Fortescue Beach
Fortescue, NJ
Fortescue earned the nickname weakfish capital of the world during its fishing heyday in the late 1970s and 1980s, when boats packed the bay so tightly during the run that locals joked you could walk from one to the next. The population crashed after overfishing caught up with it by 1990, but the half mile beach and the fishing village atmosphere around it never really left.
A genuine piece of Jersey fishing history that still draws anglers even after the weakfish crash, though the beach itself is modest and the town's best days are more legend than current reality.
How we score beachesAsk around at the marina about what's actually biting before you set up. Croaker and undersized weakfish, locally called spikes, are the more realistic catch these days than the legendary runs of decades past.
Parking is informal and simple, in keeping with the beach's low key, unpolished character.
A flat, short walk from parking leads to the beach, with no boardwalk or paved path, surrounded by marshland on either side.
Bay water warms into the mid to upper 70s by August. The surrounding marsh supports sandpipers, eagles, and horseshoe crabs year round, with spring bringing the heaviest crab and shorebird activity.
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