California Pier Report
June 2023 Fishing Report, Southern California (#285)
Lobster season has now ended.
San Diego County Piers
Imperial Beach Pier – No report, need a reporter. How To Get There: From I-5 take the Palm Ave. (Hwy. 75) exit and follow it to where Palm Ave. and Hwy. 75 divide. Follow Palm Ave. to Seacoast Dr., turn left and it will take you right to the pier.
Ocean Beach Pier — The pier is still closed. It is scheduled to be rebuilt and I thought it would reopen during the planning continues. However, there is a chance it will just stay closed until the rebuild. How To Get There: From the north, take I-5 to the Sea World Dr. exit and follow it until it turns off to Sunset Cliffs Blvd. From the south, take I- 5 to the Nimitz Blvd. exit, then follow that road to Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Follow Sunset Cliffs Blvd. to Newport Ave., turn right and follow the road to the pier parking lot.
Crystal Pier – Although the pier is supposed to have a new bait & tackle store I was unable to contact it. Will be in San Diego next weekend so hope to recruit a new reporter. How To get There: Take I-5 to Garnet Ave. then take Garnet west to the foot of the pier.
Pepper Park Pier — No report. We need a reporter! How To Get There: From I-5 take the 24th Street off-ramp west to Tidelands Avenue and go left (south) on Tidelands to the end.
Bayside Park Pier — No report. We need a reporter. How To Get There: From I-5 take the J Street off ramp and go west. Take J Street to Tidelands Ave.; turn right. Take Tidelands to Sandpiper Way; turn right. Take Sandpiper to Bayside Parkway, turn left and follow the road to the park.
Embarcadero Marina Pier — No report. We need a reporter. How To Get There: From the I-5 south, take the Front Street exit south to Market (just stay on Front Street, it runs into Market), take Market west to Harbor Dr. Turn left on Harbor Dr. and take it to 8th Ave., turn right onto Convention Way (formerly Harbor St.). Follow it a short block to 5th Ave. and the pier. It seems that with the new Convention Center the city is constantly working on these streets near the pier and renaming them; if you get confused remember that the park and pier are immediately to the southwest of the Convention Center. From I-5 North, approaching from the south, take the J Street exit, then go straight, three blocks up to Market, turn left and take it from there.
Ferry Landing Pier (Coronado) — Need a reporter although bass (kelp, sand and spotted) always seem to be around as well as a mix of sharays (mostly round stingrays and bat rays). How To Get There: From San Diego, take the Coronado Bay Bridge (Highway 75) to Coronado. Once over the bridge you are on Third Street. Simply follow it to B Avenue, turn right, and follow it to the front of The Old Ferry Landing — the intersection of First Street and B Avenue. The pier sits behind the shops in the complex.
Shelter Island Pier — We need a reporter. Got a report from Ray619 on 3/12, “usually fish late at night, but decided to fish around noon time. Caught a few macks. A few other macks caught by other anglers. Chatted with a few regulars and they mentioned only mackerel has been biting. Spring should improve the catch ratio.” How To Get There: Take I-5 or I-8 to Rosecrans (Hwy. 209) and go west, turn left at Shelter Island Dr. and follow the road until you see the pier and the entrance to the parking lot.
Oceanside Pier — Bill Litchfield at the Oceanside Pier said that it is typical “June Gloom” in the morning so don’t expect to see the sun but it warms up in the afternoon. He says last week saw some mackerel and sardines move into the pier with some improved fishing but now they’ve move out and it has slowed back down. They have finished dredging the harbor (they are required to finish before the grunion runs so they don’t mess up the sand) so maybe that will help the water clear and improve things. He says there haven’t been many croakers inshore but mid-pier has seen a few keeper-size kelp bass along with a few halibut. His buddy got a 21-inch fish on a live smelt but it had to be released. He did say one species continues to hit, small herring (queenfish) out toward the end of the pier. I imagine there is a daily contingent every morning of anglers seeking out the herring. Things should improve as the water temperature goes up. We also received a PFIC report on 5/17 from Sly tuna that said, “Showed up for a late session at Oceanside pier yesterday. Started around 3:30 near the shore with some nice quality mussels and sand crabs for no takers. It was an incoming tide and in hindsight I should have weathered it out, as I saw a few nice spotfin caught as I was leaving around 8pm. Instead I headed to the end of the pier around 5pm for my shot at a halibut or some sand bass. I was able to jig up a wide assortment of fish including: walleye perch, queenfish, lizardfish, small croaker, sardine, jack mackerel and Pacific mackerel. Surf was 5-8’ and sea grass was making it very difficult to keep bait on. Fished a 10g slow fall jigpara for no takers as well. Decided to call it around 8pm with a nice dinner for two of jig fish. One side of the pier is still fenced off and water was a green and murky. How To Get There: From I-5 take Mission Blvd. west to Pacific, turn left and follow it to the pier.
Oceanside Harbor Pier — Bill Litchfield in Oceanside said he’s heard of a few perch being caught by the inshore rocks but not much else. How To Get There: From I-5 take the Harbor Dr. exit off the freeway, follow it and it will wind down to the harbor; where the road splits stay to the right on North Harbor Dr., and follow it to the pier.
