May '97

Imperial Beach Pier - John Munoz at Cox Bait & Tackle says fishing continues to be pretty good. In the inshore areas, anglers continue to pick up quite a few barred surfperch, and now the perch are being joined by yellowfin and spotfin croakers as well as some corbina. All are falling to mussels and bloodworms. Further out on the pier, a good run of Pacific mackerel was taking place. Most are caught on strips of squid. Although a few shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) and bat rays have been caught, shark specialists are still seeking out the larger thresher sharks and several 4-5 foot-long fish have been landed. Halibut action remains slow as does the fishing on most of the smaller species.

Ocean Beach Pier - Chuck at the Ocean Beach Bait Shop says that action currently is focusing on small perch and queenfish as well as the larger sharks. Anglers continue to pull in large numbers of small walleye surfperch and queenfish using multi-hook snag lines; bait isn't necessary. Larger croakers (white croakers?) are falling to squid baits out toward the middle and end of the pier. Leopard sharks and shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) offer a little more excitement and both are being caught up to about 4-feet in length. Smaller round stingrays and thornback rays are also falling to squid baits. Most of the other species are slow at this time but should pick up as the water warms.

Shelter Island Pier - Buddy Hanks at his Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle shop reports that fishing is fantastic, the best he has seen in a long time. Bonito continue to be the prize fish with the bonies hitting both live anchovies and lures. Mackerel are next and most of them are falling to strips of squid, although some fall to lures. Anglers fishing the bottom continue to haul in a mixed bag of sand bass, sculpin and bat rays. The bass are hitting on anchovies and ghost shrimp, the sculpin on anchovies and squid, and the bat rays on squid. A few anglers are still fishing for perch and some opaleye have been landed out by his bait stand.

Oceanside Pier - Charley at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop reports the arrival of warmer water and better fishing. Water temperature hit 64 degrees last week and the fishing exploded. Inshore, anglers are catching barred surfperch, corbina, spotfin croaker and gray smoothhound sharks. The perch and croaker are hitting on fresh mussels or bloodworms while the sharks are hitting on squid. Best spotfin of the past two weeks was a beautiful 9-pound fish that hit on mussels. Further out on the pier, anglers are continuing to pull in bucketful's of small walleye surfperch and some small-to-medium sized Pacific mackerel. Halibut have also started to bite and a number of keepers have been taken -- mostly on live shinerperch or anchovies that have been caught with snag lines. Summer is getting closer!

Huntington Beach Pier - Huntington Beach Pier - Our reporter Audrey says that things are still kind of hit and miss. One day schools of fish want to jump onto the pier (which would yield a new high jump record) and the next day the action is dead. One day sees a decent bite and the next sees a red tide with little or no fish -- or an abundance of seaweed. Sort of a flotsam and jetsam situation. But let's talk about the good stuff. The best action at this time is on surfperch which are hitting pretty much off all sections of the pier (although the inshore area is best). Most are being landed on fresh mussels. Halibut action is still just fair and most of the fish are undersize (although he did see one 23-inch keeper). Most of the flatfish are caught on live shinerperch or on brightly colored artificial lures. Sharks seem to round out the action with a 47-incher the top fish reported recently (not sure what kind); lots of small sharks are being landed out at the end.

Seal Beach Pier - Bob at the Seal Beach Sportfishing shop on the pier reports a good number of fish being caught. Inshore areas are producing barred surfperch and corbina on bloodworms, while yellowfin croaker and spotfin croaker are falling to fresh mussels and ghost shrimp. Further out on the pier, halibut are starting to be caught, including many keepers. The largest flattie recently was an 18-pound fish landed on a live smelt. Queenfish and smelt are available to snaggers and both are good baits for the halibut. Shark and ray action has been decent; quite a few shovelnose sharks (guitarfish), bat rays and even a few banjo sharks (angel sharks or banded guitarfish?). Finally, 1 to 1 1/2-pound mackerel continue to provide excitement out toward the end of the pier; most are caught on strips of squid.

