Raritan Bay

Raritan Bay is the shallow, mud-bottomed bay tucked between Staten Island and the Monmouth County shore at the mouth of the Raritan River. Striped bass pour through it every spring on the way to spawn in the Hudson River and come back every fall, and the spring run now draws boaters and surfcasters from several states. It's approachable too: small boats and shore anglers catch fish here. Part of the bay is New York water.

When to fish

• Late March to May: the spring striper run. The first fish often show in the last two weeks of March, and by April big pre-spawn bass are feeding on river herring and adult bunker. The bay gets busy with boats by mid-April.
• Late summer: schools of peanut bunker fill the bay and bring bluefish and false albacore with them.
• Mid-October to mid-December: the fall run. Bass return from New England to feed on huge schools of bunker, and in many years the bite lasts close to Christmas. Bigger fish tend to show once the water cools below about 65 degrees.
• The bay also supports fisheries for fluke, weakfish, winter flounder, black sea bass, tautog and porgies.

Where to fish

• The western flats and back of the bay: the first fish of spring look for the warmest water, on flats of 2 to 15 feet with dark mud bottoms. South-facing shorelines warm first.
• Named early-season spots: the Triangle between South Amboy and Staten Island near the Great Beds lighthouse, then the Reach Channel off Princess Bay, Round Shoal, Old Orchard Shoal and the Keyport Flats as the season moves along. Some of these are off Staten Island, in New York water.
• Deeper water: some years, and later in each season, bass stack up in 12 to 30 feet along channel edges and contour changes.
• From shore: in April big bass feed in shallow water close to the beach, and surfcasting along the whole Raritan Bayshore can be excellent. The South Amboy Flats, the Keyport Fishing Pier and the Keansburg Fishing Pier each have their own pages.
• In fall: shallow flats of 2 to 10 feet next to channels, especially early in the day, until the water cools and the fish move deeper.

How to fish it

Boaters chunk clams at anchor, live-line bunker, troll, or cast and jig. In the shallows, walk-the-dog topwater plugs in white or bone draw explosive strikes even in muddy water. When a fish finder shows bass stacked on the bottom, jig flutter spoons or heavy soft-plastic shads straight down; chartreuse is the go-to color when runoff muddies the bay. For trolling, run diving plugs, swim shads, bunker spoons or umbrella rigs a few feet off the bottom at 3 to 4 mph. One On The Water writer says an umbrella rig will often draw strikes when bass ignore everything else.

Getting there

Public ramps include Leonardo State Marina, the Carteret municipal ramp and the Atlantic Highlands municipal marina; call ahead about launch fees. Spring weather on the bay can turn rough quickly, so small-boat anglers should wait for calm days and watch the forecast. You need New Jersey's free saltwater registration in New Jersey water and New York's registry on the New York side. The bay is closed to direct shellfish harvest because of pollution, so check New Jersey's fish consumption advisories before keeping fish.