Venice
Fishing Pier
Sometimes things seem so simple that you wonder why no one else thought
of the same idea. That was my thought when I visited the new Venice
Fishing Pier in the summer of '98. Among the "neat" little touches
which the designers had given the pier were two that every pier should
copy. The first was a double railing out at the end of the pier. Evidently
the bottom railing can be utilized for cutting bait which means the top
railing, the railing usually used by fishermen and other visitors to rest
their arms, doesn't become coated with slime and dried blood. A nice touch!
Another great idea was the cut out sections at various points on the pier,
sections which have a lower 28" railing than the other 41" areas.
It took me a minute to understand the purpose but then I noticed the handicapped
signs and realized that these lower sections were designed for people
in wheelchairs. Most piers have railings which range from 38-42 inches,
a height difficult to use for some people in wheelchairs. The 12 inches
or so that these sections are lower help compensate and make the fishing
more accessible to all anglers. Now, how about some more piers copying
the ideas!
Environment Inshore, anglers catch
barred surfperch, corbina, yellowfin croaker, stingrays, thornbacks (pinback
sharks), guitarfish (sand sharks) and round stingrays. In the mid-pier
area, anglers catch white croaker (tom cod), queenfish (herring), walleye
surfperch, shinerperch, California halibut, guitarfish, Pacific mackerel,
jack mackerel and jacksmelt. At the far end of the pier, anglers encounter
the same species as in the mid-pier area but see more bonito, kelp bass,
sand bass, barracuda, and sharks. Included in the shark catch are a few
of the larger species including blue sharks and thresher sharks.
Although one of the busiest
piers in the southland, and sometimes darn right crowded, the pier seems
to have sort of a "laid back" disposition, In part, this may
be due to the beach-side crowds and activities which seem to go on during
most hours of the day (and night). It is located in the Venice (Muscle
Beach)-Playa Del Rey area and there always seems to be something happening.
Although most of the action takes place a short distance north of the
pier, a fisherman at times looks just a little bit out of place. Imagine
our fearless angler, loaded down with rod and reel, tackle box, bait buckets,
etc., as he winds his way onto the pier between Sony Walkman-attired line-skaters,
bikini-clad goddesses, Schwarzenegger imitators and, perhaps, a little
flotsam and jetsam. What a sight !
Fishing Tips Most common, however,
are the normal L.A. species. In the surf area, anglers can fish with a
high/low leader, and number 6 or 4 hooks, using sand crabs, bloodworms,
mussels or ghost shrimp for barred surfperch, corbina and yellowfin croaker.
Using a heavier rigging baited with squid or anchovy can produce sharks
and rays. Mid-pier, fishing on the bottom with live anchovies or live
smelt yields California halibut and shovelnose guitarfish. Fish mid-depth
to the top for barracuda, and toward the top for bonito and mackerel.
For all of these species, the best rigging is a live bait leader. Fishing
on the bottom while using a high/low leader, and size 4 hooks baited with
cut anchovy, can be good for white croaker. Fishing mid-depth with snag
lines (Lucky Lura, size 8 hooks) can result in queenfish and walleye surfperch.
If action slows, bait the snag lines with small strips of anchovy.
At the end, anglers similar
techniques are used. However, with the reef only 65 feet from the pier,
anglers often try for larger fish. Fishermen should use one of the bonito
riggings when schools of bonito showed up and heavy tackle, at least 40-pound
test, when trying for larger sharks and bat rays. Fishing with a live
bait leader baited with a small jack mackerel (Spanish mackerel), queenfish,
or shinerperch sometimes yields yellowtail or white sea bass. Most all
of these species can be caught year-round, but the best action by far
is found from June to October.
History Note
Venice Fishing Pier Facts
Hours: Open from
6 a.m. to midnight.
Facilities: The
pier includes lights, benches, fish-cleaning stations and restrooms at
the end of the pier. Parking is available at the foot of the pier for
$6 but arrive early if you expect a spot. Weekend days, especially summer
and fall, are very, very busy. Some (actually fairly limited) metered
parking is available on nearby streets and the city itself heavily promotes
taking a shuttle to the beach. Some frozen bait is available just up the
street at Nick's Liquor store.
Handicapped Facilities:
Handicapped parking and restrooms. The pier's surface is cement and the
rail height is 41 inches although several handicapped sections have a
28" railing. Posted for handicapped.
Management: City
of Los Angeles, Parks and Recreation Department.
The new Venice Pier is a duplicate for the most part of a pier built in
1965 but which was damaged by the El Nino storms of 1983 and whose structural
damage necessitated the building of an entire new pier. It is heavily
utilized by the citizens of Los Angeles and its predecessor was in fact
called the Los Angeles Pier for a time (although rarely by the locals).
The pier itself is concrete and has a good growth of mussels on the pilings.
The bottom is primarily sand but a 4,000 ton artificial quarry rock reef
was placed around the outer 750 feet of the old pier in 1966 and should
still be present. The sandy areas produce fairly consistent sandy-shore
species while the reef helps attract fish which prefer a rock-dwelling
environment. To the south sits the rocky-jetty entrance to Marina Del
Rey and small finger jetties jut out to the north of the pier. The pier
has a 120-foot diameter circular end which provides lots of angler space
and the length, at 1,310 feet, assures access to a little deeper water
and the pelagic species.
During warm-water years this was one of the better piers for yellowtail
and white sea bass and yielded exotics such as triggerfish and needlefish.
I even have a picture of a small, 6-pound albacore caught off the far
end of the pier in April of 1981.
This is yet another of the piers which were damaged by the storms of the
early 1980s. Unfortunately, the pier remained closed for more than a decade.
Los Angeles officials originally predicted that it could be reopened by
1993. They were wrong! Money was funded to repair damage from the early
storms, but then it was found that the structure itself was unsafe. When
a jogger who ran under the pier was struck and paralyzed by a piece of
concrete (and the county paid a $3.2 million damage award), the pier was
closed and the underside wrapped in chain link to prevent chunks of concrete
from falling on any more unsuspecting strollers. Engineers declared the
pier unsafe and money was set aside for demolition. But further studies
compared the cost of demolition and rebuilding versus the cost of repairing
the still fairly new (1965) pier, a pier initially built at a cost of
$900,000. When the studies were finished it appeared that repairs were
more logical than a rebuild but funding was still lacking. However, in
1993, voters passed a $10,000,000 bond issue to renovate both the Ocean
Front Walk and the pier was completed. Today the local citizens are once
again able to stroll the pier, enjoy the ocean breeze, and even fish if
that is their pleasure.