Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
Surf Fishing • Pier • Nearshore
Kingfish
🔥 Just arriving
Croaker
🔥 Mid-month run
Striped Bass
✅ Full moon bite
Sea Trout
✅ Incoming
Black Sea Bass
✅ Offshore deep
Tautog
🚫 Season closed
🎣 Best Baits & Rigs
- Bloodworms & Fishbites for kingfish/croaker in the surf
- Dark plugs and soft plastics for stripers at night
- Hi-lo rig with squid strips for mixed surf action
- Live eels around full-moon tides
📍 Where to Fish
- Tower Road — top surf drive-on spot
- 3R's Road — consistent kingfish/croaker zone
- North side of Indian River Inlet — surf access
- Cape Henlopen Point — prime striper haunt
- Haven Road & Navy Jetty (Cape Henlopen SP)
⏰ Best Times & Tides
- First light and last light most productive
- Night fishing around the full moon for stripers & trout
- Incoming tide preferred for surf species
📰 Notable Activity
- First tuna of the season expected by week 3 of June
- Striped bass & trout active on full moon at inlet
- Croaker & kingfish arriving mid-month — watch for them
- Sea bass require full-day offshore trips for limits
💡 Pro Tip: Drive-on surf permits are required on weekends and holidays at Cape Henlopen — get your reservation in advance. Walk-on requires just a fishing license.
Rehoboth Bay, Delaware
Bay Fishing • Drifting • Backwater
Flounder
🔥 Hot — good keepers
Spot
🔥 Moving in fast
Croaker
🔥 Steady
Sea Trout
✅ Present
Striped Bass
✅ Backwater
🎣 Top Baits
- Minnows & shiners — #1 flounder producer right now
- Bloodworms & Fishbites for spot and croaker
- Squid strips as a secondary flounder bait
- Gulp! (yellow/chartreuse) in off-color water
📍 Hot Zones
- Drift edges of channel between Buoys 19A and 24 — very productive
- B-buoy area for flounder
- Backwater channels near marsh edges for stripers
- Shallow flats warming fast — prime flounder territory
⏰ Best Times & Tides
- Early morning on incoming tide — best flounder window
- Avoid late morning on weekends — heavy boat traffic
- Calm wind days best for drifting the channel edges
🏆 Recent Catches
- Private boat caught 8 keeper flounder at Old Grounds on Gulp — reported 5/29
- 6.6 lb / 26.5" flounder caught on Judy V. (Capt. Roger Meekins)
- 6.8 lb / 26.75" flounder by Cory Rutledge at the Old Grounds
- Flounder bite improving as warm weather heats the bay
Lewes, Delaware
Canal • Outer Breakwater • Cape Henlopen
Flounder
🔥 Canal keepers
Spot & Croaker
🔥 Steady in canal
Bluefish
✅ Breakwater/beach
Striped Bass
✅ Canal & jetty
🎣 What's Working
- Minnows fished near canal pilings — top for flounder keepers
- Bloodworms for spot and croaker in the canal
- Surface lures producing bluefish at the breakwater (35" bluefish reported)
- Bluefish rigs off breakwater working for big stripers (40" released)
📍 Spots
- Lewes & Rehoboth Canal — piling-hugging flounder, spot, croaker, stripers
- Outer Breakwater — bluefish, stripers on surface lures
- Cape Henlopen Beach — surf access for blues and stripers
- Breakwater Harbor area — mixed species
⏰ Timing
- Canal fishing best early morning before boat traffic picks up
- Breakwater most productive from early morning through mid-tide
- Incoming tide moves fish into the canal
📰 What's Happening
- Keeper flounder being reported from the canal on minnows
- 35" bluefish caught from the beach alongside the breakwater pier
- 40" striped bass caught and released on a bluefish rig off the breakwater
- Spot and croaker action picking up — summer pattern developing
💡 Pro Tip: Fish minnows close to the pilings in the canal rather than mid-channel — flounder stage here waiting to ambush bait pushed by the current.
Indian River Inlet, Delaware
Both Sides of Inlet • Inlet Mouth • Indian River Bay
Flounder
🔥 Bay improving
Spot & Croaker
🔥 Now in bay
Sea Trout
🔥 Bay & inlet
Striped Bass
✅ Night/dawn
Bluefish
✅ Inlet mouth
Tautog
🚫 Closed in DE
🎣 Top Baits & Rigs
- Night striper: Dark plugs, live eels, sand fleas
- Dawn striper: Storm paddle shad (soft plastic)
- Flounder (dirty water): Yellow/chartreuse Gulp! — works when water is off-color
- Bay flounder: Minnows on a drifting rig
📍 Key Locations
- South side of inlet — keeper flounder on jigs (21.5" reported)
- North side at dawn — striper patrol, Storm paddle shads
- Inlet mouth — bluefish and mixed species on current edges
- Indian River Bay behind inlet — flounder improved with warm weather
- Old Grounds — consistent flounder producer on charter boats
⏰ Best Times & Tides
- Stripers: After dark and first hour of light
- Flounder: Moving tide (either direction) — avoid slack
- Bay: Incoming tide, early morning before boat traffic
- Water temp a bit cold (~60°F) — can slow flounder bite
📰 Charter Reports
- Indian River Marina charters reporting sea bass, flounder & rockfish inshore
- Capt. Aaron Hurd (Gale Force) — bay flounder on minnows
- Capt. Roger Meekins (Judy V.) — Old Grounds flounder, shiners
- Kids Catch Tournament upcoming at Indian River Marina
🌊 Water Conditions Note: Water has been slightly dirty at the inlet, which has slowed the flounder bite in the inlet itself. Use yellow or chartreuse Gulp in off-color water. The bay behind the inlet has cleared up and fishing has improved considerably as hot weather warms the shallows.
