NJ waters we can source — not a fake boat database
Cast Cruise is based in Ocean County. Public reefs, 2026 harvest windows, and the free saltwater registry — cited to NJDEP — then routed to the electronics you need to run them. We will not invent wrecks, bite calendars, or a hull encyclopedia with no manufacturer data.
New Jersey’s public reefs are named NJDEP Fish & Wildlife artificial reef sites — state-built fishing and diving structure with published maps and DGPS corners. Coordinates on these pages are copied from DEP, not from Cast Cruise surveys. The maps are marked not for navigational purposes. Season pages list 2026 legal harvest windows, not bite logs.
rules
2026 New Jersey saltwater seasons — when harvest is legal
These are 2026 NJDEP printed recreational open seasons — legal keep-windows, not a bite forecast. Size and bag still live on Attention Anglers 2026. We will not pretend Cast Cruise sampled these reefs.
reef
Axel Carlson Reef — public NJ artificial reef off Mantoloking
Axel Carlson is a public NJDEP Fish & Wildlife artificial reef about 2 nautical miles off Mantoloking. It is not a secret wreck. Site corners, depths, and deployments come from state PDFs that are marked not for navigation.
wreck
Barnegat Light Reef — the public ‘wreck’ off Barnegat, NJ
Searches for ‘Barnegat Light wreck’ usually mean Barnegat Light Reef, a public NJDEP artificial reef about 3 nautical miles off Barnegat. Official corners, the 2023 TIBOR tug, and other named drops are on state PDFs — not a secret GPS.
reef
Cape May Reef — public NJ reef 8.5 nm off Cape May
Cape May Reef is a public NJDEP site 8.5 nm off Cape May. The August 2021 map lists 5.4 sq mi and 42–74 ft, including Red Oak and the 2019 caisson gate. Ignore the program page’s 39° F/V CAT line.
reef
Garden State North Reef — public NJ reef 6.5 nm off Harvey Cedars
Garden State North is a public NJDEP reef 6.5 nautical miles off Harvey Cedars. The August 2021 map lists 1.5 sq mi and 65–83 ft, including the 247-foot tanker A.H. Dumont and 2023 scalloper F/V STORM.
reef
Garden State South Reef — public NJ reef 5.1 nm off Spray Beach
Garden State South is a public NJDEP reef 5.1 nautical miles off Spray Beach. The May 2022 map lists 0.7 sq mi and 56–65 ft. Same 5.1 nm figure on reeflocs.pdf. Not Garden State North.
reef
Manasquan Inlet Reef — public NJ reef 1.5 nm off the inlet
Manasquan Inlet Reef is a public NJDEP site about 1.5 nautical miles offshore. The August 2021 map lists 1.0 sq mi and 65–82 ft. Named drops include the 140-foot Carters Creek and the tug Ranger — not secret wrecks.
rules
New Jersey saltwater fishing rules — registry, not a license
New Jersey does not sell a saltwater fishing license. Anglers 16 and older must register free with NJSRRP. Size, season, and bag limits live on the current Marine Digest — we will not freeze them on this page.
reef
Sandy Hook Reef — public NJ reef 1.4 nm off Sea Bright
Sandy Hook Reef is a public NJDEP artificial reef 1.4 nautical miles off Sea Bright. The August 2021 map lists 1.8 sq mi and 32–60 ft — the shallowest of the popular North Jersey public reefs.
reef
Sea Girt Reef — public NJ reef 3.5 nm off Sea Girt
Sea Girt Reef is a public NJDEP artificial reef about 3.5–3.6 nautical miles off Sea Girt. The August 2021 map lists 1.4 sq mi and 57–72 ft, with ships, subway cars, and concrete — not a secret wreck.
reef
Atlantic City Reef — public NJ reef off Atlantic City
Atlantic City Reef is a public NJDEP site. reeflocs.pdf says 12.2 nm off Atlantic City; the August 2021 map says 8.5 nm, 5.1 sq mi, and 51–95 ft. Use the file you downloaded today.
