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The Weekly Hook

Delaware & Maryland Coastal Fishing Report
📅 Thursday, June 25, 2026  |  Chesapeake Bay Retriever Approved™

⚡ QUICK SUMMARY — TOP 3 TARGETS RIGHT NOW

What to chase this weekend across all five areas

1
🐟

Flounder

🔥 HOT

Bay channels and back bays are loaded. Drift minnows and Gulp between buoys 19A–24 in Indian River & Rehoboth Bays. OC back bay also producing limits.

2
🐟

Bluefish

🔥 HOT

Ripping through the Indian River Inlet on incoming tide, and large blues hitting surface lures off Cape Henlopen beach. Metal lures and bucktails working well.

3
🎣

Yellowfin Tuna

✅ GOOD

OC canyon fleet lights up with yellowfin — 51 boats out Sunday, multiple boat limits reported. White marlin first catches of the season also in. Offshore wide-open!

~60°F
⚠️ ~5° below seasonal average
~60°F
Some dirty water present
63–66°F
Warming — summer patterns emerging
70°F+
Warm enough for pelagics
Delaware Reports
🏖️

Rehoboth Beach

Surf Fishing · Pier · Nearshore
DE
🐟

Bluefish

🔥 Hot
🐠

Kingfish

✅ Arriving
🐡

Striped Bass

✅ Spot Picking
🦈

Sharks / Skates

📉 Dominant

⏱️ Best Bite Windows

Dawn (5–8am)
Storm Paddle Shads — Stripers
Incoming Tide
Surface Lures — Blues
Midday
Bloodworms — Kingfish
Night
Dark Plugs / Live Eels — Stripers

📍 Best Spots

  • Tower Road beach access
  • 3R's Road surf
  • North of Indian River Inlet
  • Cape Henlopen Point
  • Haven Road area

🪱 Hot Baits & Lures

  • Surface poppers & metal lures for blues
  • Storm Paddle Shads (early AM, stripers)
  • Bloodworms for kingfish & croaker
  • Fishbites squid & shrimp
  • Sand fleas for stripers at night
📋 Conditions Note: Mostly sharks and skates dominating the surf, but a mix of bluefish, stripers, and early-arriving kingfish are mixed in. Croakers showing up mid-surf as water temps inch up. Large blues very active near Cape Henlopen pier on surface lures.
🌊

Rehoboth Bay

Back Bay Drifting · Channel Edges · Buoy Lines
DE
🐟

Flounder

🔥 Hot
🐠

Weakfish

✅ Full Moon Push
🦐

Croaker / Spot

✅ Showing Up
🐡

Striped Bass

✅ Mixed In

⏱️ Best Bite Windows

Full Moon Nights
Live Minnows — Flounder & Trout
Outgoing Tide
Gulp on 1/4oz jig — Flounder
Early Morning
Drift channel edges

📍 Best Spots

  • Between Buoys 19A and 24
  • Sothshore Marina toward Quillens Point
  • B-Buoy area for flounder
  • Channel edges throughout the bay
  • Shallow back bay flats (warming fast)

🪱 Hot Baits & Lures

  • Live minnows / mud minnows on jig head
  • Gulp! Grub in white or chartreuse
  • Small jig + minnow combo (jigging-drift)
  • Squid strips for weakfish
  • Bloodworms for croaker & spot
📋 Pro Tip: The back bays warm well ahead of Delaware Bay, which is running 5°F below normal. Flounder that have migrated inshore are already in feeding mode here. Drift the channel edges — keeper fish are actively feeding mid-water column.
⚓

Lewes, Delaware

Lewes-Rehoboth Canal · Outer Breakers · Roosevelt Inlet
DE
🐠

Croaker

🔥 Hot
🐟

Spot

🔥 Hot
🐡

Bluefish

🔥 Big Blues
🐡

Pufferfish

✅ Present

⏱️ Best Bite Windows

Incoming Tide
Bloodworms — Canal Croaker/Spot
Early Morning
Squid & Fishbites — Canal Docks
Surf Hours
Broadkill Beach — Croaker/Kings

📍 Best Spots

  • Canal Town Docks (croaker/spot)
  • Canal Front Park
  • Roosevelt Inlet mouth
  • Broadkill Beach (surf)
  • Broadkill River mouth (big blues)

