Surf Fishing

[kgoerz]

I have always loved Surf Fishing. I live in DC now. Anyone know good places to go close to hear where someone can set up on a Beach and Surf Fish.

[2018commo]

I am fond of the Delaware Shore, and kind of base camp out of the DEARNG Training Site in Bethany Beach. We also vacation there for a week in the summer (MWR Site). The fishing is not great in the summer, but we always catch something, bluefish, skates, sharks ect. Ocean City, MD is good off season, and Assateague Island gets lots of traffic too. I was training at PAX River last year and I believe there are also MWR activities there. I grew up on the Jersey shore, that to me is still home, but it’s been a while (4-5 years) since I fished there. Generally the spring and fall run are good for the hard core as better fish can be found, but it requires a lot of time. I like to take my XYL and XO on the beach for the day fish, grill, read and consume adult beverages, for me the DE shore is perfect. I will also never again carry stuff in my hands to the beach when I can load up the 4x4 with a beach pass and really be comfortable.
Good luck, enjoy.

[mark46th]

Sorry- I am on the West coast(SoCal). I used to spend a lot of time down in Baja- My favorite place is called Laguna Manuela, 20 miles north of Scammons Lagoon, where the gray whales go. We call it Variety. We have caught everything from Bone Fish to 70 pound White Sea bass...

[Bill Harsey]

Check out Jack Gartside's website: http://www.jackgartside.com/ for clues or email him there. He's a serious east coast based fisherman. Funny as hell too.

[Buffalobob]

About this time of the year the Hickory shad will be running at Indian River Inlet. Small blues will be mixed in. Large shad darts with spinning gear work well. Doubles are common. You can probably check some websites to be sure they are running strong. Stripers can be caught on large jigs and or live eels. The jetty rocks are slick as snot when wet and you need steel spikes to negotiate them.

As was mentioned, about dark you can catch 1-5 pound sharks from the surf. At Ocean City Assateague, there are blues and stripers. You need to know where the deep spots are as the fish move to and through them.

If you like clamming once the water gets warmer there are a lot of clams in the backside in the marshes. Just wade around barefooted until you feel them and then reach down and pull them out and put them in your bucket. If you find a crab just lift your foot up and pull them off your toe.

There is a day use charge at Assateague and if you want to go off road you have to have four wheel drive, a shovel and stuff and a permit. The mosquitoes are larger than the seagulls and more numerous.

We got into blues at OC one day and filled up a 48 quart cooler in half a day. When they are running in the surf it is ridiculously fun. Assateague is a great place to go too. Don't try to be slick and go without a permit though. You WILL get a ticket. If you are lucky you might see one of the wild horses. The wildlife on Assateague alone is worth the trip. It's a nice day trip to get out of the beltway. There used to be some pretty outstanding bass fishing in the Potomac also, especially around the mall.

[abc_123]

I'll second that about Assateague. IMHO, not the best beach for little kids though. The dropoff to "over kids heads" water depth is sharp. We couldn't relax on the beach for watching the kids all the time.

If you camp the horses WILL come visit you. We had them standing right on the light-line caused by the coleman lantern when we went. One came right up and made a grab for a pack of hamburger buns that we had on the table...until my wife punched him in the nose that is.

Also saw quite a few sitka deer.

Well worth the trip. Good fishing would be a bonus.