reef
Deepwater Reef — public NJ reef 23.6 nm off Ocean City
Deepwater Reef is a public NJDEP offshore site. reeflocs.pdf says 23.6 nm off Ocean City NJ; the August 2021 map says 23 nm, 1.0 sq mi, and 93–135 ft. This is not a bay-boat trip.
reef
Delaware Bay Reef — public NJ estuarine reef, not ocean
Delaware Bay Reef is a public NJDEP site in the bay, not the ocean. The August 2021 map lists 5.3 nm, 1.1 sq mi, and 19–35 ft, with one named 2018 dredge-rock drop. 2026 fluke here is 3 at 17 in.
reef
Great Egg Reef — public NJ reef off Atlantic City
Great Egg Reef is a public NJDEP site off Atlantic City. reeflocs.pdf says 7.2 nm; the August 2021 map says 7.0 nm, 1.0 sq mi, and 45–70 ft. Named pieces include the 165-foot tanker barge Rothenbach II.
reef
Little Egg Reef — public NJ reef off Holgate
Little Egg Reef is a public NJDEP site off Holgate. reeflocs.pdf says 4.0 nm; the May 2022 map says 3.8 nm, 2.0 sq mi, and 52–59 ft. January 2021 barge/tug/push-boat drops are on the reef PDF.
reef
Ocean City Reef — public NJ reef 4.5 nm off Ocean City
Ocean City Reef is a public NJDEP site 4.5 nm off Ocean City, NJ. The May 2022 map lists 1.4 sq mi and 56–66 ft. 2023–2024 Eternal Reef Ball drops are on the state program page.
reef
Shark River Reef — public NJ reef ~15 nm off Manasquan
Shark River Reef is a public NJDEP offshore reef. reeflocs.pdf says 15.6 nm off Manasquan; the August 2021 map says 14.8 nm, 0.8 sq mi, and 119–127 ft. This is not the Shark River inlet.
reef
Townsends Inlet Reef — public NJ reef 3.8 nm off Avalon
Townsends Inlet Reef is a public NJDEP site 3.8 nm off Avalon. The August 2021 map lists 0.7 sq mi and 49–65 ft. Named trawlers and the tug Bay Jack are on the reef PDF.
reef
Wildwood Reef — public NJ reef 4.5 nm off Wildwood
Wildwood Reef is a public NJDEP site 4.5 nm off Wildwood. The August 2021 map lists 3.2 sq mi and 42–63 ft. reeflocs.pdf’s unlabeled 38°57′ block is this site, not Cape May.
Official distance, depth, and area
Figures come from the NJDEP fact rows on each Cast Cruise page (reef map + reeflocs.pdf). A dash means we have not written that page yet — use the DEP PDF. When two state files disagree by a tenth of a mile, trust the PDF you download today.
North / Monmouth
| Reef | Official distance | Depth | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Hook | 1.4 nm off Sea Bright (reeflocs.pdf and August 2021 map) | 32–60 ft (August 2021 map); legend bands 30–40, 40–50, 50–60 ft | 1.8 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Shark River | 15.6 nm off Manasquan on reeflocs.pdf; 14.8 nm on the August 2021 map | 119–127 ft (August 2021 map); legend bands 110–120 and 120–130 ft | 0.8 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Sea Girt | 3.6 nm off Sea Girt on reeflocs.pdf; 3.5 nm on the August 2021 map | 57–72 ft (August 2021 map); depth bands 50–80 ft on the legend | 1.4 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Manasquan Inlet | 1.5 nm (August 2021 map) | 65–82 ft (August 2021 map) | 1.0 square mile (August 2021 map) |
Ocean / LBI
| Reef | Official distance | Depth | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axel Carlson | 2.0 nm off Mantoloking on NJ DEP reeflocs.pdf; 2.1 nm on the August 2021 Axel Carlson map | 66–82 ft on the August 2021 map (60–70 ft and 70–80 ft bands) | 5.2 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Barnegat Light | 3.1 nm off Barnegat on reeflocs.pdf; 3.0 nm on the August 2021 map | 46–58 ft on the August 2021 map (40–50 ft and 50–60 ft bands) | 1.1 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Garden State North | 6.5 nm off Harvey Cedars (reeflocs.pdf and August 2021 map) | 65–83 ft (August 2021 map) | 1.5 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Garden State South | 5.1 nm off Spray Beach (reeflocs.pdf and May 2022 map) | 56–65 ft (May 2022 map); legend bands 50–60 and 60–70 ft | 0.7 square miles (May 2022 map) |
