Fluke (Summer Flounder) Fishing in New Jersey: Sizes and Spots

New Jersey has three fluke size limits, not one, and the right one depends on where you are standing and how you are fishing. Most waters have an 18 inch minimum, Delaware Bay has 17 inches, and shore anglers at Island Beach State Park have 16 inches with a lower daily limit. This guide lays the three rules side by side, explains the lines that separate them and points to the waters where each applies. Fluke is the common name for summer flounder. For how to catch them, see the summer flounder guide.

The three rules

The 2026 season runs from May 4 to September 25 for all three.

• Most New Jersey waters: 18 inches minimum, 3 fish.
• Delaware Bay and its tributaries west of the COLREGS line: 17 inches minimum, 3 fish.
• Island Beach State Park, from the shore: 16 inches minimum, 2 fish. The table defines shore fishing as fishing from a pier, jetty, beach, bank or marsh.

For federal waters beyond the state line, the table tells anglers to check NOAA’s rules.

Where the lines fall

The Delaware Bay line. The bay rule applies west of the COLREGS line, which separates the bay from the Atlantic near Cape May. The table says the bay rule does not include the waters of the Cape May Canal east of the Cape May Ferry Terminal, so that stretch follows the 18 inch rule.

The transport exception. A fluke caught in the bay that is at least 17 inches but under 18 may be carried east through those waters to the George Redding Bridge on Route 47 at the entrance to Wildwood, as long as all fishing gear on the vessel is stowed with rigs removed. The vessel may not stop to fish on the way.

The Island Beach rule. It applies only to anglers fishing from the shore at the park. A boat angler at the same inlet follows the 18 inch rule. A fluke of 16 or 17 inches is legal to keep only if it came from the shore at the park. The rule’s start year appears differently in the sources we read, so we do not state one.

Where to fish each zone

• Island Beach: Island Beach State Park is where the 16 inch shore rule lives. Reports describe fluke staging near Barnegat Inlet in summer.
• Sandy Hook and Raritan Bay: the statewide 18 inch rule. Tackle-shop reports describe summer fluke on the ocean side, the bayside and the back of Raritan Bay. See Sandy Hook.
• Cape May: both the Atlantic and bay rules meet here. See Cape May.
• Delaware Bay shore: the 17 inch rule. A May 2026 report called fluke slower in the bay and better in shallow backwaters behind Wildwood, which sit on the other side of the line. See the Delaware Bay shore guide.
• Across the state line: Delaware’s own rules are in its fluke guide.

Rods and rigs

For the surf, a 9 to 10 foot spinning rod with a bucktail and a soft-plastic or strip teaser is a common choice, according to magazine reports. For bays and back waters, a 6 to 7 foot medium spinning rod works with the same rigs or with a minnow on a bottom rig. These are common practices. The right weight depends on current and depth, and the shared tactics are in our summer flounder guide. Tell us where you fish and we will build the rod.

Measure every fish

Because three limits apply, an undersized keeper in one place is an illegal fish in another. Carry a measuring board. Measure from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. If you fish from a boat across the Bay line, know where the line is before you keep a 17 inch fish.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fluke size limit in New Jersey? 18 inches in most waters, 17 inches in Delaware Bay west of the COLREGS line and 16 inches for shore anglers at Island Beach State Park, with 3 fish in the first two and 2 fish in the third.

When is fluke season? May 4 to September 25 in 2026.

Can I keep a 16 inch fluke from a boat? No. The 16 inch rule is for shore fishing at Island Beach only.

All the saltwater rules are on the New Jersey rules guide.