Imperial Beach Pier - Liz, at Cox Bait & Tackle, says that people are still fishing even though the weather isn't too good. In fact, on the 29th, when it was pouring down rain, angler's were swamping the shop for bait. Most of the action seems based on barred surfperch, and of course this is the best time of the year for the feisty little barreds. The top baits seems to be bloodworms or mussels but they also love ghost shrimp and sand crabs. No report on the other species.
Ocean Beach Pier - No report this month! I called the Ocean Beach Pier Bait Shop on the 31st but there was no answer. Of course, it was a day when waves were breaking over the top of the pier and the city had closed it to tourists (some of whom are sometimes not too bright and might try to experience the thrill of a pier under attack by Mother Nature). Hope there's no damage.
Ferry Landing Pier (Coronado) - Rich Reano reports that things are pretty dismal at the pier; about the only consistent action recently has been on sand bass and large jacksmelt. He says he really misses the wide-open bite of spring and summertime. So do we!
Shelter Island Pier - John at the Shelter Island Pier Bait & Tackle Shop says that things are slow right now because there are so few fishermen. It's cold and rainy! However, the anglers who are present are catching mackerel and sand bass. The macks are hitting on strips of squid fished near the top of the water, the sand bass are hitting bloodworms and ghost shrimp fished on the bottom.
Oceanside Pier - George, at the Oceanside Pier Bait & Tackle shop, says that things are dead at the pier, it's rockin' and rollin' and most fishermen are staying home. Waves were breaking over the pier on the 30th and the one lone fisherman on the pier kept coming back for bigger and bigger sinkers. When things are calm, the anglers have been getting quite a few small sand bass, lots of stingrays, and some sharks. Not much else! George thinks it may be slow for the next month.
San Clemente Pier - The Pier Tackle shop was closed when we called on the 31st. Interpretation: Things are slow from the weather and waves, anglers are staying in their nice warm homes, and you might want to consider doing the same until the storm is over -- on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Gil Sperry (who heads up the Professional Surf and Shore Casters Association -- check it out on our links page) sent the following note on a mid-January visit to this pier. "Jacksmelt was about all that were caught; most of the fishermen were feeding them to the pelicans that were waiting for their lunch on the roof of the bait shack near the far end of the pier. One pelican bit off more than he could chew (swallowed the fish whole with the tail first) and couldn't make it work. A good lesson for my four year old who tends to have eyes bigger than his stomach (didn't we all, at one time?)."
Another note came from Ben Acker who said that his early morning visit was good for white croaker and a "big old bat ray." He says his brother and a friend have also gotten quite a few lobsters there recently.
Aliso Beach Pier - No answer from a January 31st phone call! Bet things are slow due to the bad weather.
Newport Pier - Tom Ran reports that he's heard stories of people catching thresher sharks to 70 pounds at the pier and plans to give it a try. We'll let you know what he discovers.
Balboa Pier - Ben Acker visited the pier mid-month and said it was a "virtual Mac-attack, though on four pound test and a trout rod, it was a good time..."
Huntington Beach Pier - Audrey reports that fishing has "slowed considerably. Right now there are mainly small perch and they're being caught on mussels or worms; most are thrown back. The perch don't seem to be fighters like they have been in the past, they seem a little weaker. A few small, undersize halibut are also being caught and thrown back; bait of choice is anchovies or mussels. A few small sharks, but not many (this is the big surprise cause there's always been sharks). Many days the pier has been perfectly quiet in terms of bringing up fish. A week ago, there was one good size bass caught halfway out the pier near the bathrooms."
Seal Beach Pier - Janie, at Norm's Big Fish Sportfishing Shop at the end of the pier, wasn't on the end of the pier when I called on the 31st. Instead, she was at the original Norms which sits a few miles away on the Pacific Coast Highway. Why? The pier was closed on the 30th by the city and may be closed until the 2nd or 3rd. Waves were breaking over the top of the pier and it wasn't exactly a safe condition for our intrepid pier anglers. Still, Janie says there was good action on monster jacksmelt and bottom fish -- thornbacks, shovelnose, and bat rays, before the storm hit. She also says quite a few yellowfin croaker and sargo were hitting fresh mussels, ghost shrimp and bloodworms when the inshore area was fishable.
