Position
40°26.7′N 74°12.0′W
The Keyport Fishing Pier runs 300 feet out into Raritan Bay from the waterfront in lower Keyport, reaching deeper water that's hard to cast to from shore. It's free, easy to get to, and one of the most consistent spots on the Raritan Bayshore, a good place to bring kids or beginners, and stripers crowd around it during the spring and fall runs.
When to fish
- Spring: stripers on their way through Raritan Bay, followed by bluefish. The Keyport Flats off the pier are a known spring striper area.
- Summer into early fall: spot, croaker, weakfish, fluke and snapper blues, plus big blue crabs.
- Fall: the stripers come back.
- Best tide: about three hours on either side of high tide.
Where to fish
The pier's length lets you reach deeper pockets of the bay that hold fish and are hard to reach from shore.
How to fish it
Bloodworms are the all-round bait off the pier because nearly everything eats them; sandworms or lugworms work when bloodworms are pricey. Use bunker or bloodworms for stripers, spearing or bunker for blues and snappers, killies, spearing or bunker for fluke, and live peanut bunker or sandworms for weakfish.
Getting there
The pier is at 1 American Legion Drive in Keyport, with a large parking lot right behind it, plus benches and trash cans. There's no admission fee. Fish and Wildlife officers often check catches here, and anglers 16 and older must register with New Jersey's free Saltwater Recreational Registry.
From the water
Latest reports
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Field guide
What you can catch
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