USWW Delmarva FishCast — Surf and inlet stripers hold steady while Delaware Bay shoreline, flathead catfish, and freshwater bass/crappie all produce as conditions improve.

Overview

This is the Tuesday mid-week Delmarva FishCast for 2026-06-09. The Friday main report usually carries the broader picture, while this update leans more heavily on DE DNREC, NOAA NDBC, NOAA CO-OPS, USGS NWIS, and ASMFC because MD DNR was unavailable this cycle. Water temperatures range from 60.6°F offshore to 66.7°F at Cape May, and the warm nearshore pocket lines up with better surf and inlet reports after the weather settled.

🌊 Atlantic & Surf

DE DNREC reported that Old Inlet Bait and Tackle saw blues and stripers show up here and there at 3Rs Road toward the end of the week as the surf finally settled down. Cut mullet was the bait that caught both species, which keeps the surf program simple when the beach is fishable.

At Indian River Inlet, striped bass and bluefish were caught from first light until dawn from the jetties and under the bridge. Bucktails, plugs, and metal lures such as a Hopkins were the main producers when bluefish were aggressive. Confidence: good.

🟦 Delaware Bay

This was the strongest and most varied report line in the cycle. Patty at Captain Bones recorded a new state record flathead catfish when Scott Failor caught a 36.20-pound fish out of the Delaware River at Augustine Beach on a chunk of shad. Along the shoreline from Augustine Beach down to Woodland Beach, and on the pier at Woodland Beach, anglers found white perch, catfish, and small stripers on bloodworms, Fishbites, and cut bait.

In Leipsic, Steve at Smith Bait reported croaker and trout at the Coral Beds off Slaughter Beach on peeler crab, bloodworms, and Fishbites. He also noted that black drum action had slowed a bit. Confidence: good.

🟩 Chesapeake Bay (MD)

MD DNR was unavailable this cycle, so the Maryland Chesapeake side is thin and should be treated as a conditions-only zone. For a tide reference, Cambridge shows a low at 05:26, a high at 11:01, and another low at 17:38, but there was no solid MD species report to anchor a specific bite call. Confidence: limited reports this week.

🟨 Inland Bays

The Indian River Inlet area is carrying the most dependable moving-water bite in the inland bay zone. DE DNREC reported striped bass and bluefish from the jetties and under the bridge from first light until dawn, which points anglers toward dawn-to-daybreak effort rather than all-day casting.

Bucktails, plugs, and metal lures such as a Hopkins were the top tools when bluefish were aggressive. The surf around 3Rs Road also contributed a few blues and stripers on cut mullet once the beach conditions settled. Confidence: good.

🟫 Rivers & Freshwater

Freshwater reports were steady rather than explosive. Patty at Captain Bones said bass and crappie have been caught from Garrisons Lake, Lum’s Pond, and Silver Lake, with crappie taking small minnows or crappie jigs and bass favoring spinner, chatter, and soft plastic baits.

Steve at Smith Bait in Leipsic also reported crappie from Morris and Silver Lake on minnows. USGS gauges suggest modest flows in several inland waters: Brandywine Creek at Wilmington is 160 cfs, Nanticoke River near Bridgeville is 20 cfs, Choptank River near Greensboro is 21 cfs with water at 69.1°F, and Tuckahoe Creek near Ruthsburg is 8 cfs. Confidence: thin.

Water Temperatures (NOAA NDBC)

• Delaware Bay buoy 44009: 62.6°F (17.0°C) at 2026-06-09 10:40Z
• Long Island offshore buoy 44025: 60.6°F (15.9°C) at 2026-06-09 10:10Z
• Cape May, NJ buoy CMAN4: 66.7°F (19.3°C) at 2026-06-09 10:30Z

Tides (NOAA CO-OPS)

• Lewes, DE: high Tue 03:31 (3.9 ft), low Tue 09:44 (0.4 ft), high Tue 16:13 (4.1 ft), low Tue 22:21 (0.7 ft)
• Ocean City Inlet, MD: high Tue 02:48 (2.1 ft), low Tue 08:55 (0.3 ft), high Tue 15:32 (2.2 ft), low Tue 21:35 (0.5 ft)
• Reedy Point, DE: low Tue 00:38 (0.9 ft), high Tue 06:09 (5.5 ft), low Tue 13:03 (0.5 ft), high Tue 18:53 (5.7 ft)
• Cambridge, MD: low Tue 05:26 (0.6 ft), high Tue 11:01 (1.8 ft), low Tue 17:38 (0.2 ft)
• Cape May, NJ: high Tue 03:28 (4.6 ft), low Tue 09:40 (0.3 ft), high Tue 16:08 (4.8 ft), low Tue 22:15 (0.7 ft)
• Annapolis, MD: high Tue 00:32 (1.4 ft), low Tue 06:35 (0.7 ft), high Tue 12:06 (1.3 ft), low Tue 18:39 (0.3 ft)

Rivers (USGS)

• Brandywine Creek at Wilmington, DE (01481500): discharge 160 cfs at 2026-06-09 06:30-0400
• Murderkill River at Frederica, DE (01484080): discharge -1860 cfs, water 74.3°F (23.5°C), gauge height 4.81 ft at 2026-06-09 06:06-0400
• Pocomoke River near Willards, MD (01485000): discharge 6 cfs, gauge height 4.45 ft at 2026-06-09 06:45-0400
• Nanticoke River near Bridgeville, DE (01487000): discharge 20 cfs, gauge height 3.91 ft at 2026-06-09 06:15-0400
• Choptank River near Greensboro, MD (01491000): discharge 21 cfs, water 69.1°F (20.6°C), gauge height 2.36 ft at 2026-06-09 06:30-0400
• Tuckahoe Creek near Ruthsburg, MD (01491500): discharge 8 cfs, gauge height 0.42 ft at 2026-06-09 06:45-0400

Regulation Notes

• DE DNREC noted boats working the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal found a few flounder over the new 17.5-inch minimum size limit, with minnows the most popular bait.
• DE DNREC also noted kayak anglers fishing the broken pilings at the end of the pier found flounder and over-slot stripers.
• ASMFC surfaced a tautog management program overview this week; check current tautog season, size, and bag rules before targeting tautog.

Closing

Conditions can change quickly, especially around wind shifts and tide turns, so use this as a snapshot rather than a real-time guarantee. Safety reminder: wear a life jacket, check the weather, and review the NOAA marine forecast before running out. Attribution this week is to DE DNREC, NOAA NDBC, NOAA CO-OPS, USGS NWIS, and ASMFC; MD DNR was unavailable in this cycle. — US Weather Warriors 🌪️