🪱 Hot Baits & Lures

  • Bloodworms (top producer — croaker/spot)
  • Fishbites in squid or blood scent
  • Squid strips
  • Clam/shrimp for surf species
  • Metal lures for blues in the Broadkill River
📋 Recent Action: Broadkill Beach producing a good mix of croaker, spot, and small kingfish on bloodworms, Fishbites, clam, shrimp, and squid. Big bluefish were taken from the Broadkill River. Canal fishing around the town docks is solid — easy shore access makes this a great option for an evening fish.
🌊

Indian River Inlet

Both Inlet Banks · Bay Behind · Night Shift Striper Zone
DE
🐡

Striped Bass

🔥 Hot at Night
🐟

Bluefish

🔥 Hot / Incoming
🐑

Sheepshead

✅ On the Rocks
🐟

Flounder

📉 Slow / Dirty Water

⏱️ Best Bite Windows

Night / Midnight
Dark Plugs / Live Eels — Stripers
Dawn (5–8am)
Storm Paddle Shads — Stripers
Incoming Tide
Bucktails / Metal — Blues
Daytime Slack
Sand Fleas — Sheepshead on Rocks

📍 Where to Fish

  • North/south jetty walls (stripers, sheepshead)
  • Inlet mouth — both banks (blues on incoming)
  • Under the bridge, night fishing (stripers)
  • Bay side of inlet (early morning)
  • Riprap & rock piles (sheepshead)

🪱 Hot Baits & Lures

  • Dark plugs (black/purple) — night stripers
  • Live eels — night stripers (top pick)
  • Storm Paddle Shad — early AM stripers
  • Bucktails / metal spoons — blues
  • Sand fleas / green crabs — sheepshead
  • Chartreuse Gulp! — flounder (dirty water)
📋 Conditions: Water running ~60°F and slightly dirty — flounder bite has been slow as a result. The night shift striper crew is cleaning up though. Blues rip through on incoming tide — have a bucktail or metal at the ready. Sheepshead are hugging the rocks tight. ⚠️ Tautog season closed through June 30 in Delaware waters.
📜 Current Regs (Delaware): Summer flounder minimum now 17.5" with a 4-fish daily limit (effective June 1). Tautog season CLOSED through June 30. Striped bass — check current slot limits before keeping.
Maryland Reports
🎣

Ocean City, Maryland

Surf · OC Inlet Pier · Nearshore Reefs · Deep Offshore Canyons
MD
INSHORE & NEARSHORE
🐟

Flounder

🔥 Hot — Back Bay
🎣

Sea Bass

🔥 Hot — Reefs
🐡

Rockfish

✅ Inlet Jetties
🐟

Bluefish

✅ Inlet
🦐

Croaker

✅ Pier
OFFSHORE — CANYONS & LUMPS
🐋

Yellowfin Tuna

🔥 WIDE OPEN
🐬

Mahi-Mahi

🔥 Hot
🏆

White Marlin

✅ Season Opener
🐟

Bluefin Tuna

✅ Mid-Shore Lumps

⏱️ Bite Windows — OC

Offshore (All Day)
Yellowfin Tuna — Canyons (WIDE OPEN)
Early AM Back Bay
Flounder Limits — Drift Channels
Incoming / Outgoing
OC Inlet Jetty — Rockfish & Blues
Daytime Offshore
DelJerseyLand Reef — Sea Bass

📍 Key Spots

  • OC Inlet jetties (rockfish, blues)
  • Back bay channels (flounder limits)
  • Talbot Street Pier / Happy Hooker (flounder, croaker)
  • DelJerseyLand reef (sea bass)
  • Poorman's Canyon (YFT, mahi)
  • Mid-shore lumps (bluefin, yellowfin)
  • Floating pot lines (mahi hanging near them)

🪱 What's Working

  • Live minnows / Gulp — flounder (back bay)
  • Squid & jigs — sea bass on reefs
  • Poppers & jigs at inlet jetties
  • Cedar plugs / chunking squid — tuna offshore
  • Small lures near pot lines — mahi
  • Trolling spreads — marlin in canyons
  • Bloodworms / clam — pier croaker
🏆 Notable Catches — Week of June 22–25: The charter boat Wrecker released the first white marlin of the OC 2026 season. Talkin Trash (Capt. Chris) boated 11 yellowfin Sunday. Multiple boats returned with mahi from 2–5 fish. 51 boats hit the offshore grounds Sunday — conditions were ideal. At the lumps, bluefin were showing at mid-shore structure. OC inshore fleet reporting flounder limits in the back bay channels.
📜 Current Regs (Maryland): Summer flounder minimum 17.5", 4-fish limit. Black sea bass season open. White marlin — release only (current federal regulations). Tuna — check current NOAA IBQ allocations before offshore trips.

📡 Sources & Credits