Belmont Pier - Jimmy, at the Belmont Pier Sportfishing shop, says things are humming! The pier is protected by the breakwater so he's getting the anglers who are unable to fish at Seal Beach and other piers. Fishing also sounds pretty good. Anglers are getting quite a few pile perch on crabs (that you'll have to catch off the piling) and lots of really big jacksmelt (on pieces of anchovy or worms). Inshore, and it's a little surprising for this time of the year, anglers are picking up yellowfin croaker and big corbina; top baits are ghost shrimp, fresh mussels and bloodworms. Mid-pier, a few halibut are hitting but only a couple of legal fish per week, and out at the end, sand sharks continue to show pretty good action, especially at night on squid.
Cabrillo Pier - Tom Ran reports that "things are realllllllllllly slow. Mack's come in and out really fast and jumbo surf smelt are still being caught. I caught some on small grubs they put up a good fight, but overall it was slow."
Redondo Beach Pier - Dan Garrett paid a mid-month visit but reports things were slow; he caught some mackerel but not much else. He says anglers "were throwing everything but the kitchen sink at em...from bait, to clams, shrimp, anchovies and lures (mostly spoons) but the fish weren't responding well....some schools of anchovies were mulling in and out around the far end of the pier as were a few seals and the added bonus of a small whale made a quick cruise by....but the weather was great and a good time had as always fishing.... the worst day of fishing is better than the best day of most things I can think of..."
Redondo Beach Sportfishing Pier (King Harbor) - John, at Redondo Sportfishing, says that the main action right now is on sand bass and the biggest the morning I called (the 31st) was a 5-pounder. The bass are hitting on ghost shrimp that are available on the pier. The bonito haven't entered the harbor yet so no reported catches of the boneheads, or even of mackerel. John says there have been quite a few sargo also caught off the pier and the usual perch species under the pier -- opaleye, blacksmith, blackperch, etc. Most perch will hit bloodworms or mussels while the opaleye are also falling to green peas.
Hermosa Beach Pier - Pete, at Just Fishing by Pete (near the front of the pier), says that the pier was closed on the 30th but reopened on the 31st; it's a day to day thing depending on the waves. When open, anglers are catching fish. Lots of jacksmelt, quite a few mackerel, and some sardines. Most other species are slow although he saw one legal sized halibut. Still no definite information from the city on when they actually plan to close the pier for renovation -- it was supposed to happen last fall.
Venice Pier - Apparently open -- do we have any reporters out there?
Santa Monica Pier - There was no response from the Santa Monica Pier Bait & Tackle Company when I called on the 31st. I'm assuming they were closed down due to the waves -- hope there isn't any damage.
Malibu Pier - closed for repairs.
Port Hueneme Pier - No answer from the Port Hueneme Bait and Tackle Shop. This storms a beast!!!
Santa Barbara Wharf - No answer on the 31st from Mike Katz, at Mikes Bait & Tackle on the wharf (so the wharf may have been closed) but he did send me the following e-mail message on the 27th of the month. "Ken: They are in midst of repairing the wharf (as they do every winter) and all of their cranes, trucks, pilings , stringers and lumber are piled all around my shop and the end of the wharf so fishing and fishermen have been limited. Also, we seem to be having an underwater storm. There were huge swells all day today that rocked the wharf. Great for surfers but bad for fishing! The most fish I've seen lately are huge (and I mean HUGE) sardines and very large piling perch. One fellow walked by my shop holding up a plastic bag filled with what I thought were medium sized mackerel. They were sardines! Cute one I read last week: Teacher asked her grammar school class to write a paper on the effects of oil on fish. One kid wrote, 'Last night my mother opened a can of sardines. The can was full of oil and the fish were dead!'"
Goleta Pier - Boyd Grant visited the pier several times this month and sent two reports. The first said, "I was at Goleta for 4 hours last Monday - five 12" thornbacks. Felt like I was fishing in a nursery. For the last two trips out, on practically my first cast, something big has picked it up and then started to slowly move parallel to the pier until the line snapped (had the drag set too tight - 20# test.) Didn't act like it was hooked or anything -- rather like it was just moving on anyway. Didn't see any seals in the area -- wonder what it might have been?" The next report said "fished Goleta last Sunday and the previous Tuesday. Caught 5 small (12") thornback sharks and one croaker. Very little bait fish in water. Hearing rumors though that its just about time for the bigger halibut to make an appearance. My brother assures me that the biggest one's are caught in January/February ...