Redondo Beach Sportfishing Pier (King Harbor) - John at Redondo Beach Sportfishing reports that the bonito continue to hold center stage for harbor fishermen. Most of the boneheads are falling to live anchovies which are available at the pier. (As I have mentioned for three straight months, this is the best place to fish for bonito in California during the colder water months. Two warm-water outlets from the nearby Southern California Edison plant warm the harbor waters and produce temperatures 5-10 degrees warmer than in the open ocean.) Bottom fishermen continue to pull in a mixed bag of fish, mostly perch and perch-like species like opaleye and halfmoon, but also a few barred sand bass, spotted sand bass, sargo, and sculpin (scorpionfish). A few of the resident broomtail grouper continue to show up but they break the lines about as soon as they hit a bait (not too surprising since some go over a hundred pounds in size). A few spider crabs also continue to be landed by Crabbers seeking out the ugly mutts.

Hermosa Beach Pier - Don at Just Fishing by Pete says that things are still a little sparse. Best action lately has been on good sized corbina, most in the 4-pound category, which are falling to sand crabs fished near the surf area. Some perch, 7/11 perch and walleye surfperch, have also been falling to pieces of mussel or Lucky Lura type multi-hook riggings -- as are a few jacksmelt, topsmelt and sardines. It's been windy, the water temperature dropped, and the fish moved out. Anglers do continue to take a few shovelnose guitarfish and bat rays, but even most of them have been small, in the 5-10 pound class. Still kind of between seasons.

Venice Pier - closed for repairs.

Santa Monica Pier - Albert at the Santa Monica Pier Bait & Tackle Company says that things are a little slow; the water has cooled and it's too clean. The main action continues to be centered on halibut and on surf fish. Inshore, anglers are getting some corbina and barred surfperch. Best baits have been hard shelled sand crabs for the corbina and fresh mussels for the surfperch. Further out on the pier, anglers are using tiny spider crabs caught on the pilings to catch opaleye and buttermouth perch (black seaperch) which hang around the pilings. The halibut are being caught on live smelt that themselves were caught on multi-hook snag-lines. There have been quite a few keeper halibut lately topped by a 30-pound fish two weeks ago. Mackerel have been sporadic as have been the sharks. A couple of runs of threshers occurred this month but few of the anglers were able to land the sporty beasts.

Malibu Pier - closed for repairs.

Port Hueneme Pier - Pete at the Hueneme Pier Bait and Tackle Shop says that the main action lately has been on mackerel. A good school of medium sized fish moved in about two weeks ago and action was terrific for about a week. Since then, the fishing has slowed, but it is still better than average. Most of the fish are being caught on the locally produced "Filipino Jigs" multi-hook rigs. Anglers continue to land barred surfperch inshore on mussels while a few sharks and bat rays are falling to squid in deeper waters. There haven't been any halibut lately but action on good sized spider crabs remains strong.

Santa Barbara Wharf - Mike at Mikes Bait & Tackle says that the halibut are finally starting to bite, including quite a few that are keeper size. There's also been a good run on buttermouth perch (black seaperch) and barred surfperch -- out near the tackle shop. Both species are running up to about 1 1/2 pounds in size and both are falling primarily to fresh mussels. As usual, tons of ronkies (white croaker) are being landed, most on cut anchovies, while mackerel are still plentiful (and nice sized), but most mackerel are being taken at night. The mackerel arrive each afternoon around 4:30 and hit into the evening hours. The greenbacks are falling to strips of squid. 3-3 1/2 foot-long shovelnose sharks (shovelnose guitarfish), and 20-25 pound bat rays, round out the action, and both are landed on squid. Be sure to know your fish; one angler wanted to show Mike his 18-inch ronkie but it turned out to be an undersized, and illegal, white sea bass -- which was released.

Inshore, a few corbina are still showing up but they are being chased away by the dolphins. Seems that grunion have been making an early season foray to the beach and they're being followed by a large school of dolphin -- practically up on the beach. When the dolphins show up each morning, the corbina (rightly so) scatter.

Finally, the good action on crabs continues; in fact, it may be one of the best years ever. Anglers continue to nab large spider crabs (and I received a picture of Mike with an 11-pound crab that was 33 inches across), lots of large red rock crabs, and even some Dungeness crabs. What are the Dungeness doing down there? Seems a religious group has become active in the area and one of their traits is feeding and protecting wild animals. A few years ago they bought $2,500 worth of Dungeness crabs and stocked them in local waters. Lo-and-behold, anglers are now catching some of the crabs.

