July 2024 Fishing Report, Southern California (#295)
Lobster season is now closed!
San Diego County Piers
Imperial Beach Pier – No report, need a reporter. Traditionally the pier should be good for mackerel and possibly sardines by this time of the year. Expect some croaker inshore, halibut mid-pier, and a variety of sharks and rays on the bottom. Note: Water quality has been bad recently in the area so keeping and eating fish is questionable. 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 closed and apparently will remain closed this year. 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 – The pier is closed and though some repairs were made to winter storm damage, the second contractor scheduled to do additional work, hasn’t started, and they have no idea when he will be done, perhaps not until the fall. Duh! 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! Traditionally some mackerel on top and kelp bass on the bottom should be available. 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. Expect some bass, croaker and sharays (sharks and rays) on the bottom as well as halibut (most caught on artificial lures). 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 the pier continues to kick out a lot of sharays (mainly round stingrays or bat rays) and an occasional halibut. Bass fishing (kelp, sand and spotted) as well as mackerel action should start picking up. 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 but one report said mackerel action is good some days slow others. Some halibut and miscellaneous fish are found on the bottom. 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 gave me the latest news. Apparently there are still no mackerel but there are lots of herring (queenfish) and some sardines and Spanish mackerel (jack mackerel). Inshore the croaker action is picking up including some big spotfins, smaller yellowfins, and a few corbina. An angler fishing the beach caught a 9 pound 4 ounce spotfin. As for the sharays (sharks and rays) some small leopard sharks, some shovelnose guitarfish, and even a few small 7-gills are showing up. A couple of thresher sharks have also been caught and apparently some anglers seeking out threshers are hogging the area by the sinks (which is the furthest area you can go out since the end is fenced off from the fire). Some locals aren’t happy. Lastly, Bill says the red tide that existed for a time has cleared. We received a report from bassfanatick on June 21 that said, “Beautiful conditions, water clean, people catching Croakers, Shark, no Mackerel to be found, no Sardine. I bagged a 23” Halibut, a 13” Sandbass, one small Halibut, lost a few, overall a good day!!!!” For the halibut he said, “I use drop shot Zoom Super Fluke on 1 1/2oz sinker, Fishing right side of the pier near the end. Thank you to the group of people helping me net the Halibut, couldn't do it without your help.” How To Get There: From I-5 take Mission Blvd. west to Pacific, turn left and follow it to the pier.
Oceanside Harbor Pier — Need a reporter. A friend texted me a picture of a small sculpin (scorpionfish) taken at the pier (and be careful, he got stung!). Perch, kelp and perch-like fish are found inshore by the rocks but a lot of tackle is lost on the bottom. 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 — Chad at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. said he hasn’t gotten any reports but the water is warming up and fishing should be improving. A report from Fishman Fishman on June 6 said, “Mixed bag this session. Very lucky! Caught and released 4 short Sandbass, 1 Grass rockfish, and a Scorpionfish. All the fish hit cut anchovy on a high/low rig. Bonus catch were two large Spotfin croakers. One was 16 inches. The other was 18 inches - my personal best. Caught them on mussel with a high/low rig. Most fishermen on the pier were targeting spotfins. A lot of anglers fishing the surf zone. One fisherman caught two Spotfins. A couple of sharkers at the end of the pier. They caught and released a large Shovelnose Guitarfish. The beach sand moving project appears to be completed. Beach area is clear of heavy equipment and the large pipe running into the ocean is gone. The large floating barrier in the water, past the end of the pier, is also gone. Water color is still brown. Not the usual blue/green for this area. Summer crowds on beach, pier and parking lot. Good luck everyone! 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 — Chad at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. said he’s getting reports of bass, croaker (spotfin and yellowfin), a few surfperch, and even an occasional halibut (most on Lucky Craft lures). 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 said: “It has been a better month. The weather is better and the catching is better. I have another keeper (halibut) myself and a friend caught a 30- incher plus two striped bass on the same day. The mackerel have been biting at the end. They are medium sized and I have seen buckets of them going home with the fishermen. We have been catching smaller halibut up to four each in a day. One thing the fish like baitwise is the baby perch (walleyes). Even the bass like them. The bigger baits have been quite successful. Have seen a few yellowfin croaker and a few white seabass. All were small though. The snaggers caught two spotfin croakers, which were about 5 pounds. Beautiful! My friend caught a 51-inch shovelnose guitarfish. I got a decent sized butterfly ray plus a lot of jacksmelt. I have seen a lot of baby stingrays caught on cut bait. Now you see things are picking up at last!” In a phone conversation she said she had caught four halibut that Tuesday (6/25), including one keeper-size fish, and four halibut Thursday (6/27) but the largest that day was 19-inches. 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 (which is very expensive).