Robert Karapet and a friend visited the pier on the night of the 15th and the morning of the 16th. His report: "we got to Goleta on the night of the 15th and had some left over bait from our last trip so we got started right away. The tide seemed perfect (full moon) but we didn't get a bite all night, not even in the kelp! I suggested we go to Gaviota but my buddy told me to wait and give the morning bite a shot. We did and to my surprise the morning was nothing like the night before. We went first to the crane (perch spot) and yanked some mussels from the pilings. Caught about 10-12 small ones, 4-6 inches long, and then my buddy got a 1 1/2 lb. butterlip. We then went to the end and started fishing for bigger stuff (preferably shovelnose). I cast one pole in the kelp and soon caught a nice cabezon about 12 in. Kept it of course! I love the way they taste. Then my other pole caught me a 12 lb bat ray. To make a long fishing day short, we caught 3 more bat rays that day, one which was 40+ lbs. My buddy and I each caught one shovelnose (14 lbs.& 19 lbs.) that night. My buddy slept in the car as I fished and I managed to catch five edible size rockfish out of the kelp and three barely undersized calicos. Earlier, a guy fishing the kelp caught a 4 lb sandie and two keeper calicos. The next morning, we made a quick run to Gaviota ... (see below).
Gaviota Pier - Robert Karapet fished the pier on the morning of the 17th. His report: "we made a quick run to Gaviota for some halibut action. I caught some nice live bait size smelt and we tossed them out. Soon, I left my pole and came back to see my buddy fighting a 37 in.-15 lb. halibut. I baited and cast, he hooked and reeled, so we called it as being caught by both of us. That was all for my last fishing trip. I plan to do a one-nighter to Port Hueneme one of these days. Also, the whole time we were out there fishing there wasn't a single sign of the mackerel. There were a lot of ronkies and crabs at night, however..."
Central California
Pismo Beach Pier -Troy, from Sheldon's Clam Stand on the pier, says that it is the best barred surfperch fishing that him or his dad has seen in ten years. Tremendous numbers of the fish are being caught and they're ranging up to 3-pounds, although most are 1- 1 1/2 pounds. Anglers are catching them on the first half of the pier (or three-quarters out during the low tide) and they're hitting on bait and artificial lures. Best bait is bloodworms but fresh mussels and even clams will work. Regulars are using motor oil color grubs to catch the tasty perch. Not much else is hitting on the bottom although some large jacksmelt are still hitting on the top of the water. Tides have been huge but the pier is taking it all in a good fashion so far. He said there was some damage to the Avila Pier but he didn't think it was major damage -- so far.
Port San Luis Pier - There was no response to a phone call on the 31st to the Avila Beach Sportfishing office on the pier. However, their boats are down for repair until mid-February so they may simply have been taking a siesta, it may not have been due to the storm. But, I don't know. As mentioned, the Avila Pier, just a half mile or so down the road, is closed due to damage from the waves.
Morro Bay Wharf - No report this month.
Cayucos Pier - Glenda at the Tidepool (near the front of the pier) reports that the pier has been closed since the 28th and that the near-shore streets and parking lots are filled with debris. Obviously no fish are being caught on the pier since you can't get on the pier but anglers surf fishing on the beaches are hauling in record numbers of barred perch, many in the 3-3 1/2 pound size range. She says they're catching them on bloodworms and it is quite a site given the huge waves that are pounding the beaches.
San Simeon Pier - No report this month.
Monterey Wharf #2 - No report this month.
Capitola Wharf - There was no answer at the Capitola Boat and Bait Shop on the wharf which means it was probably closed. This is the most damaging storm in a long, long time.
Santa Cruz Wharf - Cintra, at Andy's Bait & Tackle on the wharf, said that anglers were mainly catching kingfish (white croaker) out at the end, and some barred surfperch in the inshore areas. She says some people were also hauling in sole (or perhaps sanddabs) and that the crabbing is good; most of the crabs are rock crabs.
Piller Point Pier - Matt Shockney says he visited the pier once during the month and all he saw were two fish and a couple of illegal crabs that people seemed to be keeping.
Pacifica Pier - No report this month from the Community Bait & Tackle shop at the front of the pier; when I called, waves were breaking over the pier and basically a lot of people were just standing around admiring the waves. Not too many anglers!
Matt Shockney visited the pier mid-month. He reported that it was a beautiful day but the fishing was slow. He said what he mainly saw were some big crabs, small perch and sanddabs. He said he caught a few large walleye surfperch, a few kingfish (white croaker) and one jacksmelt -- but he only stayed an hour. He also said people were talking about a lady who had pulled in a 17-inch perch that morning (which is a nice perch).
Andy Llora reports: "If you can stand the near gale force winds during the late evenings, the Pacifica Pier is good for smelt, kingfish, and sanddabs. I was there on the 24th and someone in the middle of the pier pulled in a small 3-4 lb striper."