Pismo Beach Pier - Troy from Sheldon's Clam Stand on the pier says that anglers are concentrating on barred surfperch and jacksmelt (and some of the smelt are very large sized). The barred surfperch are hitting on mussels and clams while most jacksmelt are being caught on Lucky Lura type multi-hook rigs (sometimes sweetened with a small piece of bait). Shark fishermen continue to catch a few sharks, rays, and skates, but only one thresher shark has been landed recently. The wind continues to be a problem, and makes angling a tough proposition. Lots of gray whales are showing near the pier so that may mean there is bait in the water -- but who really knows?

Port San Luis Pier - Jason from Avila Beach Sportfishing on the pier reports that things are a little slow. A few halibut are falling to anchovies, or anglers using scrounger lures, while a few surfperch are hitting on bait, primarily mussels. He hasn't seen much else.

Cayucos Pier - Glenda at The Tidepool in Cayucos reports that quality, not quantity, has been the news of late. One of the regulars recently caught a 43-inch, 30-pound angel shark, followed in successive days by a 34-pound bat ray, and a 10-pound shovelnose shark (guitarfish) -- all caught on squid. Another regular caught a large, 3-pound rubberlip seaperch on worms. There does continue to be a good number of barred and calico surfperch falling to anglers. Although one week saw a good run of shovelnose sharks, most weeks have been slow. No mackerel, no jacksmelt and not even any kingfish (white croaker), although there are reports of a few halibut showing up.

San Simeon Pier - Ann from Virg's Landing, San Simeon, says a few fishermen have started hitting the pier now that the weather has improved. Inshore, anglers are picking up a few surfperch and good sized rubberlip seaperch, while further out on the pier anglers have landed some halibut, but almost all of them were "shorts" and had to be returned to the water. As the summer gets closer and closer, angling pressure will increase but also more fish should move into the inshore waters.

Monterey Wharf #2 - Frank Guarrera at The Compass Boat and Fishing Supplies, at the foot of the wharf, reports that fishing is still a little slow. Even so, there have been flurries of action during the past couple of weeks. Seems a large school of anchovies moved into the wharf area followed by thousands of birds, a few fish, and some fishermen. One result was halibut and salmon being landed at the wharf, an unusual occurrence for this time of the year. Most of the fish were landed on frozen anchovies, although a few experts landed fish using striped bass lures like Hair Raisers. Strange! Mackerel also showed up and thirty to forty anglers a night are catching the hard fighting creatures. Most are landed on multi-hook riggings, and, as said, most are being caught in the evening hours. Perch action is still slow as is action on sharks although a few night-time anglers continue to pull in an occasional stingray (bat ray) or two. Finally, anglers are beginning to catch mackerel, mostly on multi-hook leaders, and mostly in the evening hours.

Capitola Wharf - Roslynn at the Capitola Boat and Bait Shop reports fast action on perch but most of the perch are the smaller walleye surfperch. The feisty perch are hitting on pile worms, pieces of shrimp or 1/2 ounce jigs. A few kingfish (white croaker), skates and small bat rays are also being landed but other species, for the most part, have been absent. She hasn't seen any halibut so far but expects them to start hitting in the next 4-6 weeks. Ditto the absence of schooling species like mackerel and sardines.

Santa Cruz Wharf - Andre at Andy's Bait & Tackle reports that fishing is improving although it still is not what he would call hot. Some halibut are being landed inshore, near the lifeguard tower, while there has been a pretty nice run on rubberlip seaperch (up to about 3 pounds in size) near the pilings and in the holes out at the end of the pier. Most of the perch are falling to pile worms. Some bait is also starting to show up at the pier which should lead to improved fishing. Crabbing continues to be good with the Crabbers getting a mixture of red rock crabs and Dungeness crabs while the run on spider crabs has slowed. Not to much else, not even kingfish.

Pacifica Pier - Joe at the Community Bait & Tackle says that it will be an early season for king salmon. Why does Joe think so? Joe says it's because the kingfish (white croaker) are already thick and the salmon follow them in. We'll see. It's actually been a little slow with the exception of the kingfish. Winds (up to 70 mph) have hampered fisherman and most have stayed home. However, a few hearty souls have managed to land starry flounder (up to 12-pounds) and lots of small walleye surfperch and barred surfperch. The kingfish are hitting on cut anchovies and pile worms while the perch are falling for pile worms. Crabbing remains excellent; most people are able to fill a bucket with a combination of Dungeness crabs and rock crabs.

