Fishing Report – May 4, 2026 | Rock Hall MD & Indian River Inlet DE

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FISHING REPORT

Monday, May 4, 2026 · Mid-Atlantic Region

✅ DECENT DAY TO FISH

Stripers moving · Bluefish incoming · Drum in surf

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ROCK HALL CRABBING UPDATE

Season OPEN (Apr 1–Dec 15). Population near historic lows (~238M per 2025 survey). Work coves & creek mouths as water warms past 60°F. Chicken necks/razor clams on trotlines or pots. Patience required this year.

⚓ ROCK HALL, MD Upper Chesapeake Bay 🐟 What's Biting 🎯 Striped Bass (Rockfish) Post-spawn fish moving down Bay. Trolling & jigging channel edges. Harvest open — 19–24" slot. 🌿 Largemouth Bass C&R on Susquehanna Flats grass beds & tidal rivers 🐍 Snakehead Mixed in with bass on the flats — bonus catch 🪝 Hot Baits Paddletails Jerkbaits Glide Baits Trolling (6-line) Jigging 📍 Best Spots Main Bay Channel Edges Susquehanna Flats Grass Bay Shorelines 🌊 Conditions Water Temp ~60°F Clarity Average River Flow Below Avg Weather Partly Cloudy ⚖️ Regs: 1 fish/day · 19–24" slot · Bay main stem only · Trolling: barbless, no stingers · Tributaries: C&R only

🌊 INDIAN RIVER INLET, DE Rehoboth Bay / Atlantic Coastal Inlet 🐟 What's Biting 🎯 Tautog (Tog) Decent keeper bite at north jetty; more keepers in the mix lately 🐟 Striped Bass Slot & over-slot off north jetty end; shorty stripers in South Pocket (Big Chill) 🫓 Flounder Indian River Bay — drift outgoing tide off sandbars 🥁 Black Drum Surf alive with drum 25–35". Skates & smooth dogfish abundant ⏳ Bluefish / Weakfish — INCOMING Blues ~Mother's Day · Weakfish ~1 week after blues 🪝 Hot Baits Bucktails Black Plugs Wind Cheaters Rapalas (Black) Live Minnows 📍 Best Spots North Jetty End South Pocket / Big Chill IR Bay Sandbars Surf Beach 🌊 Conditions Water Temp 54°F Tides Spring Phase Air Temp Hi 57° / Lo 44° Slack Tide ~6:42 AM ⚖️ Regs: Flounder: 12" min, 4/day · Confirm striper & tog limits with DNREC

Sources: MD DNR · DNREC · FishTalk Mag · Old Inlet B&T · Tides4Fishing · CBF Compiled May 4, 2026 — Always verify regs before keeping fish

 

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Weekly Fishing Report

Sunday, May 3, 2026  |  Mid-Atlantic Edition

✅ Good Bite

Today's Outlook: Striper harvest opened May 1 — Tolchester Bar is hot for rockfish. Indian River Inlet producing tog, flounder & slot stripers off the north jetty. NW winds easing Sunday, excellent conditions Monday.

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Rock Hall, MD

Upper Chesapeake Bay · Kent County

🐟 What's Biting

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Striped Bass (Rockfish)

Trolling & jigging main channel. Light tackle: paddletails, jerkbaits, glide baits along Bay shoreline. Harvest just opened May 1 — 19–24" slot, 1 fish/day.

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White Perch

Larger females arrived in lower Susquehanna River. Small jig heads with grass shrimp or minnow chunk working well.

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Blue Catfish

Excellent bite in upper tidal rivers. Chester River has best numbers; Conowingo Dam pool producing trophy-size fish.

📍 Hot Spots

📍 Tolchester Bar — Live-lining spot for stripers ("Rockfish candy")

📍 Chester River — Best numbers for blue catfish

📍 Channel edges & oyster bars — Structure holds rockfish

⛔ Susquehanna Flats — CLOSED through May 31 (spawning)

🦀 Crabbing

Early Season — Crabs Moving, Not Peak Yet
Season open Apr–Nov. Bay population ~238M crabs (down from 317M prior year — 6th consecutive below-avg year). May crabs available over docks & grass beds; expect smaller jimmies. Peak: June–September.

🌦 Weather & Tides

Sun May 3

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62°F

NW 10–15 kt
Gusts to 20 kt
Waves ~2 ft

Mon May 4

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65°F est.

S 5–10 kt
Waves 1–2 ft
Improving ✅

⚖️ Regulations

Striped Bass: May 1–Jul 31 harvest, 1 fish/day, 19–24" slot
Open Bay waters only (Brewerton Channel south) — all tributaries closed through May 31

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Indian River Inlet, DE

Coastal Inlet · Sussex County, Delaware

🐟 What's Biting

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Tautog (Tog)

Decent bite with keepers in the mix. North jetty rocks and inlet structure holding fish. Sand fleas the top bait.

