Tautog are open all winter on the Indian River Inlet rock and the reef sites, striped bass of 28 to 31 inches pass the beaches early in the season, and yellow perch run up the tidal streams at the end of February. Every license expires on December 31, and the summer flounder minimum drops to 16 inches on January 1. In a cold winter the ponds and the back bays freeze, and the shops go weeks without seeing a fish.
What to fish for in early November
Delaware's winter is two small fisheries a short drive apart. On the coast the blackfish keep biting on the rock and the bay's reef sites from the first cold to the last, while the stripers pass early and are gone; inland the millponds of Kent and Sussex give crappie, pickerel and bass in the spells between freezes, and the north's Piedmont streams hold the trout stocked in the fall.
Tautog
Carries the coast through the cold, feeding on hard bottom and sliding deeper as the inshore water chills.
Where. The Indian River Inlet rocks, the breakwaters off Lewes and the artificial reef sites in the bay and off the beaches.
Striped Bass
Moves past the beaches and the mouth of the bay in the first weeks on its way south, and the fishing for it fades as December goes on.
Where. The surf from Cape Henlopen down to Fenwick Island, Indian River Inlet and the lower bay off Lewes.
The striped bass waters we forecast Water Forecast Delaware Bay at Lewes Best Thu, Nov 12, A+Today's forecast Crappie
Schools in the deeper water of the millponds and bites between freezes, often just below a spillway, where moving water stays open longest.
Where. Below the Silver Lake spillway in Dover, Garrisons Lake and Coursey's Pond in Kent County, and the other millponds downstate.
Yellow Perch
Gathers in the tidal creeks late in the quarter and starts up them toward the dams in the last weeks of February.
Where. The tidal heads of the Kent and Sussex streams, right below the spillways that stop the run.
Rainbow Trout
Stocked in the fall in the Piedmont streams of the north and caught through the winter in the pools they settle into.
Where. White Clay Creek and the other stocked streams of New Castle County.
What changes soon
The next six weeks of this report's calendar for Delaware.
- Mon November 30Last day of Delaware's fall trout stamp season on its designated trout streams.
Every date for Delaware from November to February (3)
- Mon November 30Last day of Delaware's fall trout stamp season on its designated trout streams.
- Thu December 31Every West Virginia, Delaware and District of Columbia license expires at midnight.
- Fri January 1Summer flounder must be at least 16 inches in Virginia and Delaware.
This week's fishing reports
This report covers the season. For what was caught this week, read the people who report on this water.
Delaware is reported by its own agency every week. DNREC's Delaware Fishing Report, written by Eric Burnley Sr. from the shops he calls, covers Delaware Bay, Lewes, Indian River Inlet, the surf, the ocean and the freshwater ponds, and last winter it kept running through the ice, giving the Lightship buoy's water temperature when there was nothing else to say. FishTalk's Coastal page names Delaware in most winter months, and the state-run Indian River Marina posts now and then.
Where to fish in Delaware, area by area
Each water links to its live forecast. The engine outlook in these areas was generated November 3, 2026, for the 14 days from that date; good hours are the hours at or above a B+.
Delaware Bay, the beaches and the inland bays
Delaware Bay · Cape Henlopen · Lewes · Indian River Inlet · Rehoboth Bay
Delaware Bay from the C&D Canal down to Cape Henlopen at Lewes, the Atlantic beaches south to Fenwick Island, and the inland bays, Rehoboth and Indian River, behind them, open to the ocean at Indian River Inlet.
Who reports here. DNREC's weekly report covers Delaware Bay, Lewes, Indian River Inlet, the inland bays, the surf and the ocean from named shops, and FishTalk's Coastal page names Delaware in most winter months. Indian River Marina posted twice last winter.
Engine outlook
- Best: Thu, Nov 12, A+12 good hours61F measured Nov 3 at Lewes tide stationbest run 6h
Delaware fresh water
White Clay Creek · Brandywine Creek · Trap Pond · Tidbury Pond · Newton Pond
Small water: the Piedmont streams of the north, White Clay Creek and the Brandywine, and the millponds and creeks of Kent and Sussex counties, with bass, pickerel and crappie, and stocked trout in a few streams and ponds.
