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Indian River Inlet Fishing Report

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

Indian River Inlet: the jettied channel joining Delaware's Rehoboth and Indian River bays to the Atlantic inside Delaware Seashore State Park.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
Low 12:56 AM
Air / High
59 / 61 F
Wind
NE 19 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8558690, 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.

Indian River Inlet rewards those who follow the bait as the water cools. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 19 mph, steady pressure near 1027 hPa and a high of 61. Tides: high 6:51 AM and 7:08 PM, low 12:20 AM and 12:41 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 9:34 AM-11:34 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.

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.

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 8558690 (Indian River Inlet (Coast Guard Station)). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:20 AM0.4 ft
HIGH6:51 AM2.9 ft
LOW12:41 PM0.4 ft
HIGH7:08 PM2.9 ft
Sat
LOW12:56 AM0.3 ft
HIGH7:34 AM3.1 ft
LOW1:29 PM0.3 ft
HIGH7:50 PM2.9 ft

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

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp59 F
High / Low61 / 53 F
WindNE 19-24 mph
Pressure1026.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain12% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:17 / 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 Indian River Inlet this week

The best day on Indian River Inlet 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
9:34 AM-11:34 AM and 10:03 PM-12:03 AM
Minor period
3:56 AM-4:56 AM
Sun
07:17 to 18:11
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 19 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Indian River Inlet: 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.

When to come: the Indian River Inlet 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
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 Indian River Inlet 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 65 F, wind to 16 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 62 F, wind to 22 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 67 F, wind to 20 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 general fishing license required in tidal waters; surf-fishing vehicle areas need a state park permit and tag. Striped bass, summer flounder and tautog: see DNREC's current tidal fishing regulations.

Access

Delaware Seashore State Park on both sides of the inlet; Indian River Marina on the north side; surf-fishing vehicle areas by permit. Beach sections at the inlet are closed for sand bypassing September 15, 2026-March 15, 2027.

About this water

The tidal inlet linking Rehoboth and Indian River bays to the Atlantic in Delaware Seashore State Park, Sussex County, Delaware.

Fishing Indian River Inlet: the full guide

Jetties since 1939

The federal government finished two large steel and stone jetties in 1939 to stabilize the Indian River Inlet, which connects Rehoboth and Indian River bays with the Atlantic. Delaware Seashore State Park, managed by the state since 1965, takes in six and a half miles of ocean beach and 20 miles of bay shoreline around the inlet.

What the marina reports

The state-run Indian River Marina, on the north side of the inlet, posts fishing reports. Its 2025 and 2026 reports list tautog, flounder, croaker, rockfish (striped bass), bluefish, sea bass and triggerfish inshore, and in September 2025 sheepshead and keeper tautog in the inlet itself.

Charters

The marina is the base of the park's charter fleet. Delaware State Parks lists tunas, wahoo, flounder, sea bass, tautog and rockfish among the fish its boats bring in.

Beach closures this winter

The inlet's sand bypass system runs from September 15, 2026 to March 15, 2027, and parts of the beaches on both sides of the inlet are closed while sand is moved across. The park's two campgrounds sit on either side of the inlet, linked by the bridge's protected walking and biking path.

Common questions

Do I need a license to fish the inlet?

Yes. Delaware requires a general fishing license in tidal waters, and surf-fishing vehicle areas also need a park permit and tag.

Are the inlet beaches open this winter?

Partly. Sections on the north and south sides are closed while the sand bypass system runs, September 15, 2026 to March 15, 2027.

Where do charter boats leave from?

From the Indian River Marina on the north side of the inlet, part of Delaware Seashore State Park.

Is fishing good at Indian River Inlet 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 Bay5 miBroadkill River14 miOcean City19 miCape May25 miAssateague25 miNanticoke River30 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8558690 β€” Indian River Inlet (Coast Guard Station)
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 38.6081, -75.0633 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 7, 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 7, 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.