Delaware & Maryland Fishing Report — Thursday, August 20, 2026
Best bite of the summer inshore. Big flounder coming from the OC back bays near the inlet, Old Grounds, Indian River structure, and Cape Henlopen pier pilings. Gulp! and live minnows are money.
Loaded up on the Outer Wall in Lewes, the Ice Breakers, and both Indian River and OC inlet jetty rocks. Sand fleas and green crabs are producing double-digit fish for patient anglers.
Dominating the surf and back bays from Broadkill Beach to Rehoboth to the OC back bays. Reliable, easy bites on bloodworms, Fishbites, and squid — great for keeping the cooler full.
Boardwalk beaches, jetties, and the nearshore Atlantic
Thick in the surf and around jetty rock. Small hooks, bloodworm or Fishbites bloodworm strips.
Steady action all up and down the beach on bloodworms, squid, and Fishbites.
Cocktail blues to 10 lbs running the beach early morning, chasing bunker pods. Cast spoons or metals when you see them working.
A few showing up in the mix but not consistent this season — worth a cast if the water's clean.
Straight beachfront troughs and the jetty rock at either end of town are holding kingfish and spot. Bluefish schools are moving with bunker pods just outside the wash in the early hours — watch for diving birds. Jellyfish, skates, and dogfish have been a nuisance this week, so plan on re-baiting often.
Flats, channels, and mussel beds behind the barrier beach
Fishing the flats on the high and the channels on the low is producing keepers before the boat traffic ramps up.
Mixed in with the flounder bite on the same early-morning windows.
Filling coolers around the mussel beds and deeper holes.
Small stripers showing on the rips and grass banks on the outgoing — good sport, not keepers this time of year in the bay.
The mussel beds scattered through the inland bays remain the go-to structure for a mixed bag. Deeper water and moving current are key as the shallows heat up — fish are pushing off the skinny flats once the sun gets high. On calm evenings, anglers are reporting large schools of bait (and the fish feeding on them) visible right on the surface — worth a look with a topwater or soft plastic.
Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, the Outer Wall, and the Ice Breakers
Outer Wall producing sheepshead to 10.2 lbs on sand fleas and green crabs — one of the better bites on the Delaware coast right now.
Mixed right in with the sheepshead bite along the Outer Wall and Ice Breakers.
Boats working ocean structure off Lewes are connecting with both species consistently.
Lewes-Rehoboth Canal holding a larger class of croaker, with a few flounder mixed in on minnows or bucktail-and-Gulp combos.
The Outer Wall and Ice Breakers continue to be the standout Lewes bite — fish tight to the rocks, use enough weight to hold bottom in the current, and expect company from other anglers who've caught on. Broadkill Beach and the Broadkill River just up the coast are producing spot and croaker on lugworms/Fishbites, plus a strong blue claw crab bite on chicken necks if you want to fill a bushel basket alongside the rod.
North and south jetty, the bridge, and Indian River/Rehoboth Bay flats
The "night watch" is consistently hooking a larger class of stripers after dark on bucktails, plugs, and live eels. Delaware's slot for DE River/Bay tributaries is 20"-24" and closes Aug 31 — check current regs before keeping anything.
Blues up to 10 lbs pushing through the inlet in the very early morning — work bucktails or metal lures near the bridge pilings.
Daytime bite tight to structure on sand fleas or green crabs.
Minnow or small jig worked on the down-current side of structure is the ticket.
The bridge and jetty rock on both the north (Indian River Marina) and south sides remain the go-to structure. In the surf just outside the inlet, spot, croaker, and kingfish are the bread-and-butter catch — though jellyfish, skates, and dogfish have made bait-stealing a real annoyance this week. A keeper cobia was reported caught right from the beach near the inlet despite the crowds. Behind the inlet, Indian River and Rehoboth Bay are producing flounder and bluefish on the flats and channels — get out early, as noted above, to beat the 10am boat-traffic crush.
OC beaches, the Inlet, back bays, wrecks/reefs, and the canyons
Big flounder coming from the back bays near the inlet where cooler ocean water holds them, plus excellent numbers on the inshore/offshore wreck and reef sites.
Plentiful along the OC Inlet jetty rocks, the Route 50 Bridge, and nearshore rock piles on live sand fleas.
Cocktail blues (2-4 lbs) thick on trolled spoons and Z-Man soft plastics; Spanish mackerel mixed in, better numbers trolling Drone/Clark spoons behind planers.
Plentiful from the canyons to the midshore grounds — headboats reporting some of the best mahi days in two years.
Occasional fish at the canyons but no consistent, reliable pattern this week.
The back bays are now dominated by croaker, so serious flounder anglers are working structure closer to the inlet where the cooler ocean water is holding fluke. Sheepshead and triggers are stacked from the inlet bridges out to the jetty rocks and nearshore wrecks. Schoolie striped bass are showing after dark and around tide changes — target low light lining up with a high incoming into early outgoing tide. Offshore, boats are finding mahi from the canyons in to the midshore grounds, with bluefin mixed in the same water; the yellowfin/bigeye bite remains inconsistent.
Heading out to fish Rehoboth Bay, Indian River, or the inlet? Stop by Rick's Bait & Tackle on Long Neck Road in Long Neck, DE — sitting right between Rehoboth and Indian River Bays, they're dialed in on the local flounder and bluefish bite and are a solid stop for bait, rigs, and an honest read on where the fish are before you launch.