Spring has sprung!

“It’s been a long hard winter and I’m ready to go fishing! What
do you catch in Ocean City in May? What should I use for bait and rigs?
Where should I go? Should I trailer my boat or fish from the shore?

May is the month when fishing seriously begins. In April we
have a few fish here and there, and occasionally a really good catch of
fish, but by May the fishing gets serious. This is mainly because the water
temperatures are generally above the magic number of 50 degrees and the
weather is more cooperative than in April.

We don’t have many little scrappy fish in May. Forget about spot or
croaker. But we have stripers, flounder, bluefish, tautog and sometimes
whiting. The only “trash” fish around (not everyone considers these fish
unwanted by the way) are small ling cod, tiny sea bass, blowfish, skates,
and dog sharks. Offshore, we’ll have some really nice sea bass and big
blues.

“One week either side of Mother’s Day the blues blitz the beach,” is an old
adage that often rings true. The last few years this adage has also rung
true for anglers fishing the Ocean City or Indian River Inlets, the Route 50
Bridge, or the Oceanic Pier. These blues don’t seem to be those 6 to 8
pounders of yesteryear. But most of them are still nice- in that 12-20 inch
range. These are the tastier blues to eat. Occasionally we get an 8 to 12
pound bluefish in the spring, but the last few years they have run in the
snapper to chopper size range.

If you have a boat and go offshore, the blues run larger. In the past,
anglers used to go offshore trolling and target big bluefish with Smokey
Troll Lures (Hoochy Trolls) or spoons. Since anglers have discovered
stripers and tuna chunking, anglers do not seem as interested in trolling
for big blues as they used to be. But, big bluefish are still there, just
waiting for someone to troll by and catch one. Anglers still use Smokey
Trolls lures and spoons, but they also use Mann’s Stretch 25 Lures. These
lures are nice because they dive down 25 feet so the angler does not have to
use heavy trolling sinkers or planers when the blues run deep. When the
blues are on the surface, some anglers like to stop the boat and cast into a
school of breaking blues with bucktail jigs, Swimming Shad lures, or spoons.
Places offshore to find bluefish are the Bass Grounds (1st, 2nd and 3rd
Lumps), Fenwick Shoal, the Isle of Wight Shoal, Big Gull Shoal and the Jack
Spot Shoal.

“How do you fish for bluefish in the surf?”

Fishing for blues in the surf is easy. Cast out beyond the breakers with a
pre-made “finger mullet” rig baited up with a whole finger mullet. These
rigs are made with a surf float and a detachable hook so you can thread a
whole finger mullet onto the rig. The bluefish comes up to bite the back end
of the finger mullet, and hopefully, winds up with a hook in his mouth for
his trouble. These rigs are made with a monofilament or wire leader with a
3-way swivel and snap for the sinker. Use a pyramid or hurricane type sinker
in the 3 to 6-ounce range to hold bottom in the surf.

“What other fish can I catch off the beach?”

Stripers will take that same mullet rig. They will also readily take a rig
without a surf float. Rig up a circle or Octopus style hook in the #4/0 to
#7/0 range with either a 3-way swivel and snap set-up or use a fish finder
type set-up. Again, use the pyramid or hurricane type sinker. Bait up with
fresh or filleted bunker, mackerel, mullet, or clam. You can also set up a
basic striper rig by using a heavy-duty top and bottom rig and attaching two
leadered hooks. (Check you bait more often when not using surf floats.)
Stripers aren’t necessarily “way out there.” Sometimes they are close to
shore. For this reason, casting out, and slowly retrieving in will often
give the surf angler good results.

“Where else can I catch stripers and blues in May?”

