Quick Summary: Top 3 Targets Right Now
1
TAUTOG
Inlet, jetties, piers. Best bite anywhere. Sand fleas & green crab.2
SEA BASS
Wrecks & reefs off DE & OC. Clam & squid. Bigger fish farther out.3
STRIPED BASS
Early fall arrivals: Inlet, Fenwick, OC bridges. Cut mullet, jigs.Honorable mentions: flounder (inshore DE structure, OC surf), last of the red drum run at Assateague, swordfish in the canyons.
⭐ Local Spotlight
🍻 Stockley's Bar · Millsboro, DE
Done at the Inlet, Massey's Landing, or the back bays? Head up the Indian River to Stockley's Bar in Millsboro to wind down, swap fish stories, and trade notes on this week's tog and striper bite with fellow anglers.
63°FOcean temp, Buoy 44009 (5:40 AM)
57°FIndian River Inlet water (Old Inlet shop)
2→4OC tog limit rises Nov 1
GoodWeekend weather outlook
Bite Meter
HOTGOODFAIRSLOW
Conditions This Week
- A northeast blow kept boats in port Tuesday; ocean and bay were unfishable and the surf was too rough. Gale warnings kept boats docked most of last week.
- Wed: E wind 5–10 kt, 3–4 ft seas. Thu: NE ~5 kt, 2–3 ft. Weekend looks good.
- Buoy 44009 this morning: 63.0°F, light E wind ~4 kt.
Rehoboth Beach, DE: Surf, Pier & Nearshore
- Species: Surf is slow after the storms. Nearshore, flounder and sea bass are biting from inshore structure out to ~15 miles (Capt. Cook, First Light Charters). Bigger sea bass sit at the farther sites. Stripers expected to push toward the Delaware coast and bay in coming weeks.
- Baits/rigs: Sea bass on clam and squid; flounder on minnow/squid combos or Gulp! on bucktail. Surf: cut mullet or bunker for a lone striper or drum.
- Timing: Wait for the surf to lay down this weekend; fish the low-light edges and the incoming tide on troughs.
- Water: ~57–63°F, cooling; clarity should improve as the surf calms.
- Where: Nearshore reefs/wrecks; surf troughs once seas drop.
- Notable: No tournament reports found. DNREC reported no surf or ocean catches last week due to weather.
Rehoboth Bay, DE
- No bay-specific report was published this week. Nearby Broadkill River gave a few flounder and plenty of crabs; Delaware Bay shores produced white perch and catfish (bloodworms/Fishbites for perch, bunker chunks for catfish).
- Best bet: Calm-weekend flounder and puffer-free dock fishing on a moving tide; low-light stripers around bridges and docks as water cools.
- Gap: Little hard data. Check Rick's Tackle (below) for current bay intel.
Lewes, DE: Canal & Outer Breakers
- Fleet: Lewes Harbour Marina boats stayed in their slips Tuesday, so there was no offshore or breakwater report. Expect the fleet to resume Thursday–Weekend.
- Nearby: Tog hitting at the Massey's Landing pier on sand fleas.
- Expect: Tog on the breakwater rocks, early stripers in the canal at dusk on soft plastics and bucktails, and sea bass/flounder for the boats on the reefs.
Indian River Inlet, DE
- Species: Tautog is the best action right now, with a fair number of keepers. Resident stripers are being picked at, with an occasional slot fish. Strong migration has reached north Jersey, so more are coming.
- Baits: Live sand fleas most mornings. Cut mullet took a slot striper at Fenwick. Fresh bait is scarce and live green crabs may arrive Friday/Saturday (not guaranteed). Call ahead.
- Timing: Mornings for fleas; fish tog at slack to moving tide on the jetty and bridge rocks, and stripers on the dark-edge outgoing tide.
- Water: 57°F at the inlet.
- Where: Rocks and structure on both sides of the inlet; Massey's Landing pier (bay side) for tog; Fenwick surf for a slot striper.
- Charters: Not reported this week due to weather.
Ocean City, MD: Surf, Inlet & Offshore
- Tautog: Good at the OC Inlet and Route 50 bridge; more fish over the 16-inch minimum. Sand fleas and green crab. Limit goes from 2 to 4 per day on Nov 1.
- Sea bass/porgies: Good numbers on wrecks and reefs; limits not common yet inshore, better odds farther out. Clam and squid. December is usually great.
- Surf: Last of the red drum run on Maryland/Virginia beaches plus a few stripers. Use fresh cut bunker, spot, or mullet. Flounder in the surf on chartreuse Gulp! mullet.
- Bridges (Rt. 50/90): Stripers on jigs, big baits at night.
- Offshore: Swordfish in the canyons (~1,150 ft, rigged eels/squid); blueline and golden tilefish deep-drop good; small late-season dolphin around lobster buoys.
- Notable catches: 422-lb swordfish (Jim O'Hara, Risky Business, Capt. Brandon Spielman); 9.5-ft sand tiger from the surf; sea bass to 22 in. with Capt. Monty's Morning Star; red drum 47–52 in. earlier in October.
- Charters: Capt. Chris Mizurak (Angler) reports sea bass better the past few weeks with a couple of keeper flounder; ocean was choppy Wednesday morning.
- Water: Ocean cooling, low 60s.
🪝 Rick's Tackle · Long Neck, DE
Your local stop for sand fleas, bait, rigs and up-to-the-minute bay and inlet intel. Call ahead for green crabs and fresh bait before you head out.
Your local stop for sand fleas, bait, rigs and up-to-the-minute bay and inlet intel. Call ahead for green crabs and fresh bait before you head out.
🍻 Stockley's Bar · Millsboro, DE
After the bite, the hangout. Bring your best catch photo and your best story.
After the bite, the hangout. Bring your best catch photo and your best story.
Data notes: Compiled Oct 29, 2026 from Talk of Delmarva (WGMD, 10/28), DNREC Delaware Fishing Report (10/22), Old Inlet Bait & Tackle (10/28), Maryland DNR Fishing Report (10/28), FishTalk Coastal Mid-Atlantic (Oct), FishinOC (10/28), and NOAA Buoy 44009. Rehoboth Bay and Lewes had limited reports this week due to weather; those sections mix confirmed catches with seasonal expectations and are labeled as such. Social-media groups were not accessible. Water temperature at the inlet (57°F) is from shop reports; the buoy (63°F) is offshore.