September 1997
Southern California
Imperial Beach Pier - John Munoz, at Cox Bait & Tackle, says fishing remains fairly good. Inshore, anglers continue to pull in yellowfin croakers and a few corbina (on sand crabs, fresh mussels, ghost shrimp or bloodworms). Mid-pier sees some herring (queenfish) and tom cod (white croaker) as well as a few halibut. The end area is still producing a few mackerel but it's dropped off from early season action as has the action on sharks. Two sportfishing boats are now making the short 90-minute trip from the pier to the Coronado Islands -- and so far, they're doing very good on the usual So-Cal mix of bass, barracuda, bonito, and yellowtail.Ocean Beach Pier - Steve, at the Ocean Beach Bait Shop, reports that things are real slow. Mackerel do continue to hit bait rigs, and a few bonito continue to hit feathers, but the only fish of note recently are the sharks. One angler landed a 57-inch, 36-pound leopard shark, while a lot of large gray sharks (gray smoothhounds) have been caught by anglers using squid or mackerel.
Ferry Landing Pier (Coronado) - Coronado - Our new reporter, Ritchie Reano, has been fishing from the pier most days and reports a mixed bag of fish. Halibut are the "prime time" fish and quite a few are being landed every day. Ritchie has had good luck on the flatties using live smelt (which are abundant) for bait but unfortunately most of the halibut are not legal size. Do be careful though. One angler recently hooked a 30" halibut that pulled his pole into the water. Luckily the pole floated and he had a treble hook gaff so he was able to retrieve the pole -- and the fish. Lots of legal size sand bass are being caught and the mackerel counts have bounced back up after dropping during the first part of the month. Ritchie also reports that there are a lot of bat rays and needlefish around; in fact, they're becoming a nuisance to some fishermen. A run of sargo also seemed to be starting but it has apparently tapered off. Finally, Ritchie caught his first white seabass this month, an 18-inch sub legal size fish. But next time...
Embarcadero Marina Pier - San Diego - (I fished the pier for one mid-morning hour on August 3rd and caught 1 mackerel. Fishing was SLOW.)
Shelter Island Pier - Buddy Hakes, at the Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says that action has really slowed down. Although anglers continue to pick up a few mackerel, sand bass, and sargo (on ghost shrimp or mussels), other species are few and far between.
Crystal Pier - (I fished the pier for one hour on the morning of August 3rd. Fishing was slow and all I caught was 1 large queenfish.)
Oceanside Pier - Carl, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, reports continued good fishing. Leading the list has been a number of large spotfin croaker which have been landed in the inshore areas by anglers using mussels, bloodworms or ghost shrimp. The same area is also producing a lot of nice sized yellowfin croaker -- primarily in the evening hours. The mid-pier to end areas are yielding quite a few halibut including 4-5 keepers most days. Out at the end, anglers continue to pull in good numbers of mackerel while bonito do their here one minute, gone the next routine. Most of the bonito that are landed are nice 4-5 pound fish. Most unusual fish recently was a 6-pound sheephead landed on mussels near the bait shop. (I fished the pier for two and a half hours on the morning of August 1st. The visit produced 17 salema and 2 jacksmelt at the far end of the pier, and 3 yellowfin croaker and 1 jacksmelt in the inshore area.)
Oceanside Harbor Pier - (One hour of early evening fishing on July 31st yielded 3 kelp bass, 2 sargo, 1 giant kelpfish, 1 salema and 1 jacksmelt. Lots of small stuff around the inshore rocks and algae.)
San Clemente Pier - Kamal, at the Pier Tackle shop, reports a slight slow down in the fishing. Fishermen continue to land yellowfin croaker and spotfin croaker inshore while using fresh mussels or bloodworms, but the action on mackerel out toward the end has slowed. There have been a number of legal 4-5 pound halibut landed lately, and sharks and rays continue to gobble up squid and mackerel offerings. (One hour of fishing during the afternoon on July 31st produced 8 jacksmelt, 2 mackerel, 1 walleye surfperch and a large yellowfin croaker. Not bad, not good.)
Dana Point Harbor Pier - (One late afternoon's hour of fishing on July 31st produced 2 kelp bass and 1 jacksmelt. Slow!)
Aliso Beach Pier - Barbara, at the Seaside Cafe on the foot of the pier, reports (for the umpteenth month in a row) 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. (One mid-day hour of fishing on July 31st produced 4 jacksmelt and one yellowfin croaker. Kind of slow!)
Newport Pier - Mike Mogler visited the pier mid-month and reports that anglers were landing a lot of "BIG" mackerel. He also saw some bat rays at the pier. (I fished the pier for one early evening hour on July 30th. The visit produced a disappointing 3 mackerel and 2 jacksmelt.)
