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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 Eric Burnley, Sr.
Find information on fishing in Delaware on the new Recreational Fishing page and the updated DNREC Fisheries Section page and in the Delaware Fishing Guide. Don’t forget that you will need a Delaware fishing license.
Find information on the tides in Delaware tidal waters from NOAA and about Delaware’s freshwater fishing ponds.
Oct. 1, 2026
Well, the nor’easter is over, but she left us a mess. The beaches are closed due to erosion that has left a steep drop off. The rivers are muddy due to the heavy rain and the very high tides.
Patty at Captain Bones surprised me when she said fishing was pretty much normal with white perch and catfish in the tidal rivers. The white perch are on bloodworms while the catfish like bunker or shad chunks.
The same is true for the shoreline from Augustine Beach on down to Dobbinsville and up along the C&D Canal.
Steve at Smith Bait in Leipsic had reports of small stripers and white perch from the Woodland Beach pier and bridge on shrimp, bloodworms and peelers.
Dan at Dan’s Tackle told us he was surprised with the news that white perch were caught out of the Broadkill River on bloodworms or lug worms. Crabbing remained strong as well.
Aaron at Lewes Harbour Marina had a report for us on September 29th. The Katydid brought in a boat limit of black sea bass from ocean structure.
On September 30th the Katydid and the Shooter Dog both had good catches of black sea bass.
Old Inlet Bait and Tackle said some small tog were caught from the Inlet on sand fleas and crab baits on September 30th with a few keepers mixed in the catch.
Rick’s Bait and Tackle told us tog were caught at Massey’s Landing and small stripers were caught and released from Rehoboth Bay on swim shads.
Burt at Hook ‘em and Cook ‘em reported the Captain Bob had an excellent catch of big black sea bass plus a few nice flounder on September 30th.
The nor’easter was out of here for a few days when this report was written.
I was pleased to see that the black sea bass and white perch made a surprising comeback.
As water temperatures continue to fall, we should see red drum, larger striped bass and bigger bluefish along the beach.
The black sea bass and flounder fishing in the ocean should get better and, for those who enjoy light tackle workouts, false albacore will give them all they want.
Eric Burnley, Sr. is a native Delawarean who has fished local waters for more than 60 years. Eric Burnley has been a full-time outdoor writer since 1978, with articles appearing in most national magazines and many regional publications. He has written three books: Surf Fishing the Atlantic Coast, The Ultimate Guide to Catching Striped Bass and Fishing Saltwater Baits.
Related Topics: delaware bay, dfw, fishing, freshwater, indian river inlet, ocean and coasts, outdoors and recreation, surf fishing, wildlife
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