Article by Sue Foster
“I’m not from around here. Where can I go fishing from the shore in Ocean City?”
Almost every angler who is not familiar with Ocean City asks this question. There are only so many places to fish from shore, but there are several spots to choose from with some being better than others. Some are more adult oriented, and others are a good place to take children.
The Surf!
Well, this is easy to find! Anglers are allowed to fish the beach anywhere in Ocean City, Fenwick Island, or other towns along the Delaware Coast before 10 AM in the morning and after 5:30 PM. Basically, when the lifeguards come on duty, it’s time for you to pack up your gear. When the lifeguards go off-duty, you can fish again. Beach cleaners run the beach after midnight, so anglers are not supposed to be fishing between midnight and 4 or 5 A.M. This is just a safety precaution.
If you decide to fish the beach in Ocean City, the best access for parking is any side street. The areas between 94th and 118th streets are all condominiums and there are no side streets there. The rest of the town has side streets. Just avoid “Condo Row” if you are driving and looking for a place to park. If you decide to fish in Delaware you will need a Delaware Fishing License. In Maryland, as of 2009, you do not need a fishing license. Expect some sort of license in Maryland in 2010, however.
If you want to fish the surf all day, you need to go into one of the Delaware Seashore State Park areas. It costs $8 to park there if you are out of state. You can also head to the Assateague Island State or National Park and go to the fishing area. There’s a fee per car to get in the park.
For surf fishing, you need at least a 7-foot rod that will handle a 2 to 4 oz. pyramid sinker. An
8 to 10 foot outfit is preferred if you have one. Cut bait or worms on a top-and-bottom type surf rig will do the trick.
When fishing the Ocean Pier that runs parallel to the Ocean City Inlet, anglers can use the same type gear and rig set-ups as they would from the surf. Drive to the southernmost end of Ocean City, hang a left and park in the Beach Parking Lot close to the pier. You enter the pier from the Beach Parking Lot. Use bloodworms for bait to catch spot, whiting and sand perch; squid or mullet strips for flounder, bluefish, shark and trout. If you are into catching the numerous sand sharks and skates, good old box squid is the best bait to use. If you are into the snapper blues, a whole finger mullet on a whole finger mullet rig is good.
While you are in that area, check out the Ocean City Inlet. Anglers fish directly from the rocks, or walk all the way to the right and walk on the cement walkway behind the Oceanic Motel and close to the Oceanic Pier. I do not recommend this area for children or anglers with little knowledge of fishing. You will be walking on rocks or a skinny walkway. There are lots of snags that can be frustrating for novices and kids. If you are an experienced fisherman and are used to rock jetties, use fishing lures such as bucktails, Got-cha Plugs, spoons, and Swimming Shad lures for bluefish, trout, and stripers. Use sand fleas, green crabs or clam for bait for tautog. Use squid, mullet, or shiners as bait for flounder and bluefish. Use live eels, live spot, or lures for stripers.
The Oceanic Pier is a better place to take the kids or go to if you are a novice, but want to do some serious fishing. The Oceanic Pier is close to the inlet and juts out between the Inlet and the Bay. If you drive to the southernmost end of Philadelphia Ave. it is right there next to the Oceanic Motel at the bend in the road. There’s a fee to go out on the Pier, but the fee will be a whole lot less than the price of the tackle you will lose on the Inlet rocks! Use shiners, squid or live minnows when fishing bait for flounder, bluefish, and trout, bloodworms or night crawlers for spot and other small fish.
Fishing lures are the tackle to use at night. Cast Got-cha Plugs, Spec Rigs, and 4-inch curltail grubs tied in tandem, Swimming Shad lures or Rattletraps. If you can’t find a place to park, drive into the Oceanic Motel Parking Lot facing the pier, pay for your ticket, and the clerk will give you a parking pass for your car. Don’t forget to display it in your car!
The Route 50 Bridge, which is located 1 block south of 1st Street, is a good place for the serious angler to go fishing. It is noisy with road traffic so some anglers actually take ear plugs. But it has excellent summer flounder fishing for anglers using frozen shiners or live minnows in combination with a strip of squid for bait. Worms are used for bait for spot and other small fish. Blues hit fishing lures such as Spec Rigs and Got-cha plugs or they take bait such as squid and shiners. Tautog bite sand fleas or green crabs close to the pilings near the draw. Use medium to medium-heavy fishing tackle on the Bridge since it's at least 30 feet off the water. Night fishing is generally good on blues, stripers, and trout working fishing lures beneath the lights. The best fishing lures on the Bridge are Gotcha plugs, bucktails tipped with 6-inch plastic curltails, Swimming Shad lures, 5-inch soft bodies tied in tandem. Anglers also use live eels when fishing for stripers. Parking is available on the side streets close to the Bridge, or on the west side of the Bridge.
The 2nd thru 4th Street Bulkhead is a free public area located on the bayside. Use shiners and squid for bait for flounder, bluefish and sea bass, bloodworms for bait for Norfolk spot, sand fleas or green crab for tautog, triggerfish, sheepshead and stripers. It is very snaggy so when the tide is running hard, fish straight down. When the tide subsides, you may cast out into the channel. There are parking meters right next to the fishing area, and it’s also a good area for the handicapped. Take plenty of tackle because you WILL lose tackle. You can almost be guaranteed to catch and release little sea bass all day long.
The 9th Street Pier is a free public pier located on 9th Street and the bay. Use shiners or live minnows as fishing bait for flounder; squid strips for little sea bass, sea robins and bluefish, and worms for Norfolk spot and blowfish. It’s a nice little pier and lots of fish are caught from it. It’s just a shame it’s not larger. There are some snags on this pier as well. Always take extra tackle.
OK, now for some “not so serious” fishing locations. These are safe places that are not too deep to take the kids to do some light fishing for small fish and for catching blue crabs.
Behind Convention Hall at 40th Street is a free public bulkhead and pier that has free parking. It’s a good crabbing spot when using crab lines or collapsible crab traps. Fishing is only fair on the high tide. Use live minnows for flounder bait, bloodworms for spot and croaker bait. Light fishing tackle is all you need here. If you walk into the water at low tide, and walk and clam towards the right, you can find some clams as well.
The Isle of Wight Bulkhead is a really pretty place to go. It is free and parking is free. To get there, cross the Route 90 Bridge at 62nd Street heading west. At the traffic light in the center of the bridge, turn left. This public area usually has good crabbing with collapsible crab traps and is good for light fishing. Use worms for bait for spot and sand perch. Use live minnows or squid for bait on the high tide when fishing for flounder or bluefish. Light fishing tackle is all you need here.
The 125th Street Pier located north of the Recreational Center at 125th Street is a very popular place to take young children. It’s a free public fishing and crabbing pier that provides free parking as well. There’s good crabbing for those wth crab lines or collapsible crab traps. Fishing is best at high tide. Only use small hooks and small sinkers. Use bloodworms for bait for spot, croaker, and sand perch. Light or ultra light fishing tackle is all you need here.
There’s more places to go in Delaware and outside Ocean City as well. We’ll save those for another day. There are plenty of fishing opportunities in Ocean City, so enjoy!
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.
