Delaware fishing reports
170 reports for Delaware — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Striped bass, bluefish rebound as nor'easter clears Delaware Bay
Delaware Bay water sits at 65°F this morning per NOAA's CO-OPS station 8557380, holding in the typical range for late September as the nor'easter that pounded the coast all last week finally clears. The Fisherman's DE/MD/Chesapeake desk reported bluefish still willing to eat metal lures on the incoming tide even through 40-to-50-knot winds at Old Inlet Bait and Tackle, and boats that managed to clear the inlet once the blow passed, per Hook 'em and Cook 'em, put a dozen or so blues in the box. Ahead of the storm, Hands Too Bait and Tackle (New Jersey & Delaware Bay Surf) had striped bass, bluefish and weakfish keeping anglers busy on most tides, and The Fisherman (Northeast)'s regional forecast confirmed New Jersey's fluke season closed September 25 after what it called 'the year of the short fish.'
Nanticoke crappie bite shifts into fall gear
The Nanticoke River's crappie bite is shifting into fall gear, per Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic via The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater: anglers are stringing nice-size crappie on twisters fished under floats as the water cools. For the Christina and Nanticoke systems, that's the seasonal cue worth watching: panfish key in on bunching baitfish as summer's wide-open pattern gives way to more concentrated, structure-oriented feeding.
Weakfish and tog stack up in Delaware Bay ahead of nor'easter
Delaware Bay water held at 64°F this afternoon per NOAA station 8557380. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports a mixed bag of spot, croakers, kingfish, bluefish and weakfish for anglers drifting smaller baits, with tautog now stacked on the bay's structure, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers, fish to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle adds that weakfish are showing more consistently, with a targeted bite building on soft plastics near the lighthouses. At the bay's mouth, Pier 47 Marina says striped bass to 31 inches are feeding hard after dark on peanut bunker and mullet pushed from the back bays, working paddletails, rubber shads and Mag Darters around lighted docks and sod banks, with higher tides outproducing the daytime bite. Port Mahon is also giving up bluefish on cut bait and metal, per Smith's Bait Shop.
Delaware Bay tautog and weakfish build as fall settles in
NOAA's Delaware Bay gauge (station 8557380) logged 61.3°F this morning. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports tautog have moved into the bay in numbers, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers around structure, alongside a mixed bag of blues, croaker, spot and kingfish for anglers drifting smaller baits. Weakfish are showing too: Big Dave's Tackle, working the same stretch of the bay, says a targeted bite is building on soft plastics near the lighthouses. On the Delaware side, Eric Burnley notes big flounder are still coming, headlined by a 13-pound fish taken out of Lewes with Capt. Cary Evans, though this week's wind kept many boats tied to the dock.
Full moon tides swing wide as Delaware Bay pier access shrinks
Delaware Bay held at 63.3°F this morning at the NOAA CO-OPS station in Lewes, comfortably in range for the fall transition, with the Full Moon widening today's tide swing. The bigger news for shore anglers is access, not water: Delaware Surf Fishing reports another 30 feet of the Cape Henlopen fishing pier closed off overnight, pushing the closed section past 200 feet from the tip — real ground lost for surfcasters working that structure as the season turns.
Nanticoke crappie turn on as DE flows settle low and steady
USGS gauge 01483155 reads 3.29 cfs and 61°F, while gauge 01491000 reads 19.5 cfs and 64°F — both low, stable base flows typical of late September across Delaware's freshwater systems. Per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, Smith's Bait Shop in Leipsic reports the bite has "really started shifting into fall mode," especially crappie, with anglers stringing nice-size fish on the Nanticoke River on twisters fished under floats.
Tautog and weakfish build as Delaware Bay turns toward fall
Delaware Bay held at 66.9°F this morning per NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380, plenty warm enough to keep the bay's fall mixed bag going. Higbee's Bait and Tackle, via The Fisherman — Southern NJ, has tautog moving onto bay structure in numbers, taking sand fleas, green crabs and fiddlers with fish to 4 pounds, while Big Dave's Tackle reports weakfish starting to show for anglers throwing soft plastics near the lighthouses. Down at Lewes, The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake credits Frank Falcone's 13-pound flounder aboard the Grizzly with Capt. Cary Evans as the week's headline fish, and Hook 'em and Cook 'em notes bluefish mixing in at Indian River Inlet.