Orange County Piers
San Clemente Pier — Stephanie at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. says things finally seem to be picking up a little. She says she’s getting some reports of barred surfperch in the inshore sections (use lugworms or mussel) while out at the end she has received reports of leopard sharks and a soupfin shark. No reports of top action at this time. She says the water is still on the cold size but warming. We also received a report from evanluck dated 5/30 who said, “Haven't fished since the winter. Went back to my favorite mainland pier, San Clemente on Memorial Day. Fished the end of the pier casting out to the reef with both a long casting and medium casting setup. Fished hi-lo rigs with size 4/6 hooks on the medium-casting rod and size 1/2 hooks on the long casting rig. Also intermittently fished a small hook Sabiki trying to get live bait. Started around 9AM and ended at 2PM. Fished outgoing, slack and then incoming tide. Slower bite that I'm used to here. Very few bait fish around the end of the pier. Action on the Sabiki was also slow. Ended up catching: 1 Sand Bass (~11"); 1 Shovelnose Guitar fish (~24"); 1 Black Perch; 1 Blue Perch; 6 Walleye Surfperch; 1 Smelt. Guitarfish and sand bass were caught on the long casting setup. Black and blue perch on the medium casting setup. All else caught on Sabiki. Briefly fished the live smelt on a 2 oz. Carolina rig with no takers. Just as I was leaving I hooked my best fish on the day on the medium casting setup but the fish ran me into the rocks and broke me off. If I had to guess that fish was a sheephead in the 14-16" range but I will never know for sure. Caught fish, the guitarfish was only my 2nd guitarfish caught ever and so easily by personal best (although they get much bigger). Decent amount of fish caught especially considering it was a slow bite. Saw no other fish caught at the end other than another walleye surfperch. The angler that caught that perch said that it gave birth while it was caught and put the babies on a Sabiki and hooked something big that snapped his line. An angler hit the jackpot of small to medium size spotfin croakers (7-8 in a bucket) fishing mussels inshore. Lots of tourists, locals and anglers on the pier for the holiday. Great to get out there again! How to Get There: From I-5 take any of several exit streets west to El Camino Real, follow it to the center of town, and from there take Del Mar down to the pier.
Dana Harbor Pier — Stephanie at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. says the main things being mentioned are croakers on lugworms although some sand bass and halibut are also being taken. Still relatively slow but picking up. How To Get There: The pier is located in the Dana Cove Park area of Dana Point Harbor. From the Pacific Coast Highway take Green Lantern Road south to the harbor, turn left on Cove Road, and follow it to the pier.
Balboa Pier — Our reporter Snookie says, “We have missed a lot of fishing days because of the weather. Have not seen it this bad ever. We did go fishing yesterday, but it drizzled all morning and there was also a west wind. We were dressed for it so we didn't suffer any. Getting bait was nearly impossible, but we got a few. I had several strikes. Caught 2 halibut, 13-inches and 17-inches. My buddy caught a 13-inch calico. That was it for the day. Last Thursday I got a 15-inch calico and enjoyed eating it for supper. They are delicious. Catching is poor right now, but it is picking up. Looking forward to better fishing soon.” How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take Newport Blvd. which will turn into Balboa Blvd., follow it west to Palm Street. Turn right and follow it to the pier and the adjacent parking lot.
Newport Pier — No report this month but the action is usually similar to Balboa. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take the Newport Blvd. turn off and proceed west watching for signs directing traffic to the pier. The pier sits at the foot of McFadden Place.
Huntington Beach Pier — We still need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 21st and found few fishermen and fewer fish. I managed four walleye surfperch and was, I’m pretty sure, high man on the pier. I was in the southland for four days and the entire time it was overcast, fairly cool in the ‘60s, and pretty much dead on all the piers. How To Get There: Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) to Huntington Beach and the pier.”
Seal Beach Pier — Unable to make contact this month. I was going to fish the pier on the 21st but when I saw the large crane at the end, and saw that the end was closed, I decided to move south to Huntington. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway simply take Main St. west and follow it to the pier.
Los Angeles County Piers
Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier — We got a PFIC report from Fishman Fishman on 5/15 who said, “Fished this morning from 5 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At 7 a.m. till about 9 a.m. steady fish bite. Caught Pacific and Spanish mackerel, White croaker (Tomcod), a Sardine and a short Sand bass. Used the live Sardine and small Tomcod as live bait. No takers. Hooked a few Queenfish and a short Barracuda on Sabiki. Tomcod the predominant fish hitting this morning. Other fisherman catching Mackerel, Queenfish and Tomcod. One fisherman caught and released 3 short Sand bass and Tomcod.
Fish caught on cut bait - mackerel and anchovy. Or Sabiki. Began the morning fishing a high tide. Fishing slowed as high tide turned to low tide.” How To Get There: From the north take I-405 to the Lakewood Boulevard turnoff, and then go south to 7th Street, turn west (right) until you come to Ximeno Ave. and then turn left. Follow it to Livingston Dr. and go west. You will see signs by Ocean Ave. and Termino Ave. indicating the pier. From the south take the Pacific Coast Highway to 2nd. Street (Westminister becomes 2nd. Street when it crosses PCH), go west, follow to Livingston Dr. Follow it to signs by Ocean Ave. and Termino Ave. indicating the pier and parking lot.