Newport Pier — No report this month but given the strong mackerel action at Balboa I imagine it’s the same at Newport. The action is usually similar to Balboa although it’s generally far more crowded. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take the Newport Blvd. turn off and precede west watching for signs directing traffic to the pier. The pier sits at the foot of McFadden Place. Metered parking is available but all the lots fill early and are full much of the day. Basically you almost have to wait until someone else leaves and there’s an empty spot.
Huntington Beach Pier — We need a reporter. Expect spotfin and yellowfin croaker inshore, some halibut and smaller croaker mid-pier, mackerel mid-pier to the end, and sharays (sharks and rays) primarily mid-pier to the end with the larger thresher sharks at the end. How To Get There: Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) to Huntington Beach and the pier.”
Seal Beach Pier — Liz, at Big Fish Bait & Tackle. 1780-C. Pacific Coast Hwy., says she’s not getting a lot of reports but apparently there’s some mackerel action out at the end while inshore she continues to get reports about spotfin croakers and corbina. Fishman Fishman reported on June 12, “While fishing the pier on Tuesday June 11th. I and several bystanders saw a large sea turtle swimming, with a big blue plastic bag tangled on its rear flipper. After my fishing, I researched and found an organization that assists sea turtles in distress. It is the Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Project and Conservation organization operating from the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Contact # (562) 506-4315. They handle Los Angeles County beaches. I reported the sighting and the conservationist was very appreciative of the information. He reported that the group will be working in the area this week and will look for the turtle. He further stated many sea turtles are in the Seal Beach and San Gabriel River mouth areas.I've always attempted to snag plastic bags around the pier. This sighting, which should have been exciting, turned sad to see a plastic bag attached to a wild marine animal. This definitely motivates me to continue the effort to remove plastic bags when I can. Almost forgot but, seems trivial now, I caught and released some Round Stingrays and Thornback Rays. The Queenfish were around and I took about a dozen home for the deep fryer. Caught them on a Sabiki. Good luck everyone!” 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 — Liz, at Big Fish Bait & Tackle. 1780-C. Pacific Coast Hwy., says quite a few halibut are being taken from both the pier and inshore by the Cherry Street area. I imagine some croakers should also be showing up in the inshore area. 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) — The normal fish should be available—white croaker casting out from the pier, sargo and perch when fishing the inshore waters. 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, perch and perhaps some mackerel. 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 reports he’s getting are about the same—some sand bass, a few sculpin (scorpionfish) and halibut for the regulars who know what they are doing (artificials). Not much else. 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. The biggest question is on the future of the Mole for fishing; investigating. 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 (or maybe Han) at Redondo Beach Tackle near the end of the pier (by the restaurant) said about all he’s been seeing are mackerel. 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. 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. 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. 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) says the action has been hit and miss. Sabikis are still producing small perch while anglers inshore are picking up some sargo and croakers. Mid-pier sees an occasional short halibut while out at the end thresher anglers are also starting to show up (but few threshers to date). Most of the action seems to be on cut bait, anchovies and sardines. How To Get There: The pier fronts on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) so just drive until you see it.
Paradise Cove Pier — Ginny at Wylie’s Bait & Tackle (18757 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu). Ginny said the pier was closed for a short time but is now open; no report on the fish. How To Get There: Take Highway 1 to Paradise Cove Dr., turn west, and follow the road back into the parking lot. Parking is very expensive unless you buy an expensive 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 fishing is only O.K. Perch are still being caught but most are small. However, some halibut are being taken (and they like small perch as bait) and mackerel are available to those using Sabikis. The biggest news is that a few striped bass have been taken lately. 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 — The pier is finally scheduled to open on June 29 at 8:30 a.m. after its long closure. Hopefully next month we will have a report. 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 (Santa Barbara) — Kai at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said there’s a lot of bait in the water, both sardines and mackerel and in response some thresher sharks have finally shown up. Other than that it’s the usual small croakers and miscellaneous fish on the bottom. I imagine crabs are also available at the pier (both rock crabs and spider crabs). 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 — Kai at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said some halibut have been showing up including some legal size fish. Kelp bass are available around the kelp and pipe reef while shovelnose guitarfish have been also taken in fair numbers. Expect some mackerel and/or sardines in the top water. 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 — Ongoing report—The pier has now been closed for somewhere around eight years and the rumors of repair and reopening continue—but don’t hold your breath. Although in a state park there doesn’t seem to be state money for things like fishing piers. The pier is a perfect example of how things don't get done in Sacramento. How To Get There: From Highway 101 simply take the Gaviota State Park turnoff down to the beach and pier.
Lobster season is now closed!
