August 1997

Southern California

Imperial Beach Pier - John Munoz, at Cox Bait & Tackle, says fishing is good to very good. Inshore, anglers continue to catch barred surfperch, while the inshore to mid-pier area offers up good numbers of yellowfin croaker (mainly on mussels, ghost shrimp or bloodworms). Further out on the pier, anglers continue to reel in small tom cod (white croaker), herring ( queenfish) and walleye surfperch, while a few lucky anglers are able to latch onto a halibut or a sand bass. Most of the small fish fall to bait rigs while the halibut and bass grab anchovies or live bait. Mackerel continue strong; they fall primarily to strips of squid although some are also landed on bait rigs. Shark action completes the picture. Several leopard sharks and bat rays have been landed recently.

Ocean Beach Pier - Steve, at the Ocean Beach Bait Shop, says there has been a very good run of Spanish mackerel (mackerel jack) at the pier including some large picture-time fish. Lots of live bait is in the water (herring, sardines, anchovies) and one result has been an increase in the number of halibut landed (up to 26 inches) as well as good sized sand bass. Several large sharks have also been landed as was a 9-pound black sea bass which was quickly returned to the water.

Shelter Island Pier - Dean, at the Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle shop, reports so so action at the pier. Most people are catching mackerel (on strips of squid) while sand bass, yellowfin croaker and an occasional sargo spice up action for anglers fishing on the bottom and using ghost shrimp or fresh mussels. A few large shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) offer night time action but bat rays seem to have deserted the area. Finally, a few barracuda are being landed. The toothy creatures are being landed on strips of squid, anchovies and jigs.

Oceanside Pier - Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, reports a potpourri of species at the pier. Mackerel are thick out toward the end and anglers have also taken quite a few bonito. Most of the boneheads are running 2-3 pounds but several 6-8 pound fish were also landed. Most of the tuna hit on feathers and spin floats but some have been landed on Krocodile and Kastmaster lures. Inshore, to the mid-pier area, anglers continue to land corbina, yellowfin croaker and spotfin croaker on the bottom. The good sized fish are hitting mainly on bloodworms and fresh mussels -- so get some! Action is rounded out by sand bass (on squid or small live bait), illegal size white sea bass, barred surfperch, pileperch and opaleye. Most of the perch are falling to mussels.

San Clemente Pier - Kamal, at the Pier Tackle shop, reports good fishing on several species. Numerically, lots of mackerel lead the list followed by small perch and salema. However, a few larger species are around. Anglers have landed three yellowtail in the last week on live bait while keeper halibut continue to be caught almost every day on anchovies. Inshore and mid-pier, anglers continue to hook yellowfin croaker and spotfin croaker using mussels for bait. Some sargo, opaleye and buttermouth perch (blackperch) round out the smaller species. Finally, although it has been slow on sharks, quite a few bat rays up to 60 pounds continue to grab squid from angler's lines. Mid-month there was a large fishing derby at the pier (Saturday was for kids, Sunday for kids and adults). Kamal said there were a lot of anglers and a lot of fish.

Aliso Beach Pier - Barbara, at the Seaside Cafe on the foot of the pier, reports the same-o, same-o: lots of mackerel followed by a smattering of this and that. In other words, a few jacksmelt, sardines, perch, croakers, bass, etc.

Huntington Beach Pier - Audrey Kim reports that there are a lot of small fish around the pier and it appears the halibut season is finally starting to take off. He says there are a lot of perch, croakers and corbina. I imagine there are also some mackerel out toward the end and a few sharks at night.

Seal Beach Pier - Janie, at the Seal Beach Sportfishing shop, reports that fishing continues to be good. Inshore, a lot of good sized corbina are being caught on sand crabs and mussels while the area by the lifeguard tower is yielding a lot of sargo on mussels and ghost shrimp. Further out on the pier, the mackerel bite remains steady and barracuda are starting to provide a little excitement. The barries are primarily hitting on live anchovies as are a few keeper halibut. Sometimes the bait shop has live bait while other times you'll need to catch your own using bait rigs. Janie also reports she caught a nice spotted sand bass while a few barred sand bass have been brought in by other anglers. Finally, anglers are getting some big shovelnose sharks (guitarfish) and bat rays while using squid and mackerel as bait. Anglers continue to land too many under sized and illegal white sea bass -- throw them back!