Shoreline Aquatic Park Piers (Long Beach) — No reports but I imagine the water is dirty with trash, which can sometimes make it hard to fish. How to Get There: From downtown Long Beach, take Pine Avenue south to Shoreline Drive. For the northernmost pier #1 follow Shoreline Avenue west and follow it around the lagoon to where the street ends. For the southernmost piers #2-#5 follow Shoreline Drive east to the markings for Shoreline Village, continue past the shopping complex, and follow the road out to near the end of the peninsula. You will see the piers.
Pier J Piers (Long Beach) — The normal fish should be available—white croaker, queenfish and perch depending upon the condition of the water. How To Get There: From I-710 follow the signs saying S. Harbor Scenic Drive. From downtown Long Beach follow Queens Way past the Catalina Landing and on to the Queens Way Bridge over the water and take the S. Harbor Scenic Drive.
Cabrillo Beach Pier (San Pedro) — Alex at the Rusty Hook, 245 N Gaffey St., San Pedro, said the only reports he’s getting are on halibut and quite a few are being taken—but mostly from boats. But, he says a lot of the boats are fishing around the pier so some should be available for the regulars with the know how. We also received a short PFIC report from Sula on 5/31 that said, “I fished from 8:30am until 11am for a skunk. I was trying for mackerel using cut pieces of anchovy with no luck. I did see smelt puddling along but didn’t land any.” Another PFIC report came in on 5/25 from Fishman Fishman who said, “The weather conditions today may have deterred most fisherman and fish. But, Jacksmelt were a steady bite all morning. Fished from 5-10:30 this morning. Overcast, cloudy and intermittent showers all morning. Only myself and two other fishermen. Jacksmelt bite began around 8:15 lasted thru 10:15. Caught and released several. Caught a few Topsmelt and used them for live bait. No takers. Caught one Pompano. All fish caught on either Sabiki or hi/lo rig baited with anchovy, shrimp, squid, and mackerel. A short Sand bass was caught by another fisherman at midpoint of pier.” We also received an earlier report from May 9 by Fishman Fishman who said, “Caught mixed bag of Spanish and Pacific Mackerel with some Jacksmelt today. Spanish Mackerel were the early morning bite. Hitting on shrimp, squid and anchovy on a hi/lo rig. About 10:00 a.m. Pacific Mackerel and Jacksmelt started biting. Used Sabiki tipped with mackerel, shrimp and squid. Spanish Mackerel returned to add variety to the mix. No hits on live smelt as bait.
Very few fishermen today. Good luck!” How To Get There: Take the Harbor Freeway (I-110) south; it will turn into Gaffey St. Follow it to 22nd Street and turn left. Follow 22nd St. to Pacific Ave. and turn right. Follow Pacific Ave. to 36th Street and the entrance to Cabrillo Park.
Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon, Catalina Island) – Expect the normal species—kelp bass, rock wrasse, senorita, opaleye, halfmoon, and sheephead. How To Get There: The trick here is to get to Catalina. Ships and helicopters make the journey several times a day from the Port of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newport Beach (near the Balboa Pier) and Dana Harbor. Information is available on all of these by calling the Avalon Chamber of Commerce on the Pleasure Pier (213) 510-1520 or the Visitor's Information & Service Center (213) 510-2500. Once in Avalon there should be no problem in finding the pier, which is located at the foot of Catalina Avenue.
Cabrillo Mole (Avalon, Catalina Island) — Expect the normal species—kelp bass, rock wrasse, senorita, opaleye, halfmoon, sheephead and ocean whitefish. Some bonito and barracuda may also show up. Received a PFIC report from blfishing on 5/23 that said, “Never been to Catalina so off we go. Wasn't great fishing. In fact, it was very tough. Fished hard from 11 to 6 throwing the metal jig for bones and losing all 4 hookups. Never have I lost so many in a row. It was really frustrating. Wondering now, if it was the cheap two-piece 8-foot rods I bought. I normally fish one-piece shorter rods. Guy next to me was killing it with the bubble and fly, but of course I didn't have bubbles. Ended up fishing bait squid and got a legal sheephead to end the day and fishing a little better. Just a little. Dehydrated, tired and sun burned back to the cottage. With our boat leaving next afternoon, I bought some bubbles, fished it hard again for one sniff on the fly all day. Yesterday was hot and sunny; this day was cold and windy. I will get my revenge. We fish and we learn.” Received a PFIC report from fish-ninja on 5/23 who said, “Last Friday, I joined Mahigeer san to fish at Cabrillo Mole. I arrived at the Catalina around noon and fished till 5:30pm. It was not too windy but overcast. New moon tide was at its lowest around 3pm right in the middle of my fishing time. Most anglers there were targeting bonito including myself. There were some AM runs so I heard but by the time I arrived, they were gone. Instead, it was a mackerel day. Nice size mackerel herd was moving around in the bay and occasionally hit our offerings indiscriminately in their typical fashion. Others were fishing with Sabikis and bombs, while I fished with casting jigs. Spanish mackerel was coming in an impressively nice size. They inspired me to make a sun-dried aji mackerel typical in Japan. Sun curing lets excess water out of their meat, while doing so it concentrates amino acids enhancing their tastes. Some large specimens of pacific chubs are good to prepare with vinegar curing (those mackerel sushi comes with those). How To Get There: The trick here is to get to Catalina. Ships and helicopters make the journey several times a day from the Port of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newport Beach (near the Balboa Pier) and Dana Harbor. Information is available on all of these by calling the Avalon Chamber of Commerce on the Pleasure Pier (213) 510-1520 or the Visitor's Information & Service Center (213) 510-2500. Once in Avalon when you walk off the ferry onto the landing you are at the Mole.