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Shoreline Piers - Hippo, at Hi's Tackle Box in San Francisco, says that kingfish (white croaker) have replaced the sanddabs as this month's feature fish. Good numbers are being caught at almost all the local piers -- although deeper-water piers like the Muni Pier, Pier 7, and the Fort Mason Piers are providing the best action. Sanddabs are still around but the kingfish may be grabbing the baits before they get to the bottom. Not too many reports of sharks or rays and no reports from the South Bay piers.
Matt Shockney visited the Fort Point Pier mid-January and offers the following report: "Well, I just got back from Fort Point. It was pretty neat there. We caught a lot of sanddabs and rock crabs. There were also a few perch hitting. I was amazed at the view of things. I caught a small fish that looked like a midshipman and it bit my finger. I then booted it back to sea. My friend also caught a 15-inch lingcod that had a blue belly. About an hour before we left, I had a huge lingcod on. It had to be about 30-inches long because I got it out of the water and it was clearly bigger than my tackle box which is almost two feet long. Right before I got it up, it gave one flop of hope and splash. I lost a big one! I am still not over it. Oh well, I guess I go back and catch him again some time. Someone else caught a kingfish that could've been mistaken for a salmon and a guy next to me caught a octopus that he almost had to beat to death to unhook."South San Francisco Bay Piers - Mark at Sun Valley Bait & Tackle in San Mateo, reports that action is centering on sturgeon and kingfish (white croaker). Anglers at the Dumbarton Pier are catching sturgeon on mud shrimp, grass shrimp and herring while kingfish are making a pest of themselves and grabbing too much bait. At the Oyster Point Pier, kingfish are also biting as are some jacksmelt and perch. The kingfish go for anchovies while the perch are falling to pile worms. Sturgeon are also reported at the Candlestick Point Pier and the nearby Brisbane Pier on Sierra Point. Shrimp or herring are the keys for the sturgeon, while a few jacksmelt and perch are also hitting at those piers. A small halibut was recently landed at the Brisbane Pier.
Candlestick Point Pier - Andy Llora visited the pier the early part of January and reports that the pier is "absolutely skunk city right now, but the local owner of Jailhouse Bait in Brisbane pulls sturgeon in all the time off of a boat, on the waters near Candlestick. !@#@? All I caught were kingfish and sanddabs, using anchovies about 3 feet off the bottom." He later reported that someone did catch a 5 ft. sturgeon off the pier.
Oyster Point Pier - Andy Llora visited the pier mid-month. He said he had "barely any action. Only a one-foot flounder and 3 jacksmelt pulled in while using anchovies on the bottom. If you are on the bottom, check your bait often because there are lots of crabs." A visit at the end of the month was even slower, nothing was biting -- not even kingfish.
San Mateo Pier - Closed until November.Ravenswood Pier - Closed and may not reopen.
Berkeley Pier - Jeff Green ( jm_green@juno.com ) said he did not make his regular trips to the pier this month because it "just will not stop raining." He did make one short trip to try for perch but had no luck.
Andy Llora visited the pier near the start of the month and reported that the "last decent fish I caught was a 17-LB spotted ray and a 3-foot -long 7-gill shark." However, he also made a late-in-the-month trip and says kingfish were the species that night: "I fished all Sat. night at Berkeley Pier; we pulled in half a bucket of kingfish, with anchovies on a surf leader, about 3 ft. off the bottom. People all along the pier were pulling up kingfish, I saw one family with two buckets of kingfish. They also had a tent pitched on the pier, so I don't know how long they had been there. Nothing was biting the squid on the bottom, which is unusual for this pier, the ultimate pier for rays!
Point Pinole Pier - The Anglers' Edge reports that kingfish (white croaker) are providing most of the action at this time; they're being caught on anchovies during incoming tides. Striped bass action is slow as is the catch of rays and sturgeon. A few rays are being caught on anchovies, a few sturgeon on grass and ghost shrimp.
Vallejo Pier - It is history -- will it be rebuilt?
Martinez Pier - Mark Grim reports that "fishing here is also slow. The sturgeon fishing is due to pick up soon. I've heard of many of them being caught near the Benicia bridge and in the Mothball Fleet. The best method of catching sturgeon here is by using a double hook sturgeon style leader with a sliding sinker (a heavy sinker may be required at times of the strong currents here). Grass shrimp is the most popular bait - although mud or ghost shrimp will produce also. I've found that fishing from the east end (Chevron sign) or the west end are the best places to fish. There are many snags near the center of the pier."
