Pier Fishing

Five casts off the Oceanic, before the sun is properly up. The fish are real; the pounds are a game.

Cast1 of 5

On the stringer0.0 lb

DepthOn the bottom

Best trip0.0 lb

Five casts off the Oceanic

Pick your spot along the pier, pick your depth, and set the hook when it goes.

Press Start the trip, or press Space.

Keys: Space or Enter casts, sets the hook, and holds to reel. ↑/↓ move the bait through the water. The cast marker sweeps on its own. Nothing here needs an account, and scores stay in this browser.

What is down there, and how deep
  • Oyster toadfish — on the bottom, in among the pilings · out over the channel edge. Everybody's first fish off a pier. Ugly, grumpy, harmless.
  • Northern kingfish (roundhead) — on the bottom, out over the channel edge · way out in the moving water. Small, striped, and the best-eating fish nobody drives here for.
  • Spot — down deep, on the bottom, in among the pilings · out over the channel edge. One black dot behind the gill. Kids catch them all day off the bulkhead.
  • Atlantic croaker — down deep, on the bottom, out over the channel edge. It croaks in your hand. That is the whole reason for the name.
  • Summer flounder (fluke) — on the bottom, out over the channel edge · way out in the moving water. Lies flat on the bottom with both eyes on one side, waiting.
  • Black sea bass — down deep, on the bottom, in among the pilings. Structure fish — it lives against the pilings, not out in the open.
  • Tautog (blackfish) — on the bottom, in among the pilings. Hooked one dives straight back into the rocks. That is the whole fight.
  • Bluefish — up high, mid-water, out over the channel edge · way out in the moving water. Teeth. Use a leader and keep your fingers out of its mouth.
  • Striped bass (rockfish) — mid-water, down deep, way out in the moving water. Maryland's state fish, working the Inlet on the moving tide.

The pier this is

The Oceanic runs 450 feet into the Inlet from the bayside, with a tackle shop on it and fishing around the clock in season. Its blanket licence covers you, so it is the zero-paperwork way to fish moving water in Ocean City.

Oceanic Fishing Pier

Want the offshore version?

Same sport, other end of it: a boat, a tournament week, and one fish that weighs more than everything on this pier put together.

Play Marlin Fishing