January 1998

Southern California

Imperial Beach Pier - Matt, at Cox Bait & Tackle, says that things have slowed at the pier. Main action is on barred surfperch from the surf area; they're falling to fresh mussels and shrimp. Further out on the pier, sporadic mackerel action continues as well as an occasional flurry on sand bass that have made the mistake of leaving the nearby rocks. A few stingrays, bat rays and shovelnose guitarfish continue to be landed on the bottom by anglers using squid, but again not in the numbers that summertime anglers see.

Ocean Beach Pier - Steve, at the Ocean Beach Pier Bait Shop, reports similar slow action. He says it is mainly perch, small croakers and jacksmelt that are tempting angler's attention but none are in a great supply. Even the lobster count is down although a few are caught each night. The water has been turbulent and dirty; hopefully when it cleans up the fishing will improve.

Ferry Landing Pier (Coronado) - Rich Reano reports that "cold and rainy weather has discouraged all but the most diehard pier fisherman this month. Those braving the inclement weather are rewarded with consistent sand bass fishing. The most productive bait seems to be live bait such as smelt. Strips of mackerel or frozen anchovies also seem to work well. Halibut can be caught by persistent fisherman using live smelt. The keeper sized halibut, though rare, are still swimming about the pier. Mackerel fishing is hit and miss. Use the basic rigs and baits to catch them when they are around."

Shelter Island Pier - Francine at the Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle Shop says anglers are catching a few buttermouth perch on ghost shrimp, some mackerel and jacksmelt on strips of squid, and sand bass on anchovies. Although the halibut action has been slow, she managed to pull in a keeper last week.

Oceanside Pier - Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says that the water temperature is down to 61 degrees but fish continue to bite. Mackerel are in and out but large schools of jacksmelt seem to offer steady sport. A number of sheephead have also been landed recently, most on ghost shrimp, and almost all out by the end. Both sand bass and kelp bass continue to offer some sport on squid but the corbina and croakers have stopped biting, you can still see them in the shallow-water areas but they're not hungry. However, barred surfperch are hitting on fresh mussels in the inshore area and a few buttermouth perch are hitting around the pilings. At night a few lobsters continue to be brought in to the pier.

San Clemente Pier - Priscila, at the Pier Tackle shop, says things have slowed; there are fewer and fewer anglers, and fewer and fewer fish -- it's wintertime after all. Anglers do continue to catch a few kelp bass, some mackerel, an occasional yellowfin croaker and LOTS of big jacksmelt. Lobsters continue to be caught at night.

Aliso Beach Pier - No report this month.

Seal Beach Pier - Janie at Norm's Big Fish Sportfishing Shop at the end of the pier reports a good run of LARGE jacksmelt together with a nice variety of bottom species. Anglers continue to pull in quite a few buttermouth perch, sargo and small corbina using live ghost shrimp; most of the fish are down around the pilings. Anglers fishing the bottom with squid continue to haul in shovelnose guitarfish and bat rays. With the change in ownership, live ghost shrimp, bloodworms and fresh razor clams are now available at the shop. They also continue to run the half-day boat City of Seal Beach.

Belmont Pier - Mel, at the Belmont Pier Sportfishing shop, says anglers out at the end of the pier continue to pull in big strings of jacksmelt (on pieces of shrimp) and big mackerel (on strips of squid). Inshore regulars continue to land corbina on fresh mussels and ghost shrimp while anglers at night have been hauling in some BIG lobsters. Only a couple of keeper halibut are being caught per week (to 23 inches) and just a few shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) but action remains just steady enough to keep the regulars happy.

Cabrillo Pier - Tom Ran visited the pier mid-month and reported that although the action on mackerel is up and down, anglers were catching a lot of BIG jacksmelt. Most of the action seems to be along the front end of the pier. He said the anglers fishing the breakwater side of the pier are landing a few opaleye, some perch and small bass, but not too many. Crabbers are also using nets on the pier and catching a few crabs.

Redondo Sportfishing Pier - Nancy, at Redondo, says things remain slow at the pier. Anglers are primarily catching a few perch (blackperch, opaleye, blacksmith) and senorita. Anglers using ghost shrimp (now available at the pier) are also landing a few bass if they fish under the pier; most however cast out toward the hot-water bubble. Bonito and mackerel are still absent from the harbor.