Redondo Beach Pier —Hond at the Redondo Beach Tackle on the pier says people are catching mackerel but not much else. I was at the pier on the 22nd and found action to be slow. People were catching some mackerel but it would be a string of fish every so often followed mostly by no fish time. I would catch one mackerel and one shinerperch. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway, take Torrance Blvd. west to the foot of the pier and the parking lot.
Manhattan Beach Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found action to be slow. All I landed were a couple of topsmelt and a round stingray. Fish Ninja was also there and caught smelt, a sanddab, shinerperch, and a small jack mackerel. How To Get There: From Sepulveda Boulevard, turn west on Manhattan Beach Drive and follow it to the pier.
Hermosa Beach Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found construction going on. Unfortunately, much of the inshore area was closed to fishing as was the entire wider end section. Action was very slow, just small stuff, i.e., speckled sanddab, topsmelt and shinerperch. We got a PFIC report from Sulia on May 12 who said, “I fished from 1pm to around 4:30 this afternoon. Had some luck with mackerel. Caught around 10 in that time using #6 Sabiki.” How To Get There: Take the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) to Pier Avenue and follow Pier Avenue west to the pier.
Venice Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found some action although I didn’t stay very long—caught some white croaker, queenfish, a small barracuda and a smaller bocaccio. Reports indicated a few more barracuda had been taken along with jacksmelt and a few halibut. How Get There: Highway 1 to Washington St., turn west and follow Washington St. to the pier.
Santa Monica Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. How to Get There: From I-405 take Santa Monica Blvd. west to Ocean Ave. Turn left, go to Colorado Ave., and turn right onto the pier.
Malibu Pier — Ginny at Wylie’s Bait & Tackle (18757 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu) is finally back at the store after breaking her hip but the store is not, as far as I know, open. Hopefully she will be able to give us a report next month. Elle Kelly at the Ranch at the Pier (end of the pier) is now selling frozen bait. She reported that it’s mainly baitfish around the pier, i.e., smelt, but that some small perch (probably walleyes) have been caught along with a few halibut and stingrays (bat rays?). I was at the pier on the 24th and action was basically dead although one angler about a third way out on the pier had a nice legal-size kelp bass. How To Get There: The pier fronts on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) so just drive until you see it.
Paradise Cove Pier — No report. How To Get There: Take Highway 1 to Paradise Cove Dr., turn west, and follow the road back into the parking lot. It’s very expensive unless you buy a meal at the restaurant and then you are allowed to fish for, I think, three hours.
Ventura & Santa Barbara County Piers
Port Hueneme Pier — Ludia at Hyun’s Tackle, 3695 E Harbor Blvd., Ventura, said the pier is producing a LOT of halibut mainly on live bait but also on lures. Perch action is good inshore but the halibut action is dominating the news. How To Get There: From Highway 1 take Hueneme Rd. west until it turns into Port. At Ventura Rd turn left and follow it to Surfside Dr. Turn left again and follow it to the park.
Ventura Pier — — Ludia at Hyun's Tackle, 3695 E Harbor Blvd., Ventura, said the pier is still closed due to damage from the winter storms and may be closed until the end of the year. How To Get There: From Highway 101 take the Seaward Drive exit west to Harbor Drive, turn right and follow it to the pier.
Stearns Wharf — Ben at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said it’s still the crustacean capitol with easy limits of rock crabs for just about everybody. As for fish, it’s been hit or miss. A school of large 1-11/2 pound mackerel showed up for a few days but apparently they are now gone while some smelt and sardines were also there but now gone. Not much else How To Get There: From Highway 101 take Castillo St. or State St. west to the beach and follow signs to the pier.
Goleta Pier —Ben at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, reports that good action on perch in the surf area, mainly barred surfperch but also a couple of rubberlip perch. Mid-pier has seen a few halibut to 24-inches while out at the end a few sharks have shown up including a couple of leopard sharks. He didn’t mention it bit I imagine some rockfish are still being caught from the pipe-reef on the northwest side of the pier. He says the water is still cold. BTW, the pier is still not open to anglers wanting to launch boats. How To Get There: From Highway 101 take the Hwy. 217/Airport exit. Follow it to Sandspit Rd. and the Goleta Beach Park turnoff. Follow this to the park and the pier.
Gaviota Pier — The pier has now been closed for somewhere around eight years and the rumors of repair and reopening continue. Don’t hold your breath. How To Get There: From Highway 101 simply take the Gaviota State Park turnoff down to the beach and pier.
June 2023 Fishing Report, Southern California (#285)
Lobster season has now ended.
