This Fall, Brigantine Surf Fishing Runs Through the Front Beach and a Derby Entry

"Nobody wants to see you on this year's Beached Cars of Brigantine Calendar." That was Capt. Andy Grossman's reminder in the October 5 report from Riptide Bait & Tackle, carried by The Fisherman. He followed it with a warning to drive slowly, because the late-September storm had cut many scarps into the beach over the prior week.

The joke works because everyone who fishes the island knows how a fall day usually goes. You have your truck, rods and permits, and the beach runs north toward the inlet. This October it runs a shorter distance. The state has closed the North Brigantine Natural Area to fishing vehicles, so the drivable surf this season is the city's front beach. Getting on it takes two pieces of paper, and the sand you drive on looks different than it did a month ago.

Two Permits That Used to Overlap

Most island anglers hold more than one pass, and in a normal fall that hardly matters. This fall it decides where your truck can go.

On the city side, the 2026 beach tags page lists $200 for permits bought January 1 through May 2 and $300 from May 3 through September 30. The price drops to $100 from October 1 through December 31. Permits for seniors over 60 and for permanently disabled residents cost $100 from May 3 through the end of the year. Active military and veterans get a free permit if they bring the documentation the city lists. The Beach Fee Office asks for a driver's license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance, and the names have to match on all three.

Two rules in the city code matter more in a short season. Every city permit expires December 31 no matter when you bought it, and permits can't be transferred. The code also limits permits to qualifying four-wheel-drive trucks, SUVs and CUVs. All-wheel-drive vehicles, ATVs, side-by-sides, UTVs, low-speed vehicles and motorcycles don't qualify.

The state permit is a separate document. The NJDEP page for the North Brigantine Natural Area says it allows driving into the natural area for fishing only and is not a recreation permit. It also caps the beach at 75 vehicles at a time.

Brigantine sets these rules, and the details can change mid-season. This post is general information, not legal advice, so check your own permit situation with the Beach Fee Office or NJDEP before you drive.

Why the State Pass Is Parked for Now

The advisory at the top of the NJDEP page is short. Because of the late-September nor'easter, the North Brigantine Natural Area is closed to Mobile Sport Fishing Vehicle access due to erosion. It gives no reopening date.

That stretch is the usual draw in the fall. NJDEP describes it as an unmanicured natural beach with open shelly areas next to an inlet nobody has altered. Together with Holgate and Little Beach in the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, it forms the longest stretch of undeveloped barrier island beach on the New Jersey coast. The state lists striped bass, bluefish, flounder, black sea bass and weakfish as its main surf species.

The closure applies to vehicles only. NJDEP says pedestrian access to the oceanfront stays open year-round, and fishing is allowed 24 hours a day along the ocean beach. Anglers 16 and older need to sign up for the free NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry. The natural area's dog restriction, April 1 through September 15, ended last month. So you can still fish the north end this fall if you walk in carrying your gear.

What the Storm Left on the Front Beach

The front beach is open, but it took a hit. NJDEP's October 2 storm assessment rated Brigantine's erosion as major. Here is where the survey found the damage:

• Dune scarps up to 10 feet high between 14th Street North and 9th Street South
• About 40 feet of dune width lost north of the Promenade, and very little berm left, especially north of 9th Street South
• Waves washing over onto roads from 8th Street North through 6th Street North
• Damaged public access at the north end of the Promenade and at the stairs by 9th Street North
• Damaged access points, sand fence and a storm drain at the south end, between Peppercove Lane and Bay Court

On September 27, 6abc reported that several Promenade ramps had collapsed and one was blocked off. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that erosion had cut off beach access at several street ends in Brigantine and other shore towns. Neither source names the affected Brigantine streets, and the city hasn't posted an entrance-by-entrance list. Expect to find out about a blocked crossover when you pull up to it.

That's the practical side of Capt. Andy's calendar joke. The city's rules for driving on the beach apply as usual. The 4x4 zone north of town runs from 15th Street North to the entrance of the North Brigantine Natural Area. The speed limit is 15 mph, and driving on dunes, vegetation or wildlife nesting and feeding areas is prohibited. A berm that's mostly gone and freshly cut dune faces leave less room between the waterline and the places you can't drive.

The Derby Entry Is the Other Half of the Pass

According to the Brigantine Times, the Annual Riptide Striper Derby runs until 5 p.m. on December 18, 2026. The paper laid out a staged September schedule. Front-beach driving was limited to 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. through September 20. Weekday driving opened on Monday, September 21, and 24/7 driving began on Monday, September 28. The storm arrived that same week.

To drive the front beach, Capt. Andy told the paper, you need a valid Brigantine 4x4 permit and a Riptide fall derby permit, you have to be actively fishing, and you have to follow the city's 4x4 rules. He added that Brigantine Police would be monitoring the beaches and asked anglers to "play by the rules so we don't lose the privilege." The derby has five divisions this year: stripers, bluefish, tog, kingfish and black drum. Fish must be caught on the island in places accessible to everyone, and the first three entries in each division win cash prizes. The article doesn't give prize amounts. You can get details at the shop, 1201 W. Brigantine Avenue.

What Riptide Says Is Running

The shop's recent reports in The Fisherman show a season between runs. In the September 28 report, flounder season had just ended with a few keepers up to 4 pounds. Small blues and schoolie stripers were chasing bait through the back bays and into the inlet. The blues were hitting small metals and cut chunks of fresh mullet, and the stripers were taking 4- to 6-inch hard plastic swimmers and Mag Darters.

A week later, the October 5 report said the beaches were "torn up pretty good" and still recovering. Anglers were watching for the first signs of stripers, and a few croakers, kingfish and spot were still in the suds. The same report noted that the shop's Summer Fishing Derby had wrapped up with prizes for top flounder, kingfish and bluefish, and that the shop was dried out and open every day.

Riptide has also switched to fall hours:

1. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. Saturday, 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
3. Sunday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The report says to call the shop if you need something outside those hours. The shop's number is 609-264-0440.

The North End Fix Moves at Permit Speed

On October 9, the Brigantine Times reported that City Council had approved design and permitting for an emergency stone revetment there. The dune has eroded about 40 feet past the end of the Promenade, uncovering an old timber bulkhead that is now helping hold back further erosion. The city engineer recommended stones weighing about 4 to 6 tons each, placed from the corner of the Promenade along the exposed bulkhead and about 50 feet along the eroded dune face.

Mayor Vince Sera described it to the paper as a temporary measure:

"This is not the permanent solution. It is something we can put in place to help protect the area while we continue working on the extension of the seawall at the end of the Promenade and the larger coastal protection projects we have been discussing with NJDEP and the Army Corps."

The city has hired Arthur Chew Consulting for the design. Contractors will be asked for quotes only after NJDEP and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits are in hand, and the announcement doesn't give a construction date. The longer-term timelines are further out. The Northeast Times reported that the island's next routine beach replenishment is scheduled for 2029 and that Mayor Sera was pushing for an emergency project instead. The Inquirer quoted an Army Corps deputy district engineer who said a study of the proposed seawall extension would likely take 18 months.

None of those timelines determines when the state reopens the natural area to fishing vehicles, and NJDEP hasn't announced a date. Until it does, the derby runs to December 18 and the city permit expires December 31. If you want to drive to the surf this fall, you'll need the $100 permit from 265 42nd Street and a derby entry from Riptide.

Our team at Daniel Rallo keeps an eye on the island's beaches, permits and storm repairs because they affect daily life on Brigantine. If you have a question about how this fall's erosion or repair work affects a street end or property near you, reach out and we'll share what we're seeing.