Balboa Pier - Mike Mogler visited the pier mid-month; most anglers were catching "small" mackerel. (I fished the pier for one and a quarter early evening hours on July 30th. The result was 7 mackerel, 5 jacksmelt and one nice-sized yellowfin croaker.)
Huntington Beach Pier - Mike Mogler visited the pier mid-month and saw a lot of sargo being landed in the inshore area. He also reports one angler had a 15-pound shovelnose guitarfish. (I fished off the pier for 1 1/2 early-morning hours on July 30th. The result was 9 mackerel, 7 queenfish, 8 jacksmelt, 2 salema and 1 sardine. Almost all of the fish were returned to the water.)
Belmont Pier - Jimmy, at the Belmont Pier Sportfishing shop, says that action remain strong. Out around the bait shop at the end, anglers are getting a mix of fish. Several halibut have been landed, including a 10-pound, 32-inch fish, while LOTS of mackerel and sardines are falling to anglers using Lucky Lura bait rigs. Fisherman using live anchovies (available at the shop) continue to pull in a few sand bass, with the sandies ranging up to about a 3-pounds in size. The end area is also offering up sand sharks, shovelnose sharks (guitarfish), and bat rays although most of the rays have been small. The inshore area continues to offer up a mixture of yellowfin croaker, spotfin croaker, and a few corbina. Try bloodworms, ghost shrimp, sand crabs or fresh mussels. (I fished off the pier for one mid-afternoon hour on July 29th. The result was a very disappointing 2 mackerel and 2 jacksmelt.)
Cabrillo Pier - Closed for repairs.
Redondo Beach Pier - Mike Mogler visited the pier mid-month and reports that action was slow. Some mackerel, perch and shovelnose sharks (guitarfish).
Redondo Beach Sportfishing Pier (King Harbor) - Nancy, at Redondo Beach Sportfishing, says things are real slow. Mackerel continue to grab strips of squid or hit on Lucky Lura riggings but the bonito are gone. Best bet probably is sargo (and a school has been under the pier for the past few weeks) -- try mussels, bloodworms, pieces of shrimp or squid. As usual, schools of pesky senorita continue to strip hooks free of bait. There is also an occasional kelp bass! Things should improve when the temperature of the water in the harbor drops.
Hermosa Beach Pier - Things have slowed according to Pete, at Just Fishing by Pete. Most action centers on mackerel, with a few anglers pulling in an occasional halibut. Sardines also continue to be available to jiggers in the afternoon hours. Only one yellowtail has been reported from the pier recently. It looks like the pier is destined to be closed in October for repairs with opening scheduled during Easter week of '98. (I fished off the pier for one mid-morning hour on July 29th and caught 5 mackerel.)
Manhattan Beach Pier - (I fished off the pier for an hour and a half on the morning of July 29th. The 90 minutes produced 43 decent-sized mackerel, 1 jacksmelt and 1 salema. Most of the mackerel were returned to the water.)
Venice Pier - closed for repairs.
Santa Monica Pier - John, at the Santa Monica Pier Bait & Tackle Company, reports a downturn in action. The recent runs of sargo and mackerel both seem to have ended (although anglers continue to land a few mackerel out at the end). Fishermen also continue to hook some halibut and white seabass -- but almost all of the fish are "shorts" and must be returned. A few yellowfin croaker and corbina continue to hit in the surf area and they've been joined by some "baby" leopard sharks (and be sure to let them go). (I fished off the pier for one early evening hour on July 28th. The hour produced 7 jacksmelt and one mackerel using strip squid for bait.)
Malibu Pier - closed for repairs.
Paradise Cove Pier (Malibu) - (I fished off the pier for two mid-afternoon hours on July 28th. I landed 3 senorita, 2 black seaperch, 1 giant kelpfish and 1 striped kelpfish. Various algae surrounded the pier and the fish were down among the growth of algae.)
Port Hueneme Pier - Valarie, at the Hueneme Pier Bait and Tackle Shop, says that anglers are continuing to pull in Pacific mackerel, jacksmelt, herring (queenfish) and perch on the locally made Filipino jigs. There also continue to be a few halibut caught most days, generally on live bait that has been caught on the bait rigs. Shark fishermen has been slow. (I fished off the pier for one mid-day hour on July 28 and I didn't catch a single fish.)