Blues come through the inlets and into the bays on changes of tide or on an
easterly breeze. Sometimes they just come in chasing bait at any time of day
or night or tide. When you see the water boiling and birds diving, the blues
are there! Anglers cast bucktail jigs tipped with plastic curltail grubs,
Got-cha Plugs, Spoons, and Swimming Shad Lures from the inlet rocks or Sea
Wall, the Oceanic Pier, and the Route 50 Bridge. Sometimes they swim by the
9th Street Pier and run all the way up to the Route 90 Bridge. The tide rule
of thumb, which can vary is this: fish three hours before high tide and two
hours after high tide or one hour either side of low tide for bluefish.

Stripers tend to run through the inlet, around the Oceanic Pier, and to the
Route 50 Bridge. Both the Ocean City and Indian River Inlet see their share
of stripers. Anglers use Swimming Shad Lures, bucktail jigs with plastic
curltail grubs attached and various other hard bodied lures such as Rebels,
Got-cha Plugs, or Bombers. Anglers also use live eels at the inlets while
the tide is not running too hard. Anglers cast their lure or live bait up
current, let it fall towards the bottom, and jig it in with the tide.

Anglers fishing the Oceanic Pier catch lots of bluefish by day and at night
casting spec rigs, spoons, and Got-cha Plugs. Some stripers bite here too,
mostly at night. Towards the end of the month of May, some sea trout will
start to bite here as well. Besides bluefish, anglers catch flounder with
live minnows or shiners with squid strips attached. Basic bottom rigs work
good for that. Tautog are also taken at the very end of the pier for
anglers casting green crab or sand fleas towards the sea wall.

The Route 50 Bridge is famous for its nighttime striper fishing. Anglers
target the stripers in May using five and six inch Swimming Shad Lures,
Fin-S Fish soft bodies on lead heads tied in tandem, bucktail jigs with
plastic curltail worms attached, and live eels. Bluefish can be caught day
or night with Got-cha Plugs, spoons, and spec rigs. They can also be caught
with bait, especially during the day.

Flounder fishing is definitely a “go” in May. In fact, May can be one of our
best months for larger flounder if the weather cooperates. Thus, May is a
good month to bring the boat down to fish for flounder. The usual bay
flounder holes such as Route 90 Bridge, Thorofare, Convention Hall channel,
the main east channel, and the bay behind Assateague are all good. All area
tackle stores sell pre-made flounder rigs. Use bank or bass cast type
sinkers in the one to three ounce size range in the bay. (Pyramid sinker
will get stuck in the mud!)

Without a boat, the Oceanic Pier, Route 50 Bridge, and the Ninth Street Pier
are all good places to toss in a flounder rig baited with shiners or live
minnows tipped with a strip of squid. Rule of thumb for tides when fishing
for flounder: Fish three hours before high tide and two hours after high
tide. Also try the low tide. Fish one or two hours before dead low slack and
one or two hours after as the tide just turns and starts to come in.

Tautogs! The Inlets, the Route 50 Bridge, the end of the Oceanic Pier, the
bulkhead along Second, Third, and Fourth Streets, and the end of 5th and 6th
Streets along the bayside are the tautog haunts. Anglers bait up with
sectioned pieces of green crab or whole sand fleas (sand crabs or mole crabs
they are also called.) To make a simple tautog rig, tie a piece of 40-pound
test monofilament leader to a barrel swivel. Tie a double overhand surgeons
loop on the end of the line and slip on a flat or torpedo shaped sinker in
the one to three ounce range. Then tie another loop about 3-inches long
about 3-inches up the leader and slip on a simple loose Octopus #2/0 hook. A
simple tautog rig! (Leave a good amount of leader between your hook and
your swivel to combat rock abrasion.) If you fish with 30 to 40-pound test
on your reel you can tie these rigs directly to your line on your reel. A
good tautog tide is the same as a good flounder tide.


If you get the chance to go offshore in your own boat or a party boat, May
is an excellent month to go for sea bass and tautog. Drift the artificial
reef sites (the ones at least 8-miles out for sea bass) or make reservations
on one of Ocean City’s party boats.

May! Go fishing!

Good fishing!