Stripers and black drum converge on Delaware Bay as sea bass season opens

What's Biting

What's Next

The next 48–72 hours set up well for bay anglers. Today's new moon is already driving larger tidal exchanges through Delaware Bay, and that current surge is exactly the window Nick Honachefsky (The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf) pointed to for weakfish. The traditional approach on new moon runs is bucktails and soft plastics drifted along channel edges and grass-bed margins — patience is key, but the timing doesn't get better than this for the rest of the month.

Striper fishing looks to remain strong through the weekend. At 57°F, water is warm enough to keep bass feeding aggressively, and with solid volume still working the beach per The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf, there's no reason to expect a sharp dropoff. First light and the last two hours of the incoming tide have been the most consistent windows; clam rigs in deeper cuts and sloughs are the reliable setup, while night anglers working plugs are still finding quality overslot fish.

Black drum should continue pushing through the mid-bay this week. The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake (via Smith's Bait Shop) places drum at bay-side structure to the south on clams and sand fleas — a pattern that typically tracks north up the bay as the season progresses. Fresh clam is the top producer on the NJ side as well, per The Fisherman — Southern NJ, with an early-morning tide window consistently delivering the bigger fish.

Fluke action is positioned to improve by late in the week if warming trends hold. Buoy 44009's 57°F reading puts Delaware Bay just a few degrees shy of the range where keeper fluke typically turn on in earnest. Inner bay channels and creek mouths fished on the outgoing tide with live killies or bucktail-and-strip combos are worth targeting. Expect the bite to build heading into Memorial Day weekend.

Black sea bass offer an additional option since the May 15 opener, per The Fisherman (Northeast) — a 12.5-inch minimum and 10-fish bag limit applies through June 21. Check NJ Fish & Wildlife News for updated boat ramp and access information before heading out.

Context

Mid-May is the traditional peak of Delaware Bay's spring fishing transition, and the 2026 season is arriving on schedule. Striped bass typically dominate the bayshore from late April through mid-to-late May as the migratory push works northward before summer dispersal. OTW Saltwater's May 12 migration report placed 50-pound class fish stationed off New Jersey ahead of the new moon — suggesting larger, older fish are still holding in the coastal zone rather than pushing through quickly, which bodes well for another week or more of quality bass action along the bayshore.

Black drum are historically one of Delaware Bay's most reliable May arrivals. The species converges on the bay during its spring spawning run, typically showing at bayfront beaches and inlet structure right in this window. Reports from both The Fisherman — Southern NJ and The Fisherman — DE/MD/Chesapeake confirm drum are present at expected locations on the expected schedule — nothing unusual here, just a solid year for a species that thrives in the bay's shallow, warmer-than-ocean waters.

Weakfish have a more complicated history in Delaware Bay. Through the 1980s and into the 1990s, the bay supported one of the most productive weakfish runs on the East Coast, with anglers regularly taking quality fish on new moon tides throughout May and June. Stock declines significantly reduced the fishery over the following two decades, and the species remains well below historical abundance. That said, the new moon window in mid-May remains the best opportunity of the calendar year to encounter weakfish in the bay — Honachefsky's specific call-out in The Fisherman — NJ/DE Surf reflects that institutional fishing knowledge, not a broad recovery signal.

Fluke's slow start is consistent with recent spring patterns for Delaware Bay: keeper action has typically trailed the striper and drum bite by two to three weeks as bay water temperature lags behind the ocean. The 57°F reading at Buoy 44009 is tracking in the right direction, and Memorial Day weekend historically marks the point when the bay fluke bite becomes reliably productive.