I was diving in Barnegat Inlet last Monday, at the end of the north jetty where it curves inwards. A little demanding, and you need a boat, though my 16' skiff was adequate. I dive alone, but a friend handles the boat while I'm down.
The water was crystal clear, 76F, with lots of Gulf Stream tropicals, one of which, a Short Bigeye (P. alta) I collected for my aquarium. I saw a Blue Angel, lots of Tangs, large Spiny Puffers, Seahorses, Damsels, juvenile Groupers, Lookdowns, a small shark and dozens of Butterfly Fish. North East winds had pushed a lens of Gulf Stream water inshore. Visibility was about 20+ feet.
I don't recommend this inlet. It can be very difficult unless you know it intimately. Shark River Inlet is much more benign, and has most of the same tropicals if not the same scenery.
The thick slimy green weeds are an occasional phenomenon, and not there all the time. Colder currents bring them in and normal currents eventually take them out. There is a seasonal element involved. The same with jellyfish.
Try Point Pleasant's RR bridge. Like the inlets, diving is possible only for about an hour, consisting of an half hour on either end of peak high tide. Timing must be exact. otherwise, an easy dive, and more to see than L street, I think. Lots of debris from the old bridge which has been colonized by all manner of creatures.
Very easy to find, very easy to dive if you follow the rules. Beautiful mussel beds, bottom life galore and fishes ranging from Striped bass and Bluefish to Seahorses and tiny tropicals, schools of baitfishes, every type of crab imaginable and the occasional lobster.