San Diego County Piers
Imperial Beach Pier – No report, need a reporter. How To Get There: From I-5 take the Palm Ave. (Hwy. 75) exit and follow it to where Palm Ave. and Hwy. 75 divide. Follow Palm Ave. to Seacoast Dr., turn left and it will take you right to the pier.
Ocean Beach Pier — The pier is still closed. It is scheduled to be rebuilt and I thought it would reopen during the planning continues. However, there is a chance it will just stay closed until the rebuild. How To Get There: From the north, take I-5 to the Sea World Dr. exit and follow it until it turns off to Sunset Cliffs Blvd. From the south, take I- 5 to the Nimitz Blvd. exit, then follow that road to Sunset Cliffs Blvd. Follow Sunset Cliffs Blvd. to Newport Ave., turn right and follow the road to the pier parking lot.
Crystal Pier – Although the pier is supposed to have a new bait & tackle store I was unable to contact it. Will be in San Diego next weekend so hope to recruit a new reporter. How To get There: Take I-5 to Garnet Ave. then take Garnet west to the foot of the pier.
Pepper Park Pier — No report. We need a reporter! How To Get There: From I-5 take the 24th Street off-ramp west to Tidelands Avenue and go left (south) on Tidelands to the end.
Bayside Park Pier — No report. We need a reporter. How To Get There: From I-5 take the J Street off ramp and go west. Take J Street to Tidelands Ave.; turn right. Take Tidelands to Sandpiper Way; turn right. Take Sandpiper to Bayside Parkway, turn left and follow the road to the park.
Embarcadero Marina Pier — No report. We need a reporter. How To Get There: From the I-5 south, take the Front Street exit south to Market (just stay on Front Street, it runs into Market), take Market west to Harbor Dr. Turn left on Harbor Dr. and take it to 8th Ave., turn right onto Convention Way (formerly Harbor St.). Follow it a short block to 5th Ave. and the pier. It seems that with the new Convention Center the city is constantly working on these streets near the pier and renaming them; if you get confused remember that the park and pier are immediately to the southwest of the Convention Center. From I-5 North, approaching from the south, take the J Street exit, then go straight, three blocks up to Market, turn left and take it from there.
Ferry Landing Pier (Coronado) — Need a reporter although bass (kelp, sand and spotted) always seem to be around as well as a mix of sharays (mostly round stingrays and bat rays). How To Get There: From San Diego, take the Coronado Bay Bridge (Highway 75) to Coronado. Once over the bridge you are on Third Street. Simply follow it to B Avenue, turn right, and follow it to the front of The Old Ferry Landing — the intersection of First Street and B Avenue. The pier sits behind the shops in the complex.
Shelter Island Pier — We need a reporter. Got a report from Ray619 on 3/12, “usually fish late at night, but decided to fish around noon time. Caught a few macks. A few other macks caught by other anglers. Chatted with a few regulars and they mentioned only mackerel has been biting. Spring should improve the catch ratio.” How To Get There: Take I-5 or I-8 to Rosecrans (Hwy. 209) and go west, turn left at Shelter Island Dr. and follow the road until you see the pier and the entrance to the parking lot.
Oceanside Pier — Bill Litchfield at the Oceanside Pier said that it is typical “June Gloom” in the morning so don’t expect to see the sun but it warms up in the afternoon. He says last week saw some mackerel and sardines move into the pier with some improved fishing but now they’ve move out and it has slowed back down. They have finished dredging the harbor (they are required to finish before the grunion runs so they don’t mess up the sand) so maybe that will help the water clear and improve things. He says there haven’t been many croakers inshore but mid-pier has seen a few keeper-size kelp bass along with a few halibut. His buddy got a 21-inch fish on a live smelt but it had to be released. He did say one species continues to hit, small herring (queenfish) out toward the end of the pier. I imagine there is a daily contingent every morning of anglers seeking out the herring. Things should improve as the water temperature goes up. We also received a PFIC report on 5/17 from Sly tuna that said, “Showed up for a late session at Oceanside pier yesterday. Started around 3:30 near the shore with some nice quality mussels and sand crabs for no takers. It was an incoming tide and in hindsight I should have weathered it out, as I saw a few nice spotfin caught as I was leaving around 8pm. Instead I headed to the end of the pier around 5pm for my shot at a halibut or some sand bass. I was able to jig up a wide assortment of fish including: walleye perch, queenfish, lizardfish, small croaker, sardine, jack mackerel and Pacific mackerel. Surf was 5-8’ and sea grass was making it very difficult to keep bait on. Fished a 10g slow fall jigpara for no takers as well. Decided to call it around 8pm with a nice dinner for two of jig fish. One side of the pier is still fenced off and water was a green and murky. How To Get There: From I-5 take Mission Blvd. west to Pacific, turn left and follow it to the pier.
Oceanside Harbor Pier — Bill Litchfield in Oceanside said he’s heard of a few perch being caught by the inshore rocks but not much else. How To Get There: From I-5 take the Harbor Dr. exit off the freeway, follow it and it will wind down to the harbor; where the road splits stay to the right on North Harbor Dr., and follow it to the pier.