San Diego County Piers
Imperial Beach Pier – No report, need a reporter. Traditionally the pier should be good for mackerel and possibly sardines by this time of the year. Expect some croaker inshore, halibut mid-pier, and a variety of sharks and rays on the bottom. Note: Water quality has been bad recently in the area so keeping and eating fish is questionable. 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 closed and apparently will remain closed this year. 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 – The pier is closed and though some repairs were made to winter storm damage, the second contractor scheduled to do additional work, hasn’t started, and they have no idea when he will be done, perhaps not until the fall. Duh! 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! Traditionally some mackerel on top and kelp bass on the bottom should be available. 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. Expect some bass, croaker and sharays (sharks and rays) on the bottom as well as halibut (most caught on artificial lures). 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 the pier continues to kick out a lot of sharays (mainly round stingrays or bat rays) and an occasional halibut. Bass fishing (kelp, sand and spotted) as well as mackerel action should start picking up. 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 but one report said mackerel action is good some days slow others. Some halibut and miscellaneous fish are found on the bottom. 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 gave me the latest news. Apparently there are still no mackerel but there are lots of herring (queenfish) and some sardines and Spanish mackerel (jack mackerel). Inshore the croaker action is picking up including some big spotfins, smaller yellowfins, and a few corbina. An angler fishing the beach caught a 9 pound 4 ounce spotfin. As for the sharays (sharks and rays) some small leopard sharks, some shovelnose guitarfish, and even a few small 7-gills are showing up. A couple of thresher sharks have also been caught and apparently some anglers seeking out threshers are hogging the area by the sinks (which is the furthest area you can go out since the end is fenced off from the fire). Some locals aren’t happy. Lastly, Bill says the red tide that existed for a time has cleared. We received a report from bassfanatick on June 21 that said, “Beautiful conditions, water clean, people catching Croakers, Shark, no Mackerel to be found, no Sardine. I bagged a 23” Halibut, a 13” Sandbass, one small Halibut, lost a few, overall a good day!!!!” For the halibut he said, “I use drop shot Zoom Super Fluke on 1 1/2oz sinker, Fishing right side of the pier near the end. Thank you to the group of people helping me net the Halibut, couldn't do it without your help.” How To Get There: From I-5 take Mission Blvd. west to Pacific, turn left and follow it to the pier.
Oceanside Harbor Pier — Need a reporter. A friend texted me a picture of a small sculpin (scorpionfish) taken at the pier (and be careful, he got stung!). Perch, kelp and perch-like fish are found inshore by the rocks but a lot of tackle is lost on the bottom. 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 — Chad at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. said he hasn’t gotten any reports but the water is warming up and fishing should be improving. A report from Fishman Fishman on June 6 said, “Mixed bag this session. Very lucky! Caught and released 4 short Sandbass, 1 Grass rockfish, and a Scorpionfish. All the fish hit cut anchovy on a high/low rig. Bonus catch were two large Spotfin croakers. One was 16 inches. The other was 18 inches - my personal best. Caught them on mussel with a high/low rig. Most fishermen on the pier were targeting spotfins. A lot of anglers fishing the surf zone. One fisherman caught two Spotfins. A couple of sharkers at the end of the pier. They caught and released a large Shovelnose Guitarfish. The beach sand moving project appears to be completed. Beach area is clear of heavy equipment and the large pipe running into the ocean is gone. The large floating barrier in the water, past the end of the pier, is also gone. Water color is still brown. Not the usual blue/green for this area. Summer crowds on beach, pier and parking lot. Good luck everyone! 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 — Chad at Hogan's Bait and Tackle (34320 Pacific Coast Hwy. said he’s getting reports of bass, croaker (spotfin and yellowfin), a few surfperch, and even an occasional halibut (most on Lucky Craft lures). 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 said: “It has been a better month. The weather is better and the catching is better. I have another keeper (halibut) myself and a friend caught a 30- incher plus two striped bass on the same day. The mackerel have been biting at the end. They are medium sized and I have seen buckets of them going home with the fishermen. We have been catching smaller halibut up to four each in a day. One thing the fish like baitwise is the baby perch (walleyes). Even the bass like them. The bigger baits have been quite successful. Have seen a few yellowfin croaker and a few white seabass. All were small though. The snaggers caught two spotfin croakers, which were about 5 pounds. Beautiful! My friend caught a 51-inch shovelnose guitarfish. I got a decent sized butterfly ray plus a lot of jacksmelt. I have seen a lot of baby stingrays caught on cut bait. Now you see things are picking up at last!” In a phone conversation she said she had caught four halibut that Tuesday (6/25), including one keeper-size fish, and four halibut Thursday (6/27) but the largest that day was 19-inches. 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 (which is very expensive).
