The Delaware Fishing Report offers information on when to fish, where to fish, which species are biting, and how to catch them. It is written weekly by veteran Delaware angler Eric Burnley, Sr.

Delaware Bay

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Patty at Captain Bones in Odessa said the white perch action is far from red hot in the tidal rivers and creeks, but if you work at it with bloodworms or Fishbites you can catch enough to make the day worthwhile.

Catfish are available in the same locations as well as along the shoreline from Augustine Beach down to the fishing pier at Woodland Beach. Cut menhaden or white perch are the prime baits with chicken liver or catfish stink baits also a good choice.

Leipsic

Steve at Smith Bait told us that white perch were caught on bloodworms and shrimp out of the tidal rivers and creeks.

Out in Delaware Bay small stripers, with a few in the 28 to 31-inch slot, have been caught at Ship John and the Cross Ledge on bucktails and cut bait.

Broadkill Beach

Dan at Dan’s Tackle in Milton said fishing remains slow at Broadkill Beach. The high winds have kept the water dirty and the fishing poor.

The Broadkill River still holds white perch that will take bloodworms, but Dan’s supplier has stopped delivering due to a lack of sales.

Lewes

Lewes Harbour Marina had more bad weather days than good, but when the conditions allowed boats to reach ocean structure, they found good sea bass and bluefin tuna action.

Captain Brent on the Katydid had boat limits of black sea bass and flounder plus a doormat 10.5-pounder. Other charter and private boats racked up good numbers of sea bass, tog and flounder from the ocean plus tog and sheepshead from Delaware Bay.

Indian River Inlet

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Old Inlet Bait and Tackle said fishing at the Inlet has not been as good as it was a few weeks ago. The only steady action has been tog to 19 inches caught on sand fleas and green crabs.

Rick’s Bait and Tackle on Long Neck told us the fishing pier at Massey’s Ditch still gives up keeper tog on green crab. Sand fleas seem to produce a steady diet of short tog while the green crab attract the larger fish.

Surf Fishing

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Old Inlet Bait and Tackle reported a continuing rough surf made catching anything problematic.

Inshore Ocean

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Lewes Harbour Marina reported excellent fishing in the ocean when the wind laid down.

Burt at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em reported that last Sunday three private boats fished for bluefin tuna and brought back five, four of which weighed over 200 pounds.

During the week they cleaned a few stripers caught out of Indian River Inlet.

Offshore Ocean

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No reports from offshore this week.

Freshwater

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Patty at Captain Bones in Odessa reported a few snakeheads have been caught from the spillway below Noxontown Lake on surface lures that imitate frogs plus large, live minnows.

Taylored Tackle in Seaford told us she has heard very little about any fishing in the Nanticoke River or Broad Creek. Just a few crappie on minnows here and there. Not even a catfish, and they are usually biting.

Steve at Smith Bait told us that crappie are available on small minnows under a bobber from Silver Lake in Dover and Coursey’s Pond.

The Weather

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I think it may have been Will Rogers who said “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”

Which, of course, is true, because we mere mortal humans have yet to figure out how to bend the elements to our will.

I do believe 2024 will go down as the worst fishing weather year in modern history. I have booked at least seven head boat trips and six of them have been shortened or canceled by the weather.

The surf has been so messed up I haven’t bothered to go for most of the year and when I did go, I didn’t catch enough to make the trip worth the effort.

Related Topics:  delaware bay, dfw, fishing, freshwater, indian river inlet, ocean and coasts, outdoors and recreation, surf fishing, wildlife