Orange County Piers
San Clemente Pier — Stephanie at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. says things finally seem to be picking up a little. She says she’s getting some reports of barred surfperch in the inshore sections (use lugworms or mussel) while out at the end she has received reports of leopard sharks and a soupfin shark. No reports of top action at this time. She says the water is still on the cold size but warming. We also received a report from evanluck dated 5/30 who said, “Haven't fished since the winter. Went back to my favorite mainland pier, San Clemente on Memorial Day. Fished the end of the pier casting out to the reef with both a long casting and medium casting setup. Fished hi-lo rigs with size 4/6 hooks on the medium-casting rod and size 1/2 hooks on the long casting rig. Also intermittently fished a small hook Sabiki trying to get live bait. Started around 9AM and ended at 2PM. Fished outgoing, slack and then incoming tide. Slower bite that I'm used to here. Very few bait fish around the end of the pier. Action on the Sabiki was also slow. Ended up catching: 1 Sand Bass (~11"); 1 Shovelnose Guitar fish (~24"); 1 Black Perch; 1 Blue Perch; 6 Walleye Surfperch; 1 Smelt. Guitarfish and sand bass were caught on the long casting setup. Black and blue perch on the medium casting setup. All else caught on Sabiki. Briefly fished the live smelt on a 2 oz. Carolina rig with no takers. Just as I was leaving I hooked my best fish on the day on the medium casting setup but the fish ran me into the rocks and broke me off. If I had to guess that fish was a sheephead in the 14-16" range but I will never know for sure. Caught fish, the guitarfish was only my 2nd guitarfish caught ever and so easily by personal best (although they get much bigger). Decent amount of fish caught especially considering it was a slow bite. Saw no other fish caught at the end other than another walleye surfperch. The angler that caught that perch said that it gave birth while it was caught and put the babies on a Sabiki and hooked something big that snapped his line. An angler hit the jackpot of small to medium size spotfin croakers (7-8 in a bucket) fishing mussels inshore. Lots of tourists, locals and anglers on the pier for the holiday. Great to get out there again! How to Get There: From I-5 take any of several exit streets west to El Camino Real, follow it to the center of town, and from there take Del Mar down to the pier.
Dana Harbor Pier — Stephanie at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. says the main things being mentioned are croakers on lugworms although some sand bass and halibut are also being taken. Still relatively slow but picking up. How To Get There: The pier is located in the Dana Cove Park area of Dana Point Harbor. From the Pacific Coast Highway take Green Lantern Road south to the harbor, turn left on Cove Road, and follow it to the pier.
Balboa Pier — Our reporter Snookie says, “We have missed a lot of fishing days because of the weather. Have not seen it this bad ever. We did go fishing yesterday, but it drizzled all morning and there was also a west wind. We were dressed for it so we didn't suffer any. Getting bait was nearly impossible, but we got a few. I had several strikes. Caught 2 halibut, 13-inches and 17-inches. My buddy caught a 13-inch calico. That was it for the day. Last Thursday I got a 15-inch calico and enjoyed eating it for supper. They are delicious. Catching is poor right now, but it is picking up. Looking forward to better fishing soon.” How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take Newport Blvd. which will turn into Balboa Blvd., follow it west to Palm Street. Turn right and follow it to the pier and the adjacent parking lot.
Newport Pier — No report this month but the action is usually similar to Balboa. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take the Newport Blvd. turn off and proceed west watching for signs directing traffic to the pier. The pier sits at the foot of McFadden Place.
Huntington Beach Pier — We still need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 21st and found few fishermen and fewer fish. I managed four walleye surfperch and was, I’m pretty sure, high man on the pier. I was in the southland for four days and the entire time it was overcast, fairly cool in the ‘60s, and pretty much dead on all the piers. How To Get There: Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) to Huntington Beach and the pier.”
Seal Beach Pier — Unable to make contact this month. I was going to fish the pier on the 21st but when I saw the large crane at the end, and saw that the end was closed, I decided to move south to Huntington. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway simply take Main St. west and follow it to the pier.
Los Angeles County Piers
Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier — We got a PFIC report from Fishman Fishman on 5/15 who said, “Fished this morning from 5 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. At 7 a.m. till about 9 a.m. steady fish bite. Caught Pacific and Spanish mackerel, White croaker (Tomcod), a Sardine and a short Sand bass. Used the live Sardine and small Tomcod as live bait. No takers. Hooked a few Queenfish and a short Barracuda on Sabiki. Tomcod the predominant fish hitting this morning. Other fisherman catching Mackerel, Queenfish and Tomcod. One fisherman caught and released 3 short Sand bass and Tomcod.
Fish caught on cut bait - mackerel and anchovy. Or Sabiki. Began the morning fishing a high tide. Fishing slowed as high tide turned to low tide.” How To Get There: From the north take I-405 to the Lakewood Boulevard turnoff, and then go south to 7th Street, turn west (right) until you come to Ximeno Ave. and then turn left. Follow it to Livingston Dr. and go west. You will see signs by Ocean Ave. and Termino Ave. indicating the pier. From the south take the Pacific Coast Highway to 2nd. Street (Westminister becomes 2nd. Street when it crosses PCH), go west, follow to Livingston Dr. Follow it to signs by Ocean Ave. and Termino Ave. indicating the pier and parking lot.