| Little Egg | 4.0 nm off Holgate on reeflocs.pdf; 3.8 nm on the May 2022 map | 52–59 ft (May 2022 map) | 2.0 square miles (May 2022 map) |
South
| Reef | Official distance | Depth | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic City | 12.2 nm off Atlantic City on reeflocs.pdf; 8.5 nm on the August 2021 map | 51–95 ft (August 2021 map); legend bands 50–100 ft | 5.1 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Great Egg | 7.2 nm off Atlantic City on reeflocs.pdf; 7.0 nm on the August 2021 map | 45–70 ft (August 2021 map); legend bands 40–70 ft | 1.0 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Ocean City | 4.5 nm off Ocean City NJ (reeflocs.pdf and May 2022 map) | 56–66 ft (May 2022 map) | 1.4 square miles (May 2022 map) |
| Townsends Inlet | 3.8 nm off Avalon NJ (reeflocs.pdf and August 2021 map) | 49–65 ft (August 2021 map) | 0.7 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Deepwater | 23.6 nm off Ocean City NJ on reeflocs.pdf; 23 nm on the August 2021 map | 93–135 ft (August 2021 map); legend bands 90–140 ft | 1.0 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Wildwood | 4.5 nm off Wildwood (reeflocs.pdf and August 2021 map) | 42–63 ft (August 2021 map) | 3.2 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Cape May | 8.5 nm off Cape May (reeflocs.pdf and August 2021 map) | 42–74 ft (August 2021 map) | 5.4 square miles (August 2021 map) |
| Delaware Bay | 5.3 nm on the August 2021 map (from the map block; not the ocean reeflocs sheet) | 19–35 ft (August 2021 map) | 1.1 square miles (August 2021 map) |
What this hub is
NJDEP Fish & Wildlife has run an artificial reef program since 1984. The state posts DGPS corners, printable maps, and named deployments. Those files are public. That is the dataset we will build from.
Pages on this site copy a small, cited slice of that record, label it not-for-navigation, and send you to the live PDF. We do not scrape forums for “secret” numbers.
What this hub is not
- Not a boat-model database. A hull catalog without live manufacturer specs is fake conversion. If we add boats later, each row needs an official brochure or a first-party review.
- Not a channel guide. Barnegat Inlet and Manasquan Inlet move. Use NOAA and USCG.
- Not frozen bag limits. Size and season live on the 2026 Marine Digest.
Official maps (DEP PDFs)
Cast Cruise pages exist where we have written sourced copy. Every other named NJ reef still has a state map. Prefer the PDF over a screenshot on social.
- Sandy Hook — Cast Cruise page
- Shark River — Cast Cruise page
- Sea Girt — Cast Cruise page
- Manasquan Inlet — Cast Cruise page
- Axel Carlson — Cast Cruise page
- Barnegat Light — Cast Cruise page
- Garden State North — Cast Cruise page
- Garden State South — Cast Cruise page
- Little Egg — Cast Cruise page
- Atlantic City — Cast Cruise page
- Great Egg — Cast Cruise page
- Ocean City — Cast Cruise page
- Townsends Inlet — Cast Cruise page
- Deepwater — Cast Cruise page
- Wildwood — Cast Cruise page
- Cape May — Cast Cruise page
- Delaware Bay — Cast Cruise page
Full 2022 NJ Artificial Reef Guide (PDF) · Interactive deployment map
NJ waters FAQ
Do I need a New Jersey saltwater fishing license?
Is Barnegat Light wreck different from Barnegat Light Reef?
Can I navigate with these reef maps?
When are black sea bass and tautog open in 2026?
Registry vs license · Barnegat Light Reef · 2026 sea bass & tautog windows
Plotter, VHF, then the rest
Local water pages only pay off if they send a real buyer to marine electronics — the Cast Cruise equivalent of a sim bay, not a $10 accessory.