Article by Sue Foster
Fishing the Rt. 50 Bridge
The Route 50 Bridge in Ocean City is famous for its fishing. Many anglers want to try fishing off this bridge but are unsure of how to fish it.
“Where is the Route 50 Bridge located?”
The Route 50 Bridge is actually the Harry W. Kelly Memorial Bridge when looking it up on your GPS. If you came into Ocean City across the Route 90 Bridge you would have never seen the Route 50 Bridge. If you are in north Ocean City, drive south and you will see the Bridge one block south of 1st Street on Baltimore Ave. If you are coming into Ocean City from the West, just follow the signs for Ocean City, Route 50, and downtown Ocean City.
“Where do you park?”
There is a limited amount of parking spaces available on the West side of the Bridge along the shoulder of the highway. There is also a free “Park and Ride” that is not a far walk to the Bridge where you can park and walk up on to the Bridge.
“Where can I park on the East side of the Bridge?”
If you are traveling south on Coastal Highway, cross over to the street just west of the Coastal Highway called St. Louis Ave. This street runs from 15th Street to three blocks south of the Route 50 Bridge. There are steps to walk up on both sides of the Bridge off St. Louis Ave. Look for parking on the side street there, or pay to park at the Municipal Parking Lot at 1st Street.
“What can we catch?”
The Route 50 Bridge in Ocean City, MD crosses over some pretty good fishing holes in the Isle of Wight Bay. By day, anglers fish for flounder, bluefish, croaker, tautog, triggerfish, and all kinds of varieties of little fish such as sea bass, blowfish and Norfolk spot. You can fish the main channel close to the draw of the Bridge in the hard running water, or you can walk towards the middle of the Bridge for calmer, shallower waters that anglers sometimes call the “flats.” Use a 6 ½ to 9-foot rod with a reel spooled with at least 14 pound test.
By day, during this time of year, between mid-to-late August, into the first week of September anglers tend to fish for flounder. The best baits are live minnows hooked through the lips or frozen shiners hooked through the eyes. The angler can then add a strip of squid next to the minnow or shiner bait for extra added attraction. I usually take a pack of finger mullet with me too, in case the bluefish start biting!
Locals hunting big fluke spend time in the marina basins on the West side of the Bridge or at Northside Park at 125th Street, cast netting for little finger mullet or “hook and lining” small spot with little pieces of bloodworm and small hooks. They then put these baits in an aerated bucket and walk up on the Bridge right at the tide change and fish the deepest holes near the draw of the Bridge.
If you look down in the water, you will see the boats trying to get as close to the Bridge as possible, so you know fishing from the Bridge will bring you some luck. You’re in the perfect hole! You just have to hoist the fish up on to the Bridge after you catch them. Anglers use a Bridge net, or simply “hand over hand” their catch once it is hooked. I carry a pair of gloves to pull up a fish on a bridge so I won’t cut my hands. This is especially important if you are using braided line!
“What kind of rig and what size hook and sinker should I use?”
For flounder, a Kahle hook in the #1/0 to #4/0 size is good. If you are hoisting the flounder over the railing, you want a pretty good sized hook so your catch won’t fall off. If you are fishing the deep water, a single or double hook flounder rig with a 2 to 4 ounce bank or bass cast type sinker will do the trick. Some anglers use a single hook rig about 30-inches long and set it up with an egg sinker between two barrel swivels. This is good if you are fishing near the pilings where there are rocks you can get snagged on.
“I see people using floats?”
In the shallower areas of the Bridge, towards the middle, anglers use a spreader rig or spreader bar which actually “spreads” your two hooks apart. You put your sinker in the center of the rig, and then put your leadered hooks on the two loops of the spreader bar so they actually drag the bottom. Use about a two-ounce bank sinker for weight. Go up about 4 feet or so, and attach a big bobber or big float that you can see from a distance. Hook it on your line, and the current will actually take your bobber out and drag your baits along the bottom. You can cover a lot of territory. It’s just like you’re drifting in a boat. Anglers work the edges of the sand bars. On the incoming tide, you can drift your baits out towards the big island called “Bird Island.” On the outgoing tide, you drift your baits out towards the Homer Gudelsky Park where you see anglers fishing from the shore on the sandy beach.
NOTE!!! You have to watch out for boaters, as you can lose all your gear to a boater getting too close to your line. Always be able to see your bobber and drag it back in closer when you see a boat.
If you’re not into the bobber thing, use a flounder rig, and cast out as far as you can, then drag it back slowly towards you. Flounder like a bait that’s moving, so keep a little motion in your baits.
“Bluefish!”
There’s usually some snapper blues around the Bridge during the day and night. They also like a moving bait. Use spinner blades or those Aqua-Clear Flounder rigs with the shiny fish. Bait up with shiners and squid, or cut the whole side of a finger mullet and slap it on the hook with the shiner. (One of my favorite baits.) There’s bigger bluefish on the Bridge than in the surf this time of year!
“I see people working lures.”
When the blues are really schooling, especially first thing in the morning, at dusk or after dark, anglers work lures for the bluefish. Got-cha Plugs are one of the best and most effective lures. You can work a lure on the Bridge one of two ways. You can work with the current and cast under the Bridge and jig it out with the current. OR, you can work against the current, cast out, and let it bounce back until it gets just slightly beneath the Bridge. If you let it go too long, you’ll get hung up in the rocks beneath the Bridge. It’s a fine art, so watch others. Got-cha Plugs need to be worked with short, sharp jerks of the rod tip. Some anglers simply drop the Got-cha Plugs straight down, and jerk them up and down close to the pilings when the current is not too strong. Note: During the day, bluefish are closer to the bottom. At night, blues come closer to the surface!
“I hear they catch stripers at night!”
There are some mightly fine stripers biting on the Route 50 Bridge at night. This is when you need sturdier equipment and heavier pound test on your reels. One of the most popular rods to fish the Bridge is the Ugly Stik because it takes all kinds of abuse. Big stripers grab the lures and start going underneath the Bridge in the current. An 8 or 9-foot Ugly Stik has the strength to turn the fish in the tide without snapping the rod if it touches the cement structure of the Bridge. Anglers use up to 40 pound test on their medium to medium-large size salt water reels.
Swimming Shad lures are one of the most popular lures to fish for stripers. The five-inch size is very popular in the dark colors for night fishing. Six-inchers are popular for the anglers that want to catch the big ones! Work these lures the same way as the Got-cha Plugs, but you don’t have to do the “short, sharp jerks.” Anglers also work their lures along the light line. The lights at night shine on the water and attract the baitfish that lure in the blues and stripers. Soft bodies of any kind in the 5-inch size on lead heads tied in tandem are also popular.
“Best Tide?”
Three hours before high tide and two hours after high tide is best for night fishing.
“Day time tides?”
Two hours either side of either high or low tide. And remember, you can catch fish during almost any tide during the day on the Bridge because there’s plenty of deep water. If the current gets too strong in the deep water, fish in the middle of the Bridge where the current is not so strong.
“I don’t have a bridge net?”
Just go fishing, and usually someone will help you if you hang into the big one!
Good fishing….
Sue Foster is an outdoor writer and co-owner of Oyster Bay Tackle in Ocean City, MD and Fenwick Tackle in Fenwick, DE.