Shoreline Aquatic Park Piers (Long Beach) — No reports but I imagine the water is dirty with trash, which can sometimes make it hard to fish. How to Get There: From downtown Long Beach, take Pine Avenue south to Shoreline Drive. For the northernmost pier #1 follow Shoreline Avenue west and follow it around the lagoon to where the street ends. For the southernmost piers #2-#5 follow Shoreline Drive east to the markings for Shoreline Village, continue past the shopping complex, and follow the road out to near the end of the peninsula. You will see the piers.
Pier J Piers (Long Beach) — The normal fish should be available—white croaker, queenfish and perch depending upon the condition of the water. How To Get There: From I-710 follow the signs saying S. Harbor Scenic Drive. From downtown Long Beach follow Queens Way past the Catalina Landing and on to the Queens Way Bridge over the water and take the S. Harbor Scenic Drive.
Cabrillo Beach Pier (San Pedro) — Alex at the Rusty Hook, 245 N Gaffey St., San Pedro, said the only reports he’s getting are on halibut and quite a few are being taken—but mostly from boats. But, he says a lot of the boats are fishing around the pier so some should be available for the regulars with the know how. We also received a short PFIC report from Sula on 5/31 that said, “I fished from 8:30am until 11am for a skunk. I was trying for mackerel using cut pieces of anchovy with no luck. I did see smelt puddling along but didn’t land any.” Another PFIC report came in on 5/25 from Fishman Fishman who said, “The weather conditions today may have deterred most fisherman and fish. But, Jacksmelt were a steady bite all morning. Fished from 5-10:30 this morning. Overcast, cloudy and intermittent showers all morning. Only myself and two other fishermen. Jacksmelt bite began around 8:15 lasted thru 10:15. Caught and released several. Caught a few Topsmelt and used them for live bait. No takers. Caught one Pompano. All fish caught on either Sabiki or hi/lo rig baited with anchovy, shrimp, squid, and mackerel. A short Sand bass was caught by another fisherman at midpoint of pier.” We also received an earlier report from May 9 by Fishman Fishman who said, “Caught mixed bag of Spanish and Pacific Mackerel with some Jacksmelt today. Spanish Mackerel were the early morning bite. Hitting on shrimp, squid and anchovy on a hi/lo rig. About 10:00 a.m. Pacific Mackerel and Jacksmelt started biting. Used Sabiki tipped with mackerel, shrimp and squid. Spanish Mackerel returned to add variety to the mix. No hits on live smelt as bait.
Very few fishermen today. Good luck!” How To Get There: Take the Harbor Freeway (I-110) south; it will turn into Gaffey St. Follow it to 22nd Street and turn left. Follow 22nd St. to Pacific Ave. and turn right. Follow Pacific Ave. to 36th Street and the entrance to Cabrillo Park.
Green Pleasure Pier (Avalon, Catalina Island) – Expect the normal species—kelp bass, rock wrasse, senorita, opaleye, halfmoon, and sheephead. How To Get There: The trick here is to get to Catalina. Ships and helicopters make the journey several times a day from the Port of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newport Beach (near the Balboa Pier) and Dana Harbor. Information is available on all of these by calling the Avalon Chamber of Commerce on the Pleasure Pier (213) 510-1520 or the Visitor's Information & Service Center (213) 510-2500. Once in Avalon there should be no problem in finding the pier, which is located at the foot of Catalina Avenue.
Cabrillo Mole (Avalon, Catalina Island) — Expect the normal species—kelp bass, rock wrasse, senorita, opaleye, halfmoon, sheephead and ocean whitefish. Some bonito and barracuda may also show up. Received a PFIC report from blfishing on 5/23 that said, “Never been to Catalina so off we go. Wasn't great fishing. In fact, it was very tough. Fished hard from 11 to 6 throwing the metal jig for bones and losing all 4 hookups. Never have I lost so many in a row. It was really frustrating. Wondering now, if it was the cheap two-piece 8-foot rods I bought. I normally fish one-piece shorter rods. Guy next to me was killing it with the bubble and fly, but of course I didn't have bubbles. Ended up fishing bait squid and got a legal sheephead to end the day and fishing a little better. Just a little. Dehydrated, tired and sun burned back to the cottage. With our boat leaving next afternoon, I bought some bubbles, fished it hard again for one sniff on the fly all day. Yesterday was hot and sunny; this day was cold and windy. I will get my revenge. We fish and we learn.” Received a PFIC report from fish-ninja on 5/23 who said, “Last Friday, I joined Mahigeer san to fish at Cabrillo Mole. I arrived at the Catalina around noon and fished till 5:30pm. It was not too windy but overcast. New moon tide was at its lowest around 3pm right in the middle of my fishing time. Most anglers there were targeting bonito including myself. There were some AM runs so I heard but by the time I arrived, they were gone. Instead, it was a mackerel day. Nice size mackerel herd was moving around in the bay and occasionally hit our offerings indiscriminately in their typical fashion. Others were fishing with Sabikis and bombs, while I fished with casting jigs. Spanish mackerel was coming in an impressively nice size. They inspired me to make a sun-dried aji mackerel typical in Japan. Sun curing lets excess water out of their meat, while doing so it concentrates amino acids enhancing their tastes. Some large specimens of pacific chubs are good to prepare with vinegar curing (those mackerel sushi comes with those). How To Get There: The trick here is to get to Catalina. Ships and helicopters make the journey several times a day from the Port of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Newport Beach (near the Balboa Pier) and Dana Harbor. Information is available on all of these by calling the Avalon Chamber of Commerce on the Pleasure Pier (213) 510-1520 or the Visitor's Information & Service Center (213) 510-2500. Once in Avalon when you walk off the ferry onto the landing you are at the Mole.
