Delaware fishing reports
219 reports for Delaware — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Bay tog and perch bite holds as stripers hold back
Delaware Bay water sits at 68°F at station 8557380, still warm for mid-October, and that is shaping a patchy bite. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, Big Dave's Tackle says the bay is holding on despite poor weather, with sheepshead at the lighthouses and a few kingfish, croakers and weakfish for boaters drifting deeper channels. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports big white perch in the Fortescue-area creeks on bloodworms. Striper activity there has stayed mostly in the back bays from Ocean City down to Wildwood.
Crappie and perch turn on as cooler water arrives
Cooler water is pushing Delaware's panfish onto the feed. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic says bass fishing in Garrisons, Lums Pond and Silver Lake slowed this past week, while crappie and perch fishing picked up in most ponds and at dam spillways. Small minnows and jig combinations accounted for the fish. Gauge readings back up the cooling trend: USGS gauge 01483155 shows 64°F, and gauge 01491000 reads 68°F.
Delaware Bay holds white perch and kingfish as stripers lag
Water temperature at the Delaware Bay CO-OPS station 8557380 read 67.5°F on the afternoon of October 14, still warm for mid-October. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, Big Dave's Tackle says Delaware Bay action is holding on despite poor weather. Sheepshead are still being taken by the lighthouses, and a few kingfish, croakers and weakfish turn up for boaters drifting the deeper channels. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports big white perch in the Fortescue creeks on bloodworms. Striper activity there has stayed mostly in the back bays of the barrier islands.
Crappie and perch pick up as cooler water settles in
Cooler water is turning on the pond bite across Delaware. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, Smith Bait and Tackle in Leipsic reports bass fishing in Garrisons, Lums Pond and Silver Lake slowed this past week, while crappie and perch fishing picked up in most ponds and dam spillways, with small minnows and jig combinations taking the fish. Our gauge readings back up the shift: USGS gauge 01483155 shows 62°F and gauge 01491000 shows 65°F this morning, comfortably in the range where crappie group up and feed.
Delaware Bay fall bite builds as the weather window opens
Delaware Bay water sat at 66.7°F at the NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380 reading this morning, still warm enough to keep late-season bay fish feeding. Per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, action in Delaware Bay has held on despite poor weather, with kingfish, croakers and a few weakfish found by boaters drifting deeper channels. Big Dave's Tackle also noted limited striper activity, mostly in the back bays of the barrier islands. The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf reported good back-bay striper fishing on soft plastics, including fish in the 40 to 46 inch range, plus an honest blitz at Hereford Inlet.
Delaware's October bite shifts as fall water cools down
Water in the Christina and Nanticoke area is cooling into the mid 60s, which is the point where fall fishing tends to wake up. USGS gauge 01491000 reads 66°F with 35.5 cfs, gauge 01585075 reads 65°F, and gauge 01483155 reads 63°F, all observed the evening of October 13. Flows at the smaller gauges are very low, at 1.27 cfs and 2.39 cfs, so expect clear, skinny water and fish that spook easily. Per Tactical Bassin (blog), October bass fishing rewards a slow, shallow approach, with jigs, soft jerkbaits and topwater working around hard structure like dock pilings, laydowns and rocks. Fishing the Midwest notes that fish often relocate to the greenest weeds still standing as other weeds die back in the fall.
Cooling water pulls bass shallow across Christina and Nanticoke
Gauge readings put water at 62 to 64°F this afternoon, a range where fall bass feed hard and move toward shallow cover. Tactical Bassin's October guidance points to the same pattern: fish sit near hard structure like dock pilings, laydowns and rocks, and respond to jigs, soft jerkbaits and topwater fished shallow. Flow is very low at the USGS gauges we track, 1.34 cfs at 01483155 and 11.4 cfs at 01493500, so expect clear, slow water and wary fish in the skinniest spots.
Cooler water switches on crappie and bass in the Delaware creeks
Cooler water has put crappie and perch on the feed across Delaware this week. The Fisherman's DE freshwater report from Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic says bass fishing in Garrisons, Lums Pond and Silver Lake slowed, while crappie and perch picked up in most ponds and at dam spillways. Small minnows and jig combinations accounted for the fish. Our USGS gauges read 60 to 63°F where temperature is reported: 60°F at gauge 01483155, 61°F at gauge 01585075 and 63°F at gauge 01491000. That is a comfortable range for a fall crappie bite. Flows are low at 1.49 cfs and 2.07 cfs on the first two gauges, 38.1 cfs on 01491000 and 23.7 cfs on 01493500, so the creeks are clear and easy to read.
Cooling creeks put Delaware panfish and bass on the feed
Gauge readings across the Christina and Nanticoke area show water temperatures in the low to mid 60s, with USGS gauge 01483155 at 62°F and gauge 01491000 at 65°F. That is cool enough to switch fall freshwater fish on. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports bass fishing in local ponds has slowed, while crappie and perch have picked up around ponds and dam spillways. Small minnows and jig combinations accounted for the fish.
Christina and Nanticoke fall bite builds as water cools
Gauge readings show the water cooling into a comfortable fall range. USGS gauge 01483155 reports 63°F with only 2.97 cfs, and gauge 01585075 reads 65°F at 4.48 cfs. Gauge 01491000 shows 66°F at 39.9 cfs. Gauge 01493500 shows 68.3 cfs but no temperature. Flows are low and steady, so clear water and spooky fish are the likely rule. The Fisherman (DE/MD/Chesapeake) reports that Smith's Bait Shop is seeing small stripers under bridges over the tidal creeks and rivers, along with white perch on bloodworms, even with weather keeping boats off the open bay. The Fisherman (Southern NJ) notes Delaware Bay creeks giving up big white perch on bloodworms and stripers holding in the back bays.
Fall cooling brings fish tight to structure on Delaware waters
Gauge 01483155 read 62°F on a thin 2.8 cfs flow in the evening of October 11, and gauge 01491000 showed 64°F at 20.7 cfs. Those are cooling, low-water numbers, which usually push fish to hold near cover and deeper pockets rather than roam. Per Tactical Bassin this week, fall fish position in predictable ways, sitting near hard structure such as dock pilings, laydown trees and rocks, and jigs are a go-to for the bigger bites. Fishing the Midwest adds that as weeds die back in the fall, baitfish and gamefish relocate to the green weeds that remain, so living vegetation is a sensible starting point.
Fall trout and smallmouth window opens as water cools
Gauge readings across the region show water temperatures in the low 60s this week: 61°F at USGS gauge 01483155, 62°F at USGS gauge 01585075 and 63°F at USGS gauge 01491000. That is a comfortable range for Smallmouth Bass and for stocked trout, and it lines up with the fall pattern described by Tactical Bassin (blog), which is pointing anglers toward jigs, soft jerkbaits and topwater fished shallow around hard structure such as dock pilings, laydowns and rocks. Fishing the Midwest adds that weeds are dying back as waters cool, so green, living weed is where baitfish and gamefish tend to stack up. Flows are low. USGS gauge 01483155 is reading 1.74 cfs, gauge 01491000 is at 17.3 cfs and gauge 01493500 is at 6.19 cfs, so expect clear, skinny water where fish spook easily.