Forget those big-bucks offshore charter boats tearing in and out of the Ocean City inlet. Forget the headboats, cheaper but more crowded and with an equal chance for tautog, croaker and tangled lines.
For those without the yen (desire) or yen (money) for boat fishing but with a car full of family and a back rack full of bikes and beach chairs, there are lots of shore-bound fishing possibilities.
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Rack a surf rod on the car to fish the beach before 10 a.m. and after 5 p.m. or when the lifeguards are off duty and swimmersout of the water. You can also fish around the rock jetty/bulkhead on the north side of the Inlet, casting lures or bait.
Bulkheads on Sinepuxent Bay from 2nd through 4th streets are also open to the public. Another option is the Route 50 Bridge, being careful for obvious reasons not to fish over the boat traffic throughway.
One favorite is the “L” shaped Oceanic Pier, at 710 S. Philadelphia Ave., sticking into the intersection of the Inlet and Sinepuxent Bay and an ideal spot to catch any fish that likes a running tide.
Pier manager J. J. Tozzi notes that the pier fees are $5 for 12 hours and $8 to rent a rod, with all kinds of bait sold from the shore-bound shop.
Bragging rights for the pier go to the biggest seatrout caught in Ocean City this year, an 11.9-pounder taken by O.C. resident Bill Linemann.
The best fishing is often at night, with possible catches of flounder, croaker, spot, sea bass, blues, trout, shad and the occasional striper. Day catches are flounder, croaker, sea bass and spot. They aren?t always big, but they are always plentiful.
Of the daytime regulars on Tuesday, anglers were from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware, with the Tackett family (New Castle, Del.) enjoying typical daytime fishing fun with catches of small fish frequently hitting their baits.
Seven-year-old Buck Tackett was the champ in mid-afternoon with a nice 13-inch croaker in the cooler, waiting for dinner later that day. Other catches were from dad Paul Tackett with a few sea bass, and Buck?s grandma, Marge Tackett with a few flounder. Buck?s older brother Paul Tackett Jr. had gotten into a few fish also.
The croaker in the cooler was perhaps lonely, but that didn?t matter to the Tackett family. They were having a rich family fishing experience, with or without boat, bulkhead, pier, beach or bridge. And after all, that?s what any family vacation is all about.
C. Boyd Pfeiffer is an internationally-known sportsman and award-winning writer on hunting, fishing and the outdoors, and he has more than 20 books to his credit. He can be reached at [email protected].
