Delaware Fishing Report
When, Where, What and How They're Biting



By Eric Burnley Sr.*

Updated: Sept. 2, 2011

DELAWARE BAY Many of you will be fishing in the bay and ocean over the holiday weekend and you need to be aware of the debris that flowed down the Delaware River and is now floating on or just below the surface of the water. I have reports of large quantities of timber including 2X4s and bigger boards that can seriously damage a boat. Be on the lookout at all times and reduce your speed so you can take evasive action before it is too late.

As of Thursday fishing in the bay had not recovered from the storm. The amount of fresh water entering the bay from the flooding rains combined with the junk floating on the surface has just about killed the action for awhile.

INDIAN RIVER INLET Very few boats have been fishing this week, but I expect that to change over the weekend. The flounder bite should return and I believe live spot will remain the top bait.

Night time is still the most productive for rockfish with live spot, eels, black plugs and bucktails the top producers.

SURF FISHING The occasional blue has been caught this week, but not much else. We were up at Cape Point on Thursday and the water was still pretty dirty for about a half-mile out.

INSHORE OCEAN Not a lot of boats out this week, but those that fished the Buoy Line and the Old Grounds did manage to catch sea bass, ling and flounder. A few croaker also made it into the fish box. If I had to pick an area to fish this weekend it would be out here where the effects of the storm have not been as severe as in the bay. Tog season closed on Thursday.

OFFSHORE OCEAN I had a report from one boat that fished the Poorman’s Canyon after the storm and came back with several yellowfin tuna. The fish were caught in 50 fathoms and their presence indicates cooler surface water after the hurricane.

The billfish and dolphin may have moved further south with the warmer water. Time will tell if we will have another shot at them before the season ends.

FRESHWATER The heavy rains have made just about all the freshwater locations very dirty. I did see a white perch caught out of the Broadkill River on Wednesday evening.

GET READY FOR FALL The best fishing of the year will begin this month. Most of the species we try to catch will be migrating south or east and feeding as much as possible before the cold weather moves in.

Flounder will be moving into the ocean to spawn and the bigger fish will be taken from Site 10 on out to Site 11. The Buoy Line and the Old Grounds will also produce some sizable doormats.

I have been fishing the Eights for a couple of years looking for and finding good numbers of rockfish. This fall I plan to get out there before the rock arrive and try fishing the bottom for flounder. Several big flounder are caught on live eels in October and November and I don’t see why they would not be there in September.

Croaker also spawn in the ocean during the fall. Those big fish with the yellow fins should be available from the beach on out to the Buoy Line. I sure hope so because there are few fish I enjoy catching as much as a big croaker.

The mullet run along the beach will begin this month drawing in blues and rockfish. Later in the fall the mullet will be replaced by bunker and the size of the rock and blues will increase dramatically.

Offshore fishing can be red hot in September. The biggest problem is the weather and finding a good day to run out 60 miles. Last year the marlin bite was off the charts and we are hoping for at least something close this year.

*Eric Burnley Sr. is a native Delawarean who has fished the waters of his home state for more than 60 years. He has been a full-time outdoor writer since 1978, with articles appearing in most national magazines as well as many regional publications. He has authored two books, Surf Fishing The Atlantic Coast and The Ultimate Guide To Catching Striped Bass.