Joe,
I try to dive every weekend when the air temperatures are above 40-45 and the vis might be good.
With the rain and weather last year, and other personal / work commitments —-not many dives
Best shore dives we have done:
Shark River / Inlet
Manasquan River / Inlet
Wrecks out of those inlets have better vis and not as tide dependent.
I have never done Barnegat Inlet but it is on my todo list.
The problem with Barnegat is the longer drive.
South NJ , the vis is usually poor.
Greg