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Broadkill River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

A tidal Delaware Bay river from Milton to Roosevelt Inlet, ranked among Delaware's three most-fished rivers in DNREC's 2018 survey.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 1:15 AM
Air / High
60 / 61 F
Wind
ENE 14 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8557380, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Broadkill River is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 14 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 61. Tides: high 6:56 AM and 7:15 PM, low 12:35 AM and 12:59 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 64 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Striped bassExcellent

Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

Tomorrow: Similar at 59 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Delaware requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $8.50 for residents. What a Delaware licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing striped bass here? Check the size and bag limits with DNREC before you keep anything. The season dates for Delaware, read off the agency, are on the Delaware seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8557380 (Lewes, DE). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:35 AM0.6 ft
HIGH6:56 AM4.4 ft
LOW12:59 PM0.6 ft
HIGH7:15 PM4.4 ft
Sat
LOW1:15 AM0.4 ft
HIGH7:38 AM4.8 ft
LOW1:47 PM0.3 ft
HIGH8:00 PM4.5 ft

Indian River tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp60 F
High / Low61 / 47 F
WindENE 14-19 mph
Pressure1026.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain24% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:18 / 18:11
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~64 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Broadkill River this week

The best day on Broadkill River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:56 AM-4:56 AM
Sun
07:18 to 18:11
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 15 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Broadkill River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Spring and fall are the shoreline seasons: ODWC points to windblown points, riprap and dams during the May shad spawn and the pre-winter feed.

When to come: the Broadkill River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 64 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~64 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Broadkill River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 63 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 69 F, wind to 15 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

Delaware requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Delaware fishing license, which is also required to crab. DNREC's tidal limits (updated September 23, 2026): striped bass 1 a day at 28 to 31 inches, or 20 to 24 inches from July 1 to August 31 in the Delaware Bay, River and tributaries; white perch 8-inch minimum, no daily limit; summer flounder 4 a day, 16 inches through May 31 and 17.5 inches from June 1. Blue crab pots are allowed March 1 to November 30.

Access

Division of Fish and Wildlife ramps at Milton (Broadkill River, one lane) and Lewes (Delaware Bay, six lanes).

About this water

A tidal river in Sussex County, Delaware, reaching Delaware Bay through Roosevelt Inlet near Lewes; its watershed covers 68,500 acres.

Fishing Broadkill River: the full guide

From Milton to the bay

The Broadkill is a tidal river in Sussex County that meets Roosevelt Inlet near Lewes; DNREC's waterway program describes work near the intersection of the Broadkill River and Roosevelt Inlet. DNREC's wetland assessment puts the watershed at 68,500 acres, about a fifth of it wetland. In DNREC's 2018 statewide angler survey, the Broadkill joined the Nanticoke system and the C&D Canal as the three most-fished rivers, and it was most popular with non-resident anglers, likely because it is close to the coastal resorts.

What to expect

DNREC publishes no species list for the Broadkill alone. Statewide, it describes white perch as very abundant in the Delaware Bay estuary and partial to brackish river water, and blue crabs as common in all of Delaware's tidal waters. Striped bass, summer flounder and white perch fall under Delaware's tidal rules.

Access along the river

The Division of Fish and Wildlife's tidal access list includes Milton on the Broadkill, a one-lane ramp with an ADA-accessible courtesy dock and no fishing pier, and Lewes on Delaware Bay, with six lanes. The 2018 survey report notes public access near the first dam upstream and near the mouth, with many miles of largely undeveloped shoreline in between.

Common questions

Where can I launch a boat?

The state ramp at Milton is on the river itself; the six-lane Lewes ramp is on Delaware Bay.

Do I need a license to crab?

Yes. DNREC requires a fishing license to crab in all Delaware waters.

Is the Broadkill a busy river?

DNREC's 2018 angler survey ranked it among Delaware's three most-fished rivers, with heavy use by non-residents.

Is fishing good at Broadkill River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Rehoboth Bay9 miIndian River Inlet14 miCape May18 miDelaware Bay19 miNanticoke River22 miKillens Pond23 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8557380 β€” Lewes, DE
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 38.7800, -75.2000 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 5, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 5, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.