Indian River Inlet
The Indian River Inlet in the Delaware State Seashore Park (DSSP) is the undisputed heavyweight champion of places to fish for tidal species of fish in southern Delaware. Indian River Inlet offers direct access to the Atlantic Ocean from the Indian River Bay and Rehoboth Bay and offers an abundance of fishing opportunities. Anglers take heed; the waters of the Indian River Inlet are among the most dangerous navigable waters on the east coast. Even seasoned boaters can run into trouble heading in or out of the inlet. Anglers who are shore bound should also beware of the tides and the large breakwater rocks that line both sides of the inlet. The north and south rocks also lead out directly into the ocean and are flanked by beaches. Fishing out on these points offer an excellent opportunity to catch large fish on both the incoming and outgoing tides. But be warned; fishing beyond the safety of the railing can be dangerous. We do not recommend the inexperienced or ill equipped chance their safety. These rocks get covered by the tide and become slippery and offer no light. At the very least anglers shold have fishing spikes for their shoes, a LED head lamp, and a large net or gaff. I’ve seen striper anglers go out on the points wearing protective overalls and float-vests.
- Fishing the rail at the Indian River Inlet notice the 40 inch Striped bass/Rockfish
Both the north and south sides of the inlet offer railings for anglers to fish from but fishing from the rocks below the railings offers the best chance to controllably work your lures or bait rigs. At the time of writing this article, the existing Rt. 1 bridge is being replaced by a new advanced engineered bridge which is scheduled to be opened this December. One of the hottest places to fish in the Indian River Inlet is under either of these structures. Throughout the spring, summer and fall bluefish can be targeted with relative ease as they follow the pods of baitfish around the inlet. The spring and fall striper runs bring healthy doses of 30-plus inch keeper “hogs”. While in season, Tautog (Tog or blackfish) are frequently caught close in by the rocks. Further back on the north side of the inlet is the Indian River Inlet Coast Guard station. The station lights illuminate the water and offers a premium spot for blue fish to be found. However, you’ll likely be competing for fishing room as this is a perrenial favorite fishing spot. On the south side of the inlet back near the old campground holds flounder. It isn’t the easiest area to fish and often requires a boat to get on top of the fish, but when they work in closer to shore you can expect a keeper flounder.
- The North wall of The Indian River Inlet
The best baits for the inlet flounder are live spot or bullhead minnows although several people have had success with white and pink Gulp! minnows. If bluefish are your target try casting anything that is shiny, particularly large spoons trailing a white and red rooster tail. Chunked bunker and squid often work as well however these blues are likely chasing the shad that run into the bay. For stripers we highly recommend the tried and true white bucktail jig. The heavier the better as the inlet waters will quickly move the lure with the tide and could wrap you up in the rocks.
The Take Away
Regardless of what fish you are targeting be prepared to lose tackle. Losing your tackle in the Indian River Inlet is all just part of fishing there. With the numerous rocks that line the inlet and any loose debris floating with the tide nobody is immune to losing at least one rig per trip out.
Bubble gum beach has reopened. This is located past the Indian River Coast Guard station. There is a split rail fence next to the station. A path is in the center of the split rail fence. You cannot park near this area you have to walkin from the inlet parking or the marina. Parking at the marina is free but i believe it closes at dusk and you have to move to the Indian River Inlet parking lot. It is called bubble gum beach becasue of the sand bags piled on it. This place is like fishing an aquarium you never know hat is out there. Bait fish galore at night under the lights. However since the new bulkheads were added to the Coast Guard station the current has changed. The bags were also replaced by a rock wall “tied” into the rock wall that lines the bank headed back towards the marina. This entire wall area is a great place to fish for flounder. Striped bass in the fall love the rocks for the baitfish. Tog can be found here also. Just a heads up you can fish back here and good places to catch baits. Mind the public only access signs. It is also fun to go see the boats come into the Indian RIver Marina and see what the charters caught that day.
Ran into Admin #2 on Saturday leaving 3R’s… A few small blue fish to report, couldn’t even feel/see the bite though. Hopefully the stripers come in soon. Love the website, thanks for the hard work!
Thank you J-Bone. We hope that you’ll continue visiting our site for your Delaware surf fishing info!!
Admin #1
[...] buddy Joel is at the Indian River Inlet as I type this and unless he texts me back soon with some good news, I won’t Chris Guest [...]
[...] 1 and I hit up the Indian River Inlet tonight. WOW. Windy is an understatement, cutting through to the bone is a better [...]
[...] buddy Joel is just now leaving (9 pm) the Indian River Inlet and Marina and caught a few 20 plus inchers. they were fishing the rail from land. He and one [...]
[...] and 3 feet of the river edge/bottom was exposed. This means a lot of water drained out of the Indian River Inlet overnight. The tides are still a little higher than normal from the king tides. The tide came [...]
[...] Kristen left and Admin 1 and I kept right on tearing into bluefish. It is a good thing we had 20 pounds of mullet with us. We fed as many fish as we caught. The trailer hooks we add to our rigs were helping on the hook up. We did see our neighbor catch a small flounder in the suds on mullet. He was fishin the surf/suds trying for striped bass. Which explains why he wasn’t tearing into the bluefish. The striper love to feed the surf in the evenings for small crabs and baitfish. So he was draggin whole mullets through the surf. We thanked him for the information and headed out. We catch striped bass in the surf this way all the time. Probably should have stayed but shorts and bare feet after dark is a little cold right now. We aired up and headed down the road to fish the Indian River Inlet. [...]