Hermosa Beach Pier - Pete, at Just Fishing by Pete (near the front of the pier), says the pier is still open and anglers continue to catch lots of mackerel and jacksmelt. Inshore, a few anglers are picking up barred surfperch and surprisingly a few halibut continue to be landed from the mid-pier area to the end. Lobster action is slow because the city is closing the pier at dusk (and this used to be a very good pier at night for lobsters). The city keeps saying they are going to close the pier for renovation but the closure date was September and now it is January -- no one seems to know what is going on!

Venice Pier - Apparently open -- do we have any reporters out there?

Santa Monica Pier - Karen, at the Santa Monica Pier Bait & Tackle Company, reports somewhat slow action but a few fish are still being caught. Mackerel continue to fall to strips of squid and anchovies, while sargo, sand bass and opaleye continue to nibble on fresh mussels. A few sharks (leopards) have also shown up in angler's bags, generally at night.

Malibu Pier - closed for repairs.

Port Hueneme Pier - No report this month although I imagine they're still catching jacksmelt and a few mackerel.

Santa Barbara Wharf - Mike Katz, at Mikes Bait & Tackle on the wharf says the water temperature is down to 62 degrees but BIG mackerel continue to hang around and please the anglers. There are also lots of BIG jacksmelt and some small calico bass (kelp bass), sand bass, and white seabass (illegal size). Mike also reports many, many baby monkeyface rays (bat rays).

On the 23rd, Mike sent me the following e-mail message: " Had a gray whale surface in front of my shop around 7 a.m. this morning. Scared the heck out of the fishermen!" He later told me that the whale actually brushed a couple of the anglers' lines so they could almost say they hooked a whale.

Goleta Pier - No report this month.

Gaviota Pier - No report this month.

Central California

Pismo Beach Pier - Troy, from Sheldon's Clam Stand, reports that action is centering on two species, jacksmelt and perch. Anglers are catching BIG jacksmelt on worms and pieces of clam or shrimp from most areas of the pier. Inshore, anglers are picking up some barred surfperch on pieces of clams, shrimp, or fresh mussels; further out on the pier anglers are getting plump walleye surfperch on a variety of bait. Troy went albacore fishing the day before the report (26 miles out) but failed to get any fish. Last month he went out and not only got some albacore but also hooked a marlin that spooled his reel -- not too bad for these Central Coast waters. Troy said it's been cold and windy.

Port San Luis Pier - John, at Avila Beach Sportfishing on the pier says that anglers continue to land sardines, jacksmelt and perch (walleye and silver surfperch); most are being caught on bait rigs. There haven't been any sharks or rays reported lately although the water remains warm. John says his boats are catching albacore to 70 pounds just 14 miles out from the harbor.

Morro Bay Wharf - No report this month.

Cayucos Pier - Lorna at the Tidepool (near the front of the pier) reports perch, perch and more perch. A number of different species are being caught included barred surfperch, calico surfperch, walleye surfperch, silver surfperch, and even a few rubberlip perch and blackperch. Most of the perch are falling to bloodworms which are available at the shop. She says the commercial perch fisherman are even invading nearby beaches and they too are using the worms. Not much else is biting, a sporadic shark or ray, or perhaps a kingfish (white croaker).

San Simeon Pier - Virg's Landing, near the front of the pier, is closed for the winter season so there isn't a report. However, the fishing for barred surfperch and calico surfperch should be good.

Monterey Wharf #2 - No report this month.

Capitola Wharf - Ed, at the Capitola Boat and Bait Shop, says anglers continue to land some small steelhead but best action is on several other species. A number of sand sole have been caught recently and some were large, up to about 4 pounds. There are also some barred surfperch (on pieces of shrimp or on bait rigs), walleye and silver surfperch, lots of jacksmelt, small kingfish, and a few sand sharks (brown smoothhounds). Fishing was very good when the swells were large but now that the ocean is calm it seems to have slowed a little.

Santa Cruz Wharf - Andre, at Andy's Bait & Tackle at the end of the wharf, reports good action on large jacksmelt, perch (a variety) and kingfish (white croaker). Crabbers are also starting to haul in some nice numbers of crabs.

Piller Point Pier - Matt Shockney says he went fishing at the pier mid-month and caught lots of tiny kingfish, some small perch, and "one perch that could have swallowed a jeep." He also caught a sanddab and some rock crabs. Missing was everything else although a nearby angler did pull up a "huge" Dungeness crab.

