Delaware Bay stripers load up on sod banks as nor'easter clears

What's biting

What's next

Fin-Atics in Ocean City called this week a washout between the wind and flooding, but noted peanut bunker, mullet and spearing are still thick in the back bays, the exact bait pile that should turn stripers on once the weather settles. Old Inlet Bait and Tackle picked up bluefish on metal lures during the incoming water even through the blow, a sign fish stayed active through the rough stretch. The Fisherman's NJ/DE Bay Region forecast notes the first fall reports of striped bass over 50 inches already showing along the coast, with anglers also getting back into black sea bass as the season turns.

With the nor'easter clearing and winds swinging northwest, expect the sod banks and back-bay flats to fire first on the turn of the tide, especially around the high near 1:51 PM. The waning gibbous moon is still throwing strong tidal swings left over from last week's full moon, which should keep the flood-tide pushes healthy over the next few days and the weekend looking like the better window to fish.

Context

This is right on schedule for the Delaware Bay's fall transition: tautog moving onto structure, striped bass staging on bait in the back bays and sod banks, and black sea bass still producing on the wrecks before the water cools further. A fresh nor'easter this early in October is typical for the mid-Atlantic fall run and often works in the fishery's favor, stirring bait and triggering the first real push of migratory stripers along the bay and coast.