Bluefish Fishing in Delaware

Bluefish are a surf, inlet and pier fish in Delaware, and the rule is simple: no size limit and a daily limit that depends on how you fish. This guide covers the rule, where anglers find bluefish and how the season runs. For how to catch them, see the bluefish how-to guide.

The rule

The rules snapshot above shows the rule with the date we checked it. In tidal water the season is open all year, there is no size limit and the daily limit is 5 from a private vessel or from shore and 7 from a charter boat or headboat. Check the Delaware Fishing Guide before you keep one.

Where to fish in Delaware

Indian River Inlet. Snapper bluefish up to 10 pounds or more have taken metal lures on incoming water here. See the Indian River Inlet guide.

Surf and Cape Henlopen. Cut menhaden from the beach works, especially in fall when larger fish follow bait along the beaches. See the surf fishing guide and the Cape Henlopen guide.

The state record is told in our record bluefish tale.

Seasons and timing

Adults arrive as water warms, and surf and inlet action builds from May as bait schools return. In summer the best action is at dawn and dusk, and young snapper bluefish appear in bays and inlets in late summer. In fall larger fish follow migrating bait. In winter they move south and offshore.

Rods and tackle

A 7 to 9 foot medium-heavy spinning rod with a 4000 to 5000 size reel and 20 to 30 pound braid is typical, with a wire or 40 to 60 pound fluorocarbon bite leader. Metal lures, poppers and swimming plugs work, and cut bunker, mullet and live spot are common baits. Incoming water at inlets is best. These are typical choices, not requirements.

Handling

Bluefish have sharp teeth. Use pliers and keep your fingers out of the mouth. At the surf and inlets, a bite leader saves a lot of lures.

How the fishery is managed

ASMFC’s 2025 management track assessment found that bluefish were not overfished and not experiencing overfishing in 2024, but the stock remains in a rebuilding plan. Amendment 2, adopted in 2021, set a seven-year rebuilding program that stays in effect until biomass reaches its target, and the next assessment is scheduled for 2027. The commission says recreational bag limits increase in 2026 and 2027 to a 5 fish bag for private anglers and a 7 fish bag for for-hire anglers. Delaware’s limits match those numbers, so the daily limit here is a coastwide measure and can change if the commission changes its plan.

State record

DNREC’s records page lists a bluefish of 24 pounds 13 ounces caught by Luis Mispireta in 2015. The page gives no length, location or method. A new record must weigh at least 2 ounces more, be approved by Division staff and be weighed on a certified scale. The fish took a hooked sea bass at the Del-Jersey-Land reef in November 2015, which is the story in our record bluefish tale.

Surf fishing and vehicle permits

Much of Delaware’s bluefish fishing is from the beach. To drive on a designated Delaware State Park beach you need a surf fishing vehicle permit. Only four-wheel drive vehicles with at least 7 inches of ground clearance that are licensed for public roads are eligible, and permit holders must be actively surf fishing while they are on the beach. Permits are sold at State Park offices, through license agents and by DNREC in Dover. A permit holder is exempt from the fishing license requirement while the vehicle is on a designated State Park beach, but the exemption applies only there. Anywhere else you need a license.

License and registration

A general fishing license covers fishing, crabbing and clamming in tidal and non-tidal waters and is good through December 31 of the year it is issued. Anglers 16 and older must also hold a free Fisherman Information Network (FIN) number each year, which is issued automatically with an individual or resident boat fishing license. Failing to give an officer a valid FIN number is treated the same as having no license. See our Delaware rules guide for the fee table and exemptions.

Where to go next

The tidal rules are the same on the jetty, the pier and the beach, so choose the water by the bait and the tide. For access to the Cape Henlopen Fishing Pier, which the state lists as a pier with fishing access, see our Cape Henlopen guide.