Redondo Beach Pier —Hond at the Redondo Beach Tackle on the pier says people are catching mackerel but not much else. I was at the pier on the 22nd and found action to be slow. People were catching some mackerel but it would be a string of fish every so often followed mostly by no fish time. I would catch one mackerel and one shinerperch. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway, take Torrance Blvd. west to the foot of the pier and the parking lot.
Manhattan Beach Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found action to be slow. All I landed were a couple of topsmelt and a round stingray. Fish Ninja was also there and caught smelt, a sanddab, shinerperch, and a small jack mackerel. How To Get There: From Sepulveda Boulevard, turn west on Manhattan Beach Drive and follow it to the pier.
Hermosa Beach Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found construction going on. Unfortunately, much of the inshore area was closed to fishing as was the entire wider end section. Action was very slow, just small stuff, i.e., speckled sanddab, topsmelt and shinerperch. We got a PFIC report from Sulia on May 12 who said, “I fished from 1pm to around 4:30 this afternoon. Had some luck with mackerel. Caught around 10 in that time using #6 Sabiki.” How To Get There: Take the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) to Pier Avenue and follow Pier Avenue west to the pier.
Venice Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. I was at the pier on the 23rd and found some action although I didn’t stay very long—caught some white croaker, queenfish, a small barracuda and a smaller bocaccio. Reports indicated a few more barracuda had been taken along with jacksmelt and a few halibut. How Get There: Highway 1 to Washington St., turn west and follow Washington St. to the pier.
Santa Monica Pier — No report this month. Need a reporter. How to Get There: From I-405 take Santa Monica Blvd. west to Ocean Ave. Turn left, go to Colorado Ave., and turn right onto the pier.
Malibu Pier — Ginny at Wylie’s Bait & Tackle (18757 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu) is finally back at the store after breaking her hip but the store is not, as far as I know, open. Hopefully she will be able to give us a report next month. Elle Kelly at the Ranch at the Pier (end of the pier) is now selling frozen bait. She reported that it’s mainly baitfish around the pier, i.e., smelt, but that some small perch (probably walleyes) have been caught along with a few halibut and stingrays (bat rays?). I was at the pier on the 24th and action was basically dead although one angler about a third way out on the pier had a nice legal-size kelp bass. How To Get There: The pier fronts on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) so just drive until you see it.
Paradise Cove Pier — No report. How To Get There: Take Highway 1 to Paradise Cove Dr., turn west, and follow the road back into the parking lot. It’s very expensive unless you buy a meal at the restaurant and then you are allowed to fish for, I think, three hours.
Ventura & Santa Barbara County Piers
Port Hueneme Pier — Ludia at Hyun’s Tackle, 3695 E Harbor Blvd., Ventura, said the pier is producing a LOT of halibut mainly on live bait but also on lures. Perch action is good inshore but the halibut action is dominating the news. How To Get There: From Highway 1 take Hueneme Rd. west until it turns into Port. At Ventura Rd turn left and follow it to Surfside Dr. Turn left again and follow it to the park.
Ventura Pier — — Ludia at Hyun's Tackle, 3695 E Harbor Blvd., Ventura, said the pier is still closed due to damage from the winter storms and may be closed until the end of the year. How To Get There: From Highway 101 take the Seaward Drive exit west to Harbor Drive, turn right and follow it to the pier.
Stearns Wharf — Ben at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said it’s still the crustacean capitol with easy limits of rock crabs for just about everybody. As for fish, it’s been hit or miss. A school of large 1-11/2 pound mackerel showed up for a few days but apparently they are now gone while some smelt and sardines were also there but now gone. Not much else How To Get There: From Highway 101 take Castillo St. or State St. west to the beach and follow signs to the pier.
Goleta Pier —Ben at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, reports that good action on perch in the surf area, mainly barred surfperch but also a couple of rubberlip perch. Mid-pier has seen a few halibut to 24-inches while out at the end a few sharks have shown up including a couple of leopard sharks. He didn’t mention it bit I imagine some rockfish are still being caught from the pipe-reef on the northwest side of the pier. He says the water is still cold. BTW, the pier is still not open to anglers wanting to launch boats. How To Get There: From Highway 101 take the Hwy. 217/Airport exit. Follow it to Sandspit Rd. and the Goleta Beach Park turnoff. Follow this to the park and the pier.
Gaviota Pier — The pier has now been closed for somewhere around eight years and the rumors of repair and reopening continue. Don’t hold your breath. How To Get There: From Highway 101 simply take the Gaviota State Park turnoff down to the beach and pier.