Newport Pier — No report this month but given the strong mackerel action at Balboa I imagine it’s the same at Newport. The action is usually similar to Balboa although it’s generally far more crowded. How To Get There: From the Pacific Coast Highway take the Newport Blvd. turn off and precede west watching for signs directing traffic to the pier. The pier sits at the foot of McFadden Place. Metered parking is available but all the lots fill early and are full much of the day. Basically you almost have to wait until someone else leaves and there’s an empty spot.
Huntington Beach Pier — We need a reporter. Expect spotfin and yellowfin croaker inshore, some halibut and smaller croaker mid-pier, mackerel mid-pier to the end, and sharays (sharks and rays) primarily mid-pier to the end with the larger thresher sharks at the end. How To Get There: Highway 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) to Huntington Beach and the pier.”
Seal Beach Pier — Liz, at Big Fish Bait & Tackle. 1780-C. Pacific Coast Hwy., says she’s not getting a lot of reports but apparently there’s some mackerel action out at the end while inshore she continues to get reports about spotfin croakers and corbina. Fishman Fishman reported on June 12, “While fishing the pier on Tuesday June 11th. I and several bystanders saw a large sea turtle swimming, with a big blue plastic bag tangled on its rear flipper. After my fishing, I researched and found an organization that assists sea turtles in distress. It is the Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Project and Conservation organization operating from the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Contact # (562) 506-4315. They handle Los Angeles County beaches. I reported the sighting and the conservationist was very appreciative of the information. He reported that the group will be working in the area this week and will look for the turtle. He further stated many sea turtles are in the Seal Beach and San Gabriel River mouth areas.I've always attempted to snag plastic bags around the pier. This sighting, which should have been exciting, turned sad to see a plastic bag attached to a wild marine animal. This definitely motivates me to continue the effort to remove plastic bags when I can. Almost forgot but, seems trivial now, I caught and released some Round Stingrays and Thornback Rays. The Queenfish were around and I took about a dozen home for the deep fryer. Caught them on a Sabiki. Good luck everyone!” 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 — Liz, at Big Fish Bait & Tackle. 1780-C. Pacific Coast Hwy., says quite a few halibut are being taken from both the pier and inshore by the Cherry Street area. I imagine some croakers should also be showing up in the inshore area. 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) — The normal fish should be available—white croaker casting out from the pier, sargo and perch when fishing the inshore waters. 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, perch and perhaps some mackerel. 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 reports he’s getting are about the same—some sand bass, a few sculpin (scorpionfish) and halibut for the regulars who know what they are doing (artificials). Not much else. 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. The biggest question is on the future of the Mole for fishing; investigating. 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 (or maybe Han) at Redondo Beach Tackle near the end of the pier (by the restaurant) said about all he’s been seeing are mackerel. 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. 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. 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. 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) says the action has been hit and miss. Sabikis are still producing small perch while anglers inshore are picking up some sargo and croakers. Mid-pier sees an occasional short halibut while out at the end thresher anglers are also starting to show up (but few threshers to date). Most of the action seems to be on cut bait, anchovies and sardines. How To Get There: The pier fronts on the Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1) so just drive until you see it.
Paradise Cove Pier — Ginny at Wylie’s Bait & Tackle (18757 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu). Ginny said the pier was closed for a short time but is now open; no report on the fish. How To Get There: Take Highway 1 to Paradise Cove Dr., turn west, and follow the road back into the parking lot. Parking is very expensive unless you buy an expensive 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 fishing is only O.K. Perch are still being caught but most are small. However, some halibut are being taken (and they like small perch as bait) and mackerel are available to those using Sabikis. The biggest news is that a few striped bass have been taken lately. 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 — The pier is finally scheduled to open on June 29 at 8:30 a.m. after its long closure. Hopefully next month we will have a report. 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 (Santa Barbara) — Kai at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said there’s a lot of bait in the water, both sardines and mackerel and in response some thresher sharks have finally shown up. Other than that it’s the usual small croakers and miscellaneous fish on the bottom. I imagine crabs are also available at the pier (both rock crabs and spider crabs). 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 — Kai at Hook Line & Sinker, 4010-5 Calle Real, Santa Barbara, said some halibut have been showing up including some legal size fish. Kelp bass are available around the kelp and pipe reef while shovelnose guitarfish have been also taken in fair numbers. Expect some mackerel and/or sardines in the top water. 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 — Ongoing report—The pier has now been closed for somewhere around eight years and the rumors of repair and reopening continue—but don’t hold your breath. Although in a state park there doesn’t seem to be state money for things like fishing piers. The pier is a perfect example of how things don't get done in Sacramento. How To Get There: From Highway 101 simply take the Gaviota State Park turnoff down to the beach and pier.