Pacifica Pier - Joe, at the Community Bait & Tackle, says that fishing is good when the weather cooperates. Anglers are catching a nice mix of perch, barred surfperch and redtail surfperch up to four pounds, and the smaller walleye surfperch. Anglers also continue to pull in buckets of sanddabs; the 6-12 inch fish seem to carpet the ocean floor and the run has been going on for over a month now. Crabbers are also pulling in nice sized Dungeness crabs, 2-3 per person. Finally, the striped bass run appears to finally be over although the December run was one of the latest on record.

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Shoreline Piers - Hippo at Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco says it is sanddab city at quite a few different places including the Fort Point Pier, the Fort Mason Piers and the Muni Pier; he says anglers are landing as many as 60-80 "dabs" apiece. They don't give much sport but they're delicious to eat. He hasn't heard of much else although a buddy caught a couple of octopus at the Fort Point Pier. There are some reports of a few sturgeon down by the Dumbarton Bridge (so they may be entering the South Bay) but it's still slow. The herring seem to have entered the bay but then left, so sturgeon angler's are awaiting their return. Usually when the herring begin to spawn is when the sturgeon really begin to bite. The striped bass appear to have finally begun their annual move up into the Delta.

Andy L (?) reports that fishing is very slow at the Candlestick Point Pier and that it is hard to fish at the Oyster Point Pier due to the tangles of line with other anglers -- seemingly a never ending problem. He also mentioned that the San Mateo Pier will be closed until November '98.

San Mateo Pier - Closed until November.

Ravenswood Pier - Closed and may not reopen.

Berkeley Pier - Jeff Green reports the following: "The other night I was fishing on the Berkeley pier and a slightly drunk gentleman asked me, "do you really eat the stuff you catch out of this polluted Bay." I had not had a bite in a while but I sure had a sucker on the line for a practical joke. I told him sure, I have been eating fish out of the Bay several times a week for years, some with tumors, some without. I then went into great detail describing how a tumor was nothing more than a bonus filet that grows on the side of a fish. His amazement and the perplexed look on his face became more pronounced. He even looked somewhat disgusted. I then told him that as a result of this diet I had developed a tumor last summer. He was shocked. After this I told him that I had the tumor removed from my stomach and used it as bait with which I caught some of the largest fish ever off of the pier. He walked away shaking his head and swearing in amazement."

Andy L (?) visited the pier on 12/31 and sends another report about the Berkeley Pier. He says " as the tide is coming in, you can easily pick up bullheads, smelt, and sand dabs. You can pick these up with a surf rig, about 1, 2 and 3 feet off the bottom. Be wary, at the end of the pier on the left side is snag city, a major kelp bed. On the right side is a navy channel for boats, stay away from the end. Sturgeon were not present. Someone called the "Multi-tasker" caught a 15 inch bullhead. That was highly unusual."

Point Pinole Pier - The Angler's Edge reports that action on striped bass has slowed somewhat although fish are still being caught at the start of the outgoing tide on bullheads (staghorn sculpin) and anchovies. Action on kingfish (white croaker) has been strong, while anglers are catching both bat rays and skates when using squid.

Vallejo Pier - It no longer exists -- will it be rebuilt?

Martinez Pier - Mark Grim reports that "I heard of a 37 pound sturgeon that was caught off of the pier here recently -- sturgeon are always a possibility here. It's a good idea to use grass shrimp on a sturgeon style double hook leader with a sliding sinker for sturgeon at this pier. Sometimes a fairly heavy weight is required due to the swift tides and current. Striped bass have been caught off and on, but usually in the smaller sizes."

Pittsburg Pier - Mark Grim says that "two fishermen reported seeing orcas (killer whales) gobbling up fish near this pier recently. It was printed up as a front page story in the Antioch Ledger Post Dispatch newspaper. The fishermen were adamant that they had seen the orcas and said that they saw the big dorsal fin, the blowholes, the white belly. A bunch of reporters hurried down to the waterfront but no one else sighted the whales and I have not heard anything else about it. There was a previous killer whale sighting back on July 24, 1931 in the Carquinez Strait near Benicia -- so it wouldn't be the first time. Catfish and striped bass seem to be the most common catch here recently."

Antioch Bridge Pier - Mark Grim reports that "striped bass fishing has slowed down here recently. It seems that sardines are the best for the stripers at this time, while the traditional shad and anchovies are a good idea to bring along just in case."