Tautog Move Onto Delaware Bay Structure as Fall Bite Builds
Delaware Bay is holding at 70.9°F this morning, per our NOAA CO-OPS reading, as the water shifts into its fall structure pattern. Higbee's Bait and Tackle reports the bay giving up a mixed bag of blues and weakfish to anglers drifting smaller baits, while tautog have moved onto the bay's structure, taking sand fleas, green crabs, and fiddlers at anchor — fish reported to 4 pounds. Big Dave's Tackle adds that weakfish are showing consistently for anglers drifting baits, with a targeted soft-plastic bite developing near the lighthouses.
Nanticoke Crappie Bite Turns On With Fall Shift
Fall is settling into Delaware's freshwater fisheries, and the Nanticoke River is leading the way. Smith Bait and Tackle in Leipsic, cited in The Fisherman — NJ/DE Freshwater, reports anglers working the Nanticoke are coming home with stringers of nice crappie, taken on twister jigs fished under floats, the clearest sign yet that the fall transition has fish grouping up and feeding. The same shop report also noted largemouth bass turning on with minnows at other Delaware ponds, another marker that the broader seasonal shift is underway statewide.
Weakfish and tautog keep Delaware Bay anglers busy this week
Delaware Bay water held at 73.9°F at NOAA CO-OPS station 8557380 overnight, still on the warm side for late September. Fluke remain the mainstay: Big Dave's Tackle reports keeper flounder to 20 inches from EP Tower on live minnows, while Smith's Bait Shop notes flounder, croaker and bluefish working the reef sites out of Port Mahon on cut bait and Gulp-tipped bucktails. The bigger story for bay anglers is weakfish — The Fisherman's NJ/DE Surf report has larger fish up to 24 to 25 inches striking along the Delaware Bayshore beaches, worth targeting on peeler crab or a yellow bucktail. Tautog are staging around structure too, with green crabs producing at bridges and jetty rock piles per Big Dave's Tackle and the Southern NJ surf reports.
Fall Feeding Window Opens on the Christina and Nanticoke
No buoy or gauge readings came back for the Christina and Nanticoke this cycle, so this report leans on seasonal pattern and technique rather than a fresh temp or flow number. Largemouth bass are entering the classic fall transition — moving off deep summer cover toward baitfish schools in open water and along channel edges, a shift Tactical Bassin's fall coverage this week ties to cooling surface temps and shad movement nationwide. Fishing the Midwest likewise notes fish relocating toward "the green" — remaining living weed growth — as summer vegetation dies back, a pattern that applies to Delaware's tidal freshwater stretches as much as it does further north. Expect crappie and bluegill to bunch near the same transitional cover, with channel catfish staying steady on bottom structure. Chain pickerel should hold tight to remaining grass edges. Confirm current DE freshwater regs before harvesting.
Flounder Still Producing Doormats as Delaware Bay Season Nears Close
A 13-pound Delaware doormat fluke took top-fish honors this week, per The Fisherman (Northeast), with a 13.5-pounder right behind it as anglers work reefs, wrecks, and ocean structure before New Jersey's summer flounder season closes September 25. Inside Delaware Bay, Smith's Bait Shop (via The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake) reports flounder, blues, and croaker off Port Mahon's reef sites, with the Bowers Beach jetties adding trout to the mix. Weakfish are showing size along the Delaware Bayshore beaches, with fish up to 24-25 inches striking per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf, alongside steady croaker and kingfish action. Farther out, wrecks and the Fenwick Shoal area are giving up triggerfish, sheepshead, and Spanish mackerel on trolled spoons. Striped bass remain the wildcard — typically a slower player in the Bay through mid-September before cooling water triggers the fall push. Check current DNREC regulations before harvesting.