Striped Bass Fishing in Pennsylvania: Delaware River and Raystown

Pennsylvania has two very different striped bass fisheries. The first is migratory: fish from the Atlantic that run up the tidal Delaware River in spring and are managed with a narrow slot. The second is landlocked: stocked stripers and striped-bass hybrids in lakes such as Raystown, managed with a simple inland limit. This guide sets the rules for each side by side, then points to the waters where they apply. For how to catch striped bass, see our striped bass guide, and for the freshwater fish, our landlocked striper guide.

The Delaware Estuary slot

On the tidal Delaware, the 2026 book sets a slot and the slot changes with the season and the place.

Pennsylvania striped bass seasons (Delaware Estuary and inland waters)

From the PFBC 2026 Pennsylvania Fishing Summary, pp. 10 and 13, checked November 2, 2026. Anglers targeting striped bass below Trenton Falls must hold the free saltwater angler registry. Inline circle hooks are required with bait in the tidal Delaware, and gaffing a striped bass is unlawful. Coastwide measures can change; check the PFBC before you fish.

Delaware Estuary, Pennsylvania line to the Calhoun Street Bridge

Dates	Status	Where	Limit
January 1 to March 31 and June 1 to December 31	Harvest open	Pennsylvania state line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge	1 fish per day, 28 to less than 31 inches.Inline circle hooks required with bait. No gaffing.
April 1 to May 31	Harvest open	Pennsylvania state line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge	1 fish per day, 22 to less than 26 inches.A different slot from the rest of the year.

Delaware River upstream of the Calhoun Street Bridge

Dates	Status	Where	Limit
January 1 to December 31	Harvest open	From the Calhoun Street Bridge upstream	1 fish per day, 28 to less than 31 inches.

Inland waters, including Raystown Lake and Lake Nockamixon

Dates	Status	Where	Limit
January 1 to December 31	Harvest open	Commonwealth inland waters	2 per day combined with hybrid striped bass, 20 inch minimum.The 2026 book lists no special rule for Raystown.

• From the Pennsylvania line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge: one fish from 28 to under 31 inches from January 1 to March 31 and June 1 to December 31, and one fish from 22 to under 26 inches from April 1 to May 31.
• Upstream of the Calhoun Street Bridge: one fish from 28 to under 31 inches, all year.

A 2020 press release gave a 28 to under 35 inch slot. The 2026 book supersedes it. An earlier research note also mentioned an extra 21 to 24 inch, two-fish entry above Calhoun Street, but the book does not list one, so we do not publish it.

Three rules that go with the slot

• Register. Anglers who target or catch striped bass, shad or river herring below Trenton Falls or in the Delaware Estuary must register for free with the Commission, or hold a NOAA or other state registration. Under 16 is exempt.
• Use inline circle hooks with bait in the tidal Delaware and its tributaries, up to the tidal limit.
• Never gaff a striped bass. Gaffing is unlawful at any time.

You also may not possess a fish other than whole or with the entrails removed on shore, on a boat or at the launch, so keep your fish whole until you are home.

The advisory

Striped bass over 28 inches from the tidal Delaware are limited to one meal a month, for PCBs, in the 2026 DEP advisories. That applies to the same fish the slot lets you keep. The slot is a harvest rule; the advisory is a health rule. Both matter. Details are on our tidal Delaware guide.

Inland stripers and hybrids

In Pennsylvania’s lakes and rivers outside the Delaware, striped bass and striped bass-white bass hybrids share one rule: open all year, a 20 inch minimum and two a day combined. That is the rule at Raystown Lake, which holds the inland state record of 53 pounds 12 ounces from 1994, and the 2026 book’s entry for Raystown names only trout and smelt, so it has no special striper rule. It is also the rule at Lake Nockamixon, which is a Big Bass lake, but that program covers only largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Both lakes are compared in our Pennsylvania lakes guide.

Inland stripers are largely a stocking fishery, so numbers depend on what the Commission puts in. We have no current stocking report, so we do not give figures.

Where each rule applies

Water	Slot or limit	Guide
Delaware, PA line to Calhoun Street Bridge	28 to under 31 in (22 to under 26 in, Apr 1 to May 31), 1 fish	Tidal Delaware
Delaware, above Calhoun Street Bridge	28 to under 31 in, 1 fish	Upper Delaware
Raystown Lake and other inland waters	20 in, 2 a day combined with hybrids	Pennsylvania lakes
Conowingo Reservoir (below Holtwood Dam)	18 in, 2 a day, one over 30 in	Susquehanna

What to watch for next year

The Delaware Estuary slot is part of a coastwide management plan, so the numbers above are a snapshot of 2026. Neighboring states have their own rules for the same fish. See New Jersey’s striped bass guide for the other side of the river, where a different set of seasons applies, and note that a striped bass taken under Pennsylvania’s spring harvest rule below Trenton cannot be possessed in New Jersey.

Tackle in one paragraph

For the tidal river, a heavy spinning rod around eight feet with a fish-finder rig and a circle hook is the standard bait setup. For Raystown, a medium-heavy rod with fluorocarbon line suits live bait and plugs. Tell us where you plan to fish and we can build to it.