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Garrisons Lake Fishing Report

Updated Mon, Nov 9, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Garrisons Lake: a DNREC fishing access area south of Smyrna that the agency counts among Delaware's five most-fished ponds.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
5.71 ft
Air / High
46 / 60 F
Wind
W 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 01483510, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Monday
9
November 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.

Garrisons Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. The gauge reads 5.71 ft, up 0.07 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind W around 8 mph, steady pressure near 1011 hPa and a high of 60. Water sits around 63 F for the season (estimated). With the new moon, the solunar majors run 11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:03 AM-1:03 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Largemouth bassFair

In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Tomorrow: Similar at 64 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Tue, Nov 10, 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 largemouth 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 from Garrisons Lake near Cheswold, DE.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 01483510.

5.555.705.855.71 ft10/1010/2010/3011/09

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp46 F
High / Low60 / 43 F
WindW 8-16 mph
Pressure1011.3 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:39 / 16:52
MoonNew Moon, 0%
Water temp (seasonal)~63 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 Garrisons Lake this week

The best day on Garrisons Lake this week looks like Saturday Nov 14, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Saturday, Nov 14 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Nov 9 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
11:27 PM-1:27 AM and 11:03 AM-1:03 PM
Minor period
6:48 AM-7:48 AM
Sun
06:39 to 16:52
Moon
New Moon, 0% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 22 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. In spring, pre-spawn bass push shallow as the water climbs through the mid-50s; in fall they feed actively until the water cools into the low 50s, then drop back toward deeper structure.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

When to come: the Garrisons Lake 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
Largemouth bass
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 63 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovNov, ~63 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 Garrisons Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Sun, Nov 8

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at good. High of 60 F, wind to 14 mph.

Sat, Nov 7

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at good. High of 58 F, wind to 17 mph.

Fri, Nov 6

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Crappie led the card at good. High of 70 F, wind to 14 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 fishing license. Non-tidal limits (eRegulations, updated Feb. 6, 2026): largemouth bass 12-inch minimum, 6 a day; panfish 50 a day, no more than 25 of one species.

Access

DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife access area: boat ramp at the South Lot only, fishing pier at the North Lot, shoreline fishing, accessible footbridge to the spillway.

About this water

DNREC-managed pond south of Smyrna, Kent County, DE; one of 65 boating access areas DNREC maintains. USGS lake gauge 01483510.

Fishing Garrisons Lake: the full guide

What DNREC says

DNREC calls Garrisons Lake one of Delaware's five most-fished ponds, with good populations of sunfish, largemouth bass and black crappie, the species anglers catch most often. It is also among the state's ten most popular ponds and lakes for largemouth bass tournaments, drawing local and out-of-state clubs.

Ramp, pier and footbridge

A renovated concrete boat ramp with a courtesy dock and repaved lot opened on Sept. 29, 2021; it takes everything from hand-launched jon boats to trailered bass boats up to 20 feet. DNREC's 2026 access table limits ramp use to the South Lot and lists a fishing pier at the North Lot plus shoreline access. A nearly 140-foot accessible aluminum footbridge, finished in 2012, keeps anglers off the highway shoulder and reaches the spillway.

Water level

USGS gauge 01483510, Garrisons Lake near Cheswold, records the lake's surface elevation at the dam, and this page shows its reading.

Common questions

Can I launch a boat at Garrisons Lake?

Yes, from the South Lot ramp, which handles boats up to about 20 feet. The North Lot has a fishing pier instead.

What do anglers catch at Garrisons Lake?

DNREC says sunfish, largemouth bass and black crappie are caught most often, and the lake hosts largemouth bass tournaments.

What is the bass limit at Garrisons Lake?

Delaware's non-tidal rule: largemouth bass must be at least 12 inches, 6 a day.

Is fishing good at Garrisons Lake 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

Silver Lake6 miNoxontown Pond14 miKillens Pond18 miDelaware Bay20 miLums Pond22 miUnion Lake31 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 01483510 β€” Garrisons Lake near Cheswold, DE
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-11-09 at 10:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 39.2443, -75.5884 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 8, 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 8, 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.