OC Surf Fishing 7/28

[M_Duong60]

Went out and fished from 5:30 till about 9. Used spot strips and shrimp. We managed a total of 5 kingfish, 1 spot, 4 skate, and 3 dogfish. Largest one was about 11-13''

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[tufnik]

Fish off the beach along the boardwalk? Near the jetty? How does kingfish taste? Thanks for the report.

[kevinfry]

Kingish are tasty. Codlike

[mytmouse]

+1 on the Kingfish, mighty fine table fare!

Nice catches!! I keep saying I'm gonna surf fish at OC, maybe one day. Is it tough finding a spot to fish during vacation season?

[kayakjoe]

After 530 pm when lifeguards leave its mostly cleared out a lot of guys that fish in town myself included don't fish a lot towards the lower streets just cause the beach flattens out and is shallower south of let's say 94th street or so but it's consistent to say the least! Fbbw or crab or any ol bait in close on small hooks will just about catch all the summertime fish ya want! Bigger chunks out a ways more and you'll get some toothy critters and winged beasts as well. oh and for some odd reAson the beach "closes" at midnight I've only had one problem with cops on four wheelers kicking us off once but we were right across from secrets midtown area so I can see why. I doubt the drive very far north as the come from the inlet guard station but who knows I may have just been lucky? Cops are strange round here in the summer I'd say head further south to assayeague but that's almost just as crowded and you don't have to wait till 530 there! Either way goodluck!

[M_Duong60]

Thanks! Luckily I am on 94th street haha fished today but had no luck. Going to try again tomorrow morning.

Tufnik, I just fished off the beach behind our place and just used shrimp and spot strips. Sorry for the late reply but didn't realize people were posting.

I know there a lot of beaches in DE where you can fish 3R's road without having to wait for the guards to leave, although I will have to try out assayeague.

Mytmouse, IMO I wouldn't say its hard to find a spot today it was crowded but there's a lot of beach around to fish, but the only downside is you can only fish when the guards aren't out.

[rob-kayak]

There used to be a rock jetty... about 50 yards south of the head of 94th Street. I haven't seen it for years but we used to surf it a lot through the 1980's and previous. Don't know if it was removed during beach replenishment or just covered over. There was/is also a pile jetty at about 131st Street... haven't seen it lately it could be also covered over. There is also a mini point depending upon the sand flow at the Fenwick/MD line. Although I believe they have started beach replenishment up there... and they now charge for parking at 146th Street.

This time of year 3R's parking could easily be filled... and pretty much the same for the State Park just north of Fenwick if you don't go early. You can fish at the State Park (north side of Fenwick) at the north end.

Also.. I've had good luck catching kingfish if you can fish a trough between an outer sand bar and the beach at high tide.

Also.. non fishing... the Crab Bag at 130th has a great happy hour until 6pm.. cheap burgers, shrimp, clams, mussels, oysters. I always sit upstairs because it has a "loft" type atmosphere. There is also a macaroni and cheese lobster dish which is very tasty ! I've always had great crabs there.

[Slobber Bob]

Good job on the kingfish! You couldn't keep them off the hook yesterday down in Chincoteague. Catch a few spot on fbbw, strip them up and it was kings, croaker, and blues no sooner it hit the bottom. Sand fleas were working too.

Like Joe said, once the crowds clear out towards evening there is usually enough open beach in OC to fish. A lot of the rock groins Rob mentioned too were exposed last year after Sandy and there was some awesome beach structure in places. Haven't scoped it out too much yet this year though so I don't know if they are still exposed... but beach structure changes everyday sometimes. The puppy drum fishing in the OC surf was crazy last fall... I did better there than Assateague. Hoping for a repeat this year. The nice part about OC is, you can street hop until you find a good looking hole. Assateague it really helps to have the OSV permit to help you access the better spots.

Be sure to freeze the kingfish and spot heads for bait if you're planning any serious surf fishing later this fall... some mighty large fish prefer to dine on them!

[ronaultmtd]

Roundhead, sea mullet, aka kingfish...I also caught some down here in Myrtle Beach in front of our condo, too- must be about the only inshore fish within casting distance of the shore this time of the summer- by the way, they are superb table fish- all white meat, flaky, very mild-