Manasquan Inlet Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. I’ve got to level with you – the outlook at Manasquan Inlet is pretty grim. The finder shows no solid green lights across the full 16-day stretch, so we’re in for a long, lean period. The pattern is flat and weak, with only tiny bumps that are barely worth paddling out for. The water temp is sitting at roughly 79° right now, which is a full 5° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s super unusual, like the ocean forgot it’s August.

Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th are dead flat – we’re looking at 0.3ft to 2ft of junk with short, choppy periods. Winds are mostly cross or cross-off, but there’s no energy to work with. Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th stay poor, with swell struggling to hit 2ft and periods dropping as low as 4 seconds. That’s pure windswell.

There’s a bit of a pulse on Sunday the 16th afternoon – swell pushes to 3ft from the S, with a clean cross-off wind from the SSW at 22 mph. The combined energy is still only moderate at 43, though, and the period is a short 4 seconds, so it’s sloppy and won’t hold shape. Monday the 17th sees a touch more consistency, with 3ft from the SSE in the morning and clean NNW winds at 12 mph. The energy is moderate (51), but it’s still ordinary – I’d call it a fish-only day.

We then hit a gap from Monday afternoon through to Saturday the 22nd where conditions are poor to ordinary, with swell mostly under 3ft and onshore or cross winds. The one exception is Thursday the 20th morning – glassy conditions with WNW winds at 3 mph and a 1ft SE swell at 9 seconds. The energy is weak (26), but for a longboard or a foiler, it might be a glassy, soulful session.

The best of a bad bunch comes on Tuesday the 25th afternoon. Swell jumps to 6ft from the E, with a 7-second period and clean cross-off winds from the SSW at 9 mph. The combined energy hits strong at 314, but at 6ft, it’s getting a bit solid for beginners – intermediate and up only. The wind is clean, but the period is short, so don’t expect great shape. Still, this is the standout, and it’s 13 days out, so keep an eye on it – forecasts can change.

Wednesday the 26th offers a repeat with 5ft from the E, moderate energy (197), and glassy NW winds in the afternoon – another clean window, but again, the period is 7 seconds, so it’s lumpy.

Overall, this is a rough run. If you’re desperate, the glassy mornings on the 20th, 25th, and 26th might give you a few rides, but don’t expect much. With decent swell but poor quality and strong winds on a beach/jetty setup, this is more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers on those bigger days. Hang in there – it tends not to stay this flat for long.

Rusty.

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