Things looked bleak in January after the New Year's floods turned San Francisco Bay into a (virtual) freshwater lake. Then came February, the sixth-driest February in Bay Area history. Scientists soon saw a measurable increase in salinity to most parts of the bay. (Although there is still a 22-foot layer of fresh water that sits on top of the saltwater near Alcatraz Island) Many were hopeful; perhaps the kill-off of saltwater organisms like clams, mussels, barnacles, and crabs would be less than initially feared. March saw an early bloom of phytoplankton -- due to the nutrients washed down by the floods. The microscopic phytoplankton, plant life critical to the food chain, might help in returning things to normal. Perhaps things would improve! But not so quick; biologists also warned that the plants could die off if they ran out of food. The result would be an explosive loss of oxygen in the bay. What will happen? Mother Nature, what are you up to? Perhaps the fish report can give a clue as to what is happening so far!

San Francisco Shoreline Piers - Hippo at Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco reports a mixed bag of fish at local piers. In San Francisco, big rubberlip seaperch have been hitting at both the Fort Point Pier and Fort Baker Piers. The fish, up to three pounds, are hitting on both ghost shrimp and grass shrimp. A few smaller perch, splittails and rainbow seaperch, are also being taken by anglers using shrimp and pile worms. Action is slow at Pier 7 and the Ferry Landing Pier; about the only thing hitting is a few kingfish (white croaker) on cut anchovies; even the sharks seem absent. Piers are still seeing some fish in the South Bay. The Oyster Point Pier has produced a lot of halibut lately but action on striped bass has slowed, mainly a lone fish now and then. Oyster Point and other local piers are also seeing a few jacksmelt, but only a few; these are hitting on pile worms or one ounce Kastmasters. Things seem to have slowed at both the San Mateo Pier and the Dumbarton Pier -- they're not even seeing much in the way of sharks (which means they are dead). Hippo says the slow action has caused some of his regulars to switch to the local fresh water lakes -- where they are having some excellent action.

My daughter, Kimberly, reports that anglers fishing during the day at the Robert E. Woolley Peninsula Park Pier in Burlingame continue to catch a few jacksmelt when using multi-hook leaders, small size 8 hooks, floats, and pile worms for bait. Anglers fishing at night continue to hook a few striped bass -- on anchovies, pile worms, and lures. She says anglers are catching halibut from both the Candlestick Point Pier and the Oyster Point Pier and that an unbelievable number of boats are drifting in the waters off of both piers. She says that she was told almost everyone is limiting out on halibut, usually within 20-40 minutes of fishing time. Shark and bat ray action has been slow.

Berkeley Pier - Scott at the Berkeley Marina Sports Center reports excellent halibut fishing from the pier with anglers catching 12-20 keeper sized fish every day. A few pileperch and rubberlip seaperch are also showing up as are a lot of jacksmelt and kingfish (white croaker). The halibut are hitting on live shiners while the rest of the fish are hitting mostly on pile worms or cut anchovies. Only one keeper striped bass was seen this week and it was caught on an anchovy. Shark action has been slow although a 70-pound bat ray was taken last week. The center's boats are continuing to limit out on rockcod and halibut.

Point Pinole Pier - The fishing is improving according to The Anglers' Edge. Kingfish (white croakers) are falling for cut anchovies fished on incoming tides, while more and more bat rays and sharks (brown smoothhound and leopard) are falling for anchovies and squid. The bay's dynamic duo: stripers and sturgeon, present a contrasting story. Stripers continue to hit on anchovies but sturgeon action has slowed. Perch action was good to very good in early April when rubberlip seaperch and redtail surfperch were falling for pile worms fished during slack tides. But, the take of both seems to have slowed.

Vallejo Pier - closed for repairs.

McNear Beach Fishing Pier (San Rafael) - John at Western Boat & Tackle reports a nice mix of fish at local piers. Anglers at McNear Beach Pier continue to haul in an occasional, mostly small sized, white sturgeon, while a few striped bass, and more and more kingfish (white croaker) round out the action. Fisherman at the Paradise Beach Pier report some large halibut falling to anglers fishing whole anchovies on sliding rigs, while good numbers of rubberlip seaperch are being caught inshore by people using pile worms as bait. Anglers in Sausalito are still getting lots of perch, mainly silver surfperch and rainbow seaperch, by using pile worms. John says a buddy also went over to the Berkeley Pier a few days ago and he saw 12 keeper halibut landed, all on live shinerperch.