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Flounder

Active in Indian River Bay and along inlet rocks. Best on outgoing tide drifting sandbars. Lead head + Gulp! combo working.

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Striped Bass

Slot fish and over-slots from north jetty end. Schoolie rockfish on morning trips. Strong action expected thru Memorial Day.

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Sheepshead

Several fish up to 8 lbs in the inlet. Live sand fleas & frozen shrimp both working.

📍 Hot Spots

📍 North Jetty End — Slot stripers & tog on structure

📍 Inlet Rocks — Flounder on Gulp!, tog on sand fleas

📍 IR Bay Sandbars — Flounder on outgoing tide drift

📍 Surf Zone — Snapper blues on incoming, drum still possible

🪱 Hot Baits

🦟 Live Sand Fleas 🍤 Frozen Shrimp 🪱 Lead Head + Gulp! 🎣 Cut Bait 🟢 Live Green Crabs

🌡 Water & Tides

💧 Water: 54°F (rising)

🌊 Spring Tide Phase

⚡ Bluefish Blitz Incoming! Full blitz expected around Mother's Day (mid-May). A few snapper blues already showing on incoming tide.

🌦 Weather

Sun May 3

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57°F

Partly cloudy
Low 44°F
Fishable

Mon May 4

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Improving

Lighter winds
Spring tide
Good access ✅

⚖️ Regulations

Tautog: Min 16", 4 fish/day (May)   Flounder: Min 12.5" (DE state waters)
Striped Bass: DE coastal regs apply — check DNREC

Sources: Maryland DNR  |  Old Inlet Bait & Tackle  |  DNREC Delaware  |  On The Water  |  US Harbors  |  Tides4Fishing

🎣 FISHING REPORT

May 3, 2026 · Mid-Atlantic

Rock Hall MD Fishing Report 5-8-25

 Fishing Report for May 8, 2025

Location: Rock Hall, Maryland

Weather Conditions:

• Air Temperature: 77°F
• Wind: Light breeze from the SSW
• Water Temperature:
  • Swan Creek: 75°F
  • Chesapeake Bay (off Rock Hall): 70°F

Fishing Experience: Today was a quiet day on the water with no boats in sight. I ventured out mid-afternoon, which is typically a slow time for fishing. Despite my efforts, the results were as expected—minimal activity.

I tried my luck with a spinner bait off Swan Point, a spot where I usually catch something, whether it's a catfish or a white perch. Unfortunately, today was different, and I didn't manage to reel in anything.

Upcoming Season: We are about a week away from the start of Rock Fish season on the Chesapeake Bay, which begins on May 16th. Hopefully, the fishing conditions will improve, and the activity will pick up as the season starts.

Perch in Swan Creek and Stripers by the Love Point Rock Pile

I caught a Perch at the mouth of Swan Creek this morning.   That's not such a big deal but I did catch him on my Mepps "Rasta" Lure, which has been a fish favorite for perch, puppy drum, and any kind of catfish.  The Mepps name for this lure is the Hot Firetiger - Firetiger (#2 1/6 oz).  I'll have to pick a few more up at Molly's Outfitters in Kennedyville.   Speaking of which, they have really expanded their fishing department.

Later in the morning I took a ride out to the "Rock Pile" off of Love Point.  There was only one other boat out there fishing close to the rocks.  It was an outgoing time so there seemed to be some small rips on the northern side of the pile.  Two people on the boat seemed to be jigging with two fish caught in a span of about 15 minutes.  The first one was a schoolie the second may have been a keeper.

It was on the humid side with a slightly overcast and visible haze. At 8:40a the breeze picked up to about 8-10mph with a water temp of 78 degrees. 

Puppy Drum caught off of Swan Point

To my surprise, I caught a puppy drum by the mouth of Swan Creek.  Surprised, as they aren't normally caught this far north of the Bay Bridge.

I caught the fix in about 4' of water close to the shore.  I was using a Mepp's "Rasta" lure with a yellow deer hair tail.  The water temp was about 72 degrees with a light breeze on a sunny morning.   The morning bite is key and this fish was caught at 7:15am.

I also caught two catfish in this location.  One was a channel cat, the other a blue cat.

Perch and Blue Catfish abundant on Swan Creek (Rock Hall)

 It's been unusually hot the last few days on the Chesapeake Bay.  So hot that back creek water temps were in the mid-80s.  That doesn't bode well for rock fish but didn't seem to have an effect on perch and blue cats.

Here's a great video on how to get started with catching perch.