Fishing Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge protects more than 10,000 acres of marsh along the western shore of Delaware Bay, and a short list of its waters is open to anglers. The refuge says that no other waters are open to fishing or crabbing. This guide covers each open water, how you get to it, the seasonal closures and the boat rules, drawn from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) fishing page and its fishing and crabbing sheet.

What you need to know first

You need a valid Delaware fishing license. The refuge requires no refuge-specific permit, and you must show your license to federal and state officers on request. State regulations apply on the refuge, including seasons, limits and permitted species, so the limits in our Delaware rules guide apply here too. Fishing is hook and line only. All fishing and crabbing is for personal use, commercial fishing is not allowed, and all gear must be attended. Fishing access runs from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Where you can fish

The refuge lists these waters and nothing else.

Slaughter Canal. You can fish from shore at the Fowler Beach Road and Slaughter Beach Road crossings. By boat, you can fish north of Fowler Beach Road. Boats are not allowed south of Fowler Beach Road, and the area south of the south Fowler parking lot is closed.

Slaughter Creek. Shore access is at the Cods Road crossing.

Prime Hook Creek. This is boat access, between Foord’s Landing and Waples Pond.

Headquarters Canal. Shore access runs along the Dike trail and at the headquarters boat ramp dock.

Turkle Pond and Fleetwood Pond. You can fish from shore or from a boat. Boats are limited to human or electric power.

Petersfield Ditch. Shore access only, at the Broadkill Road crossing.

Fowler Beach. You can fish on the beach from October 1 to March 1.

Seasonal closures

Fowler Beach is closed from March 1 through September 30 for nesting state-endangered least terns and American oystercatchers and federally endangered piping plovers. The refuge’s own fishing page gives the beach’s open window as October 1 to March 1, so the two lists leave a one-day gap, and we treat the beach as closed for all of March.

Western Prime Hook Creek, from Foord’s Landing to Waples Pond, is closed every day during the deer and waterfowl hunting seasons, and the sheet gives no fixed dates. The current fishing page does not list hunt-day closures, so confirm the dates with the refuge before you plan a trip in autumn or winter.

Boats and motors

The 2023 fishing sheet sets a 30 horsepower limit on boat motors in Prime Hook Creek and Slaughter Canal and bans air-thrust boats and jet skis. Turkle and Fleetwood ponds are limited to human or electric power. Because the fishing page itself does not repeat the 30 horsepower rule, confirm it with the refuge before you launch a motorboat.

Crabbing

Crabbing is allowed in the same waters, using only hand lines, dip nets and collapsible traps. Collapsible traps must be fished from shore with the owner present, and trot lines and crab pots are not allowed. Bait fish and grass shrimp may be collected with a dip net or cast net for use on the refuge.

What to fish for

The refuge lists no species. State rules decide what you may keep, and the marsh holds both fresh and brackish water. Our research file lists the open waters as a mix of freshwater ponds and tidal marsh creeks, so the right gear varies. A light spinning outfit is a sensible choice for ponds and creeks, and a short rod helps in the tight shoreline. For largemouth bass in the freshwater ponds, see our Delaware largemouth bass guide. We have not confirmed which species are present in each water, so we are not naming them.

Planning notes

This page comes from the USFWS fishing page and the 2023 fishing sheet. We could not settle the refuge’s street address: a 2012 refuge brochure gives 11978 Turkle Pond Road, Milton, and an older note gave a different number on the same road, so check the address before you set a map pin. We did not find fees or a visitor-center schedule that we could confirm for the current year. The Delaware Bay fishing around the refuge is covered in our Delaware Bay shore guide, and the nearby Lewes and Milton towns are in the Lewes, Rehoboth and Millsboro guide.