Drifting Easy by Sue Foster

“I have two sons, 12 and 14 years old, and want to take them fishing 
somewhere. Where do I go and what should I use?”

There are only so many public places to go in Ocean City. But there are 
enough to choose from. If you want to do serious fishing, stick to the beach 
or the areas on the bay between 9th Street and the Inlet. The few areas 
available in North Ocean City are not very deep and are more suitable for 
crabbing and catching little pan-sized fish. Good places to take the 5 to 8 
year old.

Surf fishing off the beach is an excellent option for the older kids. There’s 
plenty of room to cast and a variety of fish can be caught. As long as you 
have the fishing equipment suitable for the beach, you will be fine. Make 
sure your fishing rod is at least 7-foot long though an 8 or 9-foot rod 
would be best. Most importantly, buy a sand spike so your rod does not fall 
in the sand and ruin the reel.

Though there are a few big fish in the surf in the summer, most are going to 
be smaller. Buy kingfish rigs and use little strips of squid, bloodworm, 
Fishbite Bloodworm Alternative, cut spot, or bunker. The fishing fare will 
be kingfish, spot, croaker, snapper blues, sand sharks, spike trout, 
flounder, an occasional striper, and blowfish. Use a pyramid or hurricane 
type sinker in the ocean so it does not roll back in with the waves.

“What street should we fish on?”

You can fish on any street in Ocean City or Fenwick Island between the hours 
of 5 A.M. and 10 A.M. and again between the hours of 5:30 P.M. and Midnight. 
In the middle of the day, when the lifeguards are on the beach, and swimmers 
are in the water, you cannot fish. If you want to surf fish during the day, 
go up to the Delaware Seashore State Park. The Fenwick Island Bathhouse is 
just North of Fenwick Island. Pay $6 for the car and one can fish there all 
day in the fishing area. There are other parking areas North of this into 
Delaware as well including the famous 3 R’s Road. This is just South of the 
Indian River Bridge and offers very good surf fishing as it has a quick 
drop-off.

Look for a slough, a break in the waves, or a drop-off when fishing the 
beach. A flat beach is not good fishing. Scan the beach at low tide and look 
for deeper pools of water. Go back at high tide and fish there. If it is low 
tide when you can fish, walk out as far as you can, and cast beyond the 
breakers.


The Ocean City Inlet is located at the Southern most end of Ocean City.  It’s 
not the greatest place to take kids that have never fished before, but if 
you and your kids are experienced, it’s a good place to cast lures. Anglers 
use Got-cha Plugs, Spec-rigs, Spoons, and Swimming Shad Lures for bluefish, 
shad, trout, and stripers. Lure fishing is usually best at dawn or after 
dark. During the day, the kids can dig sand fleas on the beach and cast them 
just beyond the rocks for tautog, sea bass, sheepshead, and triggerfish. You 
can cast out further with shiners and squid combinations for flounder, or 
use any kind of cut bait for bluefish. The inlet rocks have lots of snags, 
so take plenty of gear. You can park right in the Beach Parking Lot for a 
fee.
The Ocean Pier is a pay pier that runs parallel to Ocean City Inlet. Enter 
from the Beach Parking Lot and walk up the stairs. It juts right out into 
the ocean.  Use bloodworms, Fishbite bloodworms, or nightcrawlers for bait 
for spot, kingfish, croaker and sand perch on small hooks (size #6). Use 
shiner and squid combinations for flounder on larger hooks. Any kind of cut 
bait such as spot, bunker, or mullet works well for flounder, bluefish, 
shark, skates and trout. There’s usually a good number of sharks and skates 
on the pier, so if the kids like to catch them, squid is a good all around 
bait.
The Oceanic Pier is a pay pier that is located at the Southern most end of 
Philadelphia Ave. near the inlet. There’s a big sign there and it’s right 
next to the Oceanic Motel. Go up to the pier, get your ticket and they will 
give you a pass for your car. You can then park in the Oceanic Motel Parking 
lot (as long as there is a parking place available.) This is a good place to 
take the older kids because the pier is roomy and a variety of fish are 
usually being caught.  Use shiners, squid or live minnows for fishing bait 
for flounder, bluefish, and trout. Use bloodworms, nightcrawlers, or 
Fishbite Bloodworms for spot and other small fish. At night, use lures to 
catch bluefish, shad, and trout.  Cast Got-cha Plugs, Spec Rigs, 4-inch 
curltail grubs tied in tandem, Swimming Shad Lures, Rattletraps, and 
MirrOlures. Anglers also catch croaker at night with any kind of cut bait.
The Route 50 Bridge is located 1 block South of 1st Street. You can get on 
the Bridge either of two ways. From the east side, you can park somewhere 
down on St. Louis Ave. (This is the street that runs parallel to Coastal 
Hwy.) and walk up the steps onto the Bridge. On the west side, you can park 
on the side of the road or park in the “park and ride” parking lot. (You 
cannot park on the side of the road between midnight and 5 A.M.) The Bridge 
has excellent summer flounder fishing for anglers using frozen shiners in 
combination with a strip of squid for bait. Worms or Fishbites are used for 
bait for spot and other small fish. Blues hit fishing lures such as 
bucktails, Spec Rigs, spoons, or Got-cha Plugs or they take bait such as 
squid and shiners. Croakers hit worms, Fishbites, or squid. Tautog and black 
drum and little sea bass can be caught using sand fleas near the pilings. 
Night fishing is generally good working fishing lures beneath the lights. 
The best fishing lures on the Bridge are Got-cha plugs, bucktails with 
6-inch plastic curl tails attached, Swimming Shad Lures, 4-inch curltail 
grubs tied in tandem, or Swimming Shad Lures tied in tandem.   Anglers also 
use live eels for stripers at night.

