# OC / Route 50 Bridge Report



## JoMama115 (Mar 16, 2005)

Fellow Listies,

It has been a long time since I posted anything so I thought I'd share my experience on the Route 50 Bridge in OC last week.

First off, there are a TON of rays on both sides of the bridge this year. At low tide I would see pods of 10-20 or more. There is a high number of bait fish in the OC bay this year so that probably explains it a bit. B/c of this, live bait fishing was a major challenge off the bridge. If you go in the next few weeks, I would strongly encourage buying a pier net with at least 50 feet of rope otherwise you'll be cutting away lots of terminal tackle. At night I spotted a ray that was the size of a queen bed mattress. It almost stole the rod/rig of the guy next to me but luckily he had a low pound test line and it just snapped off. 

B/c of the rays I switched from live bait to artificials and lures. The Gotcha plugs were on fire all week. I caught a range of fish from keeper flounder to snapper blues. I used a heavy-weight freshwater bass spinner rod with 10 lb mono and a 20 lb shock leader. Gotcha colors varied but the best was a traditional (orange head, white body) with a little circle pattern on top - flounder tore these up. Cast out, retreive slow and jerk the rod tip every few seconds. Be careful b/c I even got tangles with rays using these - they are thick out there!

At night anything flashy like a Hopkins or Stingsilver lure got the attention of the blues. There was a great honey hole all week on the west side of the bridge/ jetty side. It is the 3-4 street lamp on the bridge - shines bright here and attracts large numbers of bait fish. The blues here were thick. I could have thrown a beer can and caught one. Make sure it is a few hours before or after high tide and you should nail them good. Cast these out and jig them up and down like a large mouth bass jig. Almost always got a hit on the fall.

I was able to get out in the bay for a few hours and had luck with white jig heads and red gulp bait bloodworm strips. The croakers tore these up. I didn't get any off the bridge but I believe you can nail them good at the bulkhead during a slack tide. 

That's all - good luck to anyone heading out and stock up on Gotcha plugs. I am a firm believer in these after this trip! 
:fishing:


----------



## Blue Heron (Jun 12, 2003)

Thanks for the great report!


----------



## theone1232003 (Aug 11, 2008)

Awesome rpeort- I have never fished the Rt 50 bridge- Is it absoulutly nessesary to have a bridge net when fishing there-?


----------



## UnknownFish (Sep 12, 2007)

if you hook into a 30 inch plus striper or blue or trout you will wish you had one, i caught a 38 incher there about a month ago off the bridge and didnt have a net but luckily there was someone there with one and was nice enough to let us borrow it.


----------



## JoMama115 (Mar 16, 2005)

A pier net is not mandatory as there are some folks there who will share but due to the rays and the cruising stripers (especially at night) I would invest in one. 

Oyster Bay Tackle, Fenwick Tackle and All Tackle (all located in OC/Fenwick) all sell them. If you are willing to drive a little farther north to Indian River Inlet - Old Inlet Bait and Tackle off of highway 1/ coastal highway has several types and the best prices. The cheapest was around 20 bucks (and there is no sales tax in DE). All Tackle sells a folding model but it is pricey.

Good luck!


----------



## theone1232003 (Aug 11, 2008)

Damn thats a nice striper- good work on that- yea point taken - I will stop and get a net hahahahahahah


----------



## theone1232003 (Aug 11, 2008)

Are there any other piers in OC other than Oceanic pier and is it worth it to fish them- Also do Gotchas work at Oceanic pier- i plan to go there next weekend


----------



## JoMama115 (Mar 16, 2005)

Oceanic is OK. The current here can be brutal during the tide changes so trying to hold bottom will be tough unless it is a slack tide. You can use lures there - especially good location for trout but it is a crap shoot. There is a fee for the Oceanic pier ($6.00 I believe for 24 hours). But with the bridge being so close and free - I like the bridge.

There is an Ocean pier but this is a total tourist trap and not worth the effort if you are there to fish. 

Both piers see A LOT of crab activity - especially the ocean pier so live bait rigs are a challenge. If I had to pick between the two - Oceanic with lures at night would be it. 

Don't forget the Bulkhead between 2nd the 4th streets on the bay side of OC. This area produces and see's mostly fisherman and not tourists like the piers. There is a technical challenge here as the bulkhead pilings are covered in barnacles and growth so if you're fighting a fish (especially a wily Tog) you run the risk of getting cut off. I would also use a rubber band to secure any weights to terminal tackle on live bait rigs as the rocks here can get you stuck. At least the rubber band will snap off the weight and you will not lose your whole rig.

This area was fished pretty heavy last week and I saw a good number of croakers caught here. Make sure to cast and fish out away from the pilings during a slack tide and directly down off the bulkhead when the tide is running. This is one of the deeper parts of the OC bay and is a big draw for fish but the tides and current (as well as the boaters - the channel is right there) make it very challenging.


----------



## theone1232003 (Aug 11, 2008)

Thank you for the info- hopefully the trout come soon


----------



## fyremanjef (Feb 17, 2005)

Its a very good drop to the water so its doubtful that you'll be able to pull a big fishup with out one. If you dont have a net, Just be sure to become friends with the guy who has a net who is nearby.


----------



## UnknownFish (Sep 12, 2007)

oceanic pier is $6.00 for 12 hours now, not worth the time going on it, you can fish the 50 bridge for free as JoMama said and catch fish just as easy.


----------



## fishingfoyellows (Dec 25, 2008)

good point everyone. and excellent info. Im lookin to get down oc very soon if anyone can do so too. pm me. never fished the 50 bridge but hear its good at nite and i usually juss fish the oceanic. i caught 35 blues and shad last month on spec rigs. i hate gotchas cuz they get me not the fish. and there a pain in the butt to get 2 sets of trebles out of a fishes mouth.


----------



## UnknownFish (Sep 12, 2007)

change the hooks on the gotchas, cut the trebles off and attach split rings and single hooks.


----------



## JoMama115 (Mar 16, 2005)

I hear yah on trebles but the way these fish hit the Gotchas was awesome. I have never had strikes like that using Gotchas before. It was like large mouth bass fishing. As long as I had a pair of pliers - taking the treble out was not a major problem. Aside from one snapper blue who came off the hook and fell under the guardrail/fence onto the bridge highway. That sucker was pissed. I was able to get around and snag him before he caused a pile up.


----------

