Best Fishing Times in Delaware This Week

Delaware's fishing year turns on the March pond trout opener, Delaware River striped bass spawning in tidal rivers in spring, and trout stocked in White Clay Creek for fall and winter. Within any day, the first and last hour of light are the surest bite, best of all when a solunar window lands on them.

The table above shows the next 7 days for Lewes, Dover and Millsboro, with each day's major and minor periods, sunrise and sunset, and a rating from Fair to Best. For your own spot, enter a ZIP on the best fishing times page.

The 2026 downstate pond trout season opened March 7 for youth anglers and March 8 for all anglers. That is from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Striped bass move up the freshwater part of tidal rivers to spawn in spring, as water warms to 57 to 68 degrees. That is from Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

The Delaware fishing license page has what a resident and nonresident license costs and where to buy one, read from the state's own regulations.

On the coast, often as much as the moon windows. The Delaware tide charts page has high and low tide for every station, so you can line a moving tide up with a window here.

The solunar windows are the old angler's rule, and the studies are mixed. Dawn and dusk are the reliable part: fish feed in low light. So each day here is rated on the moon phase and on whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, with the weather as a smaller nudge.

Each town's card above rates today Fair, Good, Great or Best. The rating adds up the moon phase, whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, and the National Weather Service forecast for that town: pressure, fronts, wind, rain, cloud and thunder. A Fair day still has its dawn and dusk.