🌊 Best Fishing Windows (Tide Cycle)
Low⭐ Incoming (Best)High⭐ Early OutgoingLow
💡 Pro Tip: At the inlet at night, use large dark plugs — black or dark purple — worked along the rip edges and rock walls. During the first hour of light, switch to a Storm paddle shad on a 3/4 oz jig head and work the current seams.
Rick's Tackle — Long Neck, DE
Before you hit the bays, stop into Rick's Tackle in Long Neck, Delaware — your one-stop shop for all the local knowledge and gear you need. Whether you're rigging up for bay flounder, loading up on Gulp in chartreuse for dirty-water fishing, or gearing up for an inlet night session, the crew at Rick's has the freshest bait, up-to-date local reports, and the right tackle for the conditions. Tell 'em what you're after — they'll set you up right.
📍 Long Neck, Delaware — Local Anglers' HQOcean City, Maryland
Surf • OC Inlet Pier • Back Bay • Nearshore/Offshore
Bluefin Tuna
🔥 Canyons firing
Black Sea Bass
🔥 Wrecks limits
Flounder
🔥 Back bay good
Sheepshead
🔥 Improving fast
Bluefish
✅ Inlet active
Striped Bass
✅ Backwaters
Yellowfin Tuna
✅ Canyons
Mahi-Mahi
✅ Canyon trips
Cobia
✅ Season open June 15
White Marlin
✅ First release reported
Red Drum
✅ Surf fishing
Yellowfin
📉 Quieted down
🌊 Offshore Species Heat Map
🐟
Bluefin Tuna
🔥🔥🔥 Canyon limit trips — Poorman's Canyon
🐠
Black Sea Bass
🔥🔥 Wrecks & reef sites, limit catches reported
🐡
Mahi-Mahi
🔥🔥 Boat reported 3 YFT + 9 mahi this week
🎣
Yellowfin Tuna
✅ Present in canyons, quieter than bluefin
⚓
Golden Tilefish
✅ Deep canyon edges producing
🌊
White Marlin
✅ First release of 2026 reported at canyons
🎣 Inshore & Back Bay Baits
- Soft plastic jigs for bluefish & stripers at inlet
- Cut bait (spot, bunker) drifted at Route 50 Bridge
- Sand fleas — #1 bait for sheepshead on structure
- Minnows for flounder in back bay channels
📍 Inshore Hot Spots
- Route 50 Bridge / OC Inlet — sheepshead, bluefish, stripers
- Back bay channels — flounder moving slightly deeper now
- Bridge pilings & inshore structure — sheepshead bite improving
- Backwater marshes — stripers still feeding
🏖️ Surf Conditions
- Red drum being pulled from the surf
- Sharks appearing and interrupting drum bite — use wire
- Spanish mackerel may arrive early (high salinity from drought)
- Water clarity: good — drought conditions brought salty, clear water
📰 Charter Fleet Notes
- Charter "TomCat" returned with 3 YFT + 9 mahi from canyon
- Boat reported 3 bluefin limit from Poorman's Canyon
- Morning Star (Capt. Monty Hawkins) — sea bass & flounder on reefs
- Nanticoke Outfitters reporting good back bay flounder
🐠 Sheepshead Alert: The sheepshead bite is picking up significantly around OC inlet structure and the Route 50 Bridge. Use sand fleas — they are the definitive bait. High salinity water from the current drought means these fish are moving onto structure earlier than normal. Keep an eye out for Spanish mackerel arriving earlier too.
💡 Pro Tip (Canyons): Bluefin are the dominant tuna in the canyons right now — start at Poorman's Canyon before heading further out. Full overnight trips give you the best shot at multi-species days targeting bluefin, mahi, and tilefish in a single run.
📈 What's Coming Next (Late June)
🐟
Flounder Picks Up
Bay temps rising — expect bigger keepers through month end
🐬
Mahi Run Building
Canyon mahi/tuna action expected to strengthen late June
🎣
Spanish Mackerel
High salinity means early arrival — watch OC surf & inlet