Marin Rod and Gun Club Pier - Keith Korsgal fished the pier during the first part of the month and reported the following, "Lots of bullheads, a few stripers, and the perch and flounder are starting to pick up. Anchovies are the bait for the stripers, with pile worms and grass shrimp do well for the perch and flounders. Make sure to dress warm and be prepared for wet weather."

McNear Beach Fishing Pier (San Rafael) - John, at Western Boat & Tackle, says that action on small striped bass remains strong at the McNear Pier while an occasional sturgeon gives a little variety. Not to much to report about the Paradise Beach Pier although he says both of the aforementioned piers have seen anglers catch sanddabs. Sanddabs are often caught out near the mouth of the bay during the winter but is it fairly rare for them to enter so far into the bay. But, as said, anglers at both piers report catching the tasty little flatfish. Evidently, perch are also starting to show up at the various piers up and around Sausalito with most falling to pile worms.

Elephant Rock Pier - closed for repairs.

Fort Baker Pier - Dwight Hwang filed the following reports during Christmas week: (1) "I enjoyed some late night fishing at Fort Baker (I started at six in the evening) and caught some large walleye perch. But man, judging from how many sanddabs I caught and released, the ocean floor must covered with them! I couldn't keep them off my bait...almost as annoying at bullheads but then again, I'd much rather hook these flounder looking things than sculpins." (2) I just got back from Fort Baker once again...this time with the whole family. This time I came back with a nice assortment...a really big rubberlip, quite a few walleyes, one rainbow perch, four jacksmelt, and one decent sized rockfish! Oh, and lots of sanddabs...the ocean doesn't seem to run out of those things. There was this one Russian group that filled half a bucket with the flatfish! And this one Hispanic guy who kept bringing up sanddabs in his crab nets! Although I came back with lots of fish...it took the whole day and night to get what I had. Oh yeah, I didn't have pile worms so I was using just about everything else...anchovies, squid lying around, found some mussels, etc."

Northern California

Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay) - Judy, at Wil's Bait & Tackle, says anglers continue to pull in good numbers of perch (sounds like striped perch) and jacksmelt at local piers and docks. She says pile worms have been the rule and some of the perch have been up to about 3-pounds in size. Interesting note on the bottom fishing boats has been a run of giant squid during the past week. Boats going out to the Cordell Banks are pulling in sack loads of the tasty squid and the squid are ranging from 10-20 pounds, 2-4 feet in length. The boats are covered with ink by the time they stop fishing for the squid.

Point Arena Pier - Anglers continue to pull in some nice sized (2-3 pound) striped perch and an occasional sea trout (kelp greenling) and cabezon. Fresh mussels and small pieces of shrimp seem to be the bait of choice.

Del Norte Street Fishing Pier (Eureka) - No report this month. (However, I imagine most anglers are concentrating on steelhead and salmon on local rivers or Dungeness crabs at the piers.)

Citizen's Dock (Crescent City) - Crescent City - Jim at Englund Marine says not too many people are fishing from the Dock or the "B" Street Pier. However, a lot of people are crabbing and they're pulling in good numbers of Dungeness crabs; limits tend to be the rule. The weather has been off and on, when it's bad don't even bother visiting the piers. Watch the paper for storms.

"B" Street Pier (Crescent City) -  No report this month.

Kevin Atwell (Loxley, Alabama)
Richard Kenway (Flint, Michigan)
David Thornton (Mobile, Alabama)
Daniel Franks (Sparks, Nevada)
Gordon Holland (Vinita, Oklahoma)
Patrick Whalen (Canoga Park, California)
David Goings (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Joyce Evans (Suisun City, California)
Robert Galvin Jr. (Boulder Creek, California)
Bud Raridon (Dana Point, California)
Ariel Blason (Walnut Creek, California)
Scott Strickland (San Jose, California)
Henry Chi (Los Angeles, California)
Jeff Green (Oakland, California)
Gil Sperry (San Clemente, California)
Joe Malat ( Nags Head, North Carolina)
Elizabeth Shockney (Montara, California)
Janet Fram (Rupert, Vermont)
and Richard Brewer Jr. (Santa Maria, California).

If you're a "pier rat," a regular who fishes on one of these piers, knows the ins-and-outs of the pier, and knows what is being caught, send me a message and I'll make you a monthly reporter. You may not make any money, and you may not get much glory, but at least you'll help make this the best pier fishing site in the universe.