[...] did stop at the south side of the Indian River Inlet. It was a beautiful day today like May in October. Several people were catching tautog, but [...]
[...] rd bay access and headed to the Indian River Inlet and Marina to eat breakfast. People at the Indian River Inlet were catching tautog and triggers still, small striped bass and bluefish. There are keeper [...]
[...] River Inlet was hot for flounder Leave a comment » I had to hit the Indian River Inlet tonight on my way home. It is a rule!!! I can not go over the bridge and not stop to fish. It [...]
[...] a call from Rich King after work to go fishing at the Indian River Inlet this evening. So I gathered my gear and headed over to his place. We usually ride together [...]
[...] buddies fished the rail at the Indian River Inlet last night (Saturday) and got into a lot of Shad and shorty striped bass. The Shad were huge, [...]
[...] today and met Chris and Chrissy there to surf fish. We stopped by the north side of the Indian River Inlet on our way. Lots of boats and birds working the water. Saw a lot of fishing not any catching. [...]
[...] I met Mikey Williamson at 3R’s beach in Delaware Seashore State Park. I hit up the Indian River Inlet on the way to 3R’s and just scoped out the inlet. Lots of boats and no one catching [...]
[...] a few large keepers over the last few days out in boats. Last night Chris Fortner was at the Indian River Inlet until the wind came in so strong he got soaked and left. Nothing produced while he was there. [...]
[...] a few people fishing the surf but nothing caught as far as I could see or was told. I hit the Indian River Inlet on the north side and fished the rail for bit. The folks down there were catching Tautog few [...]
[...] people in Dewey Beach, DE, Sharky is always good for a story or 2. . Then I headed to the Indian River Inlet to do a little fishing. Very little to none apparently, DelDOT had the road closed. I tried [...]
[...] The water is cooling off and bigger fish are heading in to feed. I would love to go to the Indian River Inlet tonight, however schedule will not allow for any fishing this evening for me. No worries, [...]
[...] hit the Indian River Inlet tonight about 7 pm, and met Brad there. I rigged up with a bucktail and he was using cut [...]
[...] we headed to the Indian River Inlet and fished the north rail. The boys down there were throwing cast nets and getting big mullet and [...]
[...] Dewey Beach bait shop?!?!?..The Exxon station abides Leave a comment » There is only one gas station in Dewey Beach, DE. The Exxon station, now you would think this is just a wrench turning pit stop. However it is that and much more. These kids have a bait and fishing gear shop, along with a beach store in the station. You can gas up, get gear and bait, and even a boogie board or 2. They are a full-blown beach store. My friend Shannon works there and she tends to have the INFO on where people are catching fish. So drop by the prices a very good compared to any shop. The bait is fresh always. LOTS OF ICE!! Drop by the station and tell’em the delaware-surf-fishing blog sent you by….then head to Delaware Seashore State Park or the Indian River Inlet. [...]
[...] fishing at the Indian River Inlet has been slow. There are small rockfish/striper on the walls and the bulkheads of the Indian [...]
[...] Seashore Park. Get a boat kids. Otherwise Small flounder in the surf and keepers in the Indian River Inlet. Don’t get discouraged there have been keepers in the surf. The blues are still off the [...]
[...] Ditch but that was a bust being very shallow at low tide. We hit the kayak launch behind the Indian River Inlet. There is a small area to launch kayaks and we tore into some minis there. There is also what [...]
[...] a comment » Hit 3R’s Beach with Rich King today. We always fish just south of the Indian River Inlet in the Delaware State Seashore Park. It has been a couple of weeks since my last surf excursion so [...]
[...] I should have gone to the Inlet based on my friend Dubi’s report from the Indian River Inlet. He fished there last night and did well. It was a nice night a little colder than this and [...]
[...] headed to the Indian River Inlet to fish the rail. There were about a dozen and a half boats working the incoming tide. The boys [...]
[...] (Sunday) I met Brad at the Indian River Inlet. We walked out to the ocean side of the north rock wall and checked the surf and tide conditions. [...]
[...] did a little surf fishing today and hit up the Indian River Inlet this morning. The birds were working the water but nothing produced. She fished there for a bit [...]
[...] and Dubi fished the Indian River Inlet last night (Monday). They got into a lot of shad and shorty keepers. Fishing the incoming tide. [...]
[...] out yesterday in the Delaware bay went out of the Indian River Inlet and fished all the way to the mouth of the Delaware bay. They came up with one spiney dog fish. [...]
[...] striped bass are still showing up in the Indian River Inlet. Some friends are down there tonight. The general consensus of a roomful of 400 years plus of [...]
[...] Fortner was fishing the Indian River Inlet over the weekend. He fished the incoming tide on Saturday night….. ”as far as I [...]
[...] looked spectacular last night over the bay. I need a new camera. Tog are still hitting in the Indian River Inlet. A few shorties (stripers) were caught last night by a friend. Nothing major going on to [...]
[...] I do not like fishing this cold weather but it could pay off. A few shorties were caught in the Indian River Inlet yesterday (Sunday) on flies long lining at the rail. The birds are working the water near the [...]
[...] grabbed a breakfast sandwich to eat at the Indian River Inlet and a cup of coffee in Dewey Beach, DE. There was a good amount of people in the parks and beach [...]