Elephant Rock Pier - closed for repairs.

Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay) - Judy at Wil's Bait & Tackle reports that lots of good sized perch are falling to anglers at the Spud Point Marina Pier. Anglers are using pile worms to land the rainbow seaperch and silver surfperch. Most of the rainbow perch are running about 12 inches in length -- which makes me wonder if they're actually striped seaperch (which are frequently called rainbows by anglers). She hasn't heard any reports from the Lucas Wharf or The Tides Wharf although both should be seeing some perch action -- as well as bat rays.

Point Arena Pier - Bill Pettigrew, the Harbormaster at the pier, reports that it is the normal mix of fish for this time of the year. Most anglers are able to get a nice mess of rainbow perch (striped seaperch) -- although it's still a little early for the best action. Next comes sea trout (kelp greenling), followed by cabezon, lingcod, and a few rockfish. He says most of the cabezon have been in the two pound class size (although I know one angler who recently caught a 23 1/2 inch, 6 1/2 pound cab). That angler, by the way, got his fish on a frozen ghost shrimp he had brought with him from Santa Rosa. Bill says a few China cod have also been caught and one 50-pound octopus. The capture of that creature was quite a feat and included the help of four anglers using a crab net to bring the "big eye" up to the pier.

Del Norte Street Fishing Pier (Eureka) - Alan at Bucksport Sporting Goods says that things are still slow at the pier. Most of the day time action centers on small perch (shiners or walleye surfperch) and jacksmelt, while anglers at night are getting a few sharks and rays. Both the perch and jacksmelt are falling to tube worms while the leopard sharks, mud sharks (brown smoothhound sharks), and bat rays are going for squid. Redtail surfperch are starting to enter the bay and a few halibut are falling to boaters fishing in the north bay, but both have been absent from the pier so far. Crabbers continue to pull in Dungness crabs; most people will pull in a 1/2 dozen or so keeper sized crabs during an incoming tide.

Trinidad Pier - Robbie at Salty's Bait and Tackle in Trinidad says that the sloppy weather has put a little bit of a damper of fishing lately -- although it's finally getting better. He hasn't heard of many fish off the pier but his aid Don did catch two keeper lingcod this past week using anchovies as bait. He's also heard of some pretty good crabbing off the pier, for both Dungness and rock crabs. (However, striped seaperch, kelp greenling, and a few cabezon should be available to anglers fishing the left side of the pier near the rocks - KJ)

"B" Street Pier (Crescent City) - Again, an improvement in weather some days but still a lot of wind. Mostly striped seaperch in rocky areas near the Citizen's Dock and a few perch and crabs off of the "B" Street Pier. It should continue to improve.

Ocean Beach Pier, Crystal Pier, Coronado Ferry Landing Pier, Bayshore Park Pier, L.M. Pepper Park Pier, Embarcadero Marina Park Pier, Oceanside Small Craft Harbor Pier, San Clemente Pier, Dana Point Harbor Pier, Aliso Beach Pier, Newport Pier, Balboa Pier, Belmont Shores Pier, Cabrillo Pier, Green Pleasure Pier at Avalon, Redondo Beach Pier, Manhattan Beach Pier, Burton Chace Park Pier, Paradise Cove Pier, Ventura Pier, Goleta Pier, Gaviota Pier, Avila Beach Pier, Morro Bay Piers, Seacliff State Beach Pier, Pillar Point Harbor Pier, Fort Point Pier, Fort Mason Piers, San Francisco Municipal Pier, Pier 7, Agua Vista Park Pier, Candlestick Point Pier, Brisbane Pier, Oyster Point Pier, San Mateo Pier, Ravenswood Pier, Dumbarton Pier, San Leandro Marina Pier, Fruitvale Bridge Pier, San Antonio Pier, Franklin D. Roosevelt Pier, Port View Park Pier, Emeryville Marina Pier, Berkeley Pier, Point Pinole Pier, Dowrelio Pier - Crockett, Angel Island Pier, Sausalito Public Pier, Fort Baker Pier, Lawson's Landing, Citizen's Dock and the "B" Street Pier in Crescent City.

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.