Belmont Pier - Mel, at the Belmont Pier Sportfishing shop, reports good numbers of corbina and sargo continue to offer action to bottom fishermen, while the mackerel action remains strong for those fishing on top (at least during the night and early morning hours). The corbina are caught inshore on bloodworms, mussels and ghost shrimp, while the sargo are mainly hitting on mussels, and they're caught out by the tackle shop. Halibut are also showing up and are falling to anglers who are willing to jig up some live bait (smelt, herring or sardines). Lots of gray smoothhounds, sand sharks (shovelnose guitarfish) and bat rays offer excitement to "shark" fishermen. A few buttermouth perch (blackperch) continue to hit on mussels while sand bass are being taken next to the float which sits near the bait shop. The sand bass are taken on anchovies, squid or lures. Barracuda are also showing up, mainly at night, and they are hitting live bait fished on a slider rig. Lastly a 22-pound black sea bass was taken and released last week.

Redondo Beach Sportfishing Pier (King Harbor) - Nancy, at Redondo Beach Sportfishing, says things are real slow. The water temperature in the bay is up to 75 degrees and most fish have migrated out of the harbor. Mostly the story is small perch and bait stealing senorita. Perhaps an occasional bass, sargo or similar species.

Hermosa Beach Pier - Pete, at Just Fishing by Pete, says there is a lot of bait in the water, especially sardines, and that the fish are there for the taking. The hit parade, at least as far as numbers, continues to be led by mackerel but some bigger species are adding excitement. One yellowtail was caught and several have been lost by anglers. Barracuda are also being caught daily. The snakes are falling to live bait fished on a slider and to hard metal jigs like Tandys and Salas. Halibut fisherman land a few fish each day but most aren't legal. Finally, idiots continue to snag corbina in the surf area. Pete has talked to the Fish and Game but it is apparently legal. His next step might be to ask the city for an ordinance against the snagging. Go for it Pete.

By the way, the city continue to work on Pier Avenue (even though the work was to be done by the summer). Parking spaces have been cut from about 70 to 26 and the lower part of the street is now closed to cars. Yuppiedom rules and the street will be saved for the patrons of the local restaurants and bars. Finally, two specific actions concern the pier. What do you do when workers accidentally cut the power to the pier during street repairs? Simple, leave it off and declare the pier closed at night. Duh, is it really that hard to fix? And, there are rumors that the pier may close for renovation this fall. I'll try to find out if it is true and if so, the details.

Venice Pier - closed for repairs.

Santa Monica Pier - Mannie, at the Santa Monica Pier Bait & Tackle Company, reports continued success on sargo while a few opaleye and zebra perch have also shown up. Mussels seem to be the choice of bait although the zebra perch really like moss. One angler also brought in 5 sand bass up to 19 inches in length. There are still lots of mackerel out at the end but most of them are now small and better suited to be bait fish (and lots of short halibut continue to be caught). Inshore, some corbina and yellowfin croaker are available to anglers fishing with bloodworms, mussels or ghost shrimp.

Malibu Pier - closed for repairs.

Port Hueneme Pier - Valarie, at the Hueneme Pier Bait and Tackle Shop, reports that anglers continue to pull in a lot of Pacific mackerel, jacksmelt and perch on the locally made Filipino jigs. There also continue to be several halibut caught most days, mostly on live bait which has been caught on the bait rigs. Shark fishermen continue to land a few fish, mostly shovelnose guitarfish.

Santa Barbara Wharf - Mike, at Mikes Bait & Tackle on the wharf, reports that the mackerel have disappeared. The water temperature dropped an amazing 15 degrees (from 74 to 59 degrees) and when it did the mac attack retreated. Anglers however continue to catch lots of Ronkies (white croakers), good numbers of buttermouth perch (blackperch), and sharks. The buttermouth perch are hitting on fresh mussels while most sharks (smoothhound sharks, guitarfish and bat rays) are hitting on squid or mackerel. One lucky angler recently landed a 5-foot long leopard shark that was promptly taken over to the Sea Center Aquarium on the wharf. So far it seems to be enjoying its new home.

Biggest mid-month excitement was provided by a young lady who was fishing by the bait shop one morning. Her line started to head out, and then it continued to head out and head out some more. Finally it snapped and a baby gray whale surfaced just past the wharf. It is really late in the season for the grays and this one must have been lost. Mike told the girl that it was a good thing she hadn't landed the whale since they're out of season. Another angler on the pier that day, Boyd Grant, also e-mailed me the story about the 15-foot whale. Boyd said that by the end of the day the lady was reporting that she had hooked a 30-foot blue whale. Typical angler exaggeration. By the way, Boyd reported that he was getting lots of small calico bass (kelp bass) and mackerel before the water temperature dropped. He also caught a shovelnose shark (guitarfish), some Ronkies and a senorita.

Goleta Pier - Boyd Grant reports he's been fishing the pier at least once a week but action remains very slow.

Gaviota Pier - Boyd Grant reports that things are also a little slow at Gaviota although he has been able to catch some barred surfperch and a halibut (while trolling his bait). A relative was able to nab two 20-inch halibut, two 20-inch bonito and a 2-pound cabezon -- using cut bait and a trout pole. Not too bad! He says anglers do continue to catch mackerel out at the end of the pier.

Central California

Pismo Beach Pier - Troy, from Sheldon's Clam Stand on the pier, reports that lots of jacksmelt are hitting on bait rigs sweetened with cut bait. In fact, some of the kids are filling buckets with the tough little fighters. Mackerel had also just started to hit when red tide surrounded the pier for a couple of weeks and fishing nose dived. However, the water has cleared and things appear to have normalized. There is a lot of bait in the water (as evidenced by the numbers of shearwater, pelicans, and humpback whales) so the mackerel should return. Anglers are taking perch during the day and sand sharks (guitarfish) and skates at night. Troy says business is heavy with all the tourists.

Avila Pier - Rob, at Avila Beach Sportfishing on the Port San Luis Pier, says that anglers from the Avila Pier continue to come over to Port San Luis, buy live anchovies and then use them to catch halibut off the Avila pier. A few barred surfperch, walleye surfperch, kingfish (white croakers) and mackerel round out the action.

Port San Luis Pier - Rob, at Avila Beach Sportfishing on the pier, reports that the Pacific mackerel moved into the pier area -- and then left. They'll return and when they do be prepared to catch them on bait rigs fished under a balloon. Only a few halibut have been landed on the pier (using live anchovies from the pier's bait receiver) and even fewer jacksmelt, but walleye and silver surfperch, as well as kingfish (white croaker) remain in good supply. Shark fishing has been a little slow but he says there have been a number of puffer sharks (swell shark) landed, mostly at night on squid. Finally, he's seen a lot of really big bat rays cruising by the pier but not too many have been hooked or landed.

Morro Bay Wharf - Julie, at Virg's Sportfishing, reports that anglers continue to catch jacksmelt and perch off the T-piers. Most jacksmelt fall to Lucky Lura type bait rigs as do some of the perch but the perch are also caught on pile worms, mussels and pieces of shrimp.

Cayucos Pier - Glenda, at The Tidepool in Cayucos, says that there's been a red tide around the pier for a week which has caused the fishing results to slow. Anglers do continue to pull in mackerel and perch, both barred surfperch and small walleye surfperch, but other species have disappeared. No halibut and not even any reports of sharks. Hopefully the red tide will leave soon and conditions will improve.

San Simeon Pier - Jeff, at Virg's Landing, San Simeon, reports that most of the action is on jacksmelt, Pacific mackerel and the bait stealing bullheads (staghorn sculpin). Both the jacksmelt and the mackerel are falling to bait rigs. One halibut was caught this past week, and a couple of starry flounder were reported, but action on the flatties is still slow. Perch action is also on the slow side with a few silvers and barred surfperch showing up for anglers using bait in the inshore area.

Monterey Wharf #2 - Frank Guarrera, at The Compass Boat and Fishing Supplies, reports good action on Spanish mackerel, blue mackerel (Pacific mackerel), and sardines during the evening hours and the two hours before to one hour after high tides. Most of the fish are falling to the Pescador bait rigs which he carries. Only a few halibut have been landed ( one 18-pounder was caught on a Krocodile lure) but anglers continue to catch a few rubberlip seaperch and stingrays (bat rays). The perch are caught on mussels and worms while the bat rays fall to squid when fished at night. Al Spence e-mailed me a message that he tried the pier one night. He just missed the mackerel bite but he did manage to catch 4 small rockfish. He said the weather was good and there was a band playing on the adjacent beach. Sounds like he had a good time even if he didn't land any mackerel.

Capitola Wharf - Jo Ann, at the Capitola Boat and Bait Shop, says it is still kind of slow, lots of kingfish (white croaker) and a few jacksmelt but not too many of the larger species. The pier is seeing some halibut each week but most action is on the smaller perch, species like walleye and silver surfperch. Most of the perch are landed on bait rigs. The mackerel and sardines have deserted the pier for now.

Santa Cruz Wharf - Andre, at Andy's Bait & Tackle, says that fishing remains very good. Lots of keeper halibut continue to be landed by anglers using live and frozen anchovies -- as well as live smelt and mackerel (which are snagged with bait rigs). Some perch continue to be caught: barred in the surf area, walleye and silvers further out on the pier, and rubberlip in the mid-pier area as well as out by the end. Perhaps the biggest surprise continues to be the number of keeper lingcod being landed (mostly on live bait) and they've been joined by rockfish, both blue rockfish and brown rockfish. There have also been quite a lot of stingrays (bat rays) landed lately. No salmon have been reported so far.

Pacifica Pier - Joanne, at the Community Bait & Tackle, reports the arrival of king salmon. Anglers are getting a minimum of 50 salmon a day (and one report said 400 salmon the weekend of the 19-20th). Striped bass have also invaded local beaches (and surf anglers netted 300 of the stripers in just one afternoon). Even though most of the big fish are being landed in the surf, quite a few stripers are also being landed from the pier. Small fish like walleye surfperch, kingfish (white croaker) and jacksmelt are still available but few people are fishing for these species. The salmon are hitting on whole anchovies fished under a float and are running 5-20 pounds in weight. Most of the striped bass have been caught on anchovies, bloodworms or lures. (Brian Hoffman in his San Francisco Chronicle report says that Hair Raiser-type lures in yellow, chartreuse and black lead the field, while some anglers have also had success using motor-oil colored plastic grubs. He says the linesides have ranged in size from the low teens to 40 pounds). Yes, the pier will be crowded, but now is the time to go get the large fish if you want them!

San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Shoreline Piers - Hippo, at Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco, says he hasn't really heard too many pier reports but sometimes he can tell what is going on by the sale of bait -- anchovies and pile worms. Few people are buying worms, which means jacksmelt action is slow, while a lot of anglers are catching their own live anchovies (by jigging from Pier 7). Hippo says he did hear of a few salmon and halibut being taken at the Fort Point Pier but only a few. Evidently some large perch have also been landed (probably rubberlip) but most anglers are concentrating on the bigger species. No reports from the South Bay piers this month.

Berkeley Pier - Scott, at the Berkeley Marina Sports Center, says that the halibut action has slowed but it has been replaced by striped bass. Anglers are daily reeling in stripers up to about 15 pounds in size. The fish are falling for liver shiners, pile worms and grass shrimp. He's also heard of a few kingfish (white croaker), blackperch and bat rays but nothing is really hot.

Point Pinole Pier - Same-o, same-o -- kingfish (white croaker), sharks, and rays together with an occasional striped bass or starry flounder.

Pittsburg Pier - Mark Grim reports that lots of medium-sized striped bass and some catfish have been biting recently at this small pier. The stripers are hitting on cut frozen anchovies and shad while the catfish hit on anchovies and worms. He's had best results while casting near the warm water out-take of the power plant. Anglers might also begin to see a few king salmon pass through this area (they sometimes visit the water near the plant). Best bet when present seems to be a Mepps #5 lure.

Antioch Bridge Fishing Pier - Mark Grim reports a continued strong bite by the striped bass. He's had great success on medium-sized fish using frozen anchovies. The Angler's Edge reports several 18-28 inch stripers landed recently as well as largemouth bass hitting near the shoreline area. Best bait for the largemouth has been live minnows and night crawlers at the pier.

Vallejo Pier - closed for repairs.

McNear Beach Fishing Pier (San Rafael) - John, at Western Boat & Tackle, says not too much is going on although a few anglers are fishing for halibut, striped bass and salmon from the Paradise Beach Pier. The stripers and salmon are tending to hit anchovies fished under a bobber while the halibut are on the bottom. Not too many perch are in the area. Action is dead at the McNear Beach Pier, although one angler did hook a huge sturgeon last week -- which he was unable to land. So, a few of the large fish are still around. As usual, anglers do continue to pull in perch, small rockfish, and some jacksmelt from Sausalito piers and the Fort Baker Pier.

Elephant Rock Pier - closed for repairs.

Northern California

Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay) - Judy, at Wil's Bait & Tackle, says that the perch seem to be hitting good out by the Spud Point Marina Pier. It's a mixture of fish, white seaperch, striped seaperch, rainbow seaperch, blackperch and pileperch. The perch are falling to pile worms and grass shrimp. She hasn't heard of too many other species although the sardines are thick in the bay and she says some angler are jigging for them with bait rigs.

Point Arena Pier - Bill Pettigrew, the Harbormaster at the pier, says that things are a little slow. A few rainbow perch (striped seaperch), a few cabezon and a few lingcod. He hasn't seen any seatrout (kelp greenling) lately and the silver surfperch are late. The summer doldrums appear to be here for a while.

Del Norte Street Fishing Pier (Eureka) - I fished off this pier for one hour on the morning of the 17th. Virtually no success, just a few silver surfperch. Nothing much was hitting on top and it was almost impossible to keep bullheads (staghorn sculpin) and buffalo sculpin off your hook when you fished on the bottom. The only other fish I saw were a couple of jacksmelt. I did see the grossest sight I have seen on a pier in a long, long time (perhaps ever). A dead sheep was hanging in the water from a corner of the pier. Evidently a shark fisherman (the pier is a hot spot for sharks at night) had slit the sheep open and was using it for chum. I hope the sheep was dead before this stunt, and I hope it was his sheep. I also hope it doesn't happen again. I think it was really dumb and question why the sheep wasn't removed at the end of the night. Sounds like a good candidate for a ticket of some type.

Commercial Street Dock (Eureka) - Two hours of mid-day fishing on the 18th produced 46 walleye surfperch and jacksmelt -- all on pieces of tube worms fished under a bobber (and most fish were released). Evidently not too much else had been biting at the pier with the exception of small rockfish and an occasional shark.

Adorni Pier (Eureka) - An hour and a half of fishing in the afternoon of the 18th produced 26 fish. Half were nice-sized walleye surfperch and jacksmelt but half were bait fish like shinerperch and staghorn sculpin. Worms fished under a bobber were the piece de resistance again. Anglers reported slow recent action, mostly a few small sole and starry flounder.

Trinidad Pier - I fished the pier in the afternoon of the 17th and morning of the 18th. Neither trip produced a single fish (although I did hook a good-sized rock greenling which managed to escape). Mary at Bob's Boat Basin Tackle Shop (at the foot of the pier) reported slow pier fishing recently, occasionally a striped seaperch, sea trout (kelp greenling), cabezon, or small snapper (rockfish). Very few people were fishing from the pier. Salmon fishing is closed to the boaters but quite a few Pacific halibut had been landed lately -- up to 72 pounds. Even though fishing was slow on the pier it was fun to watch a number of sea otters playing in the bay and checking out the skiffs after the fisherman had left (looking for food?). But I wonder if the presence of the otters could account for the poor fishing from the pier?

"B" Street Pier (Crescent City) - William Van Dyke, of Popeye's Bait & Tackle at the foot of the pier, reported very slow action at the pier: mainly a few small perch and sand dabs during the day, and a few jacksmelt at night. He was right! I fished the pier in the afternoon and night on the 17th and caught one single fish -- a 15 inch staghorn sculpin that wins the Bullhead of the Month Award. Fishing wasn't just slow it was da.. slow. I did see some jacksmelt caught at night on pieces of shrimp fished under bobbers but they were only mid-sized fish, 12-14 inches long. Crabbers, on the other hand, lined the end of the pier and were filling their buckets with tasty Dungeness crabs. Unfortunately, a rope was tied about every five feet along the railing and the sound of crab pots being tossed into the water (every few minutes) was less than conducive to good fishing. The weather was interesting: cold, high intensity wind at 5 p.m., shirtsleeve, beautiful weather at 10 p.m.

Bill did also mention that 7 keeper halibut had been landed recently on the pier, fish up to 28 inches in length. He thought they were California halibut but I wonder if some might be small Pacific halibut. Some of the halibut were landed on frozen anchovies, some on Scampi lures.

Citizen's Dock (Crescent City) - I fished from the pier for two hours in the early evening of the 17th and managed to pull in one nice cabezon, 2 kelp greenling, 2 black rockfish and 2 copper rockfish. All of the fish were caught near the inshore rocks using fresh tube worms for bait.

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

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.