure in 20 to 40 feet. High-low rigs with small hooks and clam pieces are the ticket. The fish are running decent size — plenty of 10 to 12-inchers mixed in with the usual pan-sized stuff.

Looking ahead, this new moon cycle should keep the tides moving strong through the weekend. The bay water's still warming — I wouldn't be surprised to see 70 degrees by next week — and that should keep the bass bite going strong. The fluke are definitely moving in from the ocean as the water warms, so the inlet fishing should only get better.

The squid bite might be the sleeper story of the summer. With water temperatures staying cooler than normal, they could stick around inshore well into July. That's rare for this area, but I've seen stranger things happen when the ocean doesn't follow the script.

If you're planning to get out this week, focus on the moving water during the day and the back bay flats in the evening. The bass are there, the fluke are coming, and the squid are a bonus most people aren't even thinking about. Just remember — the sea bass regulations change July 1, so if you want a full bag, get out there before the weekend.