The Homer Gudelsky Park is a fairly new fishing area. It is free and also 
offers free parking, though sometimes the parking is a little sparse. 
Traveling west over the Rt. 50 Bridge, make a left at Golf Course Road (next 
to Royal Farm Store) and make the next immediate left (Old Bridge Rd.) This 
area is a beach with rocks along the shore. Cast shiners and squid 
combinations for bait or live minnows for flounder- Use worms for bait on 
small hooks for sea bass, croaker and spot. - Use fishing lures early in the 
morning or after dark for blues, shad and stripers. Anglers cast Swimming 
Shad Lures, Got-cha Plugs, Spec Rigs, MirrOlures, bucktails, and 
Rattletraps. One needs fishing tackle that will cast into the main channel. 
A 7 to 8 foot rod and reel or even a surf rod and reel will work at this 
park.
The 2nd through 4th Street Bulkhead is a free public area located on the 
bayside. There are parking meters right next to the fishing area. Basically, 
it’s a bulkhead where you can either cast out during slack tide, or fish 
straight down when the tide is running hard. It does have a lot of snags, 
and can be frustrating if you try to cast out when the tide is running too 
hard. Use shiners and squid or live minnows for bait for flounder. Norfolk 
spot like bloodworms or Fishbite bloodworms. Tautog, triggerfish, 
sheepshead, black drum and sea bass like sand fleas. Again, when the tide is 
running hard, fish straight down. When the tide subsides, you may cast out 
into the channel. Some anglers fish here at night for stripers, trout, and 
blues with fishing lures such as bucktails, spec rigs, Got-cha Plugs, 
Rattletraps, and Swimming Shad Lures.



A free public pier is located on 9th Street and the bay. It’s not very big 
but it is free and parking along the street there is free. It’s a good place 
to go first thing in the morning.     Use shiners or live minnows for 
fishing bait for flounder-- squid strips for sea bass and bluefish-- worms 
or Fishbites for Norfolk spot. (You may also crab here with fair success 
with crab lines or collapsible crab traps.) The best spot to fish is from 
the left hand corner. Cast towards the main channel.
“When should we go fishing?”
The best time to fish is with the tide. Incoming tide is usually best in the 
bay or ocean. Find low tide on the tide chart and fish between the low tide 
and the high tide. If you have 4 hours to fish, the optimum time would be 
three hours before high tide and one hour after high tide. (Add 2 hours for 
bay tides to most tide charts.)

Taking the kids fishing is a good experience…for them and for you…. good 
fishing…



 
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