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Delaware Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The bay that grows weakfish: Delaware Bay runs stripers, drum and flounder across 800 square miles of shoals.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Next tide
Low 9:40 PM
Air / High
79 / 79 F
Wind
NNE 5 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8555889, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 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.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Delaware Bay lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 5 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 79. Tides: high 2:32 AM and 3:05 PM, low 8:30 AM and 9:40 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 72 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

BluefishExcellent

Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Prime sight-fishing: tailing fish on shallow flats, schools pushing water. Weedless spoons, shrimp under a popping cork, cut mullet in the guts.

Striped bassGood

Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8555889 (Brandywine Shoal Light). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
HIGH2:32 AM4.4 ft
LOW8:30 AM0.6 ft
HIGH3:05 PM5.7 ft
LOW9:40 PM0.9 ft
Sat
HIGH3:41 AM4.3 ft
LOW9:35 AM0.7 ft
HIGH4:16 PM5.6 ft
LOW10:52 PM0.9 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp79 F
High / Low79 / 75 F
WindNNE 5-14 mph
Pressure1011.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain22% cloud, 81%
Sunrise / Sunset06:32 / 19:26
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~72 F est.

Bite planner

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

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Showers, 79/75 F, wind 19 mph, rain 81%

Slow. High rain chance; fish the front edge before it arrives.

Species guide

The species that matter on Delaware Bay: 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

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Surface action windows at dawn; otherwise free-lines and planer boards over long points and humps.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Best: Sep-Oct blitzes

The ocean's most honest fish: when blues blitz bait on the beach, everything with hooks gets bit. Follow the bunker and mullet schools: blitzes can erupt anywhere on the beach. Wire or heavy leader always.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: Sep-Nov bull run

The copper-flanked king of the flats and surf: tailing in inches of water, schooling by the hundred in fall. Prime sight-fishing: tailing fish on shallow flats, schools pushing water. Weedless spoons, shrimp under a popping cork, cut mullet in the guts.

When to come: the Delaware Bay 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
Bluefish
Redfish (red drum)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 72 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~72 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 Delaware Bay today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 18 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Bluefish led the card at excellent. High of 84 F, wind to 18 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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 or New Jersey license depending on the waters fished. Black drum, striped bass and flounder rules change annually: check current DNREC and NJDEP regulations.

Access

Ramps at Bowers Beach, Slaughter Beach and Lewes (DE); New Jersey bayshore ramps; extensive charter fleet.

About this water

An 800-square-mile estuary between Delaware and New Jersey at the mouth of the Delaware River.

Fishing Delaware Bay: the full guide

A big estuary

Delaware Bay spreads across 800 square miles between Delaware and New Jersey, one of the largest estuaries on the East Coast and historically the country’s greatest weakfish nursery. Its shoals, sloughs and channel edges hold striped bass, black drum, weakfish, summer flounder, croaker and bluefish, with the spring black drum run one of the most distinctive fisheries on the coast.

The black drum run

Each May and June, enormous black drum: fish of forty to eighty pounds: gather over the shoals in the middle of the bay to spawn. Anglers anchor and fish clam baits on the bottom, listening for the drumming that gives the fish their name. It is a short, intense season that draws boats from both states and produces the biggest fish most anglers will hook inshore.

Stripers and flounder

Striped bass work the bay in spring and fall, following bunker and herring along the channel edges and around the shoals and rips. Summer flounder hold the sloughs and channel drops through the warm months, drifted with squid and Gulp. Croaker and weakfish fill in, though weakfish numbers remain far below their historic peaks.

Bayshore logistics

Ramps at Bowers Beach, Slaughter Beach, Lewes and along the New Jersey shore serve the bay, with a substantial charter fleet. The bay is big water: wind against tide over shallow shoals builds dangerous chop quickly, and the distances are real. Either Delaware or New Jersey license applies depending on where you fish: verify the boundary rules.

Common questions

When is the black drum run?

May and June over the mid-bay shoals: fish of forty to eighty pounds on clam baits, a short and intense season.

Is it safe for small boats?

Only with care: wind against tide over shallow shoals builds steep chop fast, and the runs are long. Check forecasts honestly.

What happened to the weakfish?

Numbers are far below historic peaks: the bay was once the species’ great nursery, and recovery remains slow.

Is fishing good at Delaware Bay right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Silver Lake14 miCape May19 miBroadkill River19 miNanticoke River28 miRehoboth Bay28 miUnion Lake29 mi
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