Santa Barbara Wharf - Mike, at Mikes Bait & Tackle on the wharf, reports that things are slow. Mostly mackerel and "short" halibut. Anglers do continue to get some Ronkies (white croaker), a few perch, and sharks. A 5-foot leopard shark was landed recently but most of the sharks are smaller gray smoothies (gray smoothhounds). (I fished off the pier for one mid-morning hour on July 28th. The result was 3 small kelp bass, 1 senorita, one jacksmelt and 3 perch - nothing worth keeping.)
Goleta Pier - Boyd Grant reports that things have been slow at Goleta. He fished the pier several times this month but says most of the action was on small sand sharks and croakers. He did see a nice string of large perch one day and a 26-inch sand bass. Another day he noticed several yellowtail on the pier but it turned out they had been caught offshore in a boat and given away to anglers on the pier. Don't ask me why they would be given away?
Gaviota Pier - Boyd Grant said things were a little better at Gaviota. He caught one keeper halibut (and two shorts), jacksmelt and small perch. He said he saw another halibut caught, several sand sharks, a 10-pound bat ray, and larger perch. Pete, who manages the park store, said most anglers had been catching mackerel and perch. (I fished the pier for one early morning hour on July 28. All I caught were 8 small perch. It was very, very slow.)
Central California
Pismo Beach Pier - Troy, from Sheldon's Clam Stand on the pier, reports that anglers are getting lots of small fish but not much else. The mix of fish seems to include small perch, kingfish (white croaker), queenfish, jacksmelt and mackerel. Shark anglers also continue to pull in a few sharks at night (including some small threshers). (I fished the pier for one early evening hour on July 27th and all I landed was one kingfish --white croaker. Once again, it was slow.)Avila Pier - Dave, at Avila Beach Sportfishing reports that the Avila Pier action is similar to that at the nearby Port San Luis Pier: mackerel, jacksmelt, kingfish (white croaker), halibut, and a few perch.
Port San Luis Pier - Dave, at Avila Beach Sportfishing on the Port San Luis Pier, reports some mackerel and jacksmelt. Most of the fish are landed on Lucky Lura type riggings fished under balloons. Inshore, a few barred surfperch and walleye surfperch have been landed while out toward the end halibut continue to grab live anchovies (available at the shop) -- although he hasn't seen any halibut over 24 inches. Shark action has been slow. (I visited the pier for a couple of late night hours on the 27th of July. The visit yielded 8 kingfish, 3 walleye surfperch and one gopher rockfish).
Morro Bay Wharf - (I fished the wharf for 15 minutes on the 27th of July, landed 6 small perch, and decided to move on.)
Cayucos Pier - Shaane, at The Tidepool in Cayucos, says that things have improved. Most anglers are concentrating on halibut, jacksmelt, small perch - walleye surfperch and silver surfperch, and a few mackerel. One angler had just caught a 32-inch, 12 1/2-pound halibut when I called. A few sharks are also being landed. The day before I called, an angler had landed a 35-pound thresher shark which had a 36-inch body and 36-inch tail. I also got a report from Dennis Herndon on 8/19 who has been fishing the pier almost daily. He says that there has been lots of bait in the water, both anchovies and sardines, and the sheerwaters, pelicans and terns have been diving like crazy. A family of porpoise had also been working the area. Dennis said that although the mackerel were almost non-existent, halibut were being caught every day. Anglers are catching anchovies with bait rigs and using them for the halibut. Jacksmelt and kingfish were both plentiful. Finally, a lot of thresher sharks had been jumping around the pier. He said he saw at least 30 threshers jumping and some were right next to the pier. He's been using a slider rig with a balloon but so far had been unable to hook a shark. (You might, by the way, want to check out Dennis' Fishing Page which is on my links page.) (I fished the pier for one afternoon hour on July 27. The pier was surrounded by red tide and all I landed was 2 walleye surfperch and a shinerperch. Luckily, the red tide is now gone.)
San Simeon Pier - Joe, at Virg's Landing, San Simeon, reports that action is a little slow. Anglers do continue to pull in a few perch, both barred surfperch, silver surfperch and pileperch, while anglers at night hook up an occasional sand shark (smoothhounds). He says there is also a good run of mackerel at the pier. The macs seem to show up every afternoon at about 3 p.m. and some are decent-sized fish. The water temperature is a hot, hot, hot (for San Simeon) 70 degrees. (I fished the pier for one mid-day hour on July 27th and landed 4 "extra-large" jacksmelt, one Pacific mackerel, and a silver surfperch. All of the fish were landed inshore, just past the breaker area.)
