Am I missing any thing?
Planning your trip to the pier for newbies (or)
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pi.. Poor Performance
Planning your trip to the pier for newbies (or)
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pi.. Poor Performance
Clothing: (1) Match the clothes to the time you are visiting the pier and the expected conditions (both temperatures and wind). Day is different than night, summer is different than winter, and conditions are usually quite different in SoCal versus CenCal and NorCal. For much of the year in SoCal, daytime requires little more than shorts and a T-shirt or light shirt. CenCal and NorCal can often see fog much of the day while the wind in parts of the Bay Area is an almost expected thing. I recommend layered clothing that can be adjusted to the actual conditions. (2) Wear clothing that can survive a little dirt, grime, and possibly blood stains.
Miscellaneous: (1) Sun screen, at least SPF 50 but the stronger the better. (2) A baseball cap with extension to cover the back of your neck or sombrero-type hats; something to give your face and neck protection from the sun. (3) A crushable hat or ski cap if fishing at night. (4) Polarized sunglasses. (5) A hand warmer. Only needed during the winter or very windy conditions. (6) A flashlight and/or a headlamp if you intend to fish at night. (7) A camera to memorialize the large fish and big smiles.
Food and Drinks: (1) Snacks, i.e., Power Bars/Clif Bar energy snacks. (2) Bottled water or soft drinks. (3) A thermos full of hot coffee or cocoa if planning to fish at night.
Fishing Equipment/Rods and Reels: Have a rod and reel for each person fishing.
Terminal Tackle: (1) Have at least two sinkers for every person fishing. Use torpedo sinkers if fishing straight down around the pilings or in areas with rocks or kelp. Use pyramid sinkers if casting out in sandy areas with little kelp. (2) If using Sabiki bait rigs bring two for each person. (3) If using hooks bring at least four for every person when using a high/low rig. Bring small size 6 or 4 baitholder hooks for the perch-like species; size 4 or 2 for croaker and bass; size 2-2/0 for larger fish.
Miscellaneous items: (1) A sharp bait knife to cut the bait and a sharp fillet knife if planning to fillet the fish. (2) Zip-Lock bags or baggies for fish fillets. (3) Needle-nose pliers for removing hooks and cutting line. (3) Nail clippers for trimming line. (4) Tape measure for making sure the fish is legal size. (4) Hand towels aka rags. Buy cheap ones at the Dollar Store, bring several, and throw dirty ones away at the end of each day if a little too smelly. (5) Hand cleaner or a baggie of baking soda. It can be used to wash the fish smell off of hands (to a degree). (6) Have some type of tackle box or container to hold the various tackle items. (7) Some people like to carry a small bucket with a rope to get fresh seawater to keep live baitfish in and/or to wash their hands. Empty, it can be used to carry all the miscellaneous “stuff” that will not fit in the normal “tackle” container(s).
Bait: Have (at least) a couple of types of bait and a small bait cooler (with ice or a small ice pack) to keep bait fresh. This can also be used later to bring fish fillets home. Recommended baits: (1) Live saltwater worms (pileworms, blood worms, lug worms), (2) Anchovies, sardines, or mackerel. Good as cut bait for several species, (3) Shrimp (pieces), (4) Squid if fishing at night or for sharks and rays. Elastic thread can be useful if the bait is not staying on the hook
License: Only needed if fishing on a private, non-public pier and only then needed if 16 years or older.
$$: Have cash or credit cards for the parking fees and other costs that may arise during the day.
