surf fishing

Fishing, Clamming, and Crabbing


Fishing Location in Delaware State Parks

Delaware State Parks offer freshwater, saltwater and offshore fishing, as well as clamming and crabbing, and this page will help you plan your perfect fishing adventure! A general fishing license is required for fishing, crabbing, or clamming in tidal and non-tidal waters in Delaware. The Delaware Fishing Guide, a publication of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control's Division of Fish & Wildlife, provides comprehensive information about fishing in Delaware.

Fresh Water Fishing

Alapocas Run State Park

Visit the Alapocas Run State Park homepage for more information about the park.

Brandywine Creek State Park

Anglers can fish for small mouth bass, bluegill, and crappie in Brandywine Creek and for trout in Wilsons Run.

Visit the Brandywine Creek State Park homepage for more information about the park.

Killens Pond State Park

The pond is home to largemouth bass, catfish, carp, perch, crappie, bluegills, and pickerel, all of which await the patient angler.

Visit the Killens Pond State Park homepage for more information about the park.

Lums Pond State Park

With the pond being the major focus of the park, water-borne recreation is important at Lums. Lums offers some of the best freshwater fishing in the state. Anglers can chase largemouth bass, bluegill, crappie, catfish, or pickerel. Striped bass is stocked periodically, offering fisherman yet another challenge. Several youth fishing tournaments are held yearly.

Visit the Lums Pond State Park homepage for more information about the park.

Trap Pond State Park

Anglers on the water or shore may land largemouth bass, pickerel, crappie, and bluegills. Trap Pond has has been cited by Bassmaster Magazine as one of the top 100 bass fishing lakes in the country.

Visit the Trap Pond State Park homepage for more information about the park.

White Clay Creek State Park

Located in the park are small ponds that contain largemouth bass and bluegills. Springtime brings trout fishing to rocky White Clay Creek, while Millstone and Cattail Ponds offer year-round fishing for bluegill and crappie and a catch-and-release program for bass. In addition, the White Clay Creek offers anglers the opportunity to fish for stocked rainbow and brown trout. The creek is closed, however, to all fishing two weeks prior to the opening day of the trout season. The trout fishing season runs from the first Saturday in April through June 30th, and from the first Saturday in October through November 30th.

Visit the White Clay Creek State Park homepage for more information about the park.

Saltwater and Surf-Fishing

Cape Henlopen State Park

For those interested in fishing, Cape Henlopen's quarter-mile-long pier provides convenient access to the Delaware Bay. The bait and tackle concession at the pier offers fishing supplies, licenses and snack foods, and between April 1st and Oct 31st, transportation along the pier is available for people with disabilities.

Surf fishing is a popular year-round activity along the park's ocean beaches. Dune crossovers allow pedestrian and vehicle access to the designated fishing areas. A surf fishing vehicle permit is required in order to drive onto the beach. A limited number of surf fishing vehicle permits is made available for purchase each year; when available, they may be purchased online or at the park office.

Delaware Seashore State Park

Fishing is a very popular year-round activity at Delaware Seashore. In addition to surf fishing on the ocean beaches, anglers may try their luck along the banks of the Indian River Inlet. A special access pier at the Inlet allows the elderly and people with disabilities to get close to the fishing action. Charter boats are available at Delaware Seashore State Park's Indian River Marina. A surf fishing vehicle permit is required in order to drive onto the beach. A limited number of surf fishing vehicle permits is made available for purchase each year; when available, they may be purchased online, at the park office at the Indian River Marina, or at the Indian River Life-Saving Station.

Fenwick Island State Park

The ocean beaches at Fenwick Island are also a favorite spot for surf fishing. Three dune crossings provide fishing access for vehicles with the proper permit to drive onto the beach. Surf fishing vehicle permits are required to drive onto the beach. A limited number of surf fishing vehicle permits is made available for purchase each year; when available, they may be purchased at the bathhouse gift shop (summer only), at the park office at the Indian River Marina, at the Indian River Life-Saving Station, or online.

Surf Fishing History

A Delaware tradition, surf fishing is one of the most popular activities at our beach parks today. Visit our Surf Fishing History page to learn more about the history of surf fishing in Delaware, and listen to some of the recorded memories that have been shared that illustrate the growth of surf fishing since the mid-twentieth century.

Fishing, Clamming, and Crabbing on the Bay

Holts Landing State Park

Holts Landing State Park boasts the only pier in the state built especially for crabbing, and you'll find some of the best crabbing and clamming sites in the state here, as well as great saltwater fishing. Delaware allows recreational blue crabbing on any state waters with the purchase of a fishing license. Crabbers may use various types of fishing gear, including two crab pots per person, crab traps, trot lines, hand lines, dip nets and seine nets of up to 300 feet. Non-commercial crabbers are limited to one bushel per day. Crab pots are banned between Dec. 1 and the last day of February. Anglers can fish from the shore or the pier, or set out by boat from the dual launch boat ramp and head out onto the waters of the Indian River Bay in search of bluefish, perch, flounder, sea trout and more.