Monterey Wharf #2 - Frank Guarrera, at The Compass Boat and Fishing Supplies, reports that mackerel fishing remains good (both Pacific mackerel and jack mackerel), but the fish have been running smaller than normal lately. The last couple of weeks has also seen anglers pulling in salmon. Most of the salmon are hitting on lures like Krocodiles and most are hitting in the evening hours. Night time action also includes a few stingrays (bat rays) and both nights and days are yielding small sand dabs and spider crabs. A few perch, mostly rubberlip seaperch, are also being landed by anglers using mussels or plastic grubs.
Capitola Wharf - Frank, at the Capitola Boat and Bait Shop, reported a mix bag of fish. Primary action has been offered by "big" jacksmelt which have been hitting on bait rigs, while a number of halibut have fallen to live bait anglers -- including fish of 24, 25 and 27 inches. Around the pilings, anglers continue to hook small perch -- shiners, barred surfperch and rubberlip seaperch. Cast out from the pier and you're almost guaranteed a kingfish (white croaker) although most are small. There's also been a lot of bat rays recently although most are small 3-8 pound babies. Untypical lately have been the number of rockfish taken off the wharf. Most are blue rockfish or gopher rockfish which are being landed on small pieces of shrimp. A lingcod was also landed by a fisherman using a bait rig. (I fished the pier for one morning hour on August 5th. All I landed were 6 kingfish, 1 bullhead (staghorn sculpin) and a shiner. Things were pretty darn slow.)
Santa Cruz Wharf - Cintra, at Andy's Bait & Tackle, reports that fishing is somewhat slow. Inshore, anglers are getting some nice surfperch and some big halibut (on live bait), but on most of the pier, anglers are getting small perch and a few jacksmelt. Anglers also report seeing albacore chasing anchovies near the pilings; if true, it's a very unusual (although not unprecedented) situation. (I fished the pier's "fish wells" for an hour and a half on the morning of August 5th. I caught 4 gopher rockfish, 2 small perch, 1 brown rockfish, 1 blue rockfish, 1 sea trout (kelp greenling) and 1 lingcod. The lingcod was a beautiful, legal-sized "blue ling" which hit the top hook of a high/low rigging on the first drop into the well. The greenling was on the bottom hook and both fish hit on pieces of mackerel.)
Pacifica Pier - Joanne, at the Community Bait & Tackle, says that the salmon action has slowed. Although some days may see 30-40 salmon, other days may only see 4-5. A few striped bass continue to spark interest while the smaller species -- jacksmelt, kingfish (white croaker), walleye surfperch, and silver surfperch, are abundant. (There have also been reports of a few bonito landed at the pier). Dwight Hwang reported that he saw a couple of nice bat rays caught at the pier while Arvid Evans spotted a LARGE sunfish (which thankfully nobody tried to hook. (Many years ago I spotted a large ocean sunfish on top of the water, cast out a jig, and snagged the weird looking fish. I then fought, landed and released the fish, which we estimated to weigh about 75-pounds. I've regretted the entire incident ever since. Leave those peaceful fish alone.)
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Shoreline Piers - San Francisco Shoreline Piers - Allen, at Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco, reports that most action at local piers has been on sharks (brown smoothhound and leopard sharks) although he's also heard of a few salmon being landed at the Fort Point Pier and Fort Baker Pier. No reports from South Bay piers. Arvid Evans visited Candlestick Point Pier on the 24th. Lots of sailboarders and tourists, only a few fishermen and apparently no fish. He says it was the same story at other piers along the peninsula, including the Oyster Point Pier, no fish or just a few sharks and rays.Berkeley Pier - Scott, at the Berkeley Marina Sports Center, says that a FEW halibut and striped bass are being landed at the pier but numbers are down from a few months ago. Anglers continue to report that rubberlip seaperch and jacksmelt are falling to pile worms. There's also an occasional bat ray falling to squid on the bottom. (By the way, party boats from the center are having phenomenal action on bottom fish. One boat reported 74 lingcod to 28-pounds together with full limits of rockcod for all anglers. Now is the time to go). Arvid Evans visited the pier on the 24th and reports that anglers were catching perch and rays off the inner third of the pier.
Point Pinole Pier - The Angler's Edge reports that both keeper and small sized striped bass are hitting at the pier with pile worms and anchovies being the bait of choice. Jacksmelt are also showing as are sharks and rays.
Vallejo Pier - closed for repairs.
Martinez Pier - Mark Grim reports that fishing has been fair. A few good sized striped bass have been caught (up to 11 pounds) and quite a few sturgeon are being taken from the not-too-far-away areas around the Ozol Pier and Mothball Fleet.
City of Benicia Pier - Mark Grim reports that a number of salmon, in the 14-20 pound range, have been taken from the pier. Most are taken on a Mepps #5 or similar type lure. Striped bass have been hitting on frozen anchovies and shad.