Who reports here. DNREC's weekly report has a freshwater section from the Leipsic, Dover and Seaford shops; last winter it had crappie below the Silver Lake spillway and in Garrisons Lake and Coursey's Pond between freezes. White Clay Creek gets a supplemental trout stocking every fall.
The rules from November to February
What changed this time
- No Delaware fishing rule was found to change for this winter by October 19. Black sea bass, weakfish and the nontidal limits are not printed here; DNREC's fishing guide has them.
Read on October 19, 2026, from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (its license, trout and fishing guide pages and its fishing report) and from the Delaware Administrative Code, Title 7.
Licenses, and which state's rules apply
- One Delaware fishing license covers fresh and tidal water, crabbing and clamming, and runs the calendar year, so it expires on December 31 whenever it was bought. Residents 16 to 64 pay $8.50 and visitors $20, or $12.50 for seven days. Anglers under 16 need no license; residents 65 and older need none but must register for a Fisherman Information Network (FIN) number, which comes with every license. A charter or head boat's license covers everyone fishing aboard.
- A trout stamp is needed on a designated trout stream from the first Saturday in April to June 30 and from the first Saturday in October to November 30.
Bait, gear and fish you cannot keep
- Striped bass may be taken only with a hook and line (or a spear, underwater), and bait for them must be fished on a non-offset circle hook; an artificial lure with bait on it is exempt.
Lakes, ponds and rivers
- Trout are 6 a day in possession. White Clay Creek gets a supplemental fall stocking every year.
Salt water
- Striped bass are 1 a day, no shorter than 28 inches and no longer than 31, all winter; from April 1 through May 31 none may be kept from the Nanticoke, the C&D Canal or the Delaware River above the canal.
- Tautog are open all winter, 4 a day of at least 16 inches, and close only from May 16 to June 30. Summer flounder are 4 a day, at least 17 1/2 inches through December 31 and at least 16 inches from January 1. Black drum are 3 a day of at least 16 inches, and Atlantic croaker 50 a day.
Read on these agency pages: DNREC: Fish and Wildlife License Fees (with license questions and answers), DNREC: License Exemptions and Exceptions, DNREC: Freshwater Trout, 7 DE Admin. Code 3502-3507: Bass (Striped Bass; Black Sea Bass), 7 DE Admin. Code 3531: Tautog, 7 DE Admin. Code 3511-3512: Flounder (Summer Flounder; Winter Flounder), 7 DE Admin. Code 3518: Black Drum, 7 DE Admin. Code 3519: Atlantic Croaker.
The season at a glance
The moon from November to February
| Month | New moon | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Mon, Nov 9 | Tue, Nov 24 |
| December 2026 | Tue, Dec 8 | Wed, Dec 23 |
| January 2027 | Thu, Jan 7 | Fri, Jan 22 |
| February 2027 | Sat, Feb 6 | Sat, Feb 20 |
The U.S. Naval Observatory's dates, on local time.
Daylight in each area from November to February
Worked out for one place in each area, on its own clock.
| Area | Shortest day | Earliest sunset | Latest sunrise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Bay, the beaches and the inland baysat Indian River Inlet | 9h 28m, Dec 21 | 4:40pm, around Dec 7 | 7:20am, around Jan 5 |
| Delaware fresh waterat Newark | 9h 21m, Dec 21 | 4:40pm, around Dec 8 | 7:25am, around Jan 5 |
The lowest tides from November to February
| Station | Lowest, Nov | Lowest, Dec | Lowest, Jan | Lowest, Feb | Biggest range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian River Inlet (Coast Guard Station) | -0.4 ftThu, Nov 26, 2:24am | -0.6 ftFri, Dec 25, 2:12am | -0.8 ftSat, Jan 23, 2:03am | -0.8 ftSun, Feb 21, 1:53am | 4.1 ftDec 25 |
| Lewes (Breakwater Harbor) | -0.5 ftThu, Nov 26, 2:45am | -0.8 ftFri, Dec 25, 2:32am | -1.0 ftSat, Jan 23, 2:23am | -1.0 ftSun, Feb 21, 2:13am | 6.1 ftJan 23 |
NOAA's predictions, in feet above the average of each day's lower low tide, so a minus tide falls below it. Wind and air pressure move the water off the prediction.