Was visiting the Central Coast the final weekend of 2023, and decided to check out the Port San Luis (Harford) Pier for the first time (I noted that San Simeon Pier and Avila Beach Pier were both out of commission).
Saturday Dec 30 had decent weather in the afternoon 3:30-4:30 pm when I was there. Not too many anglers on the pier, countable on both hands, but almost all of them were at the end of the pier, and a sizable proportion under the age of 20. The westward current (sweeping into my back right direction when facing in the direction the pier sticks out) was strong enough that my 2 oz torpedo sinker wouldn't stay put for longer than 2 minutes. Multiple people including myself got bites about 20-30 feet out from the end of the pier, but nobody hooked anything while i was there. A guy got his sabiki hopelessly stuck on one of the pilings. On the way out there were two people who set up mid-pier with what appeared to be surf rods... asked but didn't quite understand, there said they were going for "coronado" (not sure I heard correctly).
Returned New Year Eve at 1:40-2:40 pm. Seemed like there were more anglers out and about compared to the day before, and a smallish group 1/3 the way out from the base of the pier. The current was subdued to the point i didn't have to change my 2 oz sinker at all. There was a lot of turbidity in the water close to the pier. At first I tried fishing close to the pilings, but there were no bites at all. Then i moved to the left where one of the kids caught a silver surfperch (or maybe walleye). I had bites on my #4 hook baited with shrimp, about 15 feet away from the pier, but none would get hooked. That all changed when I used a #8 hook and landed a small croaker and released it after a few quick photos.
Happy 2024 everyone!
Saturday Dec 30 had decent weather in the afternoon 3:30-4:30 pm when I was there. Not too many anglers on the pier, countable on both hands, but almost all of them were at the end of the pier, and a sizable proportion under the age of 20. The westward current (sweeping into my back right direction when facing in the direction the pier sticks out) was strong enough that my 2 oz torpedo sinker wouldn't stay put for longer than 2 minutes. Multiple people including myself got bites about 20-30 feet out from the end of the pier, but nobody hooked anything while i was there. A guy got his sabiki hopelessly stuck on one of the pilings. On the way out there were two people who set up mid-pier with what appeared to be surf rods... asked but didn't quite understand, there said they were going for "coronado" (not sure I heard correctly).
Returned New Year Eve at 1:40-2:40 pm. Seemed like there were more anglers out and about compared to the day before, and a smallish group 1/3 the way out from the base of the pier. The current was subdued to the point i didn't have to change my 2 oz sinker at all. There was a lot of turbidity in the water close to the pier. At first I tried fishing close to the pilings, but there were no bites at all. Then i moved to the left where one of the kids caught a silver surfperch (or maybe walleye). I had bites on my #4 hook baited with shrimp, about 15 feet away from the pier, but none would get hooked. That all changed when I used a #8 hook and landed a small croaker and released it after a few quick photos.
Happy 2024 everyone!
Attachments
Last edited:
