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Delaware Bay Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 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. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.
Next tide
Low 1:29 AM
Air / High
59 / 61 F
Wind
ENE 12 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8555889, 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.

2/5Slow. The wind owns today.23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Delaware Bay feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 12 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 61. Tides: high 7:06 AM and 7:25 PM, low 12:48 AM and 1:13 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 10:04 PM-12:04 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.

BluefishExcellent

Fall turns the migration south toward the South Atlantic Bight, and fish feed along beaches and inlets on the way. Follow the bait and the birds.

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Late summer into fall is spawning time (mid-August to mid-October on the Gulf, per TPWD), and big adults gather off passes and beaches. Surf and pier anglers soak fresh cut mullet, larger live mullet or blue crab on bottom rigs.

Tomorrow: Similar at 58 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 8555889 (Brandywine Shoal Light). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:48 AM0.6 ft
HIGH7:06 AM5.2 ft
LOW1:13 PM0.5 ft
HIGH7:25 PM5.2 ft
Sat
LOW1:29 AM0.3 ft
HIGH7:49 AM5.6 ft
LOW2:01 PM0.3 ft
HIGH8:10 PM5.3 ft

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp59 F
High / Low61 / 55 F
WindENE 12-13 mph
Pressure1026.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:19 / 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 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Delaware Bay this week

The best day on Delaware Bay this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 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€” Tough

23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Solunar majors
9:35 AM-11:35 AM and 10:04 PM-12:04 AM
Minor period
3:57 AM-4:57 AM
Sun
07:19 to 18:11
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 23 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

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 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.

Bluefish illustration

Bluefish

Peak harvest: May-Oct, most in Jul-Aug (NOAA)

Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) are sharp-toothed schooling predators that move up and down the Atlantic coast with the seasons and feed in surface blitzes on menhaden, silversides and squid. Fall turns the migration south toward the South Atlantic Bight, and fish feed along beaches and inlets on the way. Follow the bait and the birds.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Late summer into fall is spawning time (mid-August to mid-October on the Gulf, per TPWD), and big adults gather off passes and beaches. Surf and pier anglers soak fresh cut mullet, larger live mullet or blue crab on bottom rigs.

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 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 Delaware Bay 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 63 F, wind to 20 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 62 F, wind to 23 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 64 F, wind to 21 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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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. The wind owns today. 23 mph gusts make boat control the real battle.

Nearby waters

Silver Lake14 miKillens Pond14 miCape May19 miBroadkill River19 miGarrisons Lake20 miNanticoke River28 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8555889 β€” Brandywine Shoal Light
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 39.0500, -75.3000 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.
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 guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be 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.