Antioch Marina Fishing Piers - Mark Grim reports that "fishing continues slow at this pier. During a recent visit to this pier, I was able to catch 3 small catfish by using cut frozen anchovies. I try to fish this pier between the swift tides (at either high or low tide). The current usually carries a fisherman's line along the bottom until it ultimately snags itself. By picking times of slow tidal movement, I've made some progress on improving my success at fishing this pier. The best setups I've tried have been either a flounder -sturgeon style leader with a sliding sinker or a bobber type setup.
Antioch Bridge Fishing Pier - Mark Grim says "fishing here has slowed down. The stripers seem to be smaller in size and fewer in number than last month. A few keeper sized stripers have been caught mostly by using shad. Try using a variety of baits - anchovies, shad, sardines, etc.- and move around on the pier. I didn't have any bites for an hour near the shore on a recent trip. I tried several kinds of bait. I decided to go out to the end of the pier and found that I began getting bites on every cast. During this time of the year it is a good idea to try fishing for sturgeon in this area. Using grass shrimp, ghost shrimp or mud shrimp may hook you up with a diamondback. I saw a man catch a good sized starry flounder here off of the end of the pier. It was the first one that I've seen caught at this pier. Some improvements have begun at the pier. A rock monument has been constructed at the right of the base of the pier. No plaque has been put on it yet - so I don't know the purpose of the monument. Also, a glass enclosed bulletin board has been placed at the left of the base of the pier. It has the latest Anglers' Edge and other information displayed in it.
The Anglers' Edge reports that "striper action is slow to fair." It says to try sardines for fish to 27 inches in length.
Marin Rod and Gun Club Pier - Keith Korsgal says he hasn't "been to the pier since the first of the year, although I've heard of some people braving the wind and rain and catching a few stripers. I personally haven't caught any sturgeon here, but other members have. The best area for sturgeon seem to be out towards the end of the pier."
McNear Beach Fishing Pier (San Rafael) - John, at Western Boat & Tackle in San Rafael, says that action remains pretty decent at both the McNear Pier and the Paradise Beach Pier. However, the county recently changed the hours the parks and piers are open; new hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. So, forget the early morning bite. Quite a few sturgeon have been hooked recently at the McNear Pier and several big fish have been lost by inexperienced anglers; make sure the fish are played out before you try to net them! Also, a lot of 18-22 inch striped bass have been caught. Surprisingly, kingfish are still showing up even though the freshwater intrusion is pretty heavy at this time in the North Bay. The Paradise Beach Pier has also seen a few sturgeon hooked and landed while also yielding good numbers of starry flounder recently -- on sardines and pile worms. Sausalito piers continue to offer up several different species of perch.
Elephant Rock Pier - closed for repairs.
Fort Baker Pier - I visited the pier early in the month and caught the usual: black seaperch, white seaperch, sanddabs (lots), and some very large jacksmelt. Also latched on to some too-small juvenile brown and gopher rockfish. The bait of choice was pile worms.
Sausalito Pier - Although most of the pier is closed, I visited it early in the month for an hour. The catch: brown rockfish, walleye surfperch, one cabezon and one kelp greenling. I caught most of the fish near the inshore rocks using pile worms.
Northern California
Spud Point Marina Pier (Bodega Bay) - No report this month although local anglers should be landing striped seaperch and a few starry flounder.
Point Arena Pier - The weather has been pretty bad here lately, lots of rain, wind and more rain. However, a few hardy souls still give it a try and they manage to land a few fish. It's mostly striped seaperch and kelp greenling, and the best bait is small pieces of shrimp or fresh mussels. Still, the numbers of fishermen, and fish, is slow.
Del Norte Street Fishing Pier (Eureka) - Alan at Bucksport Sporting Goods, reports that anglers are still getting some perch and sharks from the Del Norte Street Pier. The perch are mainly pile perch and they're falling to tube worms and crabs, while the sharks are a mixture of sand sharks and leopard sharks. Most of the sharks are hitting on squid. Docks and piers along the Eureka waterfront are seeing pretty much the same species. They're not recommending crabbing at the Del Norte Pier due to the recent oil spill, even though the spill has been basically cleaned up at this time.
Trinidad Pier - No report this month.
"B" Street Pier (Crescent City) - No report this month.
Citizen's Dock (Crescent City) - Chris, at Englund Marine, says that not too many people are fishing, it's just been too wet and too windy. A few brave souls have tried crabbing and they're still getting some Dungeness crabs and red rock crabs off the dock. That's about all!
I would like to thank the following people who have bought books and thus help to keep this site alive:
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)
Richard Brewer Jr. (Santa Maria, California)
Cal Mock (Vacaville, California)
Mark Spangler (Quartz Hill, California).
Thanks for your support and hope you liked the books!
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.