Delaware flathead record highlights a strong catfish and perch bite

What's Biting

What's Next

With USGS gauge 01493500 reading 3.78 cfs on the Nanticoke — well below average for mid-June — water clarity will remain high across most of the drainage until a meaningful rain event arrives. The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater confirms the regional picture: water levels dropping, no significant rain in the near forecast. That low, clear condition changes tactics across the board.

**Catfish:** The flathead and channel catfish bite should hold strong and may intensify as nighttime temperatures stay warm. The waning crescent moon means darker nights through the weekend — a genuine plus for nighttime catfish forays, as flatheads in particular move and feed more aggressively when ambient light is low. Fresh chunk bait (shad or cut bait) fished on the bottom in 10–15 feet near deep bends and woody structure after dark is the approach that has been producing at Augustine Beach, per Captain Bone's (The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake). On the tidal Christina and lower Nanticoke reaches, plan trips around moving water — the last two hours of incoming and first two hours of outgoing tend to concentrate fish and carry scent.

**White perch and striped bass:** Captain Bone's has been seeing steady perch and occasional striped bass on bloodworms, Fishbites, and cut bait between Augustine Beach and Woodland Beach. As water warms into the upper 70s, perch tend to stack near bridge pilings, dock edges, and channel margins — target them at first light or dusk. Any stripers still holding in the tidal freshwater reaches of the Christina are likely beginning their slide back toward saltwater; fish the upper tidal creeks now while the opportunity lasts.

**Bass and crappie:** Post-spawn bass are feeding at Garrisons, Massey Mills, and surrounding Nanticoke-area waters per Smith's Bait and Tackle in Leipsic (The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater). Expect the productive window to tighten to two daily slots — first light and the hour before dark — as the week progresses. Soft-plastic finesse rigs worked along weed edges and deeper creek mouths will outperform midday presentations. Crappie have already shifted to the early-and-late summer rhythm; shaded docks and submerged timber during those same low-light windows are the play.

**Snakehead:** A handful of snakeheads remain active near dam spillways, per Smith's Bait. Warming water through late June will push them into thick surface vegetation; frog and hollow-body topwater presentations over mats should draw explosive strikes, especially on overcast mornings.

Context

Mid-June on the Christina and Nanticoke drainages is typically a transition month — the spring push has peaked, bass are exiting the spawn, and warmwater species like catfish and perch settle into their summer rhythms. The 2026 season appears largely on schedule, with one historic exception.

Scott Failor's 36.20-pound Delaware State Record Flathead Catfish from Augustine Beach, reported by Captain Bone's in The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake, is a genuine landmark. Flathead catfish have expanded their range substantially in Delaware's tidal river systems over the past two decades, and while large fish have become increasingly common, a record-class fish of this size signals that the Christina drainage's flathead population has matured into full trophy territory. It is the kind of catch that reframes expectations for the river system going forward.

The low-flow reading on USGS gauge 01493500 — 3.78 cfs on the Nanticoke near Bridgeville — is on the dry side for mid-June and mirrors the broader regional drought pattern confirmed by The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater: water levels dropping across most streams, no meaningful rain on the horizon as of the June 7 reporting window. In dry early-summer years, Delaware's tidal freshwater rivers concentrate warmwater species in deeper channels and cooler tributary confluences, which can actually focus the bite for anglers who know the system, even as fish become harder to locate across flats and shallows.

Post-spawn bass actively feeding at Garrisons, Massey Mills, and surrounding Nanticoke-area waters — per Smith's Bait and Tackle in Leipsic — is right on schedule. Largemouth in southern Delaware typically complete spawning by late May into early June, and the recovery feeding window that follows is often the year's second-best bass bite. Crappie adopting an early-and-late summer pattern at this point is equally expected.

One area where current reporting is thinner than seasonal norms would suggest: yellow perch, which typically supports solid tidal-creek fishing in the Christina drainage through summer. No specific reports this week — check locally before targeting them specifically.