Antioch Bridge Pier - Mark Grim reports that the bite remains strong. Lots of striped bass are being taken on frozen shad or anchovies and one lucky fisherman landed a 36-inch striper. Anglers are also catching largemouth bass using live minnows or night crawlers while fishing between the shoreline and the first wind breaker. Mark also reports that the pier will be given a major facelift next spring. Apparently the pier will receive new wind shelters made of aluminum and Plexiglas and the adjoining park will get 12 new picnic tables, new barbecue grilles, and additional trails and grassy areas. The Anglers Edge reports that striped bass in the 28" to 30" range are hitting shad on incoming tides. Morning hours are best.
McNear Beach Fishing Pier (San Rafael) - John, at Western Boat & Tackle, says that things are a little slow at local piers. The McNear Beach Pier, is primarily "shark country" at this time -- brown smoothhounds and leopard sharks. Some king salmon are being landed at the Paradise Beach Pier. Anglers are using a whole anchovy fished on a 6-foot slider leader (under a float). Since the water is very shallow, they're also picking up a few halibut on the same rigging. Inshore, around the rocks, some small rubberlip seaperch continue to fall to anglers using pile worms.
Elephant Rock Pier - closed for repairs.
Fort Baker Pier - Our reporter, Dwight Hwang, has been having some pretty fair action at the pier. He's been catching a mix of small rockfish, jacksmelt, rainbow seaperch, walleye surfperch, white seaperch, small cabezon, BIG cabezon and BIG rubberlip seaperch (including the largest he had ever caught). Most of the fish were caught on pile worms. He says jacksmelt enthusiasts are catching a lot of the big smelt and salmon fishermen continue to pull in two to three kings a day. Finally, night time hours continue to yield some nice sized bat rays and sharks while the crabbing for red rock crabs remains good. And, the wind continues to blow strong most days.
Northern California
Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay) - Judy, at Wil's Bait & Tackle, says that anglers fishing from the Lucas Wharf are landing jacksmelt, bat rays and shinerperch. The smelt and perch are hitting on worms while the bat ray prefer squid. At the Spud Point Pier, anglers continue to pull in a variety of perch using pile worms, mussels and small crabs.Point Arena Pier - Normal summertime species prevail: striped seaperch, sea trout (kelp greenling), cabezon, silver surfperch, smelt and an occasional rock cod (kelp, blue and black). Sometimes a toothy lingcod even decides to dine at the pier.
Del Norte Street Fishing Pier (Eureka) - Greg at Bucksport Tackle says that anglers are primarily catching perch off the Del Norte Street Pier (and other docks and wharfs). Most of the perch are pileperch and most are falling to tube worms or small crabs. Mixed in will be a number of smaller silver and walleye surfperch, as well as some jacksmelt. A few halibut are being landed and an occasional salmon. Shark fishing remains good at night. Most of the sharks are sand sharks (brown smoothhounds) as well as a few leopard sharks.
Trinidad Pier - Pam, at Bob's Boat Basin Tackle Shop, (at the foot of the pier), reports that most action has been on striped seaperch. The perch are by the rocks which surround the pier. The most interesting pier catch lately was a 30-inch cabezon; and Pam says the fish was totally purple. An even more interesting story concerns anglers who were fishing offshore for albacore (instead of salmon). One surprised angler hooked (but lost) a marlin; as soon as he lost the big fish nearby anglers, who had witnessed the action, came over to try their own luck. The marlin however decided once was enough and disappeared.
"B" Street Pier (Crescent City) - William Van Dyke, of Popeye's Bait & Tackle at the foot of the pier, says there has been a good run of mackerel, Pacific herring and jacksmelt at the pier. Anglers are using bait rigs or very small hooks and beads to attract and hook the fish. Some of the mackerel are up to 3-feet in length which leads me to suspect they are jack mackerel (Spanish mackerel), although this El Nino year may see Pacific mackerel up in that area. Fishing for both halibut and perch has slowed.
Citizen's Dock (Crescent City) - Chris at Euglund Marine says that anglers continue to pull in a few perch from the dock. Inshore, by the rocks, will yield striped seaperch, while further out on the dock anglers will pull in some pileperch. Rocky areas are also yielding small rockfish and sea trout (kelp greenling). Anglers fishing the top of the water with bait rigs continue to pull in some jacksmelt but the halibut bite on the bottom seems to have slowed -- or stopped.
Thanks for your support and hope you liked the books!
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)
Bud Raridon (Dana Point, California)
Ariel Blason (Walnut Creek, 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.