Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook is the last stretch of sandy ocean beach at the northern end of the Jersey Shore, a barrier spit inside Gateway National Recreation Area with the Atlantic on one side and Sandy Hook Bay on the other. Surfcasters prize it for its deep, sloping beaches, a tide rip at the tip and quieter bay flats all within a short drive of each other.

When to fish

• Spring and fall: the striped bass runs. Bass push bunker schools against the ocean beaches, and bluefish are mixed in.
• Summer into early fall: false albacore chase spearing and peanut bunker around the Rip at the tip, and fluke are on both the ocean and bay sides. Snapper blues keep kids busy in the bay.

Where to fish

• Ocean beaches at Lots A, B and C and Gunnison Beach: the first stops inside the gate for spring and fall stripers. Lots B and C have jetty structure that holds bait.
• North Beach and the Rip: the churning water off the tip reaches 30 to 50 feet within casting range, and bait flushed out of Raritan Bay draws bluefish and, in season, albies. It's about a mile's walk from North Beach; you can also start at Fisherman's Beach (Lot M) and work north.
• Plum Island (behind Lot B), bay side: stripers school on the flats and along the channel edge, and anglers wade out to reach them.
• Coast Guard Row, bay side: often-overlooked rock piles hold porgies, sea bass and tautog.

How to fish it

For stripers on the ocean beaches, swimming plugs, soft-plastic shads and darters are the standard choices; at the Rip, cast poppers and plugs for bluefish and small metals for albies. Fluke anglers on the ocean side do well floating live killies under a bobber, and bucktails tipped with soft baits work for fluke along the bay-side lots. Small metal lures catch snapper blues.

Getting there

There is no entrance fee. From Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day a cashless beach parking fee applies, so spring and fall fishing costs nothing to park. Fishing after hours (9 p.m. to 6 a.m.) requires the park's Fishing Access Permit, sold on Recreation.gov each March; the 2026 permits sold out. Only saltwater fishing is allowed, and you must register with New Jersey's free Saltwater Recreational Registry. You can't fish on lifeguarded beaches while guards are on duty or within 150 feet of posted bird-nesting areas